How to sew with vintage chenille bedspreads

This is my how to sew section, sewing vintage chenille with my singer sewing machine and vintage sewing machine was a challenge at first. Buy your McCall's or Simplicity or any other pattern you want first.

First off, I use a newer type of Singer sewing machine. I actually have two of them and they aren’t even top of the line but a good product. My husband bought my first one from Target for Christmas, the second sewing machine I bought at Wal Mart because I needed one for our other home. I found when you sew chenille clogs up the machines a lot so clean on a regular basis, if you don’t your machine won’t last long. I do have a vintage Singer sewing machine that I use for heavier jobs and it still sews like a pro but doesn’t zig zag. I went through 8 layers of leather with it so you know it will hum through heavy chenille material. I recently went out and bought a Singer serger and that really makes it easier.

How to sew robes" With my robes I use a pattern. The robe with fold over collar is a Simplicity 5931 pattern that comes with sizes to fit xxl to child’s size. The robes with no collar I use a McCall’s Easy stitch ‘n save, pattern 4211. Just follow the directions below before you start cutting.

How to sew jackets: I usually use a McCall’s Easy stitch and save M4639. I adjust it if I want buttons rather than a zipper by cutting extra material where the buttons are. Read below for the layout.

How to sew pj’s (pajamas: These are my favorites and are usually pretty much my own patterns depending on what I have to work with. You can buy a pattern with pants and top if you want and adjust them to what you have. Just be creative in your design. No sewing yet, read below for the layout.

How to sew pet beds: This is all in what you have to work with and experimenting. I don't use a pattern. Buy good quality stuffing that is washable to stuff them with and make them comfortable. Decide what size you want and work from there, the stuffing makes a smaller end product so allow extra material before sewing or you will have a pet bed about a foot too small. I don't know if there is a McCall's pattern or Simplicity pattern out there.

How to sew a grocery cart cover: I made a pattern measuring a grocery cart. It was quite confussing for me and quite time consuming but the end product is well worth it. You might want to buy a pattern if you can find one.

Below is my how to sew directions for laying out the bedspread. __________________________________________________________________

The first step in this "how to sew" is to lay your spread out, not folded like you would material. Mark any imperfections you don’t want included in the finished product with a little piece of masking tape so that you see them and don’t lay the pattern on them. Lay your pattern pieces out on one side where you can get the best of the design in all the right places. Don’t cut yet. Be creative, sometimes I look at a spread for days before I get the pattern in the right spot and feel I can cut it. If you still have a lot of material left that isn’t being used where the pieces are then see what else you can make with the leftovers. A short collarless robe and a pair of matching pj’s is nice. If your project is large and you are only going to have small pieces left save them anyway, you might need them later. They also make good rags for your car and cleaning.

When your sure you have got the most you can out of it, cut out your one side. Reverse the pieces of pattern to do the other side, sometimes I just lay the piece I cut face down on the other side so I don’t make a mistake. It’s to hard to cut two pieces at one time and have the pattern come out the same on both, don’t take shortcuts, been there done that and the end results aren’t nice.

When you have everything cut out sit down at the sewing machine with lots of thread and zig zag all the pieces all the way around unless you used a finished edge of the spread for the bottom. Look at some of my items for sale and you will see that I try to use the edges as much as I can for a really pulled together look. Zig zagging now will save you time in the long run and will also make clean-up a little easier, you don’t loose quite as much chenille on the floor. If you have a serger, disreguard the zig-zag instructions.

If the machine catches up on the rows of chenille don’t pull hard to get them through, lift the foot a little. The really nice plush chenille gets hung up quite a bit and you have the foot up as much as down.

Now your ready to follow the directions in the pattern and sew it together. Another little tip, put the sleeve down when sewing, it usually comes out much better. If you pin your seams together before sewing it will be a little easier to keep the pieces matched, chenille slides and stretches.

A lot of the older spreads are color coordinated and are fun to mix and match so if you have two that go well together don’t be afraid to use them together. I just made a robe for my niece for Christmas and wanted a pair of matching pj’s for her too. There just wasn’t enough spread. The aqua spread I was using had drop dead peach/orange bows and I had a spread the same color as that so I got her clam digger pants out of the other spread and a robe for my other niece by carefully placing the pieces before cutting. Click on the pics and you will see she loved them.

Sometimes it’s better to start with a spread that has an all over pattern and you don’t have to worry about placement quite so much. You can border it with a coordinating plain chenille. I like to cut several items when I’m in the mood and bag them. Later I will grab bags and sew them together and finally see the finished product.

I cut on the floor where I can spread the bedspread out completely. I have a large cutting board I slide around under the fabric and use a rotary cutter. I bought both the items at Wal Mart but they can be obtained in any sewing department. I started with sharp scissors but on my second robe I had blisters that took over a week to heal. You get a nice even cut this way and it looks much better on the inside of the garment. You can also buy new blades for them and they are just like new again. Don’t nick yourself with them though, it leaves blood stains on the chenille, been there, done that too.

I hope my how to section has helped and if I missed something you think I might know, please feel free to email me.

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