Sewing

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From my studio last week: April 12, 2011

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So this week’s studio recap is a day late.  I had planned on writing it up yesterday, but the one item that I made last week was in the wash and it took until today to get it clean and dried. 

When I saw this tutorial from Making It ImMACKulate for a little girl’s spring top with a ruffled button placket, I my first thought was, “What a cute shirt for a little girl!”  And then my next thought was, “And what a cute shirt for ME!” 

Seriously.  There’s no reason why this little girl’s top wouldn’t look good on a grown-up.  My sewing project last week is my first run through Making It ImMACKulate’s spring top, with a slight modification. 

Instead of a woven, I used an old knit shirt that was in the donate pile for my test run.  If it wasn’t going to work, I didn’t want to waste any of my good fabric. 

The stretchy fabric meant that I didn’t need to put the ruffled button placket down the front.  It’s super cute but I wanted to check the basic fit before putting the time into stitching down ruffles and buttons and loops. 

But without the ruffled button placket, the front looked a little plain.  I added a bit of chocolate brown ribbon – it’s mostly sheer with sparklysequins sewn here and there.

Other than the fact that I cut it a little bit too short, I am sooo happy with the fit on this shirt!  It’s loose through the midsection, but not so loose.  That’s important for pear-shaped girls like myself.  With larger hips and smaller shoulders, there’s a fine line between easy-breezy and “Are you expecting?” 

I’m definitely going to be making more of these for myself, maybe out of wovens and definitely with the pretty button placket.

Next Pattern:

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Have you read?

Learn All About Sewing Velvet Fabric

 

I’m always tempted by the pretty velvets at the fabric store.  So much texture!  And the way the fibers catch the light!  But sewing on velvet is trickier than you’d think.  That nap that lends beautiful texture also likes to slip and crawl.  That nap can also spell disaster if you cut a piece the wrong direction.  That isn’t to say you shouldn’t use buy that velvet and sew it into something gorgeous, you just need to go into your velvet sewing project prepared.  And Melissa at Melly Sews has a post that takes you step by step through sewing on velvet. 

Velvet is such a luscious fabric, especially for winter sewing projects.  Of course there are velvet Christmas sewing projects – stockings, tree skirts, santa hats – but velvet is beautiful for all winter.  Think of all the gorgeous velvet dresses, evening bags, hair accessories, even pillows and other home décor that you see all winter long. 

Melly Sews’ post gives you the tips and tricks you need to know in order for your velvet sewing project to end up a success.  There are types of projects better suited for velvets, and kinds of projects to avoid.  She describes the different types of velvet available.  And she also tells the best way to lay out and cut your pattern pieces from velvet fabric.  Her tutorial also covers marking, pressing, and of course sewing that beautiful fabric.  There’s also a video included in case that’s your preferred method for learning.

Head over to Melly Sews to learn how to sew on velvet fabric. 

And if you want to learn more about that lovely blue velvet dress shown, she has a post that tells more about it including 2 ways to style it depending on if you want to be more dressy or more casual.

[photo credit: Melly Sews]

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