Come Take a Class With Me...Georgia Top

On June 11th I'll be teaching a Georgia Top class at Fabricland in Orange, CA.  I would love to see you there and have a chance to sew with you.  

If you’re new to sewing with knits or want to brush up on your knit skills, this class is for you.  In this class you will make the dolman sleeve Georgia Top PDF pattern and learn how to:

• Choose the right knit fabric for a project.
• Use and put together a PDF pattern.
• Sew knits without a serger.
• Choose the right needle and notions for knits.
• Use a twin needle.

And best of all, you’ll have a new top to add to your wardrobe and a pattern you can use over and over!

Saturday June 11 from 12:30 - 4:30

Class Fee: $45

Class fee includes PDF pattern.  Bring basic sewing notions and machine (optional - we have machines available for use free of charge during class.)

Class supplies:  Fabric for top (see pattern for yardage), thread to match.

Please email me if you're interested or call Fabricland to sign up: (714)974-1214.

I look forward to seeing you!

Dover Jacket Sew-Along #3 - 8 Things Every Sewer Should Know

It's day #3 of the Dover Jacket Sew-Along and we are taking our jacket to the machine today as we construct the body of our garment.  We will learn how to make even gathers, the importance of clipping and understitching (what is it?)

Pull out the instructions for View B, we are taking this one step at a time.  Keep in mind, all seam allowances are 1/2" and I am using a serger to finish my seams.  Pick whatever seam finish works best for you.

To begin, staystitch the neckline of the fronts, back and sleeves using a regular straight stitch at the 1/2" seam line:

Sewing Skill #3 - Gathering

On both fronts and on the back, make two rows of stitching between the notches.  Use long stitch length (a 4 or 5 on most machines) and stitch 1/2" from raw edge and again 3/8" from raw edge.  Leave the thread tails long.

With right sides together, pin the upper front to the front, pinning at edges and notches only.  Don't add any other pins at this point (don't worry that the raw edges don't match up).  Grab two thread tails (from the long stitches you made earlier) and gently pull them so the fabric gathers up to fit along the upper front.

At both notches, anchor the threads by wrapping in a figure 8 shape around the pin (this will keep your gathers from "falling off"). Now that your stitches are anchored, you can move the fabric along the threads to make them even. Pin every 1" along gathers.

Stitch in place.

Repeat for other front and back.  Press seams up.

With right sides together, stitch front to sleeves at armholes seams.  Repeat for back.  Press seams toward sleeve.

To make sleeve dart, put dart legs right sides together and stitch in place, sewing all the way to the point of the dart.  Press darts toward the back (using a pressing ham will help when pressing the dart).

With right sides together, stitch front to back at sides, from the end of the sleeve to the jacket hem.  Press seams toward the back.

Your jacket is already looking like a jacket, right?

With right sides together, stitch front facing to back facing at neck seams.

Pin facing to jacket, right sides together.  Stitch in place, pivoting at the top of the neck.

Sewing Skill #4 - Clipping

Clipping is another one of the those skills sewers want to skip but seriously folks, there is no other way to make a curve lie flat.  So whenever you have a curve, take the end of your scissors and cut through the seam allowance (clip) to the stitching line but not through the stitch.  The tighter the curve, the closer together your clips need to be.

On your jacket, trim the seam allowance to 3/8" and clip the corners off at the top of the neck at your pivot.

Clip along the neckline edge about every 1".  Flip facing to the inside.

Is it lying flat around the curve?  If not, you may need a few more clips.  Press the facing in place.

Enjoy your handiwork, it's looking' good!

Sewing Skill #5 - Understitching

Now I know plenty of people that have been sewing for years and have never understitched. It's one of those skills that can change a garment from looking homemade to professional and it's really simple.

An understitch is a line of stitching close to the neckline edge on the facing.  It makes a facing want to lie flat. I don't know the physics of it but I know it works.

To understitch, make a line of stitching 1/8" from the neckline edge through the facing and all seam allowances but leaving the jacket front free.  I use a ditch foot to help me stay straight but you can use a regular machine foot.

On the Dover Jacket, understitch from the hem of the jacket as far up the front as possible (you can't stitch all the way because of the corner), continue around the neckline as far as possible and finish up stitching from the neck down to the hem.

Flip your facing back and see how beautiful it is.  You can use this technique around necklines, at waistbands and near linings.  I find most of my projects have an area that would benefit from understitching.

We are powering through this Sew-Along and we will finish it up in our next installment.  Dover Day #4 is February 23.  Keep asking questions!  I'm happy to help.

Thanks for sewing along!

Dover Jacket Sew-Along #1 - 8 Things Every Sewer Should Know

Welcome to the Blue Dot Patterns Dover Jacket Sew-Along!  Today is part #1 of a 4 part series.  Today we will be talking about selecting fabrics, gathering supplies and choosing pattern size.

