Notches can be a bit perplexing for some and seemingly unimportant for others. Back in the day when I was teaching pattern drafting and construction, notches weren't even registering for my budding fashion pattern drafters. If I had a dollar for every time I asked "Where are your notches?" I'd be a rich woman! 😉
So what exactly is a notch and why am I obsessed with them?
✔️Notches are essential at helping you put your garment together. Think of your garment pieces as puzzle pieces. The notches are your guides in how to put/match that puzzle together. If you've ever had a garment that didn't hang quite right, pulled in places and felt off on your body the odds are there were some overlooked and unmatched notches in the sewing process.
✔️ When it comes to the process of sewing, your notches also act as your guide posts. They will tell you when you've reached your waist, hip, knee or center front/back points. These notches never move on a pattern. Knowing this is key to sewing pinless.
Notches come in many styles. The little diamond markings, sometimes 2 diamonds together, and my favorite one; the little inseam slash line. The first 2 notch types are exclusive to the home sewing industry. The little inseam slash comes from the factory pattern. I'm a fan of the slash notch because it's quick to mark as you're cutting out your pattern and you can serge/overlock right past them without loosing the marking in the process.
Ok, now that you know what the notch is all about and why it's important in the sewing process we can now step into the next post: How to Sew Without Pins.📍
I'm setting up the camera as you read this!📹
Happy Sewing!
~Joanna
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Way back when I was accepted into a sought after fashion program, I marched into a fancy sewing store and splurged on the prettiest box of pins I could find. I was going to learn epic sewing and pattern drafting stuff so only the best in sewing pins was going to do.
Fast forward to my first day in the sewing lab. Sitting in front of an industrial sewing machine (read: SO fast and intimidating!), I had my trusty pins on full display. After glancing at the room full of new and eager students the instructor, with his accent, said this: "You'll be learning industrial sewing techniques in this class. There are no pins allowed in this program".
OMG! Seriously?!! How on earth am I going to sew anything, yet alone sew it WELL (read: straight) without pins holding it all together?! The panic was real. The students went pale. I'm sure many of us wondered if we chose the wrong program. I quietly put my pins away, took a deep breath and learned to sew without pins and never looked back. And so can you!
So why ditch the pin? Here are my top 3 reasons:
1. Pins restrict the fabrics' natural movement:
2. Pins slows you down:
3. Pins hinder your skills/learning:
So how do you release the pins once and for all? Start small. Start with short and straight seams like a shoulder seam. Work with your notches. They are your guide posts for sewing without pins (yup, that's a blog in the making). You can do this!
Tell me about your journey to a pin less sewing project ❤️
~Joanna
]]>New sewing pattern launches are the best! Please meet the new
June Cami pattern.❤️
It's been a while, I know. I hope you're all doing well. I walked into 2022 with new and shinny dreams but the universe had other plans. Everything had to be put on hold when a family member received one of those diagnoses that brings you to your knees.
Yes the family rallied, as best as we could, but that meant that somethings needed to fall away and all energy had to now be focused on the problem at hand. The appointments, the treatments, the experts.
It's now 2023 (but does it feel like 2023?, not yet for me) and although we are far from being out of the woods, I now feel I need to return to what I love, the creativity of sewing, and have something bright to hold that is simply mine.
I'm allowing myself to dream again. 2022 was eye opening, thought provoking and exhausting. Full of lessons, a-ha moments, bright days and tears.
But hey, that's how we grow our wings, right?
From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU to all those that are still here and supporting. You matter more than I could ever express.
I'm ready to dream now and I hope you'll join me.
❤️~Joanna
P.S: I just learning that I CAN reply to your comments🥳just not within the blog, but rather via email. Technology is not perfect, but at least there will be communication!
]]>I decided it's time to part with my deadstock and roll ends from my designing years and make room for something new. My fabrics are looking for a new home!
The fabrics are predominately from Italy and from some of the best mills that supply top end design houses. They are a dream to work with.
There's some dreamy coating fabrics.
Most statement sleeves fall a little flat. I shared this little trick with all my Milly makers and now it's time to share it with you.
The secret to puffy statement sleeves? Tulle, my friends. In this picture Milly doesn't have tulle added to the sleeve head.
In this picture, I added the tulle to the sleeve head. Beautiful!!
All you need is a strip of tulle. About 10"-12" in length and 3.5"-4" in height. You want slightly firmer tulle. If it's too light, the weight of the fabric will crush it.
Fold your tulle in half and gather it.
Now, of course, many of you are already well into summer temperatures and I'm taking full inspiration from how you've styled your Milly.
