Tag Archives: bias

Found treasure.

I took the kids for a big walk the other day, it was so nice and unseasonably warm.  It was recycling day and we passed a pile at the curb and Wesley noticed a Little Tykes easel sitting there.  Nothing was wrong with it, other than being covered with paint and crayons, and he started talking about it and walked over to it, and of course he asked if he could have it.  He was so excited about it I figured why not.  I wonder how much useful stuff ends up in landfills? I knocked on the door to ask the people if I could leave it in their driveway and come back for it with the van but no one was home.  So there I was walking home carrying a big bright coloured easel under my arm while pushing a sit and stand stroller with 2 kids in it!

I got it home and cleaned it up and was inspired to make Wesley a smock for all the dirty painting and colouring he’s going to do.  Essentially it’s just a big bib.  However, I did add the challenge of making it reversible (although my husband said if it’s for painting why would you want to reverse it)  and I decided to add an appliqué design.  Here’s the sort of tutorial.

Things I learned:
– Bias on very curvy bits is not fun. In future I’ll just sew right sides together, turn and top stitch. While it looks really nice it cost more and was finicky.
– I should have sewn the ‘back’ pieces to the front piece a the beginning. I did them separately and then had to worry about the bias and edges lining up properly. I also had to cover the hem on the inside.
– The patterned side is already pretty busy. Next time the appliqué should go on the solid side to dress it up a bit.
– Despite all that, I’m pretty awesome.