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Sewing Project: Sundress {With Free Pattern}

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Sewing Pattern: Sundress

Picture 1 of 6 (Click "Next" for more pictures) I fell in love to this Love In The Afternoon sundress from Twinkle when I saw it featured in Craft Stylist 2 months ago. A cocoon shape (with narrowing bottom hem) with origami inspired shoulder strap and the zig-zag topstitching on the bust band are those features that

caught my eyes moreover, it is a free pattern, how can I resist not to sew one. I believed that it would look great on my best friend, so I made this for her as a maternity dress. For some reasons, she doesnt want me to put her as the main picture, so, I have to put her on the second, go and have a look how this dress turn out on her, isnt she lovely This free pattern is available in sizes from 0-16 for you to download and print, there is also a written instruction for you to follow, [click here to get all the details in Craft Stylist]. The dress is not difficult to sew, but I find that it would be much easier if there are some pictures to go with the instructions, especially on the shoulder straps. By the way, if you browse through the photo album above, I have some closed-up pictures for various view to show some of the features. I followed almost all the instructions given except a few, eg. I skipped the lining for the skirt, I used invisible zipper and I added 3 on the skirt so that it is almost on knee length (as what Bee wanted). The reason I skipped the lining is because the fabric I used is cotton with dark background, I prefer the sundress to be light and easy, and most importantly comfortable to wear, so a lining is not necessary here. After Bee received it and wore it, her feedback was. everything is great except she needs to inhale and hide her tummy a little when wearing from top down, as the narrowing bottom hem is just nice to pass through her growing tummy . I overlooked this! If you were to sew this as a maternity dress, remember to take into the account for the bottom hem measurement lol! Below are some of the photos and instructions I need to point out so that it is easier for you to sew, especially the origami pleated strap.

**Branch out from step 3 per the instruction sheet** Equally divide the wider strap [11] and narrow strap [10] into 6 parts and pin them together. There are 7 pin points.

Smooth out the strap and pleat the excessive wider strap at point 2,4 & 6.

Turn to the wrong side and sew along the center of both straps. Look out on the pleats that is facing against the sewing direction as it is likely to be dragged away by feed dog. The closer the pleats meet the neater it looks.

Turn over to the right side, fold the strap to form the origami pattern, set your steam iron to the highest temperature that the fabric can handle, press to set the folds to permanent crease. ** Cautious, try out on a scrap fabric to get the right temperature so that it wont burn the strap. If you dont have steam iron, spray some water mist on the strap before pressing.

The following are just some closed-up details of the sewing. The instruction is clear enough to understand, so I wont elaborate more. The zig-zag topstitching on the bust bands.

Sew center bust and side bust together. Clip curve. Topstitch close to the seam line on both sides.

This is the invisible zipper. I love invisible zip for dresses. Easy to sew and neat to present.

Since I skipped the lining for the skirt, I folded the seam allowance of the bust lining and slip stitch along the sewing line to hide all the seams inside. Hope to see you sew one soon! Let me know if you have question, I will try to help!

Macaron Coin Purse

Sew Macaron Coin Purse

To make: 1 Materials: 1. Cover Button, diameter 1 1/2 (38mm) 2 pairs 2. Fabric Polka-dot, 5 1/2 x 3 3. Fabric lining, 5 1/2 x 3 4. Fabric zipper seam binder, 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 5. Batting 4 x 2 6. Zipper 5 ( I used 6 metal zipper and shortened in to 5 by using this tutorial) 7. Card stock (for tracing) 2 3/4 circle and 2 circle 8. Ribbon 3/8 x 2 Tools: 1. Sewing kits 2. Pencil and/or fabric marker 3. Wire cutter 4. Scissors 5. Tacky Glue / Mod Podge / Fabric glue Finished Dimension: 1 3/4 (Dia.) x 1 1/4 (H)

Get ready all the materials and tools needed to sew a macaron coin purse.

Sew to join the zipper tape together above the top stops. Fold the ribbon into half and sew it on the bottom stop with ends facing zipper end.

Fold the zipper right side together and sew to join it into a ring.

Trim the zipper ends to 1/2 seam allowance from the stops. Fold the 1 1/2 square fabric into half then fold a seam allowance of 1/4.

Encase the seam allowance and bind it by sewing the fabric onto it.

Bend the binder to the bottom stop side and sew it on the zipper.

Turn to the right side and this is how your zipper is going to look like.

Make small running stitches along the edges of the zipper. Pull to gather. Repeat on the other side. Set aside.

Cut away the button studs from the back plates. Be careful and point the stud away from you and /or anyone while cutting it. This little tiny metal can really shoot far. Set aside.

Trace circles to the fabrics with pencil or fabric marker. 2 3/4 circle on main polka-dot fabric and lining fabric, cut 2 from each fabric. 2 circle on batting, cut 2.

Apply a thin layer of glue on the cover and attach it to the batting. Make 2. Let dry or until safe to work on it.

Make small running stitches along the edge of the fabric. Place the cover onto the fabric.

