DIY Dolman Sleeve Dress

Posted in DIY, Sewing & Refashioning Tutorials by sewloveable

A few weeks back I was shopping with my daughter’s. My oldest is a breeze to shop with. She loves shopping and always finds thing’s she loves. My youngest hates shopping for long durations and rarely finds thing’s she really likes……. the struggle. Thankfully on this outing she finds a dress in store # 2. She tries the dress on and the fit is perfect. She loves loose and flowy clothing…..in her words I don’t like to be squeezed. Meaning nothing that hugs her to tightly. She is all about cute and comfortable. So both girls get what they want and wear the dresses they picked to an upcoming event, we were attending.

A few weeks later, I was cleaning out my fabric stash and find a yard and a half of Fuschia Peachskin fabric and it hit me…. why not make my youngest a dress like the one she recently got. So that’s exactly what I did and here’s how.

Materials :

1 .5 Yards of 58-60″ wide fabric
A dolman sleeve dress or a regular t-shirt
1/4″ elastic (optional)
Coordinating Thread

Instructions:

Fold your fabric in half right sides facing.

Lay your dress or t-shirt on top.

Cut out 1″ away from your dress or t-shirt all the way around. (Feel free to add more length at the bottom. I added an additional 2″ because my daughter wanted it bit longer than the original.)

Now pin and sew using a 1/2″ seam allowance.

Finish you seam with a serger, zig-zag stitch or pinking shears.

Try your dress on and mark where your would like your neckline. Remove the dress and now mark 1″ above your desired neckline mark.

Cut the neckline only on the fabric that will be the front of your dress. At the 1″ mark, that’s above your desired neckline.

Now hem the neckline by folding over 1/2″ and fold over again 1/2″ and sew close to the edge. Do this to your bottom hemline and sleeves. (For the sleeves I folded over 1/4″ and then again 1/4″ and sewed close to the edge)

Now give all your seams a good press.

With your leftover fabric, cut 2 strips of fabric 3″ width x 37″ length. ( Feel free to add more to the length if needed. This is going to be the sash/belt for your dress).

Lay the strips on top of each other with right sides of the fabric touching and sew 1/2″ seam on one short edge and finish the seam as desired.

Now you will have one long strip. Press out the strip and fold it in half lengthwise. Sew 1/2″ seam down the long strip.

Turn your long sash/belt right side out and give it a good press. Turn in the edges 1/4″ and topstitch close to the edge.

Set the sash / belt aside for now.

Cut out a 5″×5″ piece of fabric.

Fold in half lengthwise right sides facing and sew with a 1/2″ seam allowance.

Turn the fabric right sides out and press with the seam in the center. Fold the short edges 1/4″ and top stitch on the edge.

Set this piece aside for now.

Now with your dress turned to the wrong side and the back facing you. Measure down 15″ and across 4″ and draw a line. Then make a line 1″ above this mark like so.

Cut (2) 1/4″ elastic pieces 3″ in length.
Attach to your dress on each of the lines with a zig-zag stitch making sure to stretch the elastic as you sew. Be mindful that your only sewing the elastic on the back of your dress.

We are almost done.

Now turn your dress right sides out. The back facing you. You will see a little gathering affect from where the elastic was sewn.

Now get the small tube we sewed earlier and pin it over the gathering like so.

Sew across the top and bottom long edges only.

When done it will look like this.

Now pull your sash/ belt through.

Now you’re ready to wear your dress. Great all year around. Add a cardigan and boots/booties, ballet flats, heels for the fall/winter months and of course for summer and spring great sandals.

Please feel free to message me with any questions you may have.

Happy Sewing & Until Next Time,

Sewloveable ☺

13Nov2014

Easy DIY A-Line Dress

Posted in DIY, Sewing & Refashioning Tutorials by sewloveable

Hello everyone,

I’ve been taking full advantage of my want to sew. My daughter’s are loving it as well because that means they can request what they would like to have made. I love it that they love and appreciate my handmade garments. I feel so good inside when they wear the thing’s I make for them. So next on the list was this simple A-line dress. Lately, my youngest has become obsessed with houndstooth. Which thrills me…..because I am too!!! So I found a great teal and black jersey knit houndstooth on DenverFabrics.com. The week that I was online fabric shopping they were having a great sale on knits. So I ordered quite a bit of fabric. So I will have more projects coming up soon. Once my order arrived I got to work right away.