This beautiful Milly was photographed all the way down in sunny Florida. There is nothing like a gorgeous oversized print that says summer.
But, bright prints may not be for everyone. Sometimes, light and clean is a great palette cleanser. This Milly lives all the way in Australia and I love Tiffany's interpretation of the pattern.
Or, we may just need to go back to beautiful oversized prints like Divine Dita!! You go GURL!
Hello Fellow Sewists! Back in January, I launched my newsletter. In it I said it was time for a fresh new way of looking at sewing for self. I wanted Fresh Press Patterns to be more minimal and individuality oriented. That only meant one thing; going back to my roots as a designer and pattern maker. I wanted to stop the chase of making more and more patterns and instead focus on pattern manipulation principals so that you at home can develop your own pattern changes. I wanted to give you the confidence of looking at a garment detail and saying, I can do that.
And so in keeping with my January promise, I'm answering your first request: "Joanna, I love your Willow top but I was done with ruffles of any sort at age 5!"
1. Using your size Willow, mark shoulder and armhole seam allowances. (1cm/3/8")
2. Trace out the Willow sleeve and mark seam allowances.
3. On your Willow bodice, right on the marked seam allowance, measure the Front armhole curve, as illustrated above. You're measuring from the notch to the shoulder seam at the seam allowance and not the edge of the pattern.
Record your front and back measurements.
4. Adding ease: Now that you have your armhole measurement, we need to add some ease for the sleeve to feel comfortable. ADD ½"-¾" ease to the front and back recorded measurements for a total ease of 1"-1 ½".
**Sturdier fabrics are harder to ease in as opposed to lighter ones like the linen I used for this top. Choose your ease amount with fabric in mind**
5. Take your armhole curve measurement with ease and, starting at the CENTER sleeve notch and measuring toward the armhole mark your new reduced measurement for FRONT and then BACK sleeve. See illustration above.
6. Reduce Sleeve width by ½"/1.5cm. Redraw your seam allowance of ⅜"/1cm.
7. Place the old ruffle sleeve on top of your newly traced one, MATCHING the seam X point with the new sleeve width mark on the new sleeve. Trace the new armhole and side seam position.
8. And this is how your new, reduced volume, Willow sleeve will look like.
I suggest shortening the sleeve by 1.5"/4cm as I did for this Willow, to make the sleeve look younger and less like a tube.
9. These are the measurements I used for my size SMALL top. Depending on your size you may want to reduce (smaller sizes) the above measurements by ⅜", or increase by ⅜" if you're sewing a bigger size. These measurements are not set in stone.
10. Cut apart the pattern at your new design line and ADD SEAM ALLOWANCES of ⅜"/1cm to each side.
And there you have it! Your very fresh and new Willow. I used a light weight linen for the top and a rayon check for the bottom.
If you have ideas on what you'd like to see for pattern manipulation, please give me a shout!
Stay safe and stay creative.
XO~Joanna
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I am super excited about this dress pattern! I think this dress can certainly be classified as a beginner sewing pattern. There are no inset sleeves, buttons or zippers to think about...Phew! But just because it's a fuss free pattern, it doesn't mean it's short on style.
This dress pattern is designed with a stretch knit/jersey in the front and a woven for the back. For extra comfort, go ahead, and make it all in a knit.
This pattern has a t-shirt style neckline and a high/low hem with side slits. The back elastic waistband cinches you in creating soft curves.
What else is exciting about this pattern? It has a brand new size chart!! This dress goes up to a 3X, because style knows no size.
Enjoy the Karolina dress at 20% off with the code SummerSew20 until this Sunday night.
Happy Summer Sewing!
How is your Spring sewing going? I wanted to share my latest pattern hack for the Evi dress. This one is in a pretty cotton eyelet in black. I know black isn't the first colour one thinks of when thinking of summer but there is something about it that says "I'm not about trends". Funny enough, it's a trend!!
So, I decided to give this "not a trend, but a trend" a whirl in a cotton eyelet. Surely even though the dress is black, all the eyelets will let it say "summer". Of course the eyelets present a problem...the dress will need to be lined in order to be wearable in public. I contemplated a nude lining and even a white one to make the eyelets visually pop but instead opted for a light weight cotton lining in black. I wanted demure and sophisticated. I wanted classic. So then the other question was: Black on black? How is that summer? That's where I decided not to line the whole dress but just some of it. Enough lining to cover things up and leave enough unlined to still show off the eyelet allowing the dress to look summery, breezy and light. The lining only covered the bodice up to the V opening at the hem. The rest of the dress, along with the sleeve, was left unlined.
Below, a few more inspiring summer dresses, on trend, in black.
