Adding a Flounce to a Top - Video

Here's an easy step by step video of how to add a flounce to a top to enhance and lengthen it. For more detailed information on creating this look check out this previous post Adding a Flounce to a Top that's too Short.

Vintage Sewing Needle Packets

Vintage Needle Packets

Look at these fun vintage sewing needle packets which my Aunt Hazel had in her sewing collection. In each of these fun themed packages you get lots of sewing needles. These packets of 60 to 100 needles feature gold eye needles, silver eye needles, rust proof and nickel plated. The packets also come with a needle threader, something I can't live without. I'm not going to run out of needles anytime soon. 

Bestmade Needles

This 1964 Bestmaid Needles features 115 assorted gold and silver eye needles with a threader. This package includes nickel plated rust-proof needles. Yikes those cute kittens are playing very close to those needles!

Happy Home Needle Book

The Happy Home needle book has a complete assortment which contains 60 assorted gold eye needles, nickel plated and rust proof. It also includes a threader. You can see the pretty metallic sheets of paper that hold the needles below.

Complete Assortment of Needles

ATOMIC

Atomic needles contains 85 assorted needles and 1 threader. You can see that these sold for 98 cents in their day back in 1969. This packet contains nickel plated, rust proof, perfect needles. What a fun creative design on this package!

 

Sewing Circle

Sewing Circle contains 60 assorted gold and silver eye needles with threader. What a nice picture on this needle packet of encouraging community sewing and socializing in 1963.  As you can see below, this packet labels the different types of needles that are included in the packet - hand sewing needles, darners, sewing needles and of course a threader. Love the threader! Not sure what the difference is between hand sewing needles and sewing needles. 

Packet Labels

Finepoint Needle Book

This 1958 Finepoint Needle Book - Best for all family uses - contains 70 gold needles and threader which are rust proof. The packet also lists the types of needles on the inside.

 

"One Hundred"

You could purchase the "One Hundred" in 1959, which featured 100 needles - WOW! The 100 needles consisted of gold eye, nickel plated and rust proof. Oh yes, a threader was included of course.

Displaying these Colorful Needle Packets

As for me, I like to display these colorful needle packets in my sewing room where I can enjoy them instead of keeping them in a canister hidden away. There are many more creative and artistic needle packets out there from days gone by - keep your eyes open for these beauties.

Adding an Inverted Pleat to a Top that's too Wide

Adding an Inverted Pleat to a Top that's too Wide

This top is too wide and flares out too far for my liking. I'm going to make this top less wide and a little more fitted by creating an inverted pleat down the center and partially taking in the sides.

 

 

Way Too Wide

Here is another view of the top. It's way too wide for my liking so I better get to work on making it fit better.

 

Finding the Center of the Top

Find the center of your top. Do this by locating the center of both the top and bottom hem of your shirt. Measure from each side to find the center of the top, bottom and center sections of your shirt. Fold your shirt in half and then make a center crease from the top to the bottom by pressing it with an iron.
 

 

Creating an Inverted Pleat

My pleat starts with a total width of 1 and 1/2 inches. Measure and mark your total width out of your desired measurement for your inverted pleat. Take the sides of your pleat measurements and fold those sides to the center of your shirt's crease.

 

 

Folding Pleat Edges to Center

 Take the outside edges of your pleat measurement and fold into the center of your crease and pin. Do this from the top to bottom of your shirt. Iron after pinning to create these two new creases in the center of your top. You have made your inverted pleat!

Inverted Pleat View From Inside of Top

 Turn your top inside out and view the back of your newly created inverted pleat. Press with iron on this side too.

 

 

Secure Pleat with Buttons

I secured my inverted pleat with these three buttons starting at the very top and then down about one quarter of the top. I sewed the buttons by hand bringing the two edges of the pleat together, securing the pleat and button at the same time. I also sewed through to the back of the pleat to make it even more secure and stable.

