Oh Sew That Mercedes

For a long time now I have been wanting to become more organised in my scrap busting but other things have always got in the way. Well, an opportunity arose so all other plans were thrown back on to the “to do” pile.

I have always thought that the best way to develop your scrap busting skills was by using a tried and tested staples pattern. Well, as someone who is easily sidetracked, I didn’t have a tried and tested staples pattern, so my first job was to sort one out. I decided to go simple, which would make things easier later down the line (you will understand when you get to level 7) and bought the I Am Gaïa pattern. This is a simple no dart, v neck, no sleeve tank pattern with an interesting shoulder strap detail. I also liked the shape of the arm scye and neck at the back. So pattern was purchased and the first thing to do was toile.

The first toile, after a couple of adjustments was an ok fit, but it was obvious by the drag lines and the way the top hung that I was going to have to add a bust dart and I did this by doing a full bust adjustment.

I was very happy with the second toile and with my pattern ready I had a rummage through my off cuts and scraps and selected my fabric for LEVEL 1

Level 1 scrap busting – you have enough fabric to cut out the whole garment without any issues.

For the first garment after the toile I always follow the instructions to the letter, you never know what gem of a technique you are going to find. This was a simple make and I was very happy with how it turned out. Before I went on to level 2 I did a quick assessment of the fit and made some modifications to the pattern. I also had a think about the construction method to see if there was anything I would change. I decided for the next one to leave as is.

Level 2 scrap busting – you are just short of having enough fabric to cut out the whole garment so some seams may be narrower and things like pattern placement are out the window.

I think the second garment was also a success, though I have a daisy front and centre of my boob as there was not enough fabric to consider pattern placement. Also some of the side seams ended up without any seam allowance so are slightly off, but I doubt it will be noticeable. Once again I did a quick assessment of the fit and made another tweak and I also played with the position of the strap tube and decided I actually preferred them higher than suggested in the pattern. On to level 3.

Level 3 scrap busting – you have enough largish pieces of one fabric to cut out the whole garment but you will need to simply piece them together first.

Level 3 garments are when things start to get interesting as you need to do some simple piecing to create enough fabric to cut out your pattern. Simple piecing is just joining larger pieces together on grain horizontally. I spent some time playing with the pieces I had to achieve what I felt was the best aesthetic. Just to make things easier I concentrated on the front and just let the back do its thing. Another quick assessment of the fit and yet another tweak and I also decided not to do the neck facing and instead just bound the neck with bias tape, the same method as the armholes and to also leave the strap tubes off. Now level 4.

Level 4 scrap busting – you have to use two different fabrics to cut out the garment but the pieces are large enough to be simple pieced.

Choosing two pieces of fabric that I felt worked well together was a bit tricky. Also I had to consider the types of fabric I was going to use. In the end I was very pleased with this linen and cotton combo. I was happy that there were no more tweaks needed so after making this top I created a new single layer pattern ie, no need to cut on the fold, which will make piecing easier from now on.

Level 5 scrap busting – you have enough of one fabric but you have to piece smaller bits to create enough fabric to cut out the pattern.

This took a little more thought but was made a lot easier by having the single layers patterns to lay the fabric over to decide which bit went best where. The piecing is still simple, horizontal and vertical with maybe one or two bits being slightly off grain, and though some pieces are smallish most pieces are large enough to keep seams to a minimum.

Level 6 scrap busting – you have to piece smaller bits from two different fabrics to create enough for the fabric to cut out the garment.

Once again choosing two fabrics that I thought were aesthetically pleasing was a bit difficult but I think these two worked. I did cut the patterned fabric to make the layout I wanted but as the fabrics were of similar weight piecing them together in this way did not cause any issues.

Level 7 scrap busting – multiple fabrics and complicated piecing is needed to create enough fabric to cut out the garment.

Starting a level 7 scrap busting garment can be a bit of a mind blower, especially if you have accumulated a lot of scrap fabric. You may find one piece that really excites you and use that as your starting point to look for other pieces that will either go with it or make it stand out more in its gloriousness. I ended up making two level 7 Gaïas to show two different piecing approaches but with the combinations of fabric and colour themes along with piecing methods, the options are huge.

I started with my normal logical, curated style. I had some broderie anglaise that I liked and decided to stick with a white theme and used the lines of the broderie anglais to dictate my piecing. Even though I try to have a good idea of what will go where before I start, Level 7 is definitely a make it up as you go along level as ideas of how things could work together change as pieces are added. This was not my original idea but I love what it morphed in to.

For my second level 7 garment I continued with a theme but completely left my ordered and logical brain locked up somewhere by going for piecing mayhem.

The theme was floral, so if it had a flower on it or it looked like it could be a flower it was in. I have also pieced everything to try and get the most of the fabric size wise. So the grain is here there and absolutely everywhere. And do you know what? I love it and I don’t think the random piecing has caused any real issues with the drape and movement.

I hope you have enjoyed my introduction to the levels of scrap busting, it was certainly fun making all the garments. In part 2 I will explain the piecing techniques I used to create the fabric and some other ideas so you can try some Scrap Busting yourself. I will also be introduce you to the Level 7* and the even more convoluted Level 8.

Thank you for reading x