Images: Net-a-Porter
Will you tackle black for the summer?
Happy Sewing!
Joanna
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What a month it has been! Congratulations to Zoe from SoZo on your amazing 10 year anniversary of Me Made May!! Last year was the first year that Fresh Press Patterns participated in celebrating Me Made May and I am thrilled to be back this year!
I've been watching all your daily Instagram posts and have been conscious in choosing my daily outfits to include at least one me made garment a day. With the weather being neither here nor there, I found myself living in my James stretchy pants with my 3 different Irises (with or without a cardi) on heavy rotation. Now that the weather is finally resembling spring, I'm ready to pull out my Evi dress (fresh off the ironing board). I made one in a cotton eyelet (blog post coming soon) and I have a sneaky suspicion it'll be the dress I will live in for the summer.
As this amazing month comes to a close, to celebrate your makes and to maybe fill in a gap or two in your wardrobe, I'm happy to announce that for the remainder of the month all my patterns are on sale for 20% off with the code MeMade2019.
Happy Sewing!!
Joanna
]]>This experiment was inspired by one of my Instagram followers who went ahead and totally disregarded my instructions to sew the Iris top in a woven fabric only. She sewed up her top in a knit, and it worked!
So, she got me thinking; what else can I do to this top to make it look more versatile? The only way to find out was to play with fabric, of course!
The Iris was designed for medium weight woven fabrics. If you chose a light weight fabric, the whole curved hemline would look a bit messy (think stretched out ruffled hem). This is the very reason why I didn't want to suggest knits.
But, as my Instagram follower suggested, rules are made to be broken, so I decided to play with some remnants and see what happens. The front of the Iris was cut in a heavy rayon crepe. The crepe was a piece of left over fabric I had from making a dress. The piece was no bigger than 24" wide and 27" long. Usually remnants of that size are reluctantly throw out because you can't make much of anything out of them. The back and sleeves were cut out of a black pointe, also leftover fabric from a different project.
To stabilize the curve of the hems I cut a very narrow strip, 1/4", of fusing and fussed the entire curve preventing it from loosing its' shape.
Because my fabric was of a thicker and meatier hand, I decided to skip the bias binding all around the curved hem (fearing a very bulky hem) as the instructions suggested, and instead I did a double rolled hem. Of course I cheated and used a machine attachment (pic below) to help with the rolling of the hem. (If you're wondering why my machine attachment looks unusual, it's because I use an industrial sewing machine)
Because I skipped on the bias to finish the hem, I also though I needed to skip the bias binding at the neckline. Since the fabrics were heavier I didn't think a slim bias binding at the neck would work. So, I decided to do a t-shirt style wide band at the neck. The finished neckline band is 1/2" in width.
Then it was time to lengthen the sleeves and drop the cuff. The finished sleeve length is 17" and the sleeve width is 10". If I were to do it all over again I should shorten the sleeve to just above the elbow. I keep pushing then up anyway.
And there you have it! Iris 2.0. If anything, I hope I inspired you to take a look at your patterns to see how you can tweak them to get a very different look. Whether it be through using up remnants and combining fabrics together to changing the finishes ever so slightly. I hope this inspires you to play!
Happy Sewing!!
]]>You've been asking and I've been listening. I'm happy to report that I'm currently working hard to have all my PDF patterns contain the option of an A0 copy shop format in the sewing packages. So far the Iris top, Evi dress already have the A0 format option.
You might be wondering what the A0 copy shop option means? Well, you can have your pattern printed on a large format printer directly onto A0 paper. All you need to do is send the file to your favourite local copy shop. No more need to tape pattern pages together!
When you buy a PDF pattern from Fresh Press Patterns, you'll still get the option of A4 / Letter sheets to print at home, as well as the large format option because, options are a good thing right?
Happy printing!
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One...
When sewing garments with open seams serge with your fabric always facing RIGHT SIDE UP. If you stay consistent in only serging/overlocking with the fabric facing right side up all of your inside serging will look the same.
Two...
Serging of hems should ONLY be done once your garment is fully assembled. I know some sewing instructions ask for the hem to be serged while you are serging all the other seams, but that can lead to undesirable looking hems.
Serging any which way with hem serged prior to assembly.
Finished hem look, when serged prior to sewing seams together.
Serged seams with fabric facing up. Notice your seams on the inside of the garment will have the same looking overlock stitch. Hem was serged last, once the garment is assembled.
Your neat hem... when serged after you've sewn your seams. How easy is that? I hope you incorporate these easy steps into your next sewing project.
See you here next week for more Sewing 101.