 

Reducing Side Flare

To create less flare on the sides of this top simply bring together the two sideseams that create an upside down V and pin together on the inside of the shirt. Pin together from underarm hole to about 2/3 of the way down the side of the shirt.

Outside View of Sideseams Pinned Together

Inside View of Sideseams Pinned Together

Here you can see the sideseams pinned together on the inside of the shirt. Sew sideseams together starting at the top of the seam to about 2/3 of the way down, leaving the bottom section unsewn.

Sideseams Completed

The sideseams are now complete. These sideseams are another version of the inverted pleat which allows me to bring the extra flare in at the top while allowing the bottom portion to still flare out.

Completed Refashioned Top

Here is the completed refashioned Top. It's a little more form fitted with flare at the bottom. Now I'm able to wear this top without feeling it is way too big. It's also fun to finally finish this refashioned top. Completion is a fun part of the journey! Do you have any projects that an inverted pleat might be useful to enhance with? I would love to hear of your refashion projects and techniques that you love to use.

Enjoy, Linda

Refashioned Top into a Lightweight Jacket   

Here's an easy project. I've refashioned a top I had in my closet into a fun lightweight summer jacket.

 

 

Top Before Refashion  

Here you can see the original lightweight knit top from which I will create the jacket.

Measure to Find Center of Top

Use a measuring tape across the width of the top. Find the middle of the fabric and mark on your top.

 

Cut Straight Up Center of Top

After marking, cut straight up the center of the top until your two sides of the front are completely separated.

  Fabric Strips for Center Opening  

You'll need two strips to add to each side of the center opening. My strips here are 2 inches wide with a finished side on each strip which I will use for the finished center edges of the jacket. Add in additional material if you need to fold over and finish your own center edges.

 

Pin Strip of Fabric Up Center Opening

With right-sides together pin strip of fabric to center front of top. Do this on both sides - right and left - of the center front opening. Fold top and bottom edges up to the inside (we will top stitch this later).

 

 Sew Fabric Strips to Center Openings

Now sew your pinned fabric strips to the top using a 3/8 seam allowance. 

 

 

Press Sewn Edge Toward Top

On inside of garment open up the seam you just sewed and press seam toward side of shirt material.

 

 

Turn Over and Press Front 

After you press the seam toward the shirt material on the inside, turn over and press on the outside of the top fabric.  

 

Top Stitch Top and Bottom Edges

Now we can top stitch the top and bottom edges of the fabric strips that you have sewn onto the shirt.

 

Sew Button and Hook

I Sewed the button to the top center opening on the new fabric strip that we just added to this new jacket. I sewed it on the top strip only and then attached a hook to that same strip to be used to secure the opening with a hand sewn loop on the underneath fabric strip (see pictures below for more info).

 

Another View of Attaching Button and Hook

Here you can see that I added a few small pieces of material to reinforce the lightweight fabric where I attached the button. You can also see where I attached the hook that will go through the hand sewn loop on the other fabric strip to complete a firm closure.

 

 

 Hand Sew a Loop 

Here is the hand sewn loop. This loop is created by using a needle and thread that is looped through the material several times. The hook on the top of the other fabric strip will hook through this loop securing the top front opening of the jacket.

 

Completed Button and Hook and Loop closure

 

After

 

 

Completed Lightweight Jacket 

This lightweight jacket fits nicely over a spring or summer top and is a nice little extra for one's wardrobe.

Fun Polka Dot Top with Added Flamingos - Adding the Skirt

I will show you how I created this fun top which was just a left over from a dress in which I had used the bottom skirt portion and sleeves for another project. Check out my first post on this polka dot top where I give detailed picture instructions on how I added the flamingo sleeve edging to the armhole of the top. In this post I will show you how I gathered and attached the flamingo fabric skirt to the top. First let's start with finishing the hem line of the polka dot top.

Finishing Hemline

This top is not symmetrical at the hemline so we will need to correct that. You may be able to see where I have already pressed the front side of the material to create a symmetrical point in the front and on the sides of the top. The back hemline is also uneven and asymmetrical. We will even out the front and back hemlines while making each side symmetrical.

