A Tutorial on a Textured Reverse Applique Technique

I'm back as promised to explain how to do the fabric manipulation technique I used in my last post.

The top is the CINO Nessie top pattern using the colorblock option. That's right, I didn't even have to hack the pattern. It comes this way - ready to embellish! 

 Now, I didn't think this up myself to be honest. I saw this pin that doesn't really lead to a tutorial or anything, but I did want to give credit. The pinned example looks to be made of felt, but I thought it would work well with knits. I've kind of got a thing for reverse applique so this really charmed me.

This technique is pretty simple but gives big results. You will need to cut 2 pieces of that upper bodice in contrasting fabrics. Most any knit will work. These happen to be a cotton/spandex and a rayon/spandex underneath. As long as it doesn't fray, you are in business. Stack them on top of each other right sides up. You can baste around the edges if you like, but on a small piece like this, I didn't bother. (You could also cut 2 rectangles big enough for your pattern piece, do the technique, and then cut out your actual pieces from your new "fabric")

Use a ruler with a 45 degree angle to mark lines across. I used chalk and spaced mine 3/4" apart.

Sew across those lines with a straight stitch. I chose matching thread but imagine the possibilities. I used a stitch length of 2.5 as usual, but larger would be cool too.

Now mark the lines the same distance in the opposite direction and then sew them too.

Now comes the scary part. You will need to use some small scissors to cut away the 2 bottom sides of each square. Gently pull the 2 layers apart and pinch the bottom corner. Picture a vertical line running down to that point at the bottom. Make a small snip at the center bottom. If you centered it well, it will make it easy to then cut up to the corner on each side. The first few will feel scary as heck, but you will get quicker and more confident after just a few squares. I've done other reverse applique projects (you can see them here) where I completely cut away that top layer so it didn't matter how neat or perfectly placed that first snip was. With this, you are leaving the whole top layer there so you do need to be as accurate as possible with that first snip. You could always practice on a scrap first if you are really worried.

Then just sew up the pattern as usual. I waited to cut open some of the squares that were near the edges until after I sewed the rest of the shirt. I didn't open a couple at all if I thought they might stick out funny near a seam. 

So that's all there is to it. If you try it, I'd love to see your project so please post a link in the comments if you do. Be brave and have fun.

Upcycling a Nessie Top and Hosh Pants

Welcome to my Project Run & Play sewalong look for week 2: I'm An Autumn. Fall clothes are THE best. I've always loved getting new clothes for fall and then look forward to the weather cooling off enough to wear them. I love the deep, warm colors of fall and I also tend to think of texture with fall clothes - think chunky sweater knits, corduroy, etc.

One of my favorite aspects of sewing for children is that with smaller fabric requirements, you can upcycle a lot of the time. Having her only sister 13 years older than her means that while there is a good pile of hand-me-downs for Elena, only some of them are classic enough to save as is for future years, but many wind up being remade. I like that upcycling costs me no money, but I also like the nostalgia of seeing Olivia's clothes worn by her little sister.

The pants are LouBee Clothing Hosh Pants with added welt pockets on the front. They began their life as a dress from Old Navy. It's a medium to heavy weight knit with good stretch and recovery. After cutting the dress apart I noticed that the back of the dress had a center seam that I had to straighten out before I could use it. I used a straight edge and marked where to sew a new seam to straighten it. This means that one pant leg has an outer seam, but who is really going to notice that?

I fancied up the pants a bit by adding welt pockets. I made WELT POCKETS! This has been on my sewing bucket list for well over a year. I'm so glad I did it because 1.) they were the perfect pocket for a pant with no (or only 1,  heehee) side seam and 2.) I feel like a sewing genius now. After watching a couple of video tutorials, I wasn't too scared of the sewing, it was the placement. I was hacking here and totally guessing as to where to put that first one and then not so confident about making the other one match it. So stressful. But it turned out well and now I have the confidence to welt all the pockets.

The shirt is the really fun part. It is made from a long sleeved tee my mom passed off and a tiny piece of rayon/spandex knit from CaliFabrics. I used my favorite old Craftiness Is Not Optional Nessie Top. Gosh, I love that pattern. This upcycle was meant to be. Look at this pattern layout in the next picture and see how little of the shirt was wasted.

So a recycled Hosh pant and Nessie top outfit came to life. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the process of making this one. Between pushing myself to try the welt pockets and the fear of cutting through the second layer on the bodice portion, this one was a roller coaster of emotions. The process and all the nerves were well worth it. I'll do a tutorial on how to do the textured reverse applique technique later this week. And now, more pictures.

(Edited 9/22/16: The tutorial is here.)

