Raglan Sleeve Fleece Jacket

www.surefitdesigns.blogspot.com

What am I doing on hot summer days sewing with cozy fleece?  Making a raglan sleeve bomber-style jacket to wear to the cold group exercise room at our gym.  I'm always cold particularly during my yoga classes and I've wanted to sew this ages ago but could never seem to find the days to do it.

It's done...it's cozy...it's comfortable and warm.

If you're interested in drawing a raglan sleeve from your Sure-Fit Designs Dress Kit bodice blueprint, just follow the directions from Fashion Leaflet #1 for Raglan Sleeve Designing.  Just click here - it's an easy download for just $1.49.  This particular raglan sleeve is called a one-piece raglan even though it has the shoulder dart.  A two-piece raglan sleeve splits the sleeve open to the sleeve hem and consequently conceals the shape of the shoulder dart in the seaming.

I wanted a bomber-style of jacket, so here are the modifications I made to the pattern:
1. Drop the CF neck line 5/8".
2. Drop and widen the bodice underarm 5/8".
3. Drop and widen the sleeve underarm 5/8".
4. Continue the extra side seam width (from widening the underarm) down to the hem level.
5. Add ribbing 2 3/4" wide at hip level and to finish the sleeve 'cuff''.
6. Add a curved, patch-style of pocket and finished the opening with 1" wide ribbing.

7. Use the CoverStitch machine to topstitch significant seams like the raglan, the bust dart, the shoulder dart and to attach the pocket to the jacket.

8. Then finished it off with an exposed zipper at center front and used the Mandarin Collar pattern from the Sure-Fit Designs Collar Collection to complete the neck edge.

The fit is comfortable over a regular T-Shirt, but if I wanted to wear it over top of something heavier (like a sweatshirt), I'd recommend widening the underarm approximately another 1/2" (1.3 cm) and lowering the underarm an additional 5/8" (1.6cm).  It all depends on how bulky the garment is that is being worn underneath.

Happy fitting and sewing!

Love my Yoga class, but...

 SureFitDesignsBlog
I love my Yoga classes, but is the workout room ever cold!  I usually wear multiple layers, but while fabric shopping in Portland OR on a recent visit, I went to the coolest, little fabric store called Bolt Fabrics and they just happened to be having an annual sale.  Was I ever in luck!  Let me show you what I sewed - the warmest, most comfortable and soft-to-wear top to go with the leggings I talked about a few months ago. They are sewn from a Nicole Miller Scooba Fabric.  If you're interested in reading about the leggings just click this link - leggings.

I know it's a pretty basic style, but oh my...it is truly one of the softest, most comfortable fabrics I've ever put against my skin.  It's a very low loop terry knit with an unusual fiber content - 47.5% Soy, 47.5% Organic Cotton and 5% Spandex.  Yes, it stretches in both horizontal and vertical directions, and yes my pattern was sized down about 1 measurement dot all the way around.

6 Simple Seams - that's all it takes. 2 shoulder seams, 2 side seams and 2 underarm seams - couldn't be more simple.  This top definitely qualifies as one of our SFD Made in a Day projects.

How to design the top?
I used my pre-drawn pattern for a Dress Kit T-Shirt.  You may remember there is an article on T-Shirt Tactics in the SFD Learning Center that tells you how to remove the dart from your Dress Kit Bodice to make a closer fitting T-Shirt.
Previously, I'd used these directions to draw this Color-Blocked T-Shirt.  Some of you will remember this design.

If you want the instructions for designing this color-blocked T-Shirt, they are only $1.99 and can be found on this page.
So for my new cream-colored top, I simply joined the front pieces together from the color-blocked T-Shirt pattern and cut the front all as one unit - meaning no diagonal cuts for the color blocking. Then re-drew the T-Shirt front so that I ended up with a new front pattern piece. The back was just the same - no special designs or cuts for color blocking.  And the sleeve was exactly the same length - I just didn't add the elastic shirring at the hem level.  And if it helps you in designing your desired length, my side seam length is 19" long from the underarm point to the finished hem level.  This entire pattern was just super simple.

I used self fabric for the neck edge trim since it definitely stretched enough to go easily around the neck curves.
And I finished the hems and neck edge seam with my cover stitch machine (which I absolutely love...did I ever tell you this before?)

