Tutorial: How to make thread belt loops

I don't know about you but i'm a big fan of adding belts to skirts and dresses either to change up an outfit or add something a little extra special.  I do this a lot with fit and flare dresses, which in their own right accentuate the small of the waist but i find wearing a cute thin belt with them flatters even more. In saying this though, there is  nothing worse than wearing a belt and having it either too tight, which pulls at the fabric or wearing it too loose and it keeps on slipping down. Your answer to this little conundrum is: Thread belt loops. 

They're a cinch to make and you'll be making a heap in no time!

Cut yourself 6 strands of thread roughly about 5'' long each.

On your machine change your stitch to zig zag, use a stitch width of 4 and a stitch length of 1. Simply zig zag over six strands of thread while holding them taut.

When sewing the thread loop, pull on both ends of the threads while sewing slowly. This helps you keep them in place as the needle zig zags over them.

Below is what you'll end up with when done.

Close up.

With a large eye needle, thread the thread loop through the eye. 

This is a little tricky and might take a bit of working to pull it through.

 Below is the final belt loop attached to my Odette dress, simply just threaded through at the side seams.

 Grab your favourite belt and thread it your new belt loops.

Not only can you make these and use them as belt loops you can also use them as french tacks on lined garments or as lingerie guards.

Abby

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PERFECT PATTERN PARCEL - #6

Have you heard of Perfect Pattern Parcel? Well if not it's a brilliant online pattern popup shop that simultaneously supports children’s education and independent pattern designers. For two weeks at a time, a carefully put-together parcel of sewing patterns goes on sale, each with a specific theme and available for only two weeks. You pay as much as you like for your parcel, and if you choose to pay above a certain threshold, you unlock a bonus sewing pattern.

Pattern Parcel #6 has just gone on sale AND I'm very excited and honored to have the Odette dress  included in this fab pattern parcel alongside some other pretty rad indie designers.

The entire Pattern Parcel #6 includes all the fab patterns below:

Syrah Skirt by Lauren Dahl
Bronte Top by Jennifer Lauren
Julia Cardigan by Mouse House Creations
Hudson Pant by True Bias
Zsalya Dress by Kate and Rose

This is a big bunch of easy to sew and wear patterns.

If all the above patterns don't make you immediately purchase the parcel then give a thought to this... The proceeds from each sale go to support Donors Choose, an organization that matches up the needs of teachers and their students for specific projects with willing donors. The funds raised from each Pattern Parcel sale will go to help K-12 students in minimizing educational inequality and encourage a community where children have the tools and experiences necessary for an excellent education. From pencils for poetry to microscopes for mitochondria, your support will help address educational inequality and grow generations to come. To date, Perfect Pattern Parcels have raised over $13,000! This is the most awesome aspect of these Pattern Parcels and such a worthy cause :)

To top off all this awesome-ness there is the bonus pattern in the parcel. All you need to do to grab the bonus pattern is simply choose a price of $32 or greater for Parcel #6 and you will automatically also be sent the
 Bonus Pattern:
 The Odette dress

So if you do the maths it works out to be  only $5 a pattern... High fives to that!

All you need to do is simply click on the button below and you'll be able to start purchasing your Pattern Parcel ASAP.

This rad Pattern Parcel runs through until October 31st.

Enjoy!

Abby
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Tutorial: Say no to Slip stitching (Attach a bodice lining using your machine)

As promised, today i'll demonstrate how to attach the bodice lining into the Odette dress  using your machine.

 You can use this method in most lined dress patterns to avoid slip stitching the lining to the zipper. This is faster, more durable way to attach a bodice lining and also gives you a really professional finish. And if you're anything like me and always trying to get out of hand stitching wherever possible, then this technique is your ticket outta slip stitching town!

You may need to practice this a few times as well as with any new skill you learn but i promise its easy and you may never slip stitch again! Less of course you want to.

  So here goes.

Following the Odette pattern instructions, at this point your bodice lining is attached to the bodice shell at the neckline.

Place your bodice lining and bodice shell  right sides together.