Fabrics:

Well, for me this is usually the best part!  The Dover Jacket is pretty versatile therefore you are able to use a myriad of different fabrics (maybe even something from your stash, which is always a good thing!)  The recommended fabrics include: ponte knit (my fabric of choice for the sew along), raw silk, linen, lightweight wool, quilting weight cotton, and light to medium weight denim.  Check out my Dover Sew-Along Pinterest board for lots of other options.  For View B you will need 2 1/3 yards of 45" fabric OR 1 5/8 yards of 60" fabric.

Solid or almost solid fabrics would work really well if you want to focus on the topstitching.  Here's a dot denim and an ivory ponte knit from Finch Fabrics that would be great for topstitching:

These linens from Fabrics Store would be perfect for spring paired with some really great buttons:

Fabricworm quilting cottons would sew up well for a fun jacket.  And aren't we always looking for a reason to use these print fabrics?

Notions:

 We will be making The Dover Jacket View B so we will need: 

  

1 yard of fusible interfacing

Three 1" buttons

Thread to match or contrast (depending on if you do a contrast topstitch)

The interfacing will be used on the jacket facing and the hem.  Iron-on or fusible interfacing works well.  I typically choose a knit interfacing because it adds stability while keeping the drape of the fabric.  Pellon type interfacings work on stable wovens but be sure to keep them lighter weight than the fabric itself.

On my jacket I used 1" denim covered buttons from my stash.  There are only 2 because that's all I had and they looked so great (and I've been dying to use them) I couldn't resist.  It's my sewing party so I can can make some changes, right?   This is the perfect time to use those funky buttons you love but can't seem to find a project for.

Pattern Size:

The back of the pattern lists both body measurements and finished garment measurements.  To choose the correct size for you, measure your bust at it's fullest point and compare it to the body measurements chart.  This is the size you should choose.  If you are in between sizes, size up.  When you compare the body measurements to the finished garment measurements you can see there's 2" of ease built into the bust 9" of ease at the waist.  If you prefer more space in the bust be sure to size up.  After all, this is your jacket.

Okay, collect your PDF pattern, fabric and notions and let's get ready to go!  

Day #2 of the Sew-Along is February 16th and we will begin prepping to sew.  

See you soon!

8 Things Every Sewer Should Know - Join the Dover Jacket Sew-Along!

February is the time when I'm racing to finish up winter projects and at the same time looking ahead to some spring sewing.  It's not quite time for short sleeves but it is a good time to brush up on our skills in preparation for spring projects.  And if you're a new sewer, now's the time to learn some good foundational skills that'll launch you "armed and dangerous" into your new hobby.  So... join us for the Blue Dot Patterns Dover Jacket Sew-Along....8 Things Every Sewer Should Know.

The Dover Jacket View B is a loose fitting, 3/4 length sleeve jacket that is a versatile wardrobe builder.  It goes together quickly and is a great project for the beginning/intermediate sewist.  You will learn 8 basic sewing skills that'll not only make your garments look professional but will also help your garments go together more quickly and easily.  If you are new to garment sewing, this would be a great sew-along for you!

Here's what we are going to learn:

1. Marking fabrics - 3 different techniques
2. Interfacing - why we need it and and what kind we need
3. Gathering - how do I get them even?
4. Clipping - why?
5. Understitching - what is it?
6. Topstitching - "man, this makes things look better"
7. Making Buttonholes - seriously, you can do it
8. Sewing on Buttons by Machine - aren't you relieved it can be done?

Here's the schedule for the sew-along:

February 12 - Day #1: Selecting Fabric, Supplies and Choosing Pattern Size.
February 16 - Day #2: Preparing to Sew: Put Together the PDF, Cutting, Marking and Interfacing.
February 19 - Day #3: Constructing the Body of the Jacket: Gathering, Clipping and Understitching.
February 23 - Day #4: Finishing up: Topstitching, Buttonholes and Sewing on Buttons by Machine.

Here's the Sew-Along Badge if you'd like to add it to your blog:

Okay....let's get ready.  I can't wait to see what you make!

My Super Nerdy Sewing Apron...Don't Judge

So....I know what you're thinking, "Man this chick is a real sewing nerd if she's making a sewing apron."  Now before you start judging I feel I must explain.  As some of you know, I teach sewing to both kids and adults (the best job in the world BTW!) and during class I'm constantly looking for tools.  I'm either rifling through the classroom sewing drawer or borrowing something from a student.   I thought an apron would be a great way to not only save time.

I loosely based the apron on this tutorial from CraftiStacy and made it out of a two sided denim scrap I had left over from an upholstery project.  I've already used it and it's been great!

I've been industrious in my sewing room at home.  I cleaned out my stash cabinet and snapped a photo because I'm sure it won't look this way very long.  The before was pretty bad, don't you think?

Before

After

There's more clean up to come in my sewing room.  I guess the new year has energized me.  I'm going to tackle the pattern hoarding collection next.  Wish me luck!