Happy Sewing,
Joanna
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Happy New Sewing Year!! With my first post of 2019 II'd like to send out a big heartfelt thank you to all of my followers who have made my IRIS TOP a big success in 2018. Thank you!!
To celebrate, I'd like to see a lot of Irises in January and so I am promoting the pattern at 40% off till the end of January. Don't forget to share your makes with hashtag #IrisFPP.
HAPPY SEWING!!
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It's that time of the year again! Time to set aside the Thanksgiving dinner plans for a little bit of indulgent sewing project planning. The more you fill your cart the better the savings!
The dress is on promo for the its' launch week. You'll get all the details in the link.
Happy Sewing!!
xo~Joanna
]]>Are you ready to sew some pockets? I know the thought of welt pockets and slashing any garment you are working on makes most sewists go pale at the thought, but these welts are not like any others! I designed them to be constructed on a pocket panel (like a square) so if there is an error, your coat will not be ruined.
Shall we start?
This welt is not sewn in the traditional "welt pocket" steps, you'll notice this right with the first step as you place the pocket bag (preferably cut out of lining) on the wrong side of the pocket panel.
Make sure your pocket bag is nicely centred on the welt and the top of the pocket bag is nice and flush with the top of the pocket panel. The pocket bag notches will be at about the center of the pocket panel.
The pocket bag should extent 1/2" beyond the welt pocket opening. Once you're happy with the placement of the pocket bag, either keep it pinned in place, or do a machine baste stitch about 1/4" from the edge of the top of the pocket panel to keep the bag from shifting.
Personally, I like to baste at the top edge and keep my pins in under the welt to keep things from shifting... too much anyway.
Next, let's machine baste stitch the corners of the welt opening. These will be your guides to help with your welt and flap placement. Extend the horizontal baste well beyond the vertical "end of welt" baste.
Before you sew the welt on, mark your stitching line. Since the finished width is 1/2", your stitch line is 1/2" from the pressed edge of your welt. Mark this stitch line on the side of the welt that also includes the extended welt facing.
With your pocket panel RIGHT side up, place your welt on the panel, matching your marked stitch line with the basted guide stitch of the bottom of your welt opening. Your welt piece will extend past the vertical baste stitch that indicates the end of the welt. It should extend by 1/2" on both sides of your welt opening.
Stitch your welt in place. Don't forget to back stitch!
Now, let's prep your pocket flap. Because the fabric I'm using has a little bit of stretch in it I did a baste stitch, within 1/4" of the pocket's unfinished edge, to stabilize the pocket and prevent it from stretching out as I sew it.
Place your pocket flap into place on the pocket panel. The unfinished pocket flap edge should be right up against the welt seam you just sewed. It will be pointing "up" and past the top edge of the pocket panel. Keep in mind that the pocket flap NEEDS to FIT exactly within the welt opening baste stitch. If CANNOT extend beyond the welt end marking much like the welt did.
Stitch into place and don't forget to back stitch.
Check if your welt stitch lines are exactly 1/2" in width and that your flap pocket stitches and your welt stitches end at the exact same time. Once you're happy, slash your pocket OPEN!! Yay!!
Remember to slash down the center of the pocket. Give yourself nice and big triangles at the corners. The closer you get to slashing the triangle to your last stitch point, the better. If you slash PAST the last stitch, you'll have a hole in your welt corner. If you don't get close enough to that last stitch, you'll have rounded corners on your welt.
Take out your basted guidelines and press open your seams. The wonder of heat and steam from the iron will flatten the bulk in the seams and give you a nice clean edge.
It's time to flip your welt pocket to the inside and secure the corners. You're just a few steps away from finishing!!
Now that you've flipped your welt you'll notice that the part of your welt that extended past the actual welt and its' seam allowance has now become an inside facing for the welt. The welt was designed this way to reduce pattern pieces and, most importantly, to reduce bulk.
Sew the facing to the pocket bag. Make sure to move the pocket panel out of the way. You don't want to accidentally sew the pocket bag to the pocket panel.
Time to secure the welt corners.
With your pocket panel right side up, peel back the side of the pocket panel to reveal the little triangle that needs to be secured to the welt.
You want to get in nice and close to the the edge of the folded back pocket panel as you stitch the triangle down to the welt. If you don't get in very close you run the risk of having fraying welt corners.
Flip your pocket flap down so it now covers the welt and give it a good press into place.
Fold your pocket bag up at the notches. It should cover all your welt stitching and end at the top of the the pocket panel.
Before you close off your pocket, there is one more step; attaching the pocket flap to the lining so it doesn't flop around. And so, with the pocket panel right side up, flip the panel's top to the side and you'll see the pocket flap's seams...
