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Using a Sewing Gauge to Make Circles

The other day I had a "learned something new today" moment because I wasn't aware a sewing gauge can be used like a compass to mark circles and scallops.  But, yes, it most certainly can! 

All you need to do is anchor it with a pin through the hole in the slider, insert the tip of a fabric pen in the hole at the end of the gauge, and then rotate the gauge to trace the circle or scallop. 

The two things to pay attention to are:

1. If you need an exact diameter for a circle or specific height for a scallop, the hole at the end isn't actually at the very end and you'll need to accommodate for the one or two millimeter difference.  
2. Make sure nothing is in the way of the gauge rotating around!  It's easy to knock stuff around or onto the floor and end up with a wobbly looking circle if there is something in the path of the gauge while it's rotating.

A sewing gauge is one of those sewing tools that is just super useful and while you can sew without one, they are inexpensive and so very useful that it makes sense to have at least one in your sewing tool kit. Mine gets used almost daily for something (often a Grocery Bag or Basket Bag) and I have several of them since they are easy to bury under fabric or misplace in other ways.  

New Pincushions

Affiliate Disclosure: Links to etsy products are affiliate links.

If you've seen the main image for the Sawtooth Star Pincushion pattern this pincushion I finished last week might look kind of familiar. It's not exactly the same, but pretty close!  

The one here in the photos is Size 2 from the pattern. Size 2 is a good all-purpose size.  

The fabrics used to make this pincushion are quilting cottons for the star and then a speckled cotton/linen chambray for the background, sides, and bottom.

The cat print is called Where's Kitty from Dear Stella's Catitude collection. The pink pin dot is from years and years ago so I'm not sure exactly what it might be--maybe Riley Blake? The chambray is another that I've had for a few years. I'd love to get more of it but it's apparel fabric and there isn't any manufacturer info to help me track it down.  

 

 

Yesterday I finished this red patchwork pincushion and I love it!  I have a similar one that lives on my cutting table and I find it so beautiful and inspiring. The bright colors are really uplifting and like many patchwork items, it's visually stimulating and just fun to look at.

This was also made using the Size 2 pattern pieces from the Sawtooth Star Pincushion pattern. 

The fabrics are all designer quilting cottons from Moda, Riley Blake, and Michael Miller.  If you have a question about a specific one, leave a comment and I'll figure out the name.

Both of the pincushions in this post are for sale and can ordered at these links:

• Sawtooth Star Pincushion on my website (tax free shopping)
• Sawtooth Star Pincushion on etsy
• Red Patchwork Pincushion on my website (tax free shopping)
• Red Patchwork Pincushion on etsy

Sample Sale - Strawberry Cross-Back Split Leg Apron (Sold)

Today the strawberry apron from this post is available as a sample.  This apron is SO cute!  I'd keep it for myself, but it's too small for me.  It's the small size in the pattern (see the blog post for pattern and fabric info). 

The skirt top measures 36" total and for most people it is going to cross in the back about 1-2 above your waistline.  The fit of this apron is very forgiving but I think it's going to fit best if your waist is in the 30" range.  The pattern maker suggests these bust and hip measurements for the small:

Sold - Thank you!

Sample Sale - Extra Large Grocery Bag (Sold)

A few samples will pop up here in the next couple days and here is the first one now...an Extra Large Grocery Bag.  

This bag is made from green twill.  The color is a very dark green called Moss by the manufacturer.  I'd also describe it as army green, olive green, avocado green, or khaki green. 

It's the XL size, which is a mod for the Grocery Bag pattern.  Twill is perfect for the XL bag mod because these lined bags can get heavy--especially in this size.  

The lining is a black and pink floral fabric.   

Sold - Thanks!

Gardening Apron from TOTOshopUA

Affiliate Disclosure: Links to etsy products are affiliate links.

In the previous apron making blog post I mentioned the Gardening Apron was the other apron pattern I wanted to try from TOTOshopUA and this week I stitched one up!

Here is how it went...