I followed this very easy tutorial here.

The dress requires 1 yard of a stretch fabric.

I made the following adjustments.

• I added inset sleeve’s instead of the dolman sleeve (click here for a how to tutorial.)

• 3/4″ loose sleeve’s (my daughter’s preference.)

• Added length to hemline.

Happy Sewing & Until Next Time,

Sewloveable ☺

27Sep2013

DIY LOUNGE/ PAJAMA PANTS TUTORIAL

Posted in DIY, Sewing & Refashioning Tutorials by sewloveable

So this week I have been getting through some sewing projects. It feels good to check another one off the list.

My 14 year old pick this fabric up over the summer for just $1.95.

It is a flannel. A project like this is great with a woven cotton or flannel. Which requires about 2- 2 1/2 yards of fabric.

I used a pair of her existing pants to make these.

You can also use a store bought pattern such as this, which is very easy to follow.

This is a great beginner project.

To make these from an existing pair of pants click here.

To make these from a store bought pattern click here.

Happy Sewing & Until Next Time,

Sewloveable

24Aug2013

DIY Easy To Sew Tutorial for a Tulip/Half Peplum Skirt and a Cynthia Rowley Pattern Giveaway

Posted in DIY, Sewing & Refashioning Tutorials, Fashion by sewloveable

Now that I have the fabric’s needed it’s time to start some of my long list of projects.

So first on the list is a Tulip aka Half Peplum Skirt for my daughter. This skirt was very easy to make. It takes about and hour and requires 1 1/4 yard of fabric

To make this skirt watch this step by step Tutorial c/o DIYMEESHA

It’s time for the Giveaway

Fits Bust 30 1/2″- 44″ Waist 23″- 37″

To enter just like or leave a comment. The giveaway will run from August 23rd-28th. With the winner being announced August 29th @ 1 pm est. I will ship the pattern world wide so enter for your chance to win.

Enjoy and Happy Sewing!!! 🙂

14Aug2013

Designer Look For Less

Posted in DIY, Sewing & Refashioning Tutorials, Fashion by sewloveable

Hello all,

Today’s post is all about my obsession with this skirt. This skirt originally retails for $830 and the sale price is $498. Both prices are out of my budget for a skirt. So I decided to make the look for less for an event that I will be attending in September.

ROKSANDA ILINCIC Hot Pink and Mustard Silk Organza Full Skirt

First I had to decide what type of fabric I wanted to use. My first thought was to use silk organza like the original. Then it dawned on me that if I was going to make this skirt, I wanted to be able to wear it all year around. So I decided to go with Polyester Peachskin, which I loved working with. Now with the fabric chosen and purchased it was time to get to work.

This skirt is really very easy to make. It just a simple gathered skirt that is color blocked.

So here is what you will need:

5/8 of a yard of the Pink Polyester Peachskin (which is 60″ wide)

3/8 of a yard of the Mustard Gold Polyester Peachskin

Light to Medium Weight Fusible Interfacing

Pink and Mustard Gold Thread

Zipper (pink zipper regular or invisible) I used a regular zipper because I already had it on hand

Crochet Yarn (to make gathering easier)

2 hook and eyes (large ones)

Next take the necessary measurements

Decide how long you want the skirt to be. I wanted my skirt 25″ Long

The majority of the skirt is going to be pink so I cut my fabric 16″ long by the entire width. This includes 1/2″ seam allowance when attaching the waistband and 1/2″ seam allowance for attaching the mustard piece.

Next cut the mustard piece 9″ this includes 1/2″ seam allowance for attaching to the pink portion of the skirt and 1/2″ hem.

Now it’s time to cut the waistband and interfacing. Take your natural waist measurement. Then add 1″ of ease + 2.5″ for the waistband to overlap by 5″ wide. The 5″ width includes 1/2 seam allowance for attaching the waistband to the skirt. For a finished 2″ waistband. So my waistband was…..(34 (waist) + 1″ (of ease) + 2.5″ (for the waistband to overlap) for a total 37.5″ long x 5″ wide.

You will have 3 strips like this (note that my waistband is not cut to waist measurement in photo…. I forgot to take the pic…lol)

Set the waistband portions aside for now. Take your main pink skirt piece and the mustard piece and open them up and lay the gold on top of the pink with right sides touching each other pin or clip like so.