To attach the pocket flap, stitch it to the pocket bag right on top of your previous stitches.
Now that your flap is attached, it's time to close up the pocket bag's side seams.
And voila! You are done!! Not so bad, right? I promise the second one will be much easier.
]]>Before we talk about prep I'd like to take a minute and mention that I am going to try to use as much contrast fusing and thread as I can so you can actually see my steps. So, for the record, I don't recommend sewing red fabric with white thread but, in this case, it's just more effective in showing you what I'm talking about.
Here we go...
Now that your coat has been cut out, let's talk a little about prep prior to sewing. The first thing I'd like to talk about is interfacing. No matter what fabric you've chosen to work with I highly recommend interfacing the hems of your coat and sleeves. Interfacing will steady your hem, keeping it from stretching out and becoming "wavey" with everyday wear. Your choice of interfacing shouldn't be stiff. It can be rather soft and thin and it will still do its' job. As a matter of fact always choose thinner over thicker. You don't want your hems to look iron stiff.
I like to lay out my pieces, wrong side up and place my interfacing on top of the hems and just cut. You don't have to be perfect. So long as you cover the hem width which is 2" or 5cm. Below is a picture of my under sleeve hem interfaced.
Interface also, the back of your pocket flap...
And your welt...
Also interface the back, or wrong side, of your pocket panels where you'll sew your welt and flap pocket. To eliminate the guess work as to just how big your interfacing piece needs to be, use your welt pattern piece to cut out a second interfacing. It'll fit perfectly over your marked welt opening.
Now that your welt has been interfaced fold it at the notches, wrong sides together, and press.
You'll notice the welt is not folded equally in half. That't because this pattern piece has a welt and facing in one. The piece you are looking at now if the welt part that will be visible on outside of your coat.
This side of the welt (picture below) is the welt combined with the welt facing that will be on the inside of the pocket. You can go ahead and seam finish this side of the welt/welt facing with a zig zag stitch or overlock as shown. So why complicate things do a welt and welt facing all in one? I'm just reducing the bulk at the pocket. Less layers to sew through, therefore less bulk.
There are two more pieces to interface: the back neck facing and the front facing panel. The front facing is the full length of your coat and, because the way facings are shaped, they tend to waste A LOT of interfacing if you're to cut them side buy side.
So I'm going to talk about something I do to eliminate waste on large pattern pieces that require interfacing. This is not something you'll see in cut plans and layouts, something probably not discussed in sewing instructions. Maybe this advice will be even frowned upon but, I'm hoping, in the quite privacy of your sewing room when no one is looking, you do it too. What am I talking about? Cutting your interfacing in "block pieces" and assembling them together much like a puzzle!
Below is a picture of a front facing where I assembled my interfacing and ironed it on. You can see my overlap lines. This works on pretty much every fabric, with the exception of satin, where you will not see the overlapped interfacing show up on the right side of your pattern piece. On satin you'll have a distinct line where the interfacing overlaps.
Now Lets work on the pocket flap.
Fold your pocket flap at the notches, right sides together, and sew your pocket side seams with a 3/8"/1cm seam allowance. Trim your corner.
Press open the flap pocket's seams. Flip your pocket flap inside out and give it a press.
Top stitch your pocket flat. To get a nice top stitch increase the length of your stitch between 3-3.25 sometimes even 3.5 depending on the thickness of your fabric. A lengthened top stitch will show up a lot nicer on your pocket. I also like to use the edge of my presser foot as a width guide for my top stitching if you're doing a single row of topstitching.
If you'd prefer two rows of top stitch, sew your first row 1/8" from the pocket's edge. Using your presser foot as a guide, sew the second row.
Repeat the process for your second pocket flap and you are ready for next week when the pocket comes together! Until newt Wednesday...
Happy Sewing!
xo - J
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So, to help you in the fabric choosing process, I've raided my sewing stash to show you what can work for the Leone coat pattern and what should be left for another day.
Let's start with the rejection pile.
Sure this first fabric appears to have all the "right" properties for a coat pattern... It's a lovely blend of virgin wool and cashmere with a touch of stretch. Pretty perfect, right? Well, no. In spite of it's coveted fiber content this is a lightweight fabric, and lightweight doesn't do well in unlined coats. Save this one for another project like a dress or skirt.
Up next, a fabric created just for coats. A lovely twill. A fabric I recommend for this pattern. It's a wool and nylon blend in a heavy coating weight. And that's your problem right there... it's much too heavy for the welt and flap pocket. You'll have too much bulk once you sew together the coat front with the pocket panel and add the coat facing to it. Leave this one for your classic coat pattern with lining.