About the Apron

This is a half apron with a roomy, gathered pouch so you can collect flowers or veggies, or use it to carry nippers, twine, and a few other tools. This style is also called a harvest apron or gathering apron. 

Beside gathering up bounty, it could also be used as a vendor apron, or wear it the next time you take a sewing class to keep some of your notions and tools literally on you. I'm taking a class for knits and keeping track of all my stuff is one of the more challenging parts of the class!

Difficulty and Time

This apron is easy to make. It took about 4 hours to sew. If I make it again, and do it soon (before forgetting the process!), I could probably make this in 2.5 hours.  So it's an afternoon sewing project and quite easy if you have some sewing experience. 

Fabric Choices

The apron body is one piece so use double faced (fabric with no RS/WS), or double sided fabric. If you'd like to made this from quilting cotton you could place two fabrics WST and baste the edges together.

Mine is made from this Essex canvas fabric and this black and pink floral quilting cotton. I also have Essex canvas in blue, as well as a number of regular weight Essex yarn dyed cotton/linen blend fabrics, and a moss green twill that would work well for this apron.  The twill does have a RS/WS, but the color is the same on both sides and the RS is only obvious up close.  

Whatever fabric you use, remember there are gathers at the waistline so don't use anything too thick/heavy.  

If you use a looser weave fabric like the Essex cotton/linen, use a larger allowance and finish the edges or your apron isn't going to last. Just like the previous pattern, this pattern is also very forgiving and it isn't going to make a significant difference in the finished apron if you change the allowance.

Print or Measure & Cut

The pattern document includes pattern pieces you can print and tape together, but there's also a chart with the measurements. I used the measurements since it takes paper, ink, tape, and time to prep these pieces so I'd rather just measure & cut.     

If you are doing measure & cut, you can also play around with the size of the pieces. Both metric and Imperial measurements are included and since she's converting from metric the measurements in inches are sometimes fractions of an inch. For the fractional amounts, I just rounded them up to the next inch.      

Reinforcements

This apron is well designed and the spots that could use reinforcement are addressed.  The ends of the drawstrings are tacked down well and if you look just above the stitching reinforcing them, you can see there is a triangle of fabric. The triangular pieces are going to help hold the apron body up once there is stuff inside.  

Any Extra Step

The one thing I did that wasn't in the pattern is topstitching along the side seams.  You can see this best in the photo below. 

These edges are finished in the instructions, but this fabric does fray and despite finishing that seam, I wanted it enclosed to help protect it more.  So I stitched outside the raw edges and now that seam is safely encased on the inside of the apron.  

Check it Out

There is a little something special at the bottom of the previous apron post.  So check it out before you head on over to TOTOshopUA. 

Essex Yarn Dyed Cotton/Linen - New & Restock

The striped Essex yarn dyed cotton/linen blend woven fabrics have been restocked and a few new colors have been added.  

From the top:

• Peacock

• Indigo Stripe

• Wide Indigo Stripe

• Nautical

• Wide Black Stripe

• Black Stripe

 

TOTOShopUA Split Leg Cross Back Apron

Affiliate Disclosure: Links to etsy products are affiliate links.

Look what I made...a really cute and very, very nice apron.

This is a full coverage apron that is nicely finished and turns out amazing! I'm super pleased with the finished results and want to share my experience sewing this split leg apron with the Erin pattern from TOTOShopUA.  

It's designed to be an apron for a potter and if you've ever thrown pottery on a wheel, it is SO messy.  It covers you head to toe in clay splatter so this apron is full coverage.  

Even though it's designed as a potter apron, it's also just a great cross back apron. The split leg style makes it comfortable to move around in and the seam in the center provides some structure to hold up the fabric. I made a cross back apron before but it felt like it was wearing me. The middle was bulky and saggy since there weren't waist ties to cinch in the middle and it felt like I was wearing a big tube of fabric.  I was hoping this one would feel better to wear and it does!

