Working on the Decor---Part 5

[Backroads4me]

Since we don't use traditional bedding in the teardrop (due to the dogs sleeping with us--- on top of the bedding, at our feet)---we treat the teardrop like a hard sided tent. Over the mattress is a moisture resistant pad, then a heavy denim fitted cover. Over that we placed our two identical sleeping bags, when opened just fit to the sides, and from headboard to feet areas. The sleeping bags are too large and heavy for our home washing machine, and dragging them to the local (wow, have prices gone up!) laundramat is a drag. So I've decided to make a home machine washable duvet cover/comforter combo in place of the top sleeping bag. I'm going to design it so that I can tuck and secure the feet end and sides. I hate how everything bunches up or comes undone when getting in and out of the tear.



I bought a cheap, lightweight, home machine washable, twin size comforter from Shopko that was the same dimensions as the opened up sleeping bag. Decided I would make the
duvet cover for that . Had previously bought some nice super wide, heavy weight and dog resistant, but still easily washable denim on Ebay for a great price (to use on the top). Today, we stopped at Goodwill and found a full size, plaid flannel flat sheet in great conditionfor $3.95 Not sure yet how I'll secure the open end (Velcro, buttons, zipper?)



For those who are thinking, two dogs in a teardrop?---we bring a tote bag with towels, brush, dry shampoo, wipes, etc. so they don't drag in too much dirt. They make great feet warmers when it's cold!

[dreamofcolors]

Looking great! I have a bunch of duvet covers for my at-home bedding, and have made one as well. My favorite closure method is definitely snaps. Velcro is so stiff (and noisy) and I don't like sewing button holes!

[S. Heisley]

That material looks like it will work well. What breeds/sizes are your two dogs, Deb?

I also use a sleeping bag and have thought of making a duvet as I have the same washing issues as you do. I currently have a close-weave afghan on top and the dog sleeps on that and I have a sheet set under the sleeping bag. So, the sleeping bag gets used like a blanket; and, for now, I'm okay with that. But, you're right. Sometimes those sheets get pretty tangled up. Maybe in the future....

[Backroads4me]

Good Morning! Wheeee, I have the next 3 days off, time to work on my projects! First today---the duvet cover. I'll post photos of my progress later today.

Dreamofcolors, I still haven't decided on the closure style. I may possibly just make a foldover flap with inside ties on head and feet ends. Or dots of Velcro.

Sharon, here's my Border Collies, the black and white mix (BC and ?) is Watson, the blue merle is Belle.



Poor Belle, though papered/registered, is always mistaken for an Australian Shepard with a tail! Most folks don't realize that Border Collies come in many different colors and patterns, besides black and white. See: http://www.colliecorner.com/01intro.htm And for the Alexander Bell, assistant Watson theme (in case anyone noticed ?) We got Belle as a teensy puppy and the name just came to me, Watson (who came later) was already named while a humane society refugee, so we kept it. Of course, both dogs were a result of a "let's just go take a look" drive/road trip. Yeah, right.

[S. Heisley]

What cute "puppies"! ...A perfect pair. Thanks for the picture and description!

[Backroads4me]

Boy, oh, boy, I'm one not very happy camper Got my fabrics all cut and ready to sew for my duvet cover, started sewing with my old machine---the one that just came back from the shop with a $171.00 repair/tune up bill---and guess what The very first time I use it, properly set up for tension, new needle, bobbin and only 33 1/2 inches into sewing a hem ---- the top of the machine sounds like a tin can full of rocks and she breaks down. Doing(not doing) as before with the addition of new clacking and other BAD gear grinding/slipping, definitely non-sewing sounds. Mr. Repairman supposedly replaced at least 2 gears, checked everything out and said she was good to go. I don't know how I'll approach this issue yet. Good thing his shop was closed for the day-----gives me a chance to cool down. Anyone have any suggestions or input for me???

I suppose now is the opportune time to unbox, set up and get using the new machine I bought last week. Bought on the internet, after looking at review after review, this new one comes highly rated (especially in the sewing denim category)----and what made the decision for me is a reviewer said she re-sewed the straps and repaired holes on her horse blankets! We'll see. I really wanted to keep doing that kind of stuff on what used to be "Old Reliable" and use the new machine for lighter duty. Oh well.

Meanwhile, I decided to add some useful hooks to the top of my inside cabinet, and came up with a way to display my O. Winston LInk "Solitude Siding" image. Bought the Mobil red flying horse cabinet knobs on Ebay (they match the Mobil sign of the Edward Hopper print at the head of the bed).

Hopefully I'll get the duvet cover finished tomorrow---tonight I'm going to try out the new machine.

[Mary C]

Deb I know your pain, several years ago my machine started messing up and after 3 repair bills my son decided that when he needed to have something repaired I had kept the item just too long so he had a talk with the repair man about the fact he couldn't repair the machine and and that he was scamming me with his "repair" so later that day he came home with my broken machine and a refund of my latest bill, at Christmas I received a new machine. The old machine disappeared. Oh well...........It was 40 years old. My new one now 15 years old runs great. It was very hard at first to make the adjustment but to be honest I wouldn't trade it now.
I made a duvet cover one several years ago, I put a zipper in it and turned it around so it was at the foot. I used New expensive sheets I got on a misc. sale, one side was blue and one side was dark pink or light burgundy. I found the zipper on a plastic sheet cover that was torn. It was amazing how well it turned out. It was for a spare bed used for company but the complements keep coming. I used an inside buttons around the edges every 3 feet and on the corners. It worked out great.
You are doing so great, with your decor. I do understand how it is so time consuming. I hope to see more pictures soon!!