Sofilantjes Otium Top & LIV skirt

I have a new favorite outfit for Elena. This outfit is everything I strive for in sewing for her - it's knit so its comfy, it's creative so it was fun for me, it includes handwork so it employs some different skills, and it was very economical. Let's look at those one at a time.

I love sewing knits and let's face it, knits is what we wear most of the time anyway. Good knit patterns are my very favorite patterns to own. This Otium pattern from Sofilantjes Patterns is a great one. It offers lots of options including short, three-quarter, or long sleeves; a normal back or low back with a pretty bow; or a very cool diagonal pocket across the front (great color blocking opportunity here). You don't have to do any hemming because there are neck, sleeve and waist bands so that always speeds things up (and gives more color blocking options). The girls size comes in 12 months to 14 years. The women's version covers sizes XS to XXXL. Both patterns come with layers so you can print only the size you want. And of course, patterns come in either English or Dutch. Putting the pattern together, cutting and sewing all went perfectly. No issues whatsoever.

The LIV skirt pattern is a free knit skirt pattern also available from Sofilantjes. It comes in sizes newborn to 9/10 EN. I only found out about it Friday so I dug out the scraps from the top and added in an old t-shirt and had a matching skirt ready in 45 minutes. Yay! For skinny mini here, I trusted the size chart and went with the 18-24 month size but cut the skirt front and back pieces with the size 3-4 length. Perfection. And I forgot to mention that on the top, I did my usual adjustment to make a size 2 in width and 4 in length. 

Choosing fabric for this top was fun. I was able to pull from my stash. Both the floral and the green are cotton lycra and cotton spandex respectively from Girl Charlee last fall. I've used them both a couple times already so these pieces will be wearable with some other already existing pieces - although it would look very silly to wear this top with matching leggings! Can you imagine? Oh my. (But we do have this outfit from last summer to mix and match with.)

I had time to get fancy with this one and use reverse applique. I love sitting on the couch watching TV and doing something useful at the same time. Much better than spending another evening on Pinterest. This isn't my first reverse applique project. You can see others here and here (a little tutorial on that second link). I think it turned out pretty sweet. I didn't use paint this time. Instead I just drew the pattern on with a disappearing pen and got to the hand-stitching. 

I said this was economical and it sure was. The fabrics weren't much in the first place and these were leftovers anyway. The t-shirt for the skirt was a hand-me-down. I spent $2 on the white pearle cotton for the embroidery, but already had the navy. The skirt pattern is free to everyone. The top pattern I received for free in exchange for this post, but that doesn't affect my opinion at all. This pattern is very versatile and I think I'll make Elena a low back with a bow one once the weather warms up. I may even extend it into a dress or at least tunic length. And how cute would one with the pocket be for putting a dolly into?!

It's economical for you too because, this week, during the tour, the Otium pattern (only the girls' sizes or only the women's sizes)  will be 20% off and the Otium Bundle (inludes girls' and women's sizes) will be 30% off, no coupon code needed at sofilantjes.com.  

Be sure to read to the bottom to enter the rafflecopter giveaway for a chance at lots of patterns!

I did make myself a simple version too. I went with long sleeves but no waist band. I used fabric from the thrift store for a good, wearable muslin. The sleeve length was perfect and the neckband was just the right length. I think I will go a size smaller next time. I was guessing at my measurements because I'm in denial and didn't want to really know what they are these days. Haha. It's a good, comfy basic for me too and will be even better with better fabric. And I like that it has regular sleeves because I have made a couple raglan sleeve tops for myself this winter and I don't think they flatter my wide shoulders. (Sorry for the poor quality photo and dufus look on my face. There was no one home to help take pictures.) 

Let's return to photos of my cutie patootie, Elena. I like those much better and I just love her outfit.

To distract her from the armoire, I gave her a box of bracelets to explore. She was all smiles after that.

Don't miss stopping by all the other stops on the tour to see more amazing versions of the Otium!

Monday, January 26th

Huisje Boompje Boefjes - Pienkel - Straight Grain

Tuesday, January 27th

From a Box - Shaffer Sisters - Friends Stitched Together

Wednesday, January 28th

Mie Katoentje - Lulu & Celeste - Rebel & Malice - Work, Pray, Sew

Thursday, January 29th 

Sew Starly - The Berry Bunch - Sprouting JubeJube - Mllikepoinen

Friday, January 30th

Rebekah Sews - Gloria June -  Sew Out of Control - Jaime Sews

Saturday, January 31st

LisaLisa Designs - Vaahtokarkkimonsteri - DIY Crush - Unikuun Terapiahuone - Golden Rippy

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for reading. I was honored to be a part of this pattern tour. I do highly recommend this pattern.