Pattern Pieces

This is like my Grocery Bag pattern in that some pieces are included, but the big rectangles are measure and cut. To me this is the perfect compromise! There are only 8-pages to tape together and these give you the straps, top, and pocket(s). I was more than happy to not need to print and tape the many additional pages that would be needed for the skirt pieces and then have a giant pattern piece to store somewhere.  

Seam Allowance

The pattern includes a 1/4" SA, which is a common SA for professional sewing, but a little narrow for a lot of home sewers and it should not be used for fabrics that fray. 

The good news is the apron style is very forgiving, so it is easy to make modifications and not be too concerned about fit. For some perspective, I made a large according to my measurements and a small to use less fabric for the sample. I can wear either one.  The small is a little short at the top for me and doesn't close as much in the back, but I can get it on.

If you, or your fabric, aren't up for the 1/4" allowance, either add in additional allowance, add additional allowance in some places (like the length of the top), or sew it with a larger allowance knowing it will come out a tiny bit smaller/shorter. Don't forget to use the same allowance for the straps so they fit where they attach at the back.  

Fabric Widths

The instructions give cutting layouts for the different sizes and fabric widths. 

For the large size, you should consider one of the wider fabric widths. See how it says 45" wide fabric in the instructions?  In the US market most fabric will not be wider than 44" and that includes the selvedge and is before skrinkage.  For the large size you MUST have 43" of usable fabric and that is if you use the 1/4" SA. For a larger SA you will need more than 43" of usable fabric so keep that in mind.

Top

The top portion is short and that is on purpose for this style of apron. The seam should be at or above your natural waist so the split portion falls correctly while seated. If you are short-waisted, the top length should be fine. Look at the model--she is 5'5" and she looks short-waisted to me. If you are tall or have a regular or long waist, you'll want to add to the bottom of the top to make it longer.  

Straps

The straps are short to help hold the apron close to your body and keep the apron from wearing you.  If you want/need the top longer, another option is to make the straps a little bit longer.  

The straps are also easy to sew on wrong in the back!  There is a photo, but it's hard to see exactly how they are supposed to be inserted. From experience, I'll tell you there are steps where it really isn't possible to show what is happening in a picture and this is one of them.  So here is how I started sewing this part:

With the top turned mostly RS out, straighten up the straps, cross them, tuck the raw ends of the strap opening down into the center, and then insert the strap ends into the openings. Then pull that section out the bottom, neaten everything up, and sew the seam. In the photo above, the strap on the right is tucked in and the one on the left is pulled down and ready to be sewn.  

Many Other Aprons

TOTOShopUA has a lot of other patterns for different apron styles.  It looks like there are 10 different styles.

Next I'd like to sew the Gardening Apron. There's not much to gather around here as far as veggies and fruit, but I think it will make a roomy work apron or vendor apron.  

If you are on my email list, I've sent you something special to go with this post so check your email before going shopping!  If you are not on my email list, you should consider joining.  I'll give you a little sneak peek at what you get by being on the email list: Take 20% off any pattern in TOTOshopUA with the code NEWAPRON20

Thank you TOTOShopUA for the excellent apron and instructions!

P.S. Check out this etsy collection for cotton/linen and Oxford fabrics I think are be perfect for this pattern. These fabrics are all fairly stable and easy to sew.

 

Sample Sale - Denim Grocery Bag with Blue Crush Lining (Sold)

Last of the sample sale bags!  This time there are two available.  

These are Grocery Bags made from a 10 ounce dark blue cotton denim. They are very sturdy bag thanks to the medium weight denim.  I have a few like these and they are my go to for canned goods, glass jars, and other heavy stuff.

They are lined in an OOP print called Blue Crush from Dear Stella. 

They are the large size in the pattern.

The topstitching is a heavy, heavy polyester thread called Jeans Stitch (YLI).  I used to stock this thread and might again in 2023 (if I can find it). It's pretty amazing on denim and it's also great for faux Kantha stitching, visible mending, or Sashiko.  It's like a cotton Sashiko thread but the polyester makes it much more durable.

Sold out!  Thanks so much for another great year and best wishes to everyone in 2023! -Michelle