Sewing With Nancy

T-Shirts, we all have them. Whether from schools, vacations, concerts, sport events, or charitable causes, they hold memories usually stored in a drawer. Mary Mulari, our expert on recycling, is here to encourage you to give those shirts a second chance and create unique gifts. Welcome back, Mary. Thanks, Nancy, and I think we'll find that making these gifts is easier than you might think. For example, turn a favorite T-Shirt into a pillow with a few easy steps. Add pockets to hold a child's favorite storybook or small toy, then stuff and enjoy. "Second-Chance T-Shirt Gifts," that's what's coming up next on Sewing with Nancy.

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For the love of sewing. Madeira, specializing in embroidery, quilting, and special effect threads, because creativity is never black and white. Koala Studios, fine sewing furniture custom-built in America. Clover, making a difference in sewing, quilting, crafting, and needle arts for over 90 years. Amazing Designs and Klass Needles. In the first episode of this two-part series, Mary showed us how she made a rag-style quilt using T-Shirts. If you have a few left over, like four, you can make this 24" pillow to go along with the quilt. But you'll also have leftover T-Shirt fabric that is great for projects. Oh, we can certainly use lots of that, Nancy. And in our pillow-- Mary's pillow, made from a child's T-Shirt, she used... Here are some of the scraps. I used them for pockets on the front and the back, and on a sleeve as well, and it's a great pillow for a child, and to store their bla-- favorite books. Yeah, I really like this idea, and it's quite simple. Most of these projects are simple... But very useful. - Right. They're great gifts, and you have a pillow ready to go. Yes, I do. This little T-Shirt, I've done a little sewing. I did add a sleeve pocket here, but I sewed seams to close up the sleeves, and then I sewed two seams here to hold down the neck ribbing. So it's all closed in the ribbing. I didn't really want to add a pocket on the front, Nancy, because I had such a cute design here, so I did add the pocket to the back of the shirt, and I always like to use, if I can, the hem of the T-Shirt... - Sure. And then there's a little interfacing, as well. So you kept the hem, so that's finished, add some fusible knit interfacing or lightweight interfacing, and stitched on a pocket. Right, and we don't have a whole lot to go, but we can make a decision about how we want to close up our pillow. You can do it by hand or you can put a zipper in, which may sound like a lot of work, but it's not. Very easy to do. We add it to the hem of the shirt. And we do that before we totally close up the edge. And here you can see a close-up of how I've centered the zipper in the lower edge of the shirt, and just stitch with a very narrow seam allowance, attaching the two together. And then, Mary, when you close that zipper... The ends have not been stitched. That's right, except this one has... partway. Well, how about that? -

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So we'll turn this right-side out, and I'll let you show them. Whoops, excuse me. Here is the short seam that seals up that final corner of the T-Shirt, but we're going to do one other step, additional step, to give it a form and a box shape. So this is a small sample that I have here, but here's the sewn seam, and then to get the box shape, you fold it along the lower edge so that lower edge is centered, then measure up 1" to 2" and sew. When you turn this right-side out, you get a gusset, you get a box corner. It gives it a nice shape, and then, it's time to stuff. - Mm-hmm. So you have a lot of stuffing, or maybe not. Maybe not... - Mm-hmm. My favorite way is to stuff the upper half of this and then to use a pillow form. In this particular pillow, I used a 14" pillow form, and that takes up the most of the stuffing, so it saves time. And the rest of this, this softer part, is polyester fiberfill that you stuff in the corners. You can then take out the pillow if you wanted to launder the-- - Right, right. The T-Shirt. If it's got little Rice Krispie Treats on it... Ah, right. Or choco-- cocoa, or whatever the case may be, from reading and enjoying, so a great project to make with your favorite little person, so they can have their own reading pillow made of their favorite T-Shirt. Give a favorite T-Shirt a second chance by transforming it into a tote. This easy project takes advantage