Sew along the pin/clipped area with a 1/2″ seam and finish the seam with a zig-zag stitch, pinking shears or a serger/overlock machine and press your seam down towards the mustard portion. ( I use Alligator hair clip instead of pins at times because they are quick. ) Be sure to designate them only for sewing. You can get 80 for $5. (cheaper alternative than Clover Wonder Clips.)

Here is the inside of my finished seam. I also serged the mustard bottom portion and the sides…..sorry forgot to photograph this step.

Now take this piece and fold it in half,(be sure the gold and pink match up, so it will be even when sewn.) lay your zipper on top of the pink portion and mark or pin/clip just above the zipper stop like so.

Now with the zipper marked you are going to sew from the bottom to the top with a 5/8″ seam allowance. Start at the mustard portion and work your way up. Once you get to where you made the mark for the zipper you need to back stitch and then do a basting stitch the rest of the way up. To baste simply change your tension to the highest setting, on my Janome that is 9. Basting is a loose temporary stitch. It should look like this.

Now press the seam open to prepare to install the zipper.

Here is a view of the right side of the tube you have just sewn.

Ok, let’s put the zipper in face down like so

Take everything back to your sewing machine. REMEMBER to set your tension back to it’s regular setting and then put on your zipper foot. Sew each side of the zipper tape as close to the teeth as possible.

When you’re done it will look like this

It’s time to remove the basting stitches like so

When you’re done removing the basting stitches it will look like this

Tada…….your zipper is installed and done.

Next onto gathering the skirt. To do so, your going to take your crochet yarn and clip/pin 1/4″ from the top edge all the way around the skirt like so.

Take it to your sewing machine and zig-zag stitch over the string. Starting a 1/2″ away from the zipper and stopping 1/2″ before the other side of the zipper.

Now pull on the crochet yarn to gather to your natural waist measurement

Now we are going to set the skirt aside and work on the waistband. You are going to take the waistband fabric and apply the fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric. The technique I use to apply interfacing is this. I lay the fabric with the wrong side facing up. Lay the fusible interfacing face down on the wrong side of the fabric. Mist the interfacing with water, take a piece of muslin and lay it on top and lay your iron on top. Work on each section like this until the entire waistband has been fused with the interfacing. Do not move the iron back and forth. Sit it on each section and rest it for 15-20 seconds and move on. One all done let the waistband completely cool. Once cool turn it over on the right side and give it a good press. This technique gives you a nice and smooth look.

To add the waistband. With the zipper open, pin the waistband piece to the very top of your skirt. It should overhang by about half an inch on one end and 1.5 inches on the other. Sew with a 1/2″ seam allowance

Press the waistband down, making sure that the seam allowance (on the inside) is facing upwards, towards the top of the skirt.

Now, press the top, raw edge of the waistband 1/2 inch.

Then fold then entire waistband toward the inside of the skirt and pin so that the previously folded edge is sitting right on top of the seam that you used to connect the band to the skirt.

Sew Close to the edge like so

Now attach the hook an eye according the package directions

The last thing left to do is to hem the skirt with a 1/2″ seam

Just give the skirt a good press and your all done.

I am really excited at just how great this skirt turned out. I am more excited to share this with everyone!!!!!

The original version is $498. My DIY version cost me $20.00. I will take spending $20 over $498 any day.

Enjoy, Happy Sewing and feel free to ask questions.

Until Next Time,

Sewloveable

10Jul2013

Easy DIY Elastic Waist Shorts using your own clothes as a pattern

Posted in DIY, Sewing & Refashioning Tutorials by sewloveable

I love taking things that I already own and use them as my pattern. Doing this let’s me invest more money into my fabric choice, since I am not buying a pattern. Working with clothes in your closet also gives you the opportunity to understand garment construction.

Ok so let’s get started.

Supplies:

A pair of Shorts that fit you well (preferably not made from a knit fabric.)

1-2 yards of fabric depending on your size.

1″ Elastic

Coordinating Thread

So first fold your fabric in half with right sides touching and the wrong side facing you.

