A Piece of Paper

I was fiddling tonight with a sheet of plain ole' notebook paper,
cutting out a pattern for a couple of flared dart inserts (gussets in
another langwedge), when I got to thinkin'. (It's a dangerous thing,
thinkin' is.)
What I was thinkin':
How easy it is to make a pattern for some things. Take a pillowcase,
now: you don't need a paper patten, just measure a pillow case, allow
for one side seam, and add a nice turn under for a top casing. Same
thing for a sheet--just copy the one off of your bed--all you have to do
is cut about a 5 inch square out of each corner, then bring the corners
together and sew them, add elastic, Walla!
Free pattern: Want a shopping sack? Take a brown grocery bag apart and
copy it, adding handles.
Fabric gift bags are dead easy; just cut to size, making them like an
oversized manila envelope sans foldover end, or fancy it up with side
gussets so it will hold a cardboard gift box.
If you are going to complicate things a little bit more, though:
A purse: take one sheet of 8 & 1/2 X 11 notebook paper, and cut out two
pieces of fabric for the sides of your purse. Cut two pieces of lining,
if you want to gussey it up a bit and line it. For the purse ends, slash
the 8 & 1/2 X 11 notebook paper in half, and use it as the pattern for
the purse ends (and lining.) Fold or pleat the fabric end pieces if you
like.
Make a strap the length and width you prefer, and sandwich it between
the purse fabric and the lining, then sew. Or use a length of fancy
cording as a strap.
Strange how freeing an exercise like this can be. If I was into fancy
handles, I'd say "Free Your Inner Designer! Be ALL That You Can Be!"
What piece of paper (no printed patterns,you silly thing!) have you
used as an impromptu pattern, and what did you create?
Cea

From:

...... What piece of paper (no printed patterns,you silly thing!) have you
used as an impromptu pattern, and what did you create?

I think the strangest thing I have ever made a pattern for is an ostomy
bag! My DSis (who crossed the Rainbow Bridge a number of years ago) had
bladder cancer and had to have a urostomy -- removal of the bladder. As a
result she had to wear a urinary ostomy bag. The bags were made of plastic and
were worn right against her skin and she would break out something fierce from
the plastic.
I took one of her new bags and used it to make a pattern for making cotton
covers for the bag. It was quite a challenge as they had to be thin enough
that they weren't bulky under her clothes yet be sturdy enough that they could
be laundered and bleached regularly. They also had to be made so that they
*stayed* on the bag but were easy to put on and take off! The cover had to be
changed daily but not the ostomy bag. This meant she had to be able to get
those little fabric covers onto the bag that was stuck to her skin about 3"
below her waist on her left side. Truly a challenge!!
I ended up making them out of 100% cotton knit that was a *very* good
quality. They had sort of an envelope opening and were just sewn together on
the serger. DSis has been gone almost 8 years now but I still have that paper
pattern! CiaoMeow ^;;^
..
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!

wrote:

I was fiddling tonight with a sheet of plain ole' notebook paper,
cutting out a pattern for a couple of flared dart inserts (gussets in
another langwedge), when I got to thinkin'. (It's a dangerous thing,
thinkin' is.)

snipped Cea's thinkin's

What piece of paper (no printed patterns,you silly thing!) have you
used as an impromptu pattern, and what did you create?
Cea

Ooo! Lovely thread idea, Cea! I"ve just recently sketched out a pattern for a
baby doll for my DGN. I haven't *made* the doll entirely because the body was
wrong and needs re-doing, but the hard part, the head, is fine and looks pretty
realistic as far as a cloth doll head can. I just imagined a baby curled up in a
crib and began sketching until the body parts looked about right. I got the
proportions of the head and the arms right, but the body was 'way too big so I
cut it down a bit. LOL! Well, more than a bit! So now the body is too small and
I'll have to do it again. Anyway, I used plain old photocopy paper for my
pattern-making and it worked just fine!

I hardly ever use tissue for patterns. If I need to trace something, I've
learned that plastic supermarket bags (we call them 'singlet bags' here in Oz)
are perfect and I feel Oh-So-Virtuous for recycling the plastic. I just cut the
bags apart, spread them flat and then sit on them for five minutes to take the
wrinkles out. (Don't laugh! I'm serious!) If I need big pieces (say, for a pants
pattern), then I just sticky tape the bits together very roughly. It's all very
easy! A permanent marker is perfect for marking on the plastic and I find
there's no really great implement for marking on tracing interfacing so...

The other thing I've used a great deal for tracing is book-covering plastic.
Only, I used that for transferring tooling patterns onto damp calf leather and I
don't think that's quite what you were getting at (LOL!)

--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

PS. I did exactly what I threatened to do and bought a dear little soft-bodied
doll for $5. DGN can have the cloth dolly for her birthday later on! Too much
stuff to do and too little time!

a écrit dans le message de news:
...

