Valerean

In my last Fabscrap order I got some awesome mendables, including this Calvin Klein raised logo sample t-shirt, which retails for over $60.00. From the front it looked perfect. The mend this t-shirt required was something to fill in or cover the 10-1/2" X 12'1/2" cut out in the back bottom. Since I plan to use it as a pajama top, I thought I might patch it with another CK scrap I had in my stash. But the t-shirt material is very thick, and a single thin layer of jersey wasn't going to work very well. I took another black t-shirt mendable and sacrificed part of it to make a double-thickness jersey panel patch to place over the cut out, which I sewed on with my sewing machine. It's not a perfect seamless repair, but it makes the garment functional, which is all I care about anyway.

Last month I got an order of mendables from Fabscrap. which included this seemingly flawless sample shirt. Ah, I spoke too soon. There's a four-inch cut on the back of the shirt near the hem. That's why they're called mendables. Here's the sample label. Sample garments are often one of a kind, which makes them valuable. This repair also looked pretty easy. While it's a man's shirt, it fits me and it quite comfortable. I like Calvin Klein garments, too, as they're generally very well made. Let's repair the tear so I can wear it. The shirt is made from jacquard, which is a machine woven fabric that can be tricky to mend. I considered covering the tear with a Calvin Klein patch I got in a previous Fabscrap order, but the tear is so small that seemed like a waste of fabric. It would also be very noticeable. Simply mending the tear would be, too, but not as much. So instead I sewed the tear back together and added a couple of...

I ordered some mendables and a scrap lace pack from Fabscrap's online store for some holiday sewing fun. If you want to see me unpack the goodies, check out the photos in my album here .

My latest Fabscrap order included five mendable sample dresses, which as a bonus are all my size. This one is a pretty green print floor-length dress in need of some seam repairs. Not sure I'll ever need a floor-length dress, but it's salvageable. This black floor-length dress only has one sleeve, but I've repaired some shirts that were like that, so we'll see if I can repurpose it. The material of this one is a bit heavy, so I may shorten it, too. This t-shirt dress just needs collar repairs. Love the color, and if it isn't too tight I will definitely keep it. The fabric of this dress is absolutely gorgeous. Also a seam repair job. This dress is in very good shape, but it's a bit short for me, so I might turn it into a top, or find a way to lengthen the skirt with some edging. Whatever I repair but I don't plan to wear will be donated to Goodwill; I'll post the results for each dress as I finish them.

To add some Fabscrap fun to my sewing projects I placed an order for a kit, some mendables and a scrap pack, and everything arrived just as summer did. I got five sample dresses in need of repair/upcycling, a mendable shirt kit, and a multi scrap pack. The mendable shirt kit is a lot like their Ugly Christmas Sweater project of last year, just with more stuff to play with while I make over this sample turtleneck. Here's the first pile from the multi scrap pack; lots of fun fabrics to make into something. And here's the second. I started using the scraps the same day they arrived in a repair project and to make a new mug rug for my desk. Stop by tomorrow and I'll show you the five dresses they sent me.

Fabscrap contacted me about making a donation last month, as they're trying to raise the funds for their operating costs. While I was at the web site I did, and I ordered five pounds of their unsorted scrap fabric, which came a week later. If you donate at least ten bucks you get an embroidered patch like mine here. My bundle had a few really neat surprises in it, like red and blue lace, stretch black velvet, a ghostly swatch of lining, a sample of metallic denim, and a gorgeous layered print. Mostly it was made up of solids, including several quarter and half yards of lining fabric. I love these because they work beautifully as backings to my little art quilts. I'm also going to use a few to line some bags I make. I got quite a few knit swatches and cut outs in pretty colors, too. The linings are micro thin polyester, which has a very silky hand to it. I love that Fabscrap saves even the smallest bits of fabric that the fashion industry discards. ...

When I saw on their web site that Fabscrap hadn't quite reached their year-end goal of $50K to run their service I decided to place another order and make a donation, too. That order arrived just after Christmas but I was so busy I forgot to post pics. I ordered their card making kit, which came with fabrics, trims and four blank cards. I also got another Ugly Christmas sweater kit (I'm going to use the sweater for another project.) They had a pay what you wish scrap pack listing for scraps with any amount of spandex, which they can't process into shoddy because it gums up their machines. I paid the highest price for five pounds of it, and got mostly browns, which gave me an idea for another project.

For my Fabscrap Ugly Christmas Sweater Project last month I thrifted this fleecy hoodie so I could save the sample sweater that came with the kit. The kit also included these scraps, pins and some heat and bond. Since I liked the hoodie almost as much as the sample sweater I decided to do something other than what Fabscrap intended but that still would result in a Christmas-themed sweater. First I used the heat and bond to make a wreath shape out of the black and gold flashy synthetic and a scrap of black and gray quilting cotton from my stash, and then I got out my 1-1/2" yoyo maker and started making yoyos out of the two green fabrics. In the center of the yoyos I sewed pearls leftover from my pearl trees project. I then sewed the yoyos to the wreath shape. The final touch was adding a bow of pearls I harvested from an old barrette to the wreath. Here's what the hoodie looked with with the wreath covering the word Maine on the front. I pinned i...

Last month in my Fabscrap order I receieved this sample knit sweater in their Make Your Own Ugly Christmas Sweater kit. The sweater was my size, only I thought it was too pretty to trash up with a lot of Christmas junk, so I decided to thrift a replacement and instead repair and wear this one. These are all the tape, tags and safety pins I removed from the sample sweater (one is in Chinese.) They make me think this sweater design was probably changed a lot, so mine is likely one of a kind. I sewed up a couple of small holes, hemmed the sleeves to fit my arms, and then because it was a bit short for me I decided to add a bit of crochet to the bottom to lengthen it (using thrifted yarn, of course.) I could have tried to loom knit a piece I could add to the bottom, but honestly I'm still learning how to loom so crocheting it was faster. The sweater came out nice enough to wear, so I'm happy with it.

Because I don't have enough to work on, I decided to make a Fabscrap order before the end of the year, and it arrived. First up was this sample sweater, which is part of their Ugly Christmas Sweater kit. It came with a bundle of scraps, heat and bond and safety pins for embellishing. I've already got lots of ideas, but I kind of love the sweater and don't want to mess it up (the colors are amazing and it fits me, too. I just need to make it longer, as the hem doesn't even cover my navel.) So I might go thrift another sweater for the project* and save the one that came with the kit to fix up and wear. I also ordered some medium mendable tops in hopes something would come that I could fix up for Kat during her visit. This gauzy blouse is a pretty sea glass green. Will be a challenge, too, fixing the big hole in the back. This gray synthetic shirt with side ruching had no flaws or problems that I could find, so I've got at least one shirt for...