If you haven't yet seen my free Cover Stitch machine videos, make sure to hop on over to the SFD Learning Center - to Cover Stitch Machine Videos.  There's a series of 3 to watch.

I might not be doing the yoga poses exactly right, but you'll get the idea.  This fabric stretches exactly where and when it needs to.

Have fun and happy sewing!

Bye, Bye Basic Black

I love my new leggings!

I've sewn them from something called Scuba fabric that I recently picked up at my local JoAnn Fabric store.  This was a Nicole Miller fabric designed exclusively for JoAnn Fabrics.

It's kind of a spongy dual-layer fabric with lots of lengthwise and crosswise stretch...just perfect for leggings...and everyone's wearing leggings this season, whether to the gym or for just simply daytime wear.  It's 57" wide fabric, 94% polyester and 6% Spandex.

The pattern for the leggings is from the Sure-Fit Designs (downloadable) Leggings Fashion Leaflet found on this page - Click Here.

One of the few differences from the above instructions is that I eliminated the side seam.  Once I'd sized down for the 'leggings' fit, front and back were laid together at the side seams, so that the front and back could be cut together as one unit.  The actual instructions for a 'No Side Seam Pants Style' are found in the Sure-Fit Designs Children's Kit.  And there is also a discussion of how to eliminate the side seam in the Pajama Pants video found in the Sure-Fit Designs Learning Center. Click Here.

Without the side seam, you now have only 3 easy seams: both inseams and the crotch curve.  But first I used my Cover stitch machine to stitch up the hem.  Here are photos of both right and wrong side at the hem.  If you'd like complimentary videos on stitching with a Cover Stitch machine, Click Here.

Once the hem was turned up and stitched, the inseams were sewn with a 4-thread serger process.  I also used a stretchy cone thread which was something new for me.  This thread is kind of spongy like Wooly Nylon, but not quite so springy.  I thought it would be a good thread complement to the stretchy fabric since I knew I'd wear them in my yoga class.

Then the crotch seam was sewn.

And lastly, I applied 1" (2.5 cm) wide elastic at the waist edge.  The elastic was cut 2" (5 cm) less than my waist measurement and sewn to the waist edge with zigzag stitching.   For directions for applying waist elastic with this technique, refer to page 24 of your Sure-Fit Designs Pants Kit Instruction Book (5th edition).  When on, they feel really comfortable.  When I first put them on the 'scuba' fabric feels a little 'cold', but within a short period of time, they warm up (maybe it's me that's warming up!  I'm always cold!).

Yes, they were fun to make and extremely quick to sew.  They definitely qualify as another 'Made in a Day' project.

Happy Sewing!

White Pants...Spring has Sprung

I rarely wear white pants, but I got inspired by our (finally) sunny April days after a month of less than desirable gray skies and constant rain in March.
JoAnn Fabrics has white stretch denim. The fiber content is 70% cotton, 28% polyester & 2% Spandex.  It's heavy enough to look similar to 100% cotton, but has the easy care of polyester and the stretch wearing ease of Spandex.

Since I didn't want to sew 'real jeans', I chose a combination of patterns and instructions from existing Sure-Fit Designs information, which is what I'm going to share with you.  And the best part is that since my pattern was from a previous pair of pants, they were sewn in a day, qualifying them for a Made in a Day project.

The basic style is from the pants designing book - Pants that Mix n Multiply - Style #1: Flared Leg Pants with Elasticized Waist Edge.

I wanted skinny legs instead of flared legs.  And I chose to crop the hem around calf length.
Watch this video on narrowing the legs.

Now the slightly stretchy fabric.  Did I size down or not?
I tested the stretch factor (comfortably stretching on the crosswise grain).

With the 2% Spandex, 10 inches actually stretch up to barely 11 inches - 10% stretch, or what I'd call a Limited Stretch Knit.

If this had of been a blouse, I wouldn't have done anything with the pattern (my body blueprint).  For these pants though, I used my pants pattern that already had been sized down to remove the 2" (5 cm) of ease that is in the low/full hip circumference (i.e. I'd already sized down about 1 to 2 dots) .  So I cut them out without any further ease reduction. But because I wanted skinny and relatively snug-fitting pants, I decided to baste all seams at 3/4" (1.9 cm) for a 'try-on' including the crotch seam (I left CF open so I could step into them). Basting when working with fabric that stretches is always a good idea since all knits stretch and feel different on.  I decided I liked the wider seam allowance, so I then ripped out the crotch seam and proceeded to sew them together.