Mary C.

[S. Heisley]

A few years ago, when I had a California King bed, I bought a professionally made duvet, made out of the same material as that huge comforter. It was sewn on 3 &1/2 sides with a zipper at the bottom, centered, and just big enough to get the comforter in and out, when needed. It worked great.

[Backroads4me]

Got the duvet cover done! Since I made the top with a wide fold over flap---I used little dots of Velcro to hold it for now. The sides and end are long enough and seem to stay tucked in pretty good.

Love, love, love the new machine! First thing I did when I finally figured out how to thread it was test it out on denim scraps. It sewed through 8 layers of heavyweight denim like it was slicing through butter. Something else I really like---the little needle threader thingy. It was getting really hard to thread the needle on my old machine with my "short eyeballs". Next project will be making the other screen door---with some modifications from the last one I made. Hoping this Janome will handle the nylon webbing as well as my old Singer. Speaking of Singer, Bob and I are going to visit Mr. Repairman this afternoon---will let you know how I fare.

Top left photo is underside of duvet with denim flap not yet secured. Bottom left---I sewed old nylon shoe strings into inside flap and bottom edge, then sewed hoops on the comforter to tie them to. Right photo---hooray, I'm done! Looks lighter in photo due to flash.

See ya all later!

[S. Heisley]

Yay! And it looks good, too!

...I'm envious of that new sewing machine.

[Backroads4me]

Deb I know your pain, several years ago my machine started messing up and after 3 repair bills my son decided that when he needed to have something repaired I had kept the item just too long so he had a talk with the repair man about the fact he couldn't repair the machine and and that he was scamming me with his "repair" so later that day he came home with my broken machine and a refund of my latest bill, at Christmas I received a new machine. The old machine disappeared. Oh well...........It was 40 years old. My new one now 15 years old runs great. It was very hard at first to make the adjustment but to be honest I wouldn't trade it now.
I made a duvet cover one several years ago, I put a zipper in it and turned it around so it was at the foot. I used New expensive sheets I got on a misc. sale, one side was blue and one side was dark pink or light burgundy. I found the zipper on a plastic sheet cover that was torn. It was amazing how well it turned out. It was for a spare bed used for company but the complements keep coming. I used an inside buttons around the edges every 3 feet and on the corners. It worked out great.
You are doing so great, with your decor. I do understand how it is so time consuming. I hope to see more pictures soon!!

Mary C.

Mary, isn't that something with those recurring repair bills As with automobiles, you don't know whether it's just worn out old age, bad luck or someone taking you for an expensive ride. Took my machine back to Mr. Repairman today, and he appeared genuinely dismayed over it's breaking down again, either that or he was putting on a good show. Left the machine, he's going to look it over and let me know what happened. Told him NOT TO DO ANY MORE WORK ON IT until we can discuss the financial aspects (I'm thinking possible partial refund, etc. of prior work)----hope to hear back in a couple of days.

Your duvet cover sounds lovely.

[Backroads4me]

Yay! And it looks good, too!

...I'm envious of that new sewing machine.

Sharon, thanks for the kind words. Now that I've got this new machine, I can't believe what "ease of sewing" I was missing. While I'll probably never use some of the fancy stitches and options on it, they're kind of nice to have in case I ever get a hankering to do something different. Heck, while there weren't many, there were some on my old machine I never bothered with! While at Mr. Repairman's shop, he showed me some of another brand's machines, with all the bells and whistles (and hefty price tags). No thanks, I just need my basic stitching, zigzagging, hemming and the occasional buttonhole. And of course, the guts and heft to sew lots of denim. I think I made a good choice here.

I bought it on Ebay from an authorized Janome dealer/sewing goods store located in Alabama. This dealer sells on Amazon, Ebay and his store's website. While I normally wouldn't be caught dead buying a higher ticket item on Ebay, this seller has thousands of great feedback ratings. Cost the same, with the same guarantees on all three sites, but I figured if something went wrong, I still had the longer timeline option of doing an Ebay/Paypal dispute.

Paid far less for it than I would have from the Janome dealer 50 miles north of here (who happens to be a factory authorized repair center---No, local Mr. Repairman isn't going to touch this machine!). Came with a bonus $50 gift card for whatever Janome brand goods I wanted---so I got bobbins, needles of different sizes and other small stuff. When I called to make my bonus card selections, the folks I talked to were so friendly and helpful, it just brightened my day! I hope the good Karma keeps flowing!

[Backroads4me]

Almost done with the other roll up door screen. As the first photo shows, I narrowed the frame from the first door's cardboard pattern, which widened and lengthened the new door. Also deleted the curves at the upper inside corners. Second photo shows the pattern for the new size door cut from a new piece of cardboard.

[Backroads4me]

Top photo here shows I"ve cut out the door opening, leaving a double thickness of fabric for the frame. I also cut the fabric door bottom (double thickness). Bottom photo shows the screen has been cut out, and the vinyl door bottom sewn on.

[Backroads4me]

At this point, trim has been sewn on both sides of the junction of fabric door bottom and screen. Trim (lightweight black nylon webbing) applied to both side of frame edges. The two sleeping bag zippers sewn in from the middle of bottom to top. Still have to put the trim on either side of the zipper (on the side of the door showing in photo--zipper has wide nylon so it looks like trim on the other side of door). I held it up to the teardrop and while it seems a bit lumpier? than the first door, it looks like it will be a better fit. Will get more trim to finish it tomorrow and I have to make the tie ups. Will post a photo when completely done.