I needed to make a sample purse for our February 2002 meeting on quick purses, so I used the leftover seminole band pieces to make a purse to match the sweatshirt.

Seminole piecing adapted from " Simply Seminole " by Dorothy Hanisko. The leaf print was a birthday gift in 2000 from my hiking & skiing buddy Annette, of Cedar River Quilters. The other fabrics were chosen to go with it.

Front facing; bias binding over neck seam.  Label reads "ACRG 2001".

Matching purse for the February 2002 meeting of the Wearable Art Study Group of Pacific Northwest Needle Arts Guild

• Construct Seminole bands as shown in " Simply Seminole:  Techniques & Deigns in Quilt Making " by Dorothy Hanisko.  Plan motifs to meet at center front with 1/4" seam allowances between them, so the ends of the points don't get cut off.  Consider shrinking the designs for better scale on a garment, as Amy did on the cuffs ("Medallion/Letter I"), but wished she did for the "Chain" band, and the "Maze/Letter T" band on the front & back.  To retain proportions, subtract seam allowances from given cutting dimensions, divide by 2, then add the seam allowances back in and cut to resulting size.
• Slash sides and underarms. Cut off sleeves & bottom ribbing.
• Stabilize neck edge - On inside of sweatshirt, stitch twill tape around the neckline, just towards the body of the sweatshirt from the ribbing seam (near a row of topstitching).  Cut off ribbing to allow neck area to lie flatter.  Tear off existing back neck facing.
• Fold sweatshirt & mark center front. 
• On inside, apply label to center back, where it won't interfere with any subsequent stitching.
• Stitch & flip Seminole bands & spacer strips to sweatshirt, as for foundation piecing, allowing raw edges to extend a bit beyond neck edge & armholes, and aligning motifs to center front.
• Cut center front facing 2" (5.1 cm) wide by length of center front.
• To secure piecing, and stabilize front opening, stitch close to, and on either side of, center front.
• Neckline - Measure opening along seamline of neck edge.  Cut ribbing (from bottom band) to measurement, tapering ends.  Cut 2" wide bias strip to same measurement +2" (5.1 cm), piecing if necessary.  Fold lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press.
• On outside, with right sides together and ends 5/8" (16 mm) from center front, stitch ribbing to neck edge.  With raw edges together, and ends extending beyond center front, stitch bias to neck edge.
• Slash center front between rows of stitching.  
• Apply zipper according to directions on package. 
• Fold center front facing under 1/4" (6 mm) on long edge; press.  Baste facing in place, sandwiching the zipper tape.
  
• Flip center front facing to inside and press.  Whip stitch center front facing to inside of front.  Whip stitch bias strip over neckline seam, folding in ends over zipper tape.
• Stitch and flip seminole band to lower edge of sleeve, ending up with raw edge of seminole band at lower edge of sleeve.  
• With a serger set for three-thread seaming, stitch sleeves to armholes.  Stitch side seams & underarm seams.  Try on jacket, then cut off excess sleeve so that finished cuff will hit at wrist bone.
• Measure around hand for desired cuff circumference.  Add 1/2" (13 mm) for seam allowances, then cut ribbing to that width, and twice the desired finished length.  Stitch to form a tube.  Fold lengthwise.
• Pin cuff to sweatshirt sleeve, stretching evenly.  Stitch with a serger set for threee-thread seaming.  
• Cut bottom band twice the desired width plus double the seam allowances by the circumference of the garment plus a little extra to fold in at center front.  Fold bottom band in half lengthwise, wrong sides together.  On inside, stitch raw edges of  bottom band to lower edge of sweatshirt.  Flip to outside and press.  Topstitch in place.

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