Next, we have luscious tweed. Why not tweed you say? Although the weight is great tweeds tends to have a loose weave and I would not recommend it for any unlined projects. Lining is the barrier you need to prevent this fabric from stretching apart at the seams. It also frays, a LOT, which is another reason to avoid unlined projects.
Your ideal fabric is a mid weight: in the 300g range. You want it to be suitable for unlined pieces much like denim is, a heavier cotton or wool twill. Even a sweater knit (if it's heavy and dense enough) holds up nicely for the Leone pattern. Below is the sweater knit I used for my second Leone coat with contrast sleeves and pocket panels. Even though the pattern calls for a woven fabric, I was personally pleasantly surprised at how well the pattern worked in this fabric.
This is a cotton and acrylic twill. Its' weight is equivalent to a non stretch denim pant. It's compact. It won't fray and that is why I think it would work for an unlined coat pattern.
And here is a wool boucle... It would handle the pattern nicely giving your final look a cardi-coat feel.
I hope you've been inspired to raid your fabric stash for your Leone fabric. Remember that this sew-along is interactive! Visit my Facebook page to post any questions you may have regarding your fabric choices.
I'll see you next Wednesday where I will talk to you about prepping your cut out pattern just before you start sewing. I'll also share my trick to cutting out fusing with little wastage and we'll start with the all important pockets!
For tips on properly cutting out your coat, I have a Sewing 101 blog post that talks about the importance of pattern layout and grainlines.
Till next week!
Joanna
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And speaking of coats, I'd like to introduce Leone, my newest pattern.
Leone is unlined. The oversized panels with welt and flap pockets are designed for anyone who dreams of pockets on their coat but is afraid of a welt for fear of ruining the entire front of the coat with one simple slash.
This version of the coat was done is a sweater knit from Emma One Sock. I bought the last 1.26yards and had to have a coat out of it, but I had much too little fabric. So, I bought an extra yard of black pointe for the sleeves, inside facing and pocket panels. It feels more like a cardigan than a coat and I love it.
Now, I realize coats can feel a little intimidating to sew so starting next week I will start the Leone sew-along. In a series of blog posts I'll sew right along with you and walk you in depth through the whole process. To make it a little more interactive, ask your construction questions as you sew along with me on my Facebook page. This way, no one is left behind and you can learn from other sewers as they ask their questions. Ready? If you've made it this far into my blog, use the code LeoneSewAlong at checkout for a 15% discount until September 16th. Now you have an excuse to fabric shop!!
See you next Wednesday for the first Sew-Along!
Happy sewing,
Joanna
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Now that your fabric is prepped, let's talk layout...
My home sewing guru/mentor and I were musing one day about pattern layouts and where the whole "fold your fabric in half" mantra came from. Maybe it was assumed a home sewer has limited space and fabric folding is a necessity? Certainly I can understand the efficiency in cutting out two layers at once BUT, what you gain in efficiency you most certainly loose in wastage and accuracy.
While still working in "the industry" the designer I was working for and I were one day walking down the cutting floor when she stopped me mid walk and point at the fabric scraps on the floor saying "That's my money on the floor". Until that point, I had never thought of it that way. Can you imagine throwing away 20% or 30% of your fabric (essentially your money) simply because you folded it in half and/or had an inefficient layout to cut out a sewing pattern?
But other than economics, there is, more importantly, accuracy. Folded or not fabric shifts, it just does. So the more accurate you can be in keeping your patterns on grain, the nicer your garment will hang.
So now, let's finally talk about LAYOUT... and how I was taught to do it.
Before you start placing your patterns on the fabric to be cut, take a look at your pattern pieces first. Make sure your pattern grainlines are nice and long. They should be about 3/4 the length of your entire pattern piece. The longer the marked grainline, the better your accuracy.
Next, find yourself a table with a nice, long straight edge. With your fabric WRONG* side up, line up your selvage with the straight edge of the table. This ensures your selvage is straight and therefore your fabric grain is straight. The edge of that table will be your marker against which you'll align your pattern piece's grainlines.
***I know not all fabrics have an obvious right and wrong side. In this case pick which side will be your "wrong side" and stay consistent. This way, once you trace and cut your pattern out you'll know all your chalk marked pieces are on the INSIDE of the garment.***
Chances are your fabric will be wider than the table you're cutting on. Gently fold up the excess fabric at the other edge of the table so it doesn't hang over the tables' edge.
Now that your fabric is nice and straight and all bubbles and wrinkles are smoothed out, it's time to place your pattern pieces out.