PRP Week 3 - Create Your Own Fabric

I couldn't have been happier to find out that Project Run and Play's week 3 challenge was to create your own fabric to use in a garment. Sometimes things just work out so well, it's amazing. Back in February, I had a library book out called something like Alabama Chanin Studio Style. I loved the look and studied the technique. I tried it out first on a small scale on this project for No Big Dill's Sew All 26 (it was my "T" is for texture). That gave me the confidence to try it on a large scale as a present for my oldest daughter's 16th birthday.

She chose the fabrics from Joann's and the stencil is straight off the Alabama Chanin website. It is called "Anna's Garden." They say they recognize the fact that very many people aren't going to be able to pay $830 for a completely hand sewn organic cotton tank top so they also sell kits and have their stencils available for free download for the total DIY experience. Free sounds good to me! Our materials cost less than $25 and we have leftovers. 

The basic steps are as follows:
1.  Enlarge the stencil to the desired size.
2.  Trace onto freezer paper.
3.  Cut 2 front pieces of your top using 2 contrasting knit fabrics.
4.  Iron your stencil to the top layer and paint it with a sponge or air gun if you are lucky enough to have one.
     The dark paint will actually leave a cool shadow effect around the edges after cutting out the centers.
5.  Baste them together around all of the edges.
6.  Choose another color of something like embroidery floss or I used darning thread.
7.  Outline every shape and then oh so carefully cut away the top layer.

This dress was a labor of love. It was proof to my oldest that she is just as important to me as her little 2 year old sister. It was a risk and a leap of faith because sometimes I sew her things and she winds up not liking them for reasons I never understand. It was a meditation. It was a relief when it was done.

The Alabama Chanin style is pretty rustic and not really my thing. I finished the neck and armholes with bindings machine stitched to the outside, turned and handsewn inside. I used a basic bodice and made it nice and long to attach a dropped-waisted skirt. She and I watch a lot of Downtown Abbey together so we wanted a nod to the 20's with the drop-waist and straight bodice.

I snuck her initials, "O.K." onto her hip as a surprise.

Olivia really doesn't enjoy being photographed. She felt awkward about her knees in the next pictures so let me explain - she is a volleyball player, ok? That means lots of bruises and floor burns - always, even with knee pads. Pretty much year round. She just played a 2 day out of town tournament this past weekend too so we have fresh bruises. But let me also say that volleyball tournaments are an excellent place to do handwork like this, as are my son's swimming meets, and in front of the television.

The skirt and the back are simple and unembellished.

This dress suits her so, so well. It's creative and unique. One of a kind for a one of a kind girl.

T is for Texture

This has to be my favorite project yet for the Sew All 26 Series with Katy of No Big Dill. 

T is for texture. After my recent attempt at hand embroidery here, I checked some books out of the library and got some more ideas of ways to combine it with reverse applique and beading. So I drew a design based off one of the flowers in the skirt fabric and gave it a go. I LOVE it! 

The T-shirt is made using the brand new Nessie Top pattern from Craftiness is Not Optional. For fabric I repurposed a green box T and used scraps of cream interlock and another old repurposed T. So I bought nothing, except the pattern of course, to make this adorable shirt. I LOVE this pattern. Elena is 2-1/2 but she's so narrow that I went with the 2T and it's just right. Big enough to fit a while but not swamping her. I can't wait to make more of them in all the variations - especially the peter pan collar. 

I added green toned bugle beads to the 4 main leaves and a pink sequin to the center of each flower. What was really cool about this project was that I wasn't sitting alone in the basement sewing room. I could do this hand work in the living room while watching/listening to the Olympics with my family. I liked that a lot. Actual sewing time was minimal and done while Elena napped one afternoon.

The skirt is made of corduroy from Joann's. I used McCall's 6498 and it turned out really cute for spring. It has center front and back panels and 2 side panels. Originally I planned on adding large pockets to those sides but decided to save that for a less busy fabric. The skirt has an elastic waist and the bottom of the side panels has elastic too to give a bubble effect. Pretty cute and less than 30 minutes to make. 

So T is for T-shirt with Texture and a Tube skirt with Texture (corduroy). Also for Trying new Techniques.

Be sure to check back in a couple weeks for another example of this technique for Olivia. We bought the fabric today and will be making her a dress with the whole front of the bodice done in the same manner, but a much more grown up design of course. We're pretty excited about it. Please send me good vibes because some of you know how hard it can be to sew for teens. This is going to be quite time consuming so I sure hope she likes it in the end.

I'm also linking up at Make It & Love It and Peek-a-Boo Patterns Friday Fav's because I'm a linky addict.