After the darts were sewn, the double welt pocket went in.  For those of you who would like a sewing tutorial for the Double Welt Pocket, please read this previous blog - http://surefitdesigns.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-double-welt-pocket.html 

Then I ripped the left side seam basting and inserted the invisible zipper -

 

I'll be showing you how to insert an invisible zipper in a soon-to-be-released new DVD Beginner Sewing Series - Make It Sew.  Please watch your SFD newsletters and this blog for the release date information.

And on the inside, before I inserted the invisible zipper, I covered the bottom end of the zipper to prevent the 'zipper scratchies'.  What the heck are 'zipper scratchies'?  Take a few minutes to read this previous blog - http://surefitdesigns.blogspot.com/2015/03/zipper-scratchies.html 

I definitely kept the 3/4" (1.9cm) seam allowance width on all seams.

Then hemmed the legs with my Coverstitch Machine (which I love and use every opportunity that I can).  For those of you not familiar with a Coverstitch Machine, make sure to watch my Coverstitch (free) videos.  I'll post video #1 here.  To see all 3 in the series, please click here in the SFD Learning Center Video Library.

 

And lastly, I finished off the waist edge with1" (2.5 cm) wide, non-roll elastic.  You'll find the direction for this easy application in with the instructions for Style #1: Flared Leg Pants with Elasticized Waist Edge in the Pants that Mix n Multiply designing book.

 

This was a fun and easy pair of pants to sew.  They're extremely comfortable.  I'm sure I'll get lots of wear from them as summer comes on.  But primarily, I wanted you to see another easy project utilizing the Sure-Fit Designs resources that so many of you already have.

And just in case some of you are new to Sure-Fit Designs, the blouse I'm wearing is the Princess Line Blouse sewn from the Dress Kit and available as a downloadable Fashion Leaflet from this page - 

http://www.surefitdesigns.com/DigitalE-Goods.html

Happy Sewing,

Cover Stitch Machine Tips, Techniques & General Info

Ever since I produced my first video on how to use a cover stitch machine, I've had countless views on this video AND we've had numerous requests to provide more videos on this topic.  My personal cover stitch machine is a Janome Cover Pro 1000 CPX .  I LOVE IT!  I know it is primarily used just for hemming.  It's a wonderful extravagance.  If you have the financial resources for one and the space for it in your sewing room (your special place), you might want to consider one.  Of course you can sew hems with your regular machine.  I did for years.  But I LOVE IT!

I just had a customer ask me...'What is a Cover Stitch machine?'

Please watch the following videos.   This is a 3-Part series.  Enjoy if you have one!

From hemming options to ripping our boo-boos to using the chain stitch for basting...I'm sure you'll learn just that little bit more to add to your quiver of knowledge.

Happy Cover stitching!

Cover Stitch Tips & Tecniques

Some of you might be considering the purchase of a Cover Stitch machine.  If you have space in your sewing room, let me tell you, it's well worth it.

About 1 1/2 years ago, I was in the market for a new serger and settled on the Baby Lock Evolution...which I love by the way...it also had cover stitch capabilities.  And it did a good job of covering stitching, but it always seemed like I needed that cover stitch feature right in the middle of the project.  Then I'd have to move the needles back to regular serging, change the knife position (again) and change the cover plate.  All easy enough to do, but time consuming and an interruption in the whole construction process.

So not too long ago, I decided it was definitely time to have a separate machine just for this cover stitch function.  I choose a Janome 1000 CPX...and I absolutely love it.

Here's a short video on the tips and techniques that were taught to me on threading the machine and starting and stopping a line of stitching.  I hope you find it beneficial.

The vest that I show you during this video is finally completed.  Here's a photo.

That's 'reverse' cover stitching on the princess seam.

Watch your February SFD newsletter for the announcement of this Reversible Vest Fashion Leaflet...it's coming soon.

Kindly,
Glenda...the Good Stitch!