I was fiddling tonight with a sheet of plain ole' notebook paper,
cutting out a pattern for a couple of flared dart inserts (gussets in
another langwedge), when I got to thinkin'. (It's a dangerous thing,
thinkin' is.)
What I was thinkin':
How easy it is to make a pattern for some things. Take a pillowcase,
now: you don't need a paper patten, just measure a pillow case, allow
for one side seam, and add a nice turn under for a top casing. Same
thing for a sheet--just copy the one off of your bed--all you have to do
is cut about a 5 inch square out of each corner, then bring the corners
together and sew them, add elastic, Walla!
Free pattern: Want a shopping sack? Take a brown grocery bag apart and
copy it, adding handles.
Fabric gift bags are dead easy; just cut to size, making them like an
oversized manila envelope sans foldover end, or fancy it up with side
gussets so it will hold a cardboard gift box.
If you are going to complicate things a little bit more, though:
A purse: take one sheet of 8 & 1/2 X 11 notebook paper, and cut out two
pieces of fabric for the sides of your purse. Cut two pieces of lining,
if you want to gussey it up a bit and line it. For the purse ends, slash
the 8 & 1/2 X 11 notebook paper in half, and use it as the pattern for
the purse ends (and lining.) Fold or pleat the fabric end pieces if you
like.
Make a strap the length and width you prefer, and sandwich it between
the purse fabric and the lining, then sew. Or use a length of fancy
cording as a strap.
Strange how freeing an exercise like this can be. If I was into fancy
handles, I'd say "Free Your Inner Designer! Be ALL That You Can Be!"
What piece of paper (no printed patterns,you silly thing!) have you
used as an impromptu pattern, and what did you create?
Cea
.

I am with you on this although I use old newspaper and free catalogues that
come with the post. Go to make use of all that junk mail some how.
My latest paper pattern was the alien bug for Halloween, which started out
as my sons t-shirt laid down on the paper cut around, added on seam
allowance, then I measured him for the length from t shirt to floor and
swung the measuring tape out to make an angle so that the finished robe
would flare!! et voila. Sleeves also were cut out of this weeks special
offers from the supermarket!
Also made his brothers Death costume in the same way started with a t-shirt
laid down on news paper and went from there.
Love working this way, you can always cut the pattern again and youre hardly
wasting the paper it was going to the recycling bin anyway.
Of course all these precious patterns then get their own plastic wallet and
become filed and loved as much as the expensive " real things"
Claire
link for the bug http://claireowenperso.free.fr click on Halloween

wrote:

Free pattern: Want a shopping sack? Take a brown grocery bag apart and
copy it, adding handles.

Better yet, take a plastic grocery bag and copy it. It makes a
perfect-sized tote bag to carry practically everything, you can make the
handles a bit wider and a bit longer so they won't hurt your hands and
can be carried on your arm, and they will never split before you get the
groceries home.

I made these for Christmas presents for almost everybody one year.

--
I know God will not give me anything I can't handle.
I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. - Mother Teresa

wrote:

I was fiddling tonight with a sheet of plain ole' notebook paper,
cutting out a pattern for a couple of flared dart inserts (gussets in
another langwedge), when I got to thinkin'. (It's a dangerous thing,
thinkin' is.)
What I was thinkin':
How easy it is to make a pattern for some things. Take a pillowcase,
now: you don't need a paper patten, just measure a pillow case, allow
for one side seam, and add a nice turn under for a top casing. Same
thing for a sheet--just copy the one off of your bed--all you have to do
is cut about a 5 inch square out of each corner, then bring the corners
together and sew them, add elastic, Walla!
Free pattern: Want a shopping sack? Take a brown grocery bag apart and
copy it, adding handles.
Fabric gift bags are dead easy; just cut to size, making them like an
oversized manila envelope sans foldover end, or fancy it up with side
gussets so it will hold a cardboard gift box.
If you are going to complicate things a little bit more, though:
A purse: take one sheet of 8 & 1/2 X 11 notebook paper, and cut out two
pieces of fabric for the sides of your purse. Cut two pieces of lining,
if you want to gussey it up a bit and line it. For the purse ends, slash
the 8 & 1/2 X 11 notebook paper in half, and use it as the pattern for
the purse ends (and lining.) Fold or pleat the fabric end pieces if you
like.
Make a strap the length and width you prefer, and sandwich it between
the purse fabric and the lining, then sew. Or use a length of fancy
cording as a strap.
Strange how freeing an exercise like this can be. If I was into fancy
handles, I'd say "Free Your Inner Designer! Be ALL That You Can Be!"
What piece of paper (no printed patterns,you silly thing!) have you
used as an impromptu pattern, and what did you create?
Cea


No paper, no pencils, but I make all my grocery tote
sacks. Some from striped canvas remnants, some from plain
that I stenciled stuff on. I just lay out the canvas so
that there is no seam in the bottom of the bag, I cut off
the selvages widely enough to make handles (I like them a
little long in case I want to put a bag on my shoulder)
and sew side seams, a miter in each corner of the bottom,
and stitch the handles on very securely. My store pays me
five cents a bag each time I use them, so they have
actually made me money over the past few years. I've
picked up some nice canvas and other heavy cottons, and
it's about time for a new set. The only problem with
them is that they don't "stand up" for filling.