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no-fray edges. So the simplest of sewing techniques are used. Parts of another T-Shirt give the handle area extra support, plus a little splash of color. I'm kind of partial, I think, Mary, you are, too... Right. - To these colors, and here you have your tote, and then you can see the splash of color, and the inside is partially-lined. Yes, and we take advantage of using the hem of another T-Shirt, and that way, we don't have any sewing down there either in that area. The corners have a gusset on just like that pillow we just showed you. So find your favorite T-Shirt that you'd like to recycle. And here it might look a little funny because we cut out 3" x 10" pieces, two of them, which will become the handle extensions. I felt like the tote would be long enough without having that extra length. You'd cut that off. I think I would, yeah. Then the lining is from a hem of another shirt, and you place that lining about 2" from the cut edge of the sleeves. Now, let's fold back since I kind of skipped a step here, but you cut off the sleeves, save it for a project. Right, and then you square off the shoulders, and you get rid of those thick shoulder seams that are always part of T-Shirts. Mm-hmm, and then we're gonna tuck this inside, so we can do the trimming and cutting to size at once. Now, if your inner T-Shirt is larger than your outer T-Shirt, you can take a deeper seam, you know. That's right. Just trim it up so they're the same width, and that'll be important. So this is sandwiched in the middle, and then, from about 1/2" to 3/4" from the edge, simply mark a line lower, and use chalk, and you can mark... Mary...? Right, 2 1/2" of the handle width. So this is pretty arbitrary? - Yeah, that's right. Pin together, cut all these layers at once. And so, here, the next sample shows that they've all been cut, the main fabric and the lining. We're ready now to use one of our handle ex-- well, all four of our handle extensions, and we've done that here, and we see that we have that 10" piece added on, and so we'd do that to all four of the handles. Lining and the regular fabric. - Correct. And then it's time to pin the layers together, which we have on our next sample here, and then we'd take this to the sewing machine. I've used some black thread. Sometimes it bothers me to have to use such bad threads, Nancy, but everyone can see better. Sure, so you stitch about a 1/2" all the way around the openings. That's right, and then we take out our pinking blade or our pinking shears... Yep. - And we trim away. Okay, here we go. - Yeah. Just trim that, and we have two layers. We have a nice, interesting edge with the pinked... - Yeah. And we have a really interesting tote bag for the Farmer's Market. The bottom of the tote bag would be finished 'cause otherwise, you wouldn't have a tote. Right. Yeah, that's the problem. Using that same technique for the pillow, making a gusset corner, but you can see in this quick demonstration, how two T-Shirts, one whole and one portions of a T-Shirt, really make a usable, as you mentioned, Farmer's Market tote. Make distinctive stockings to display in December from notable T-Shirts. Choose T-Shirt designs that relate to each member of the family or a guest. The creative stocking collection is sure to spark conversations. We are working with ideas that don't take a lot of time, but are meaningful, and the stockings can be-- have orientation of the emblem in many different ways. Here we have a stocking that doesn't even really-- not everything fits on, but it's still okay. You understand what it is. - Right, and here we used it

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worked sideways, and then the last one, has not only an elf toe to it... -

