What is the strangest project you have ever sewn?

Costumes, garments, and home accessories are just some of the items you might find yourself sewing throughout the years. What is the strangest project you have ever sewn?

Victoria North, senior web producer
Posted on Aug 10th, 2010 in sewing

Comments (20)

psfws1963 writes: psfws1963 writes: I made a pair of pants & jacket out of these throw blankets i purchased at a Kingsoopers tow years ago. It caught my eye because it was sow pretty. It was an olive green. The material was a realy soft fleece. I touck it home and i begain to cut it, and as i was cutting i noticed that the material was shedding all over my clothes and my face. I had to get out my little vaccum cleaner to clean my clothes off and my face, but i finaly finished it all, i finished the pants & jacket.I tried on the pants they fitted me, but the problem was they would shed every time i'd put them on to wear them i'd need to take out the vaccum just to keep them from shedding on me everytime i'd put them on. in the same for the jacket it would shed also. So far that was one of the strangest things i made yet. posted: 11:18 p.m. on 8/16/10.
Posted: 1:19 pm on August 16th

Julietx writes: A friend had the Easter Bunny Photo concession at a mall. She gave me the "skin" of a stuffed toy bunny for a pattern. I used foam rubber cut into "2x2's" to frame out the head. It was soft if the kids punched the rabbit, and cooler than solid sheets of foam rubber.

Later, my friend turned this into something like a mad punk bunny.

Posted: 11:08 pm on August 15th

julijulijuli writes: Many years ago a small company in my area needed a belt made for an assembly line type machine. The material was a very heavy reinforced rubber and measured about 14 inches wide. Thank goodness I only needed to stitch 2 ends together for the belt to make a complete circle. It went on a transport line for slaughtered chickens to move through the plant. It is funny what you will do to get your name out there for further business.
Juli
Posted: 9:51 am on August 14th

MicheleLommasson writes: I love to sew functional collars for my dogs, but the most unusual thing I've sewn lately was an easter bonnet for my chihuahua. It was pretty cute. The things grown women will do.
Posted: 6:04 pm on August 12th

artcat writes: I also sewed a turquoise blue Easter bunny costume for a man, and had quite a time getting ears to stay up. But the funniest part of it was that at each home he stopped at to deliver Easter baskets, parents offered him a drink and by the end of his bunny run, we had a difficult time explaining the Easter Bunny's condition to the kids. Kind of a good idea gone awry! But we sure have a lot of laughs over it now.
Posted: 3:27 pm on August 12th

artcat writes: My husband brought home a grass catcher/lawn sweeper with a ragged canvas catcher, and using some heavy canvas he had, I sewed a new grass catcher for the darned thing. Luckily my sewing machine handles such thick fabrics well. I've also sewn assorted tow straps, and other unusual items for him, some that I cannot call to mind just now.
Posted: 3:17 pm on August 12th

KimsIdleHands writes: A friend asked if I could fix the hood for her horse.
Of course I did, I could not refuse, but it was the strangest thing I ever did.
Posted: 11:59 am on August 11th

marhamner writes: The strangest thing I've made (so far) was a black and red velvet cover for a 7-foot bird cage for a local dance company. The "birds" were teen-aged dancers who were unveiled as the cover was removed at the beginning of the act.
Posted: 10:50 am on August 11th

sewold writes: I made a turkey costume to be used in a parade. I was working for a turkey farm at the time. To hold the tail erect, I sewed in channels and cut wooden yardsticks to fit. The costume was complete with large yellow "feet" to fit over shoes. Also complete with hood shaped head cover.
Posted: 9:17 am on August 11th

RobinCT writes: Many years ago when I lived in Southern California I had two male friends who were into riding motorcyles. The one who did hot have a car had a girlfriend that he wanted to visit in Albuquerque, New Mexico 812+ miles away. They both decided to share this adventure by riding their motorcylces to New Mexico but needed something to carry their gear. They had me design and make two bags to fit in front of them on top of the gas tank of the motorcyle. I used nylon ripstop (with some heavy lining) along with a lot of nylon strapping, some elastic and side locks (like buckles that snap together). They made the trip and the bags worked well for them. I made a small repair or two when they returned but I think that was the last long trip either of them made by motorcycle.
Posted: 7:45 am on August 11th