 Align the bodice shell and bodice lining together at the center back seam as well as at the waistline seam, 'sandwiching' the invisible zipper in between the shell and lining fabric.

Pin the bodice shell and lining fabric together along this center back seam. You can see in the photo below the bump of the zipper  sitting in between the bodice shell and bodice lining.

Now you're ready to start stitching the bodice shell and bodice lining together. Pop  a zipper foot onto your machine and start stitching as close to the zipper tape (which you will be able to just feel) and start stitching  from the neckline down. Stop your stitching roughly 3/8'' from the bottom edge of the waistband. You'll notice  when you start stitching on the left side of the bodice you will easily be able to stitch down to the waistline, when you get to the right side i flip the bodice around and start my stitching from the waistline up towards to the neckline, this just makes it easier and less fiddly. Again, remember to start you stitching 3/8'' up from the bottom edge of the waistband if you do flip the bodice around.

Once you have stitched up both sides of the bodice shell and lining,  turn you bodice right sides out.Below is  a close up of what it will look like from the right side after your stitching.See how the zipper is 'sandwiched' between the shell and lining fabric.

Give the bodice neckline and the back center seam (where you just stitched the bodice lining) a good press and voila! No more slip stitching! Your bodice lining is securely in place.

Easy right?!

Abby

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Tutorial: Turn that Odette into a Skirt

Hello Bluegingerdolls, as usual I can't leave well enough alone when it comes to patterns.  After finishing up my Odette dress, the though struck me that it would also make a lovely skirt.  The gored panels create such a beautiful silhouette, keeping waist line tidy while flaring into a full hem sweep. It's the perfect skirt for pairing with cardigans in the Fall/Winter months. All I needed was a waistband to make all my skirt dreams come true.

After giving it some thought, I drafted a simple curved waistband for my Odette skirt. (Tutorial below) To finish it off, the skirt was closed with an invisible zipper at CB.  All insides facings were slip stitched to the seam allowance of the waistband.

If you'd also like to convert your Odette dress into a skirt, there are several waistband options to choose from.

Option one - Use the bodice waistband
The simplest option for converting the Odette dress into a skirt. Great if you don't need anything fancy and have no problems fitting straight waistbands.

Option two - Use one of the Peggy waistbands
If you want a little bit of style in your waistband, then any of the Peggy options can be easily swap in. You can finish the waistband with a button or cut it down for invisible zipper insertion.

Option three - Draft your own curved waistband
This is the option I chose for my Odette skirt because curved waistbands fit my figure much better than straight ones.  Here's how you draft your own....

Step 1 - Select the CF skirt and side front skirt pieces. Draw in the 5/8" seam allowance on the waist area and sides.

Step 2 - Line the two skirt pieces up so that the seam allowance lines are on top of each other. Pin or tape the two pieces into place.

Step 3 - Lay a piece of trace paper of the waistline area of the skirt.

Step 4 - Trace the waist seam line, not the edge of the pattern.

Step 5 - Place a ruler along the CF of the skirt.  Extend that line up into your waistband piece.

Step 6 - Lay the ruler along the side seam and extend that line up for the other side of the waistband.

Step 7 -  Label the CF side with "Fold".

Step 8 - You can make the waistband what ever width you desire. I usually go with a 2" waistband using the width of the clear ruler to trace the top edge of the band.

Step 9 - The angle on the side seam edge of the waistband looked a little too sharp to me. I checked my waist diameter against it and added around 5/8" to the top edge, redrawing the side seam angle.

Step 10 - Add 5/8" seam allowance to all edges except the CF fold and label the waistband as the Front. Cut out the waistband to finish.

Step 11 - For the back waistband follow the same steps, except do not mark the CB as a fold.  Mark it as CB, to avoid confusion, and add seam allowance to that side in the final step.

There you go sewists, chose your own waistband adventure and enjoy some Odette separates. Happy Sewing! - Heather

ODETTE SEW-ALONG #7 - THE FINAL ODETTE SEW-ALONG POST!

 

Woohoo this is the final Odette sew-along post and we will finishing off our Odette's today.

As usual you can find all the previous sew-along post here.

First up we will stitch up the bodice insert for all Odette versions.