THE BONNIE SEW-ALONG #2

Welcome back to the Bonnie  sew-along.

If you are joining in don't forget to join the Facebook sew-along group where you'll find all the sew along posts, feel free to post your Bonnie progress shots, ask any questions you may have as well as take a peek at what others are sewing. You can also follow along on Instagram and Twitter  just use hashtag #bonniesewalong.

Choosing your fabric

Recommended fabrics for Bonnie are stable light-medium weight jersey/knit fabrics such as merino wool, sweater knits, jerseys, cotton blends etc. As usual you can find this list on the back of the pattern envelope. You just need to keep in mind the stretch 40%-50% that the pattern is recommended for. Yesterday's sew-along post i briefly touched on the topic of sewing with good quality knit fabrics for Bonnie or any other knit pattern you plan on sewing up so keep this mind too when out fabric shopping.

Some of the fabric i used i  sourced locally at some of  the below places:

 

 The Remnant warehouse

Darn Cheap Fabrics

The Cloth Shop

Rathdowne Fabrics

These all have a great selection of knit fabrics.

If you're already a knit fabric hoarder then you probably already have your favorite places to buy awesome knit fabric, if you do and would like to share them feel free to leave a comment below so we build a resource list together... 

That's if you want to share your gems :)

Supplies & Tools you'll need

Back to yesterday's post again, i listed a few of the tools and supplies you need to have to sew up knit fabrics, these also apply to sewing up the Bonnie pattern.

* Main fabric

* Matching Thread*2 1/2 yards of 1/4'' (6mm) clear plastic tape
* Ball point needles
*Optional: Twin needle for hemming
*Optional: Ribbing fabric for neckband & waistband

* Pins

* Pattern weights
*Rotary cutter and Self healing mat ( optional)

* Tracing paper & Pencil

* Sharpie/Marker

And obviously your copy of the Bonnie pattern ( Paper or PDF) ready to go. 
You can pick up a copy here.

CHOOSE YOUR SIZE  

Choosing you size for Bonnie is just the same as if you would pick your size for a woven pattern. Simply measure your Bust, waist and hips.

Bust measurement: Measure around the fullest point of your bust, wearing whatever type of bra or undergarment you plan on wearing under your Bonnie sweater. 
Waist measurement: Is at your natural waist. On many people this is the smallest point of your torso.

 Hip measurement: The fullest part of your hips and butt. Typically this is approximately 7″ below your natural waist, but this differs on everyone. This measurement isn't too important on the Odette dress due to the skirt being flared and skimming over the hips and butt, make measure it anyway just to be on the safe side.

You may need a hand and  have someone help you take your measurements, especially the bust,  as having your arms up and holding the tape can affect the measurement slightly.

 I ran through choosing your sizing, dealing with being in between sizes, tracing your pattern and whole heap of other tips in the previous Odette sew-along i ran here on the blog. To save this post being super long and wordy you can check out this post and read up on all this info in more detail, if you need to. Read up on prepping and cutting out your fabric here as well if you need to.

If you need some inspiration for your Bonnie then check out the Pinterest Board I've set up with some lovely stuff in it.  Feel free to add your own Bonnie inspiration too.

Abby

x

Gather up all your fabric, tools and supplies, choose your size, trace your pattern, prep and  cut out your fabric cause we will be start to sew up our Bonnie's tomorrow!