SewingWithKathy writes: My husband thinks I can sew anything, so once he commissioned a job for me, then told me! To make a long story short, and a few windows, zippers and huge snaps later I completed a new tent to replace a worn out tent attached to a camping tent trailer.
Posted: 11:26 pm on August 10th

GrammieR writes: My mahjongg ladies asked me to make a "pusher" bag for our weekly games. We each have a mahjongg set and pass the pushers around to the next hostess. I made the bag with colorful fabric and a ribbon handle and it is a big hit. Everyone loves it and even have listed it on ebay.com so that others can have the same convenience that we do.
Posted: 10:54 pm on August 10th

aislinnluv writes: I was asked to make a costumefor a team race, a caterpillar costume made of ripstop nylon, in the colors of the Texas flag. It had to fit 6 people, with a head hole for each one. Apparently, it made the cover of Runner's World Magazine for the month of April in that year (I don't remember which year).
Posted: 10:51 pm on August 10th

AmCam writes: Oh man! I was asked to make a maid of honor dress for a friend of mine. Out of traffic cone orange satin!!!! The bride didn't know what length she wanted, so we started out full length and ended up at about tea length. While I was working on it, I nick named it "The Scary Orange dress" I swear it glowed! Funnier, is that, out of the scraps, I was able to make the MOH's boyfriend a very nice vest. When she put it on, it was not as scary as it was on the hanger... Thank goodness.

I've also constructed glare curtains for our local airport's x-ray machines. (I worked for TSA for a while) And,a carry bag for a flag-- also while working for TSA. I've made a "one of a kind" guitar bag for my younger son, and seriously doubt that anyone else would ask for the green stripe that he chose for it to be made out of.

I'm still waiting for that REALLY strange request!
Posted: 10:39 pm on August 10th

Leezy writes: It was a dog-coat sort of affair. Waterproof packcloth on the top layer, thinsulate inside for warmth, and inner layer of soft material for comfort. A careful pattern to fit just right to the animal and lots of straps to keep it snug.
All this for a coddled barnyard sheep! Aye yi yi!!
Posted: 10:33 pm on August 10th

karoljean writes: The only really strange thing about this is that I was hired to sew window treatments for a designer, but the first project he had me make was a cover for a boat! I had never made one before and it was quite a job to create a pattern and get it done in the time frame in which he had promised the client.
Posted: 10:03 pm on August 10th

nobodysgrandma writes: When my son was in the second grade, he decided he wanted to be Groucho Marx! I made him a black polyester coat with tails by modifying a pattern for a boy's dress jacket. I salvaged enough black wool flannel from an old maternity tent dress to make dress pants, adding pleats in front and buttons inside the waistband for suspenders. He had a white dress shirt, and with one of Dad's black bow ties, a pair of big-nose glasses and fiber eyebrows, I finished at 2 AM on October 31. Pacing back and forth, Groucho brought the house down. I had three sons to costume--no daughters, so these were as close as I ever came to sewing for my brood.
Posted: 8:06 pm on August 10th

Pasg writes: I have made some very unusual items in my career as a prototype designer for commercial companies, but my absolute favorite weird item was a Faberge Egg dog/cat bed. Shaped like an egg, covered in Blue velvet, and covered in criss cross gold jeweled trimmings, with a hole cut out at one end for your little dog to crawl in, lined in gold panne velvet with a gold velvet pad inside! It was gorgeous.
Posted: 7:50 pm on August 10th

DebbieBarry writes: A pufferfish halloween costume for an adult was my strangest project. Started with a pattern for a baseball/pumpkin and made it out of felt. Then I made narrow, pointy icecream cone shapes and flanged the widest part. Cut holes in the big round costume and inserted cones and glued the flanges on the inside. There were hundreds of spikes all around the costume. The eyes and mouth were carved out of styrofoam and painted and I used something like sheer angels wings for the fins.
Posted: 6:22 pm on August 10th

jgc4130 writes: About twenty years ago when I was playing in a symphony orchestra my bass viol case disintegrated. I thought I was a proficient seamstress and bought all the material and zippers to make a new one. I did manage to create an acceptable, pretty red case with black leather binding. BUT, it was like trying to create a dress for an elephant. Haven't tried it since.
Posted: 5:32 pm on August 10th

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