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But also an appliqu cut from another T-Shirt. Great idea. So we have a little cuff from another scrap of fabric, and to lay out the T-Shirts, on your pattern-- I should say, on the T-Shirts, let's give you a hint how Mary suggests this. Well here, Nancy, is one of those designs-- if you use it vertically, you're not gonna get much. You're not gonna get-- mm-hmm. So we're gonna turn this sideways, and I like using tracing paper because I can see through it well enough, and then afterwards, of course, we are going to add interfacing. So, cut out two layers. Right? Mm-hmm, that's right. And so here we have another stocking ready to go. The right and-- or the front and the backsides, and they have been interfaced, even though it's light and it's hard to see here. So fusible interfacing and you meet right sides together, and just a 1/4" seam allowance. You can stitch around the edge. Here we have the stocking all stitched, and we've added the feature that's pretty important, and that's the handle or the loop. A 1 1/2" by 5" piece of knit, and as we've already shown, we stretch those and make them roll, and then we stitch them and sew our handle on. In our first program, we showed how to make a necklace and draw cord using this technique, and then we've used that rotary pinking blade many times to pink around the edges. So you have the pinked around edge on this particular sample, which you'll see in a little bit. And then we need to cut a cuff for our stocking, and so this one was a really big T-Shirt sleeve, and so I was able to get two cuffs, and, again, using the finished hem of the T-Shirt sleeve. So this is 8 1/2"? - Yes. 7 1/2"? - Correct. And 3 1/2"? Yes, or a width you want. If you don't want to hide the whole design, you have a really narrow cuff. - Sure. And so, here's our cuff, already stitched together on the sides, and we're going to slide that. The right side of the cuff is going to go to the wrong side of the stocking, and we'll pin in place in a few places. Okay. And then, of course, that'll be stitched around. All the way around in a circle. So, really, like, one big seam and another one will just about do it. So now we have our cuff sewn on this one, and we're going to flip that inside, and we can pull our-- we're just about ready to use our stocking and hang it on the hearth, and here we'll, of course, press this a little bit, and make it look smoother. - Sure. And I've added a little vinyl pocket here, where I could tuck a gift card or someone's name tag... - Oh, very clever. And so now we're all set, with another stocking. Great idea. - Thanks. And here's another idea. You can add a festive highlight to a family gathering with a banner of reversible pennants. Choose T-Shirt designs for each occasion or to represent family members. The back of each pennant is chalkboard fabric, providing a space for a message. And, Mary, quickly, we've teamed these together because you're going to interface the fabric. Instead of backing it with another T-Shirt, you can put chalkboard fabric. Right, and here is where you could write a message. You could write "happy birthday," " Merry Christmas," whatever you'd like to write, and you hang these on a rope... - Mm-hmm. And it really sets the tone for the party. Two festive ideas. With a two-way stretch T-Shirt knit, you can make your own gloves for special occasions, costumes, or lightweight warmth. Add a pocket for your phone or other essentials, and your gloves will have flair and practicality at the same time. As Mary mentioned, this is a great pair of gloves for costumes, for spring or fall, evening, and you have to make certain that the fabric that you're recycling has quite a bit of stretch. Two-way. - Yes, that's right. And, again, we're going to use that T-Shirt hem if we can because it's already stitched... - For the hem of your gloves. Now there's a pattern that you can use. It's in the pattern today. That's right, in the reference materials is a pattern, which also offers lines so you can make texting gloves, and you're going to make, trace, and cut out an actual pattern, and what we need to point out, Nancy, is that this line that we're tracing on our T-Shirt is actually the stitching line. - Okay. So it's very easy to follow in the stitching, and along with that, we trace, and we have a pocket here. We have a left and a right glove, we have used the hem so you don't have to hem it, and then you can cut, but give yourself some room. Right, that's for sure, and we give a little, you know, even a 1/2" between, so we cut these out generally, and the next thing that we're going to do is take the pocket, and here we've taken a little different fabric, so you can see more easily... - Mm-hmm. And we stitch it across. Now that's going to form our pocket. Yeah, turn under, a seam allowance, and then just line it up with it hem to hem, and stitch across the top. The sewing is really simple. That's right, and we'll pin it some more, and then we're ready to stitch. Speaking of stitching, here's a close-up. You can use a little straight stitch or a slight zigzag, which I'm using now, and also, stitch about two stitches at the inside of the fingers, and before you do the trimming, we have trimmed here, but, Mary, we like to do some testing right now. Yes, that's right. After you've finished the seam, try the glove on to see how it acts. -