Making the Front of the Top Hemline Symmetrical

I made this top front symmetrical by angling the middle and side sections.  Leave enough room to make a nice hem. Note that the side sections in the above photo are folded over a bit, but the side angles should meet up to the middle angles to form a point.

Making the Back of the top Hemline Symmetrical

This is pretty much the same as with the front hemline, just a slightly different angle. Again, leave enough room to make a nice hem.

Now cut both front and back hem lines to match the symmetrical angles you have drawn on your top. Remember to leave enough room for a nice hem finish (see pic below).

Finishing the Hemline

Cut your hemline to the straight edge angles, then fold hem over twice for a nice finish. The hem measurement is 1/2 inch in total with 1/4 inch folded to the inside and again 1/4inch on the outer edge.

Bringing the Hemline Together at the Corners

Completed Hemline

Here is the completed hemline - looks a lot better! Now we are ready to add the gathered flamingo skirt.

The Flamingo Skirt

Getting the Fabric Ready for the Skirt

Here I have the flamingo fabric. You can see in this pic where I cut the bias material for the sleeve edging (in previous post) and then sewed the fabric back together again into one piece. Since we are gathering the material this bias seam will not be obvious when completed. For the length of the skirt it works out that I can just cut my fabric in half and then sew the narrow edges together to give me more gathering for the skirt. By cutting the fabric and sewing together I now how approximately 90 inches of fabric to use for the gathered skirt. Note: depending on the fullness of the look you want you may be able to use less fabric for your particular project.

Sewing Sideseams on Skirt

Now take the two pieces you just cut and place them on top of each other with right-sides facing together, pin and then sew with a 3/8 or 5/8 inch seam. Now you have created your skirt ready to be gathered.

Flamingo Material Ready to Be Hemmed and Gathered

Here are two pictures of the flamingo material sewn together at the sides. Press sideseams and reinforce with a zigzag stitch if necessary. Now we are ready to finish the hem and then gather.

Finishing the Hem on the Skirt

I like to finish the hem before I gather and attach the skirt to the top. This will work since I already have determined the final length of the top. You can finish the hem after you attach the gathered skirt to the top. Either way will work.  Here the hem is approximately a total of 5/8 inch with half of that measurement folded over to the inside of the hem.

Sew Two Gathering Stitches All Around Top Edge

Now we need to sew two gathering stitches all around the top edge of the flamingo fabric so we can create the gathers. Use a long gathering stitch on your machine to create this. Two stitches help to create a nice gather and helps to provide consistency as oppose to just using one stitch. I also start and stop my two stitches in sections so that I can distribute the gathers evenly throughout the garment. I usually divide the fabric and top into 4 sections: right side front to middle, left side front to middle, right side back to middle, left side back to middle. This way I can match up the front and back middles of the fabric to the front and back middles of the top, and the sides of the fabric to the sides of the top. Each section will have its gathers evenly distributed.

Gather Stitches

Here you can see the gather stitches. I have started and stopped the stitches in the 4 different sections of the sides and front and back middle areas. Now begin to gather those stitches next to your top and meet up the sides and middles of your skirt and top to ease in the gatherings to fit nicely. Begin to pin the gathers to the top.

Evenly Distribute Gathers on Top

As we gather the fabric we can begin to fit the gathers evenly to the top. Work on one section at a time to pin the gathers consistently to your top. On this top I have a bodice seam that allows me to attach the gathers to the top pinning and then sewing it to the same seam that was used in the original dress.

Gathers Pinned to Bodice and Ready to Sew

After pinning the gathers in place sew along the top's bodice seam to secure. If you have a zipper in the back see pic below.

How to Secure at Zipper

If you have a zipper, cut a straight opening in fabric and turn edges in and sew to zipper by hand.

Now the Gathered Skirt on this Top is Completed!

Enjoy!