Pattern of the Month - August 2010

Hello all! Boy, that was one busy July. We had some Kids Camps and then there was the Renegade Craft Fair - which was awesome - and of course all our classes and people who wanted to buy some fabric. August is shaping up to be a bit more mellow, so we'll get a little R & R before September hits. And since Sew Liberated just released a brand new pattern - the Sunday Picnic Blouse - we can be cute, comfortable and stylish while relaxing!

Pattern of the Month - July 2010

Recently, I have taught a couple of our Tote Bag classes, and some of the students were asking if there were any reversible bag patterns that we recommended. I didn't know of any off the cuff, but I did some research and found this one - Amy Butler's Swing Bag. It's a great size for running around town with a bit of a different shape and a cute little detail to the handles.

Pattern of the Month - June 2010

In the modern spirit of a 'staycation', my darling dearest and I recently used some of of our traveling savings to get a small grill and two chairs for our patio. Hooray for summer! I realized quickly that I did not have any appropriate lounging garments for relaxing on said patio, hence the June 2010 pattern of the month - comfy summer PJ's from KWIK Sew 3595!

Pattern of the Month - May 2010

I love this bag! I made it for the Pattern of the Month and was going to put it on display at the shop, but it seems that I have kidnapped it and it's now my everyday bag. I can't tell you how much stuff I can cram in it - and that for me is a good bag. I even decided to make it into a kit to make it easier for everyone to get online (and we have them at the shop too)!

Pattern of the Month - April 2010

There are so many great sewing patterns out there that we here at Sew L.A. have decided to highlight one pattern a month right here in our blog so everyone can share in the fun! We'll talk about why we picked the pattern, show you some pictures and talk about anything we did differently from the instructions, plus share any helpful hints we might have regarding fitting and construction.

We just got a bunch of incredible rayon prints in at the shop from the Van Gogh collection by Free Spirit, and I was itching to make something out of it. I was looking for something quick and easy as I had a dreaded tax deadline hanging over my head, and this is what I came up with - our first Pattern of the Month - KWIK Sew 3242
This is one of those patterns where you can't see how great a design it is till you make it in fabric that you like! I was thinking breezy and easy, because it was hot here for about two minutes last week, so I made View B, the shorter skirt. It's definitely a beginner level pattern: two pattern pieces, a couple of seams and an elastic waist. The hem is easy - there's just a lot of it - so that's the only thing that took a little time. The pattern says to overcast the edge then turn it in for a hem, but I did a double fold hem because you can see the hem as you wear the skirt. First, I made it in one of our solid bamboo rayons because I love the color - 'moss':

Now I'm making it in this fabric!

I love that it looks like a bias cut skirt but it's really cut on the straight of grain. If you have taken Pajamarama, the Wrap Skirt or the Tess' Dress class, you can make this no problem! Use more pins when pinning because rayon is slipperier than cotton (this would look fine in cotton as well, but it wouldn't be as slinky looking).

Sizing is something you'll need to pay attention to. Here's a picture of the finished measurement where the skirt meets the yoke:

You'll want the skirt measurement to be at least 1" larger than your body measurement. If you'll wear the waist of the skirt right at your natural waist, this measurement will fall an inch or so under your hip bones, so you can measure around there. I like to wear this with the waist more AT my hip bones (I have a lot of tunic length tops) so I used my hip measurement at 9" from my natural waist to choose the size. My measurement is 41", so I chose the large which will give me one inch of ease. If you are unsure, erring on the side of a little more room is always a good policy. Pattern bonus: a cute cap-sleeve tee shirt! Super easy and quick if you have already worked with knits a bit (like in our Basic Tee class). Enjoy!