Pull the thread and gather the fabric onto the cover snugly. Knot the thread.

Repeat the same to another cover and 2 back plates.

Use an erasable fabric marker to plot a circle along the back of the cover. The line should be on top of the metal edge of the cover.

Slip stitch the cover to the zipper, about 3/8 from the center line of the zipper. The further you sew from the zipper, the bigger the coin purse space is.

Completed 1 cover, repeat the same to the other side.

Turn to the inside, place the back plate on and slip stitch it to the zipper. Repeat the same on the other plate.

A completed macaron coin purse. The storage space is quite small, good for keeping ring, and bracelet. Or, merely use it as a key chain or hanging ornament. If you can find a small circle mirror of about 1 to 1 1/4, glue it on the back plate and turn this macaron coin purse into a small cosmetic mirror.

View from the bottom stop of the macaron coin purse.

Another view when the coin purse is placed vertically. Have a nice day & happy sewing

Kaftan Dress Tutorial

By: Anshu for Blooms and Bugs

Instead of throwing out your old clothes, make your own clothes out of that old material with this Kaftan Dress Tutorial from Anshu Jain. This adorable dress pattern for sewing is an easy beginner sewing project and a great sewing tutorial for those who are new to the art of sewing.

Materials:

Fabric - For this project you will need a fabric which is 60 inches wide instead of the regular 36. Also quilting cottons/linen may not be the best the options. Try to go with a printed sheer fabric, or a soft silken fabric. The flowy the fabric, the better drape you will get because the dress/top in itself is not really close fit. - 60 inches Bias Tape: Matching or contrast to the fabric. Depending on the fabric, you may want to get a satin/silk bias tape instead of regular cotton ones: ~ 1yds Trim - Matching the fabric - Or you could also use the bias tape ~ 10 yds 10 Safety pins

Instructions:
1. Spread the fabric evenly on a flat surface.

2. Fold it diagonally such that you get the biggest square possible.

3. Cut where this triangle ends ( shown in the pic). You're basically making as big a square out of this fabric as possible.

4. Now fold this triangle into half again to get a smaller triangle.

5. Now get a top whose back neck is the shape you're comfortable with ( and smaller than front).

6. Fold it in half lengthwise, mark the center of the back neck. For the top I had, the center of back neck was already known because of the opening. Just use it as a guide and cut the neck at the fold of triangle you just made.

7. Now cut it on the fold. Make some small marking where the shoulders of this neck are.

8. This is how it will look like when you open it. Look at the small marks for shoulders. 9. Now fold the whole fabric lengthwise and make sure the shoulder marks are meeting. Now measure a front neck depth you're comfortable with and mark it below the shoulder marks you have from the back neck. Also make another mark on the fold at the same depth, by making a horizontal line from the earlier mark Now draw a diagonal line from shoulder marks to the depth mark you just made on the fold and cut along this line.This will be your front neck. You can totally cut any other shape of neck but I felt V looks better in this style

and its also easier to finish. 10. Sew Easy Tip 1: while determining the depth of neck, err on the side of caution. If you're not comfortable with plunging necklines, take the depth a little less than desired. This is because its a loose fit and shoulder are not defined so the neck may shift a bit while you're wearing it, resulting in a plunging neckline. 11. Now gently slip it over you head and try it in front of a mirror. Don't worry if it looks gigantic at this point. We'll work on that next. Right now just find out the right points where you want your armholes to end and pin it on both layers. Also get a point closer to the bust-line and mark it with a safety pin also. You don't want it to fit too closely, just keep it a little loose but shapely. Do the same on the other side. You may want a friend to help you with this step, because the fabric is slippery it may be difficult to find the right points while still maintaining the symmetry.

12. Now carefully slip out of the fabric and spread it on an even surface.

13. See these arrows? Thats where we have our safety pins. As you can see they are not symmetrical, thats ok. We'll fix that now. Start with the side that is farther from the neck. In this case, left side. First mark all four points with a vanishing/washable marker and take out the pins. Now even out fabric, make sure that the shoulder markings we made are on the fold, the fabric is lying symmetrically and then safety-pin left side marks again on both layers. Now we have ensured that on left side the placement of pins is nice and even on both layers.

14. Now add more pins towards the bottom such that it follows your body shape and a little flared at the bottom. Don't sweat it too much because we have already measured ourselves at the widest part of our torso so as long as you mark the last point outer than first one it will be ok. The pic above sort of shows my placement of pins, It just isn't very clear. You can also use a loose fitting A-line dress/top to mark these.

15. Now fold this lengthwise such that the pins are sandwiched between the folds. Make sure the fabric is symmetrical. Now just feel the pins with your hand and mark the points where they are located, what we're doing is transferring the markings of th left side to the right side to make both sides even. Now open the fold and put safety pins on these marks.

16. Now just connect the pins on each side into a curvy line with a washable marker or tailor's chalk and sew along both lines Wrong sides together. Yes the seams are exposed in this style because seam allowance becomes sleeves. It's difficult to see the seam in the above pic because of matching thread but if you look carefully, you will see a curvy line at the center of the pic.

17. Spread your favorite top (best results with a kimono sleeved top). Now try to follow the curve of this top. while still staying 3-4 inches away from the top. this would mean that your sleeves will be longer than this top and there will be ruffles hanging near the waist, but don't worry , we will try it again and trim it before we commit to anything. Just try to get closer to the seam towards the bottom but still with a 1.5-2 inch margin. Also shape the hemline if you want it to be more rounded than triangular as it is right now.

18. Here's your top after cutting. Now try it and see if you like the fit, length of sleeves, depth of neck etc. Now, is the time to speak ( and adjust). If you would prefer to wear it with a belt, try that too now.

19. So you like the basic structure of the top by now. Now lets finish it. First the neckline:

20. Turn the top inside out - start from the bottom of the V in front and sew it around the neckline leave some extra tape at the ends. Turn the top inside out again.

21. Topstitch as close to the edges as possible. Now snip one en of the bias tape such that it just finishes under the other end. for the other end, just keep enough so it can be folded back and still maintains the shape of neckline. It will be clearer when you are doing it.

22. Now fold the raw end of bias tape and secure with a running hand-stitch. Please don't rush this step, we're working with difficult to handle fabric and the neckline is the most important part of this particular top. So I highly recommend doing a running stitch top secure the bias tape in its place. Here's a close-up of mine.

23. Now slowly top-stitch over this hand-stitching. Once you are done you can pick out the hand-stitch by pulling the thread. Note: I usually avoid sewing pins until it is absolutely necessary, but you can choose them if you think they are more efficient. I usually hand-stitch to hold things in place while I sew. 24. Hem all the way around sleeves and hemline. Start at the bottom corner of one hem and make your way across the whole length and width o the garment. If you do it right you will

get back to the place where you started. 25. Now sew on a pretty trim all around the hemline ( yes! all around ). I went with a narrow satin ribbon.Although this step is totally optional, I would still highly recommend it because this add to the visual appeal of the top/tunic/dress. Since fit is not its biggest pro, we need to add some other visual elements which can add to its charm, unless of course you went with a print so pretty that it didn't need anything else. Read more at http://www.favecrafts.com/Clothing/Kaftan-DressTutorial/ct/1#WHxtZOTUBlBxQXZK.99

Pink Berries Tie Dye Skirt

By: ilovetocreate.com

Different shades of pink pull this skirt together. Once you sew the sateen cotton fabric together you can have an amazing skirt. Find this project from I Love to Create in the free eBook for fabric dye inspiration and instruction, Fun with Fabric Dye.

Materials:

Tulip Custom Dye Color Kit

Sewing machine Plastic cooking spoon Skirt pattern Simplicity #2906 Salt Flat plastic bin Fabric #175521 cotton sateen white 2 yards Scissors Safety pins Tablespoon Rubber bands Rubber gloves Felt pen Large plastic bucket Sewing pins Needle and thread to match

Steps: 1. Sew cotton sateen fabric into skirt following pattern instructions. 2. Cut 3 strips 8 x 24 from scrap fabric. 3. Fill large bucket with one gallon of hot water following dye package instructions. Add four tablespoons of salt then use plastic spoon to stir until dissolved. 4. Wearing rubber gloves, carefully cut open dye packages then pour into included jars. Use a permanent felt pen to mark colors on outside of each jar. 5. Follow recipe to create Guava color from included Recipe Book. Use spoon to thoroughly mix. Immerse skirt and one strip of fabric into mixture then stir with spoon for 15 minutes this will ensure even dying. After 15 minutes stir every so often for 45 minutes. 6. Rinse both pieces under water then wash in washer with small amount of laundry soap. Dry in drier and iron smooth. 7. To create darker color at hem, place skirt on work surface then starting at one side and about 8 up from hem, scrunch fabric together following curve of hem. Rubber band tightly at the 8 mark to secure fabric. 8. Fill flat plastic bin with a gallon of hot water then repeat dyeing step using recipe for Wild Current. Place a second strip of fabric in dye then dip hem of skirt up to rubber band into dye and swish around for 15 minutes. Lay remainder of skirt over edge of bin, letting dyed section steep in dye for 45 minutes following package instructions. 9. Carefully cut off rubber band then wash, dry and iron skirt and fabric strip.

10. Dye third section Pink Salmon, repeating steps above. 11. To create flower, cut strips into 5 x 18 strips. Fold in half lengthwise, right sides out then fold under one end about . Use needle and matching thread to sew a gather stitch along cut edge, tightly gathering. Knot off other end. Repeat step with remaining strips. 12. Starting with light strip, roll end then stitch along the way to secure. Add medium shade and keep stitching, adding darkest last. 13. Use safety pins to pin where desired. Read more at http://www.favecrafts.com/Clothing/Pink-Berries-Tie-Dye-Skirt-fromTulip/ct/1#v8PQkV3jcekQQq0o.99