Batwing Top Tutorial Isn't that such a great name?..."batwing"...whoever thought of that was a winner. Anyway, despite its rather dubious name, this style shirt is so comfy and you will love it. Oh, did you notice I got the picture from Pinterest? Yup, I took the picture in my bathroom mirror. Now then, take how wide you are divided by four. OK, decide how long you want the sleeve to be. Next, decide how far up from the bottom of the shirt, you want the sleeve to start. Now cut that section out. Still tracking? Now, we need a neck hole in the shirt. Cut that out in a curve. You'll need a neck binding as well. That's it for today! Psalms 145:8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. Linking to:Sew Much AdoSew WoodsySomeday CraftsLove Laugh Craft
Sheer Top This really and truly might be my most favorite shirt I've ever made. Its comfy, cute, and so easy to make its almost sinful. I designed it for my Etsy shop, but don't kid yourself...I'll end up with a closet full for myself by the end of summer! This basic shirt can be made all sorts of different ways, but I'll show you how to do just this one for today. You will need some knit fabric, I used polyester interlock, and some sheer fabric. Start by cutting the knit into a rectangle. Next, you want to tailor it a bit by curving it in a half inch or so at the waist. Now, we need to cut the neck hole. The front shirt's neckline gets cut 3 inches deeper. At this point, you could sew the shirt as is and have a nice black shirt. Using your cut out as your pattern, cut out the sheer fabric. To sew it together, I first sewed the sheer to the knit to make the front of the shirt. Sew the shoulders and sides just as you would normally. Lastly, just hem all the openings. See?
Sewing Shift Dresses This is my one of my favorite dress styles. It is just so comfy and can be dressed up or down so easily. I always make it with a stretchy type fabric so that it can just be pulled on, and so its simple to sew. This one is made from a double knit. Now fold it in half, so it is four layers thick with a fold down the side. Now measure down the side (NOT the folded edge) 10 inches and mark it. Measure across the top 3 1/2 inches and mark it. Cut that section out, curving the line between points. Now measure across the top 3 inches and mark. Measure down the fold 4 inches and mark. Cut this out, making the line between points a curve. This is the neck of the dress. I also cut a small wedge shape from off the shoulders. You can leave it sleeveless or add sleeves. I wanted a short, almost cap sleeve, so I measured over 4 inches. I wanted the sleeve to be 12 inches around, so measured up 6 1/2 inches. Now, cut the sleeve out. Lastly, you need to cut out binding for your sleeve and neckline.
Draping - A Tutorial of Sorts I adore draped clothing. I think it is figure flattering on pretty much anyone, and it just adds an element of elegance to even the most simple designs. In case you have no idea what I am talking about, here are a few examples of draping. See? It's an absolutely lovely way to add texture and flow to a garment. I say "formula" because I see it as exactly that. The front, obviously, is the tricky part. Here is the trick, if you just widen the width of your shirt, you will get an unflattering floppy fold at the neck. Next, I measured down 3 1/2 inches and marked that. I wanted my arm hole to be 8 inches long so I measured down 8 inches and marked that. Now I cut out that just that piece. Next, I drew myself a line from the bottom of the arm hole to the bottom of the shirt, tapering down the size. The idea when you sew, is to turn the top of the shirt in so that the shoulder seam is now at the top where it should be. The first is made from a Polyester Lycra blend.
Knock off sewing - Drapey tops I am not one of those ridiculously lucky women who magically looses all evidence of pregnancy the moment their child takes their first breath. It takes me hours of bonding with my treadmill and lots of blood, sweat, and tears to loose every ounce. That being said, I am in the annoying "no man's land" with my wardrobe...pre-pregnancy clothes don't fit yet and I want nothing to do with my maternity wardrobe. So what is a girl to do? Go shopping of course! These next two are from Nordstrom. As you can see, while the basic style is the same, each one is slightly different in the finishing details. While the little girls were down for a nap, I came up with two of my own versions. My second one has slightly longer sleeves, looser fit, and no binding around the neckline. Here is how I made them. First off, make sure you pre-shrink your fabric before you start sewing. I cut out around the shirt, making the sleeves longer and the neckline a boat neck style. That all there is to it! Linking to:
Lace Pencil Skirt Tutorial So how do you feel about lace? I'm pretty much a big fan of it in pretty much any form. Its classic. I like classic. This skirt is easy and I'm going to show you to make it, because you're going to need one. And once you make one, you'll probably need to make another color. So, here's how its done. Now, mark with chalk your waist measurement at the top and bottom of the fabric. Now, curve out a line following those points, and cut it out. Do the same thing for your lace. Once you have both skirts cut out, sew up the sides of each one. Put the lining inside the lace. Sew the ends of the elastic together. The way that is shown above is really not the best way to sew it together. I pin it at the side seams, and then the centers of both front and back. Sew the elastic to the skirt. That's all there is to it! See? Both versions are available in my Etsy shop, and the cream one will be available at AJ's Boutique.
Gathered Dolman Sleeve Top Tutorial I've mentioned before that I absolutely love draping on clothing. One easy way to achieve the effect of draping, without having to mess with tons of extra fabric, is to use gathers. I've done it here on the front panel of this shirt, just along the shoulder seams. This is a very simple top to make, and here is how you can make your own. I used a yard of very lightweight sweater type fabric, that had some fun sparkle to it. (I told you I planned to contribute to the Fall sparkle trend in full force! Now, you need to plug in your own measurements, following this guide. A = width/4 - .5" You need to cut out the front of your shirt like this. The back of the shirt is the same, with the exception of the widths. Ok, so if you are still tracking...it's time to sew it together! Sew the shoulder seams together. Lastly, you just need to hem the whole thing. Super simple, huh! This top is available at AJ's Boutique and my Etsy shop in all sizes.
Moda's Half Moon Modern Sewing Room: Sewing & Craft Apron We are nearing the end of our Sewing Room Series in Moda's Half Moon Modern collection, and we have saved one of the best projects for last. I love this apron! I've always been partial to half aprons, but this little fella with pockets a'plenty is as hardworking as it is cute. The bright apple red, ocean aqua and snow white of the Half Moon Modern fabrics are about as happy as colors can be. Tie it on, load it up with your favorite notions, and get ready to smile. We use the same detachable pincushion here as we used on our ironing board thread caddy: button on - button off. Make sure you check out all the Half Moon Modern tutorials we've featured so far: tab-top curtains, ironing board cover, ironing board caddy, sewing machine cover, and serger cover. Our thanks to Moda for sponsoring this Sewing Room Series and allowing Sew4Home to be one of the first to debut the Half Moon Modern collection. For the detachable pincushion: Drawing the pocket divisions Waistband and ties Contributors
Lori Holt's Design Boards & Sew Easy Seam Guides: Find Them at Fat Quarter Shop Before she became a fabulous fabric designer, Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet was a quilting teacher. This not only gave her a chance to pass on her skills to a new generation of creative sewers and crafters, she also identified two things that consistently frustrate beginners: 1) fabric pieces turned the wrong way, and 2) not being able to keep an accurate seam allowance. Putting her inventive mind to work, Lori developed two simple tools to help solve these problems and make it easier to be precise, confident, and ultimately more creative... and they're not just for beginners! You'll love her Portable Design Boards and Sew Easy! Seam Guides. Our thanks to Fat Quarter Shop for bringing both cool tools to our attention so we can share the news with you. Every serious quilter has a design board on her wall. While Lori was regularly using her big design board, she realized a portable version would also be extremely useful. Of course, these smaller boards are also great for designing.