I like to start with the main and biggest pieces. Remember, because you're cutting one layer at a time, you'll need to flip your pattern pieces to get a right and left pattern piece. To prevent confusion, I like to give myself a little check mark along the pattern's grainline so I know I already cut that side.
Pick your first pattern piece. Place in on the fabric. Hold the pattern in place with a weight. Weights are better than pins. Any weight will do. Large washers from the hardware store, books, magazines or cans of food. Use your imagination with this one.
To place your patterns on grain, measure from one tip of the marked grainline to the edge of the table. Then repeat at the other end of the grainline. There is no need to measure in the middle of the pattern. If the opposite ends of your grainline are the same distance from the table's edge, so will be the middle.
Adjust your pattern accordingly until your measurements are the same at both ends of the grainline. Then place several weights on your pattern piece so it does not shift when you trace it out. Always trace your pattern out, then cut. I never cut my fabric with the pattern pieces and weights still on it. Once again, you're removing the possibility of your fabric shifting under weights.
For pieces that require cutting "on fold" I simply trace the one side of the pattern piece and mark centre front by either tracing the whole centre front line or just the top and bottom notches, and flip the pattern over, line up centre front, and trace the other side.
The key is to have as many pattern pieces traced, as close together as possible, before you start cutting out your pieces. Whenever I can, I try to have my patterns share straight lines so I can be efficient in my cuttting time. It's a common practice in the industry as it not only increases efficiency in fabric useage, it also cuts down on cutting time.
Once you've traced out and fit in as many pieces as you can, you're ready to cut.
Call me old fashioned, but I love a great pair of scissors for cutting out my fabric. Not just any scissor will do though. If you do want to use scissors consider investing in a pair with heavy long blades and a firm heavy handle.
A long heavy blade will not slip and slide on you like a conventional scissor will. The weightier the scissor the better control you have.
I hope you try these tips out. It's amazing how these seemingly small changes can up your sewing mastery.
Next up... All about Darts... how to mark them and sew them... and you've guesses it, no straight lines here...
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So here we are: Sewing 101. Through this series, you'll learn sewing fundamentals as I was taught them in Design School. You'll learn how the ready-to-wear industry sews.... everything!
I hope you'll read this series with an open mind. I will challenge the conventional home sewing methods and show you a different way to sew.
If you're new to sewing, read on! This series is intended just for you. I want to demystify sewing and share all my tips and skills that'll have you confidently tackling your next projects.
Now of course, this series will be at its' best with your feedback. Tell me what would you like to see covered? What are you struggling with? What are your frustrations? I want to hear your stories.
I can't wait to hear from you! And I hope to see you here next week as the Sewing 101 Fundamentals tackle layout and grainlines.
Happy Sewing!
Joanna 🌸
]]>Top stitching is always a great way to add detail.
Or playing with contract colours... Look at those oversized pant cuffs too!
Sometimes, something as simple as a grosgrain ribbon on the side seam...
Or, simply adding a few sport side stripes and playing with their widths. You can do this using different colour and widths of grosgrain as well.
I hope these few images have got your creative juices flowing and have you rethinking your pants. Keep your eyes open this week for the launch of my James Knit pant. Designed specifically for the heavy pointe knit to give you all the comfort of a legging but the look and coverage of a pant. Win, win, right? If you're on my email list you'll be the first to know... and the only one to have a discount on the launched pattern.
Happy Sewing!
Joanna
]]>Lets talk about this beautiful wrap dress. The pattern calls for stretch fabrics. Jersey to be exact. I broke the rules and used a very pretty stretch viscose crepe from Emma One Sock. I made the size 12 (I'm regularly a size 6) with a few minor adjustments.
At 5'4" I am also short waisted so I shortened the back and front waist length by 1". I also shortened the sleeves from 18" to 16" simply because of personal preference. I think a shorter sleeve makes the dress look younger and "fresher".
I lengthened the dress ties by 3" (wish I had added more to wrap the ties around my waist and not just to tie at side waist) and I added a single row of top stitching.
Because I was working with a crepe which has more body than a jersey does, I decided to add more weight to my hem and weigh the skirt down. My hem is 2" wide with 3/8" folded under and stitched for a cleaner look.
I also added clear swimsuit elastic to the neckline to prevent it from stretching out. The elastic should have been added before I finished the neckline but I didn't realize I had a problem until after it was finished.
I also took in the sweep of the hem 1" per side seam for a total of 4".
And that's it! This dress was super easy to sew and I think there will be several more additions to my closet.
Happy Sewing!