Lay your shorts on top like so cut out. I usually cut my fabric about 1″ bigger than my pattern(shorts). Except for the top of the shorts add an extra 2″ (this will be your waist portion) Feel free to add or reduce the seam allowance at the bottom (leg area) to make the shorts the desired length.

You will end up with 4 pieces like this.

Next lay two pieces with right sides of the fabric touching like so

Now let’s head to the sewing machine. Pin the following area as shown below.

And sew with a 1/2″ seam allowance like so

It is very important to STOP at the crotch……DO NOT GO ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM. (Sidenote: I use single prong hair clips that I purchased just for sewing from the beauty supply. I like them better than pins and it’s a lot cheaper than the clover clips. You can purchase 80 hair clips for $5.00. I use pins mostly when draping fabric on my mannequin.)

Repeat those steps with the other 2 pieces. Then finish off your seam edge by serging, zig-zag or using pinking sheers. To prevent your edges from fraying. I used my serger but any of the above methods will work when finishing your seam edges.

Next open the shorts up and press the seam nice and flat and smooth.

Ok so now with your shorts opened up, your going to lay them with right sides of the fabric touching and sew the side seams with a 1/2″ seam allowance like so

Finish off the seam edges like you did previously and press.

Next sew the crotch area like so

And finish and press the seam edges.

Ok so let’s hem the top and bottom of the shorts by folding by folding over 1/4″ and 1″ and press. It will look something like this

I add a ribbon at the back as a tag which is totally optional.

It’s time to sew the bottom hem of each leg staying close to THE edge. When sewing the waist remember to leave a 2″ opening to feed your elastic through.

Next up measure the elastic around your waist and cut. Put a large safety pin in one end of the elastic an a large straight pin on the other end like so (sidenote: The safety pin helps you feed the elastic through while the straight pin keeps the other end of elastic from getting lost in the casing.)

Feed the elastic into the opening

All the way through the casing

Now it’s time to sew the elastic together by over lapping an using a zig-zag stitch. Go back and forth a few times to ensure it’s secure

Close up the opening and your all done.

Here’s another pair I made which are in a great orange, yellow and navy blue African Print with an attached sash belt.

Enjoy & Happy Sewing and please feel free to ask question.

3Jul2013

Sequin Clutch Re-fashioned from a Skirt

Posted in DIY, Sewing & Refashioning Tutorials by sewloveable

Finally, finally…….I made a Sequin Clutch/ Make Up Bag. This has been on my long list of projects and now I can scratch it off the list of many.

So for quite some time I have wanted a sequin clutch and make up bag. I received a black sequin make-up bag as a gift from Neman Marcus a few years ago. I love it soooo but some of the sequins are starting to come off.

So this was more of an incentive to overcome my fears of working with sequin fabric.

So last week while cleaning out my daughters closets I came across this sequin skirt. Which was now to short for either one of my young ladies, so I tossed it in the donate pile along with many other items. Once I was done cleaning and sorting and bagging everything up…….I thought why not re-fashion the skirt. Which I only paid $2.00 for from Burlington Coat Factory and turn it into a clutch/ make-up bag.

So I went straight to pinterest to find a tutorial an I found one by Sweet-Verbena that was exactly what I had in mind. Very easy to follow and didn’t take long at all.

To make your own version of the sequin clutch click here.

Enjoy & Happy Sewing!!!!!!

28May2013

Glitter and Stripes

Posted in DIY, Sewing & Refashioning Tutorials by sewloveable

Ok so back in the fall of 2012. I was in TJMaxx, looking for some cute tops for my daughter’s. Which was a bold move on my part because I was shopping without them being present. Which majority of the time this is a no no. All mom’s of tweens and teen know EXCATLY what I mean…lol.

Well I saw this one top in particular that looked like something my youngest would really like. Turns out she LOVED this knit striped top with a heart and love written on it. For $19.99

So of course I felt like such a proud mother for two reason…….she liked it, she really liked it AND…..I did not have to make a trip to return anything.

She loves the top so much that she wears it every chance she gets Then it dawned on me to copy the pattern and make her a short sleeve version.

So I headed to Hancock Fabric’s because they were having a great sale.

So there on the clearance table I find a great Jersey Knit with chocolate brown and cream stripes and “GLITTER”.

I only needed 1 yard of fabric…..Total cost $5.25…….and it only took about 40 minutes from cut to finish and that includes interruptions….lol.