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2 New Cover-Ups for My Mom

2 New Cover-Ups for My Mom

What do you do if you have a favorite piece of clothing that you absolutely love… in fact, you love it so much that you wear it until it’s old and worn and then when you go to try to find a replacement, you can’t find a new one anywhere?

Well, if you’re my Mom, you ask your daughter to make you a new one. 🙂

Mom had a cover-up that she’s had for about 10 years now. All spring, summer and into the early fall, when she comes in from mowing the lawn or working in the garden, she showers and then puts on her cover-up to wear around the house. After all those years of use, hers had gotten to the stage where it had worn thin in places and it needed to be replaced. The problem was that she couldn’t find one like the one she had.

Earlier this year, she called me and asked if I would make her a new one, if she sent me her old one.  As any good daughter would, I said, “Of course!”

Mid February, the package with her old cover-up arrived.

One of the Fabricland locations in London, ON was closing and I was super lucky to find french terry on sale for a great price. I bought enough to make two new cover-ups for her.

It has been years (as in high school Home Ec in the 70s) since I had sewed with knit fabric. I remember making a skirt. But that’s about all I remember.

If you follow me on Pinterest you may have noticed that I’ve been pinning everything I could find about sewing with knits. I even created a Sewing – With Knits board to keep them all organized in one spot.

I had to teach myself how to sew with knits. Youtube and Pinterest to the rescue!

And then the time came along for our move. Packing and unpacking took priority. The cover-up and french terry were packed away with all my other sewing room things and after the move, there it sat along with all the other boxes in my new sewing loft/office.

But spring will be turning to summer next week, so I had to get those cover-ups done so I could send them to her.

First, I carefully unpicked the seams of her old one, taking note of the order in which it had been sewn together, the seam allowance used, size of the neck and armhole bindings, etc.

Mom's Old Cover-up Taken Apart

Then I used those pieces to make a pattern.

Pattern Pattern for Mom's New Cover-Up

And here are her 2 new cover-ups:

Mom's New French Terry Cover-ups

I finished them last night. Once I find the right sized box, they can go out in the mail on Monday!

I learned a lot about sewing with knits while making these and I’ll be sharing some tips and tricks with you soon.

I got to thinking as well… since Mom had such a difficult time finding what is essentially a very simple shift type dress/cover-up, would anyone be interested in a pattern?

Let me know in the comments or shoot me an email and if there’s enough interest, I’ll start working on putting a pattern together.

 

 

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12 Comments

  • wilma
    July 5, 2016 11:36 am

    Hi Sue
    I am super excited with your success of making a cover up for your mom from her original measurements. I have never worked with knits at all before. With your super instructions I am sure we will find success too.
    Thank you for sharing this and much more with us. I just love your work and continue to inspire from every project of yours.
    wilma

  • CathieJ
    June 26, 2016 12:42 pm

    Those look great!

  • Ruth
    June 20, 2016 7:58 pm

    That coverup is just the thing to wear around the house on hot days like today. I, too, would like the pattern if you made one. Thank you.

  • margaret
    June 19, 2016 9:13 am

    i would like the pattern to me this into a slip.

  • Heather
    June 19, 2016 1:25 am

    Nice job! I would love to see a pattern if you make one! Thanks for putting the question out there.

  • Guida
    June 18, 2016 11:30 pm

    You did a great job, I had never heard of a cover up, so now I know. Thought at first it was an apron, but this is a much better idea. Thanks for sharing. Guida.

  • Linda “Cookie” Lawrence
    June 18, 2016 10:03 pm

    What a sweet daughter you are. I also would be interested in a pattern. As Ellee mentioned, I also wear oversize t-shirts around the house. I think a cover-up would be nicer also. Thanks!!

  • Kathleen
    June 18, 2016 9:29 pm

    Wow, you sound just like me!! Learned to sew clothing in the 70s in Home Ec. Was never afraid of sewing with knits. Now I do more quilting than clothing construction and would have the same need to relearn sewing with knits. I do remember my sewing machine at the time had a neat stretch stitch that seemed to go two or three stitches forward and one back, something like that, and it took a long time to make a seam. But they never popped! And I too would welcome a pattern like this. In fact it looks exactly like a dress I currently have which is made of a fabric almost like a sweatshirt. Except I think mine has a slit up the back. I prefer the side slit.

  • Ellee
    June 18, 2016 9:06 pm

    How thoughtful of you to do this for your mom. My mom was a homemaker who always wore house dresses when she was home. Some were pullover, some buttoned up the front, and some zipped up the front. She was a newlywed during the Depression and had to be careful with every penny. She always wore an apron over her good clothes to protect them or a house dress when she didn’t have company visiting. She also had me change into play clothes after school so my school clothes would stay cleaner and last longer. I wish I had remembered to do that with my children. I would welcome a house dress/cover-up pattern if you make one up. I’ve been wearing oversize t-shirts around the house and a cover-up would be nicer.

  • Mary Anne
    June 18, 2016 6:48 pm

    Your mom is indeed lucky to have a daughter who sews. I’ve often wished, when I find a perfect garment, that I had the presence of mind to buy several and put them away for the inevitable day when the first one wears out.

  • Mary
    June 18, 2016 6:13 pm

    What a wonderful daughter you are! I’m sure she is thrilled.

  • Rachel
    June 18, 2016 5:27 pm

    I’m not surprised she couldn’t find anything she liked – she clearly goes for simple and classic, which isn’t trendy at present!

Comments are closed.