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It could be part of your frog costume, Nancy. Yes, it could, it could. Too bad this isn't in green. And then, here, you know, if this is a little small, or too large, actually, we have another line drawn in here so you can restitch if you want to make the gloves really fit your hand, specifically. Mm-hmm, and they're generous... Yes. - So you can make them larger or smaller, but really, this is really quite fast, and then we have one glove here that has-- ready to turn right-side out. It does take a little time to turn right-side out because you got all these little fingers. But you don't have to do all fingers. You can cut off the ends. The instructions tell you how to make these ends of the seam secure, and you can wear these while you're busy using your phone. Yes, so whether you're working with costume gloves or you would like to make something for a cool spring or a fall night, you can recycle that T-Shirt, and give it a second chance. Take a colorful pair of T-Shirts and make a practical, useful gift for a toddler. Maybe the shirts represent the mom or dad's favorite sport or college or maybe hobby. The two-sided bib is a popular gift that can showcase the family legacy. Mary's using all sorts of T-Shirts in many different ways, and, Mary, you don't have to have toddler T-Shirts for this project. No, we used adult shirts, actually. And we tried to pair them up at the neckline, and if one is much larger than the other, you can cut a wedge into the ribbing and make one smaller so it matches the other. But your hint is not to make this neckline too small. That's right. Toddlers usually, will wear this better if it's not a really tight fit over their head, so a little larger bib, I think, neck opening is better. And then, the dimensions. We'll start with the shoulder area. Yeah, 3" from the edge of the ribbing. And you have that mark, and you also mark 14" from the center front. Down 14". And then 12" across. Okay, and connect the lines, and you can see this is going to be, later, the cutting line or a little bit beyond the cutting line, and you're not gonna use a dark pen. -

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That's right, and then on the back, we have a shorter portion, which is 6" from the shoulders, and again, it'll be 12" across the back. Sure, and if it varied a little bit... It'd be okay. - It'll be okay, right? So you're gonna pin all these layers together. The first stitching is to stitch around the neckline. I generally stitch about 1/2" away from the edges of the ribbing. You might see part of the ribbing from one side on the other, and I think that's okay. Normally, I'd be using pink thread, Nancy. Would you? - Yes. Oh, I'm so glad. - Yeah, really. But just to show everyone more easily, and then afterwards, we connect the lines. We sew on the lines. So we're gonna stitch, and here you can see that I'm stitching, and you can use a straight stitch or we like to use just a little wobble stitch we've used many times on Sewing with Nancy when working with knits. This is going to be washed a lot, so it's gonna stretch, et cetera. And then, the final step is to do some cutting. I have my pinking blade, and I could use a ruler. I could make a guess here, if I'm really feeling brave, and I'm just going to cut extra beyond the stitching line. We've done this on lots of our projects, Nancy. And the other thing you could do is use the fringe technique that we've shown on some, as well. Yeah, we've showed that fringe technique in the first program of the series, and it really does work quite well. If we take a look at our finished T-Shirt, you can see that we have the two-sided look and it has nice coverage because so often, as the children get a little older, the bib is too small, so... - Right. Yeah, this is a great colorful one with a little batik design on the other side. Well, Mary, you've shown us great ideas to give T-Shirts second chances, and for you at home, they're ideas that really do not take a lot of time, but are very practical, but fun to make. I'm looking forward to sharing these ideas with my granddaughters. I know they'll enjoy those. Thanks for being with us. - Oh, you're welcome, Nancy. So I hope you've enjoyed the sewing segments of today's program. My return Nancy's Corner guest is a self-described "washer woman." I describe her as a fabric dyer and an artist. Please welcome back Cherie St. Cyr, a fabric artist from Wisconsin. Cherie, we had you in our previous program where you talked about your great dying of fabric. Yes. Now, we'll see some of your wonderful works of art. Oh, thank you. This first one that we're starting with is my favorite of a series that I did in Mexico two years ago. I saw some tiles of this Japanese ceramic artist, Jun Kaneko, at a studio tour... And I just, like,"Wow!" -

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I just went crazy. I made, like, 38 quilts that winter. I just was out of control, and this one in particular happens to be my personal favorite, and goes into my private collection. And it's called "Dots and D--" -"Dots and Dextrin." - And Dextrin, yes. Because it's potato dextrin or sugar fr om potatoes that-- That makes the dye. Makes that crackle pattern that I put thickened dye over. And the inspiration now, so many of our viewers say, "Where do you get your inspiration?" when I see them, "Where do your guests get your inspiration?" It was a tile? A big tile. These big, big tiles. Like, a series of eight of them... And I was just like... -

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Staggered by the beauty of it. Now, many quilt artists put in some signature touches to most quilts of theirs, and one of yours I've noticed, when I've seen your exhibits, is black and white. Yes, and it's particularly my binding. I hand paint... Those black an d white stripes. Kind of-- they look just re ally boring in my studio, but when you cut 'em in to 2 1/2" strips and you bind wi th them... They make sort of a snappy...

