Great things are often invented from having some type of major dilemma. My last venture was learning to design fabric on Spoonflower. I have almost 150 fabric designs in my Spoonflower shop and the best part is you can have them printed on any fabric.

To sell your fabric designs on Spoonflower you have to buy samples. I have figured out if I buy one yard of 60″ Silky Faille fabric it is $21.50 and the best bang for my buck if I am only releasing a few fabrics in a collection.  I ordered four one yard cuts and then I needed to figure out what to do with them. So far I have designed four garments that can be made with little waste out of one yard. Here is the easiest one so far.

I remembered a simple garment I made in 2009 that was in Make Magazine called the Turkish Top. It was a very simple, almost scarf or handkerchief style, shirt. I simply hemmed around the edges and then topstitched down the side. That was it!

Fold your fabric in half and make sure the 60″ width is the length. Then cut out a hole for the neck. I know I say this a lot because it is important, but don’t cut out your neckline too large. You can also use another shirt as a template.

I used my rolled foot to get that barely there look. Remember, this foot can be tricky. You have a lot of other options also. You can serge and leave it like that or serge and topstitch down. You can also make your own baby hemline. If you buy a stretch knit that doesn’t fray you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want too.

You will need to measure your bustline, divide it in half (because there is a front and a back of the shirt) then add about a couple of inches of ease. I added 2″. You will want to draw two straight lines with a marking tool starting about 11″ down from the shoulders. If you are a beginner and do not want to ruin your fabric you can carefully pin on the lines you drew and then tack/baste stitch them first to make sure it fits properly. I ended my stitches a couple of inches before it hit my hips.

Last wear it and don’t forget to tell people you made it!

Behind the scenes~

Summer classes are on the calendar.

Sewing Machine Basics at Rosewood Art Centre in Kettering

Rosewood Art Centre Fashion Camp

Visible Mending at Rosewood in Kettering

Thank you for reading,

Tracy McElfresh

Dream it! Sew it!

Tracy McElfresh
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