Another thing that's easy to make is little cases for cell
phones, eyeglasses, cigarettes, anything small that you
would like a little protection for. The item itself is
the pattern. Just be sure to allow enough for seams and
sides. Book covers are good. You can include a book
marking ribbon, and even handles.
--

Joanne
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/
Life is about the journey, not about the destination.

Interesting thread, Cea!

I've made a newspaper pattern for seat covers for my 1970s kitchen chairs, and
I'm still using that same pattern. The last time I made covers was a year or so
ago, which was probably the 10th time. However, a couple times ago I
transferred the pattern to vinyl. I've also used the vinyl to make other
patterns. Handy stuff, and see-through.

We have a window seat in our family room that was apparently added by a former
owner, and it didn't have any insulation underneath. I made a newspaper pattern
to cut foam slabs to affix under it, outside, then later made a second pattern
to cut a foam slab to make a cushion on the inside.

When I was decorating the "baby's" room (who is now 16), I wanted to make a
cover for the lampshade so it would match the room better, so I rolled it
around on newspaper, and traced off the shade. We're still using that cover,
and I've made others since the same way. I just added a seam allowance, plus a
scant 1/4" to the top and bottom, which were both trimmed in gathered lace. So
cute, and so easy.

Can't think of anything else just now, but I'm sure there have been lots of
others.
Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

From: pamless (SewStorm)

.... When I was decorating the "baby's" room .........

Heaven's, I totally forgot about stuff like this! I did all the decorative
stuff for my grandbaby who was born in May. We bought DD a rocking chair to
keep in the baby's room and I used newspaper to make the seat and back
cushions. Actually, I made autumn print fabric covers for my kitchen chairs
just last month. didn't even use a pattern -- just "winged" it and drew right
on the back side of the fabric -- LOL! CiaoMeow ^;;^
..


PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!

There are so many things to make without a printed pattern, Bibs for baby,
recieving blankets, Car seat peek-a-boo covers, Bunting bags~~ I do not
recommend unless you know how to make hoods (LOL can you tell I had some
problems?). I am always making stuffed animals, stick a bell in it ( like
on a cats collar) and its a rattle~!

wrote in message
...

I was fiddling tonight with a sheet of plain ole' notebook paper,
cutting out a pattern for a couple of flared dart inserts (gussets in
another langwedge), when I got to thinkin'. (It's a dangerous thing,
thinkin' is.)
What I was thinkin':
How easy it is to make a pattern for some things. Take a pillowcase,
now: you don't need a paper patten, just measure a pillow case, allow
for one side seam, and add a nice turn under for a top casing. Same
thing for a sheet--just copy the one off of your bed--all you have to do
is cut about a 5 inch square out of each corner, then bring the corners
together and sew them, add elastic, Walla!
Free pattern: Want a shopping sack? Take a brown grocery bag apart and
copy it, adding handles.
Fabric gift bags are dead easy; just cut to size, making them like an
oversized manila envelope sans foldover end, or fancy it up with side
gussets so it will hold a cardboard gift box.
If you are going to complicate things a little bit more, though:
A purse: take one sheet of 8 & 1/2 X 11 notebook paper, and cut out two
pieces of fabric for the sides of your purse. Cut two pieces of lining,
if you want to gussey it up a bit and line it. For the purse ends, slash
the 8 & 1/2 X 11 notebook paper in half, and use it as the pattern for
the purse ends (and lining.) Fold or pleat the fabric end pieces if you
like.
Make a strap the length and width you prefer, and sandwich it between
the purse fabric and the lining, then sew. Or use a length of fancy
cording as a strap.
Strange how freeing an exercise like this can be. If I was into fancy
handles, I'd say "Free Your Inner Designer! Be ALL That You Can Be!"
What piece of paper (no printed patterns,you silly thing!) have you
used as an impromptu pattern, and what did you create?
Cea

wrote in message
...


What piece of paper (no printed patterns,you silly thing!) have you
used as an impromptu pattern, and what did you create?
Cea


Great thread!
I'm always ditzing around with paper to make one sort of pattern or another.
The last thing I did was a toilet seat cover. The new toilets have these
over large sort of elongated seat lids that 1: are hard to find covers for,
and 2: are TOO expensive when you do. I used a piece of old wrapping paper
to make a pattern of the lid and then used a rug that matched my others,
traced the shape on the back and serged it with elastic, snap! a matching
lid cover for less than 1/3 of what I would have had to pay.

I've made my shopping bags too, and my store gives me a nickel for each of
my bags used. When I get home I flip the appropriate number of nickels in a
jar.....saving for an around the world cruise The one thing I did to
make the bag easier for the checkers to load was cut a piece of heavy
cardboard (from a TV shipping carton) for each bag, in a square (rectangle?)
to fit in the bottom and then cover those with what was left of an old oil
cloth table cover. I just wrapped them like a tidy package and duct taped
the backs. Slip it down to sit flat in the bottom. This not only makes them
easier to fill they also sit better on the way home and you can just pull it
out and wipe it off when you wash the bags.

Val