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statement. It's good to incorporate those types of things in quilts, and you don't always have to make showstopper quilts. You can make quilts that are gonna be used on a basis, as for a baby. Yes, I make many baby blankets. I try to not let any of those babies get away from me. And this baby quilt is not like your traditional baby quilt. - No, it's not. So, it has a hand-painted ce nter of the sun face. Mm-hmm. It has potato dextrin in the leaves at the bottom. It has chemical resist stripes an d flowers on one side. It has a little, tiny bit of commercial batik, the suns and moons, but, for the most part, you know, th at's probably about the most commercial fabric I' ve ever used in a quilt. Now, Cherie, most of us are not going to be dying our own fabric, I have to say this, but I think why I wanted you to explain your quilts to our viewers is that, to get permission to combine many prints as long as they had some commonality. Yes, hopefully color is my commonality. And this next one shows the commonality... of "Face Factory" of one color, and it was in transition here. This one was done for a challenge, correct? Yes, and you always get, it seems like, the ugliest fabric for a challenge. -

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I was like,"Oh, my God. What can I do with this?" So I cut it and made chevrons. And then, this is a series that I have done, "The Face Factory," with these silly faces, and then, all this embellishment I was doing for a while some years back. Sewing buttons, sewing charms. So, this sort of adds another layer to my hand-dyed fabric. Even though you're a Midwest artist, you started your career, or your life, not in the Midwest. In New Orleans. And this definitely speaks to that influence. It does, it does. - So what fun. Lots of buttons, lots of charms, and some of your very interesting painted areas. It's just fun to look at. You don't know where to go... first, and then you just enjoy the whole piece. Oh, thank you. Now, you also learned to work with batiking-- to batik when you were in Nepal. So these are little silk screens of the dog here that I did. I had a show of images that I had photographed while I was in Nepal, and I love turquoise and brown. For me, while I was in Ibiza, in my teens, I saw an older woman, maybe 30. -

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She was wearing turquoise and brown, and I was like, "Oh, she's so beautiful," and it's come for me a really popular combination of colors. And so you have-- Here's some blocking I think you've done.

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Block print. And then the relief of this dog that you found. And then my little painting. And be sure and sign your quilts. Whether you put a label on the back or, better yet, put it on the front. So I started doing this because the University Hospital had bought maybe 30 of my quilts and they were slow getting the labels made... And I said, "Well, I better take matters into my own hand or into my own sewing machine." So I started signing them with the machine. Well, Cherie, it's been a pleasure to see your enthusiasms, to see your quilts that you have created with fabric and with, of course, your hand-dyeing. So thanks for being with us. Thank you, Nancy. - You're welcome. Again, thank you for joining us as always on Sewing with Nancy. Go to NancyZieman.com to find all things Sewing with Nancy, and thanks to our special guest, Mary Mulari. Bye for now.

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Sewing makeover specialist, Mary Mulari, shares easy to sew projects, transforming T-Shirts into memorable gift items. The "Second Chance T-Shirt Gifts" pattern can be used to make the project from this two-part series. It's $14.99, plus shipping and handling. To order this pattern, call 800-336-8373, or visit our website at se wingwithnancy.com/3018 Order item number MP29, "Second Chance T-Shirt Gifts" Credit card orders only. To pay by check or money order, call the number on the screen for details. Visit Nancy's website at NancyZieman.com to see additional episodes, Nancy's blog, and more. Sewing with Nancy, TV's longest-airing sewing and quilting program with Nancy Zieman,

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