A Yard And Change

Do you have a fabric that you love and has been hanging around but is too small to use? Maybe you found a wonderful fabric with a super cute print but there's only a yard left.  I've got a few projects I worked on all with roughly a yard of fabric. And I have a few tips for making that yard and change go further!

Cutting Layout:

You can get a lot more mileage out of a yard of fabric if you can get creative with how you lay out your fabric. Cutting things single layer will give you the most control. My favorite thing to do is unfold the fabric and fold the selvages in to meet in the middle. That gives me two folded edges to work with. I had to overlap these to get enough width for the tank top. Just make sure that your pattern pieces don't also overlap! 

This one was especially fun for me because I really loved the print on this swimwear knit but am not yet up to sewing swimwear. But a nice flowy hiking tank is perfect for this! In the future I'd love to experiment with adding a shelf bra too. Maybe by using a neck facing, bringing it below my bust, and adding elastic to the bottom?

Pattern Hacks:

Originally I wanted to do a Fringe Dress with this striped hemp/organic cotton chambray shirting. No amount of tetrising the pattern pieces would make that happen. But what if I used just the top of the pattern? To hack the dress into a blouse you'll want to widen the side seam by 1/2"-1" and drop the hem, straightening out the bottom of the front bodice piece. I dropped mine by about 5". Very important. Make sure you're adding length to the correct side of all pattern pieces.

 

Oops. 

I also rotated the sleeve and cut it on the crossgrain. Oh, and you can ignore the darts.
Then, and this step is not necessary but somehow incredibly crucial, spend several minutes staring at different buttons you could use for this. Find a loved one. Make them also consider the buttons.

 

Pattern hacking this way both helps get extra mileage out of a pattern, and can use up smaller pieces of loved fabrics. Don't have enough fabric for that top? Change up the sleeve! Maybe crop it? Omit the buttons! Chop a pants pattern for shorts. Use the bottom of a dress pattern for a skirt. Swap an a-line skirt for a gathered one. Just go for it!

Finding the Joy In Simplicity:

I knew I wanted to make something from this cotton/silk voile the second I saw it. Originally I was picturing button up with a ruffled detail on the button packet, and a ruffled neckline and around sleeveless armholes. Frilly and fun! But I only had a yard of it. And, quite frankly, I was scared to sew with such a delicate fabric. So I scaled back!

New Look 6511 is one of the first patterns I bought and sewed. The pattern is simple and only needs a yard-ish for most of the variations. The only real change I made here was grabbing a half yard of solid colored voile for a lining, and I used most of my leftover fabric after cutting out the cropped bodices on a gigantic ruffle. 

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This fabric was trickier to sew with. It's super delicate and wanted to snag under the needle. Use a fresh needle, the smallest size you have for the most success here. A "sharp" or microtex needle is ideal, but I used whichever needle was the smallest in my assorted pack. 

I was pleased with how scaling back my original idea for it really allows the print and colors to pop! And I still got the gathered detail the voile was really aching for!

Crafty Side Project:

There is no project that screams "one yard or less" quite like the trusty tote bag. I made two of them during this run. I used them a breaks between projects (and sometimes breaks during. Like after unpicking the bias tape around an armhole on that voile for the second time.)

With a half yard of fabric for the main, a scrap for the pocket, and roughly a yard of webbing, you can really let yourself be free to do whatever comes to you. No pattern, just vibes. For the gingham bag I folded up the bottom edge and sewed it down, taking inspiration from a reusable Target bag I had lying around. And I have a smaller folded edge for the top. As a bonus I grabbed a scrap of crochet floral lace, cut a couple flowers out, and hand stitched it down spilling out of the pocket. For the moon bag I cut out a 1"x1" square from the bottom corners and sewed those together to make the bottom. And it has a much wider top fold. 

I find these smaller projects a nice reset. Especially if you don't want to have to follow directions and do any tedious, precise sewing. It's just a bag. It'll probably come out just fine. Again, just go for it!

KAYLA | @nebulanovem