Joanna
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I really wanted another Willow in my closet. Something more casual and something that said "spring". Of course, nothing says "spring" like a pretty print. BUT I'm not a huge print girl. So I hewed and hawed at the pretty palm and pineapple and butterfly print at Blackbird Fabrics. I went back regularly, put it in my cart and then abandoned it. But, sewing is about challenging yourself, so I finally went for it and clicked "BUY"!
And so here we are; sewing a Willow with French seams in a pretty print. Why French seams? Because the lovely viscose crepe I bought is quite light and frays a bit. French seams are a great option for lighter blouse fabrics. They give a lovely clean finish when serging alone can't do all the work.
I cut a size Small in the Willow and required only a meter of fabric. The fabric looks like it has a directional print but I fit my pattern in with ease and had room to spare.
BEFORE cutting, I had a few pattern adjustments...
One, the Willow has a very wide decorative centre back seam (3cm finished) meant to be sewn on the outside of the garment. I reduced the centre back seam to a 1cm seam allowance because I planned to sew it to the inside of the garment. I wanted the print to speak. Plus, because of the print I knew the decorative outside seam would be lost anyway.
Second, I reduced the sleeve volume by 18cm/7" in the hem sweep and 4cm/1.5" in the gathering because, once again, I wanted the print to be the centre of attention and not the sleeve.
On with the SEWING....
1. Serge centre back seams, then with RIGHT sides together sew the centre back seam starting at the notch, 15cm/6" down from the neckline.
2. PRESS centre back seam open.
4. TRIM seams to 0.25cm. This way you have zero chance of having the seams frayed edges poking out of your french seam.
5. PRESS the seam to one side. Doesn't matter which side. You're just creating a crisp seam edge.
6. Flip your top inside out and press your side seams and shoulder seams.
7. With RIGHT sides together, do a second stitch, 0.5cm from the edge on your side seams and shoulder seams. You just created your French seams!
8. Press your French seams, sides and shoulder seams, to the back of your top.
9. I did the same process for my sleeve seam.
10. Double Rolled Hem... apparently that's an "industry" term... so here it is demystified. The Willow has a 1cm double roll hem, which basically means you roll the hem 1cm once, and again another 1cm... thus the double roll. Edge stitch. Repeat on the sleeve.
WHY double roll? Because it gives you a clean looking hem. No fraying bits, and it also adds a little weight to your blousing fabric. Makes the garment hang better.
11. BIAS neck finish. I like to start sewing my bias from center front of the blouse toward center back. And repeat the step again from center front to the other centre back opening.
RIGHT side of the bias facing the WRONG side of the top... You're sewing the bias binding from the inside of the top and pressing and finishing on the outside of the top.
12. Press your binding up, and them over the seam, folding carefully under to create your bias finish. You are creating a double fold bias stip. Continue the fold and press into the ties.
13. Topstitch your bias binding to the front of your top. Start at centre front and work your way to the center back ties.
14. Tie off your ends and diagonally snip the raw edge.
15. SLEEVES... your sleeves are sewn in just as instructed in the Willow package. Because there is clipping of a seam allowance, the sleeve can't be put in with a french seam. Serging the finished seam is perfectly fine. That's how I finished my seams in the Willow.
Well, I hope this has you a little inspired to play with your seams and perhaps add a new print to your wardrobe.
Happy Sewing!
Joanna
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Meet Iris....
The clean lined, loose and chic top that I lived in all of last summer. This pattern was designed last year for a Fall release, but I held it back till Spring because of the short sleeve. Testers are loving the back that wraps around to the front, creating a seamless side. But don't take just my word for it... I loved the Iris as interpreted by the lovely Emmanuelle from Zoubi Zoubisou. She's inspired me to add yet another Iris to my wardrobe.
And then there is Willow...
That simple delicate ruffle sleeve can only say Spring. I fell in love with one Instagramer interpreting the Willow in a beautiful cream double gauze. Personally, I can't wait to make this one in a print... perhaps in a palms, pineapples and butterflies print?... Stay tuned!
I hope your spring sewing is off to a great start, regardless if spring has officially sprung or if it feel more like January, 108th day and counting.
Happy Sewing!
Joanna
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Every "new" spring will always have the colours of white, black and tan in new silhouettes as well as a fresh take on stripes, florals and pastels. So, I thought I'd touch on some of the newer and more interesting ways to update your Spring '18 wardrobe.
DARK DENIM
In a sea of the usual brights and pastels, it's nice to see dark denim bring on a surprisingly sophisticated look. Keep in mind, to achieve this look you don't have to necessarily default to denim you can also go with dark washed silks or linen.
all images are from Vogue Runway
Happy sewing!
Joanna
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