Final Project Sewing

I'm currently in the process of finishing up my shirt for one of my Final Projects in my patternmaking class. A lot of people are making very fancy tops, but I wanted to make a casual top that later on I could share with ya'll. I made it out a blue shirting fabric that I talked about in my fabric haul post here. I thought the shirt would look cute over leggings and it would be cute even when pregnant (as I am) because it is going to have lots of room to grow in. I cut out a heart shape in the back and the front has scallops. The sleeves are flowy and so far it's coming out great. I only have the buttons and buttonholes to do. My last project will be a dress that is made from the Torso Foundation pictured later on in this blog post. Here are my pattern pieces I made from scratch.

The back (heart) The Front Left & The Front Right

 Circular Hemline Sleeves, Peter Pan Collar, Scalloped Edge for Front of Shirt

 Inside of Back Heart

 Outside of Back Heart

I also had to make two muslins, a one dart foundation bodice with sleeve

 and a Torso Foundation with sleeves

 it has pleats on the top of the bust and two down the sides

My next post will show you the final top. Also, I'm working on my first pair of jeans with my own pattern. Not for me though, for my six-year-old. He's growing so fast and needed new jeans but every time I buy him some I have to shell out about $30-$40 because I find that when I pay $20 at Target for a pair of jeans they shrink and don't last as long, so I've been buying them at Gap for a long time and he's had pants that I've purchased 2 years ago that still fit him well because they have not shrunk at all, but alas one must purchase new ones. This time though, I thought I'd put my sewing and patternmaking skills to good use and make him some jeans. I am using old jeans that hubby doesn't wear anymore with denim that is of very good quality. The patternmaking wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but I am still on my first mock-up so we'll see how it goes. I might have to make some adjustments. I'll show more pics of that process later.

Have you ever made pants before? Would you like me to put this up as a free pattern once I'm done with it? I'll have to see how to do that, but it would be nice to share it with ya'll.

Blazer with Hoodie DIY

Hi guys I did a guest post on Sugar Bee Crafts a while ago for a DIY Blazer and I thought I'd share it with ya'll. I have to say, since I made it I have been wearing it al the time. It really has been a staple in my wardrobe now that I've DIY'd it. Hope you guys enjoy it and don't forget to go check out Sugar Bee Crafts, it is a wonderful blog! You guys would love it:)

***********

During the fall and winter time you never know when it's going to rain or snow on a cold day. So far this week, it has rained in this very cold weather twice! I wanted to put on my stylish blazer but also cover my hair that I took all morning to fix. So, I had two options: Wear a hoodie and look not-so-stylish, or layer a hoodie under my "fits-perfect-blazer," which will just make me appear bulky. If only I had a cute, stylish blazer with a hoodie cover attached! Well now I do and so can you! Today I will show you how to DIY a hooded blazer!

You Will Need: 

A stylish blazer. (I sepia'd the picture so you could see it better)

 A black T-shirt you no longer need, or black knit fabric.

 A shirt w/a hood you like to make your pattern from. (I used hubby's)

• Pattern Tracing Interfacing Paper, or any kind of paper you choose to draw your pattern on.
• Pins
• Scissors
• Black Thread that matches the Hood.
• Pen/Pencil to trace hood
• Sewing Machine
• Serger (optional)

Fold your Hood in half lengthwise and flatten on top of your paper or PTIP. 

 Trace the outside w/your pencil or pen and use pins to mark the bottom of the hood. I placed an ironing pad under so that I can pin through the paper and leave a mark.

I connected the bottom dots with my pen and here is my pattern thus far.

 I added 1/2" Seam Allowance all the way around, add 1" to the front of the hood, the part that goes around your face. I forgot to do this on the pattern, and did it in the next step w/the fabric.

 Now place on your shirt. The grainline goes up and down on the pattern, which means it goes up & down with the length of your shirt or the grain of your black fabric.

 I cut the fabric out and added that extra 1/2" at the front to make it 1" total on the front.

 I marked an X on both of the insides of the hood w/chalk so that I know which sides are the inside.

Take the pattern off and pin from the bottom back to the top of the hood. 

 Sew w/a zig-zag stitch & Serge where you pinned. Serging is optional, you can use pinking shears to trim or just trim to 1/4". Here it is sewn and serged.

 now open it and serge the bottom and serge all around the top.

 Here it is after it is serged. If you don't have a serger, just make sure the edges are clean and leave them be. Knits don't unravel.

 As you can see the hood bottom doesn't fit on the collar band bc it is too long. So baste the bottom of the hood 1/4" from the edge and pull the bottom thread to make it smaller. 

 Here, you can see after you baste and spread evenly that it now fits on the collar.

 Now I pinned to the collar band, where the collar meets the band.

 I sewed in the ditch (or tried to) using the same color thread as the hood bc you won't be able to see the thread on the collar bc it is where it folds. Here is the back of the collar (where it folds).

 Here it is sewn in the ditch at the collar, and how it looks on the inside of the collar.

 All done! Here is what it looks like on the jacket :)

 Here it is w/the hood up.

 And here it is on me.

 Side Hood

 Back of Hood

 Front of Hood

Hope you love this tutorial! I will be doing this to many of my blazers. Plus you can tuck it into the back and hide it inside your jacket.

If you'd like to see more tutorials like this one, my baby bump progress, or OOTD's, come on over and follow my blog:) 

-Reyna

Joann's Fabric Haul

Yesterday I went to Joann's to buy fabric for my shirt project that's due on Monday. I really couldn't find a cotton/knit that was in a good price range, they are all about $20/yard! I would've bought it had the shirt been in my actual size but since we have to make them for a size 8 dress form, it was way too small for me. Which means I'll never wear it so why spend $30 on fabric (w/coupons) if I am not going to wear it? So, I decided on a shirting fabric; it was only $4.99 and %50 off. It's not at all exciting fabric but it'll work. Anyways, when I was there I saw that their flannel fabric was %75 off. I decided to take advantage of that sale and bought a yard or so of each to make burp cloths and swaddling blankets for my bundle. Each yard was only $1.42! Pretty awesome. I also wanted to make my own because at the store there only seems to be blue & white burp cloths and swaddle blankets. I wanted to make unique ones for my little one to come. Bold fabrics but still baby boy/kid friendly:) My six-year-old loved them! Anyways, here is my fabric and some patterns I bought since Butterick patterns were only $1. I added the names for each fabric, some of them are abbreviated because that is how it said it on my receipt. I got about 2-3 yds of each.

Left: Crystal Blue Daphne, Right: Sea Fun

Left: Navy Blue Circles, Rigth: Black Chevron

I Love Mommy Blue Flannel

Owl Olive

Shan Happy Dinos

Orange Chevron

Little Fish Blue

Dino Attack

METR Pirate Ship

Potent Purple Rayon

I got 3 patterns for baby.

I got these two Gutermann for a buy one get one free offer. Wish I could've gotten more but I already had a ton of fabric!

So I have a lot to sew for baby now:) Plus, it saved me a ton of money on things we need for baby. I can totally check swaddle blankets & burp cloths off the list.