Staff Tips & Tricks: July 2009 Archives

I will preface this post by whole-heartedly admitting that I am not the greatest seamstress in the world.  My education, while superb, happened while I was young and too stupid to absorb as much of it as I could.  I am just your Average Joe (Jane?) who loves to get creative, was moderately good in math class, and says all too often, "$100!? I could make that in an hour!"  I am the sewing equivalent of the phrases "Jack of all trades, master of none" and "only human."

A few months back I was perusing a designer discount boutique and saw a lovely raglan top with a ribbon-supported neckline and keyholes at all four shoulder seams.  At around $100, I couldn't fathom paying that much for a slightly glammed-up t-shirt that even my mediocre sewing skills could handle.  My only apprehension was my lack of experience with sewing knits, but you never learn unless you try, right?

Accepting my own challenge, I took up the hunt for the right raglan-sleeved t-shirt pattern (not too sporty, seams in the right place, simple neck line), which was surprisingly hard to find.  After weeks of judging the merits of this pattern over that, the wonderful ladies in merchandising told me about the new line of Textile Studios Patterns we now carry, including the Santa Monica Tee.  Even nicer, I discovered a small stash of remnants of some knits we just put in the store and took a gamble that I would have enough to at least practice on.

On that note, I would like to take a moment to wax poetic about my wonderful little find.  I know that it's hard to truly judge a fabric over the Internet, and 10 different collections of solid stretch knits tend to all look the same.  Unfortunately, this means some collections just aren't done justice, and such is the case with the Premium Brushed Micropoly Stretch Knits.  This collection is buttery soft, with vivid colors and fantastic stretch.  It's slightly thicker and sturdier than a lot of the knits you find in stores lately, and a million times more luxurious.  It's a breeze to work with and has possibly dethroned Dupioni silk as my new favorite fabric to work with.

Back to my story, the pattern choice was far better than I could have imagined.  The Santa Monica Tee only has three pattern pieces: front, back, and sleeve, which can be made three ways (long sleeve, short sleeve and ¾ length).  To make the casing at the neck, I traced out the top 1 3/8" from all three pattern pieces onto parchment paper (3/8" for the seam allowance, 1/8" to close it up, leaving me an almost 1" casing).  After cutting all of my pieces out but before unfolding everything, I marked the front and back bodice pieces 4" from the top on the edges where the sleeves would be joined.  This mark is where I would stop sewing the sleeves and bodice together to create the key-holes at the front and back shoulder seams.

I followed the pattern's instructions for construction and seam allowances except where modifications were necessary to make my changes work.  First, I sewed my casing pieces to the tops of each of the sleeves and bodice pieces by placing the fabric right-sides together and stitching along the top.  Next, I sewed the sleeves to the front bodice, stopping at the 4" mark I made earlier.  At the point where I stopped stitching, I folded the seam allowance back and top stitched from the casing on the sleeve, down to the seam where the sleeve and bodice were joined, and back up to the top of the bodice casing (making a big "V").  This step finished off the edges and made the key-hole clean and pronounced.  After finishing the top stitching on both sides of the front bodice, I then repeated the whole process to join the back bodice piece to the sleeves.

With the sleeves attached and the key-holes finished, I pressed and folded the casing pieces down to the inside of the shirt (wrong-sides together) and stitched them shut about 1/8" from the edge, creating that rod pocket affect.  From there, I finished the sleeves and bottom hem by following the pattern instructions.  I used brown satin ribbon at the neckline and tied it in a bow, but since it is not attached I can change it out whenever I want.  After all was said and done, I would say the top took me less than 2 hours (not including time I spent goofing off with my stretch stitches).  The pattern was simple and easy to follow, which makes it perfect for both a quick top or as a jumping-off point for some creative license.

Some quick notes about changes I would consider on my next go - I think I would probably make the casing larger by about a half to a full inch.  This would give more room to add a sturdier ribbon or bulkier sash.  Also, my husband gravely expressed his disdain for the bow at the shoulder (many, many times).  I might play around with some buttons, buckles or brooches to secure the ribbon and add a decorative touch.

Happy stitching!

Here's a cute little mitten pattern from Oliver + s that could be used as an ornament or package topper. It's a good way to use up scraps of holiday fabric and odd buttons and to practice those embroidery skills. If you go to the "distressed" link you can go to Liesl's Flicker page and see lots of examples. The pattern is smaller than some of the pictures look- so you could enlarge the pattern if you want.

I'll admit I didn't follow the tutorial to the letter. I was a little lazy and just went ahead and blanket stitched the two mitten pieces together and then embroidered through both layers. I wasn't going to use them as gift tags, and the knots on the back should not be visible when they are hung on the tree. I also used ½" ribbon to make the hanging loop, but now I think a ¼" ribbon would have been better in proportion to the small size of the mitten. They turned out very cute, though, and everybody loves them. The fabric I used on the cuff is Laurel Burch's Bountiful Blessings with our white felt used on the mitten.

Laurie in marketing had a great idea - she is going to trace her three sons' hands onto the felt and then trim them out like the mittens. You could embroider their names or initials along with the year. This would make a fun annual family project and a great way to watch those little hands grow and change from year to year!

Well it's that time already - Christmas in July! It's a good time to get a jump on things and have some fun. I recently found a tutorial here for making mini-stockings and creating an advent calendar, and I thought the mini-stockings were way cute. We like to decorate our tree here at Fabric.com with a homemade touch, so these will be perfect! I only made twelve, which seems like a lot when you're making the same thing over and over. I thought about numbering them for the twelve days of Christmas. This project is great as a jumping-off point for adding our own personal touches, and would give me a good excuse to try out one of our new embroidery machines we now carry. I will probably embroider some felt and cut out an oval shape and glue them to the stocking cuffs. Monogramming them would also make a nice touch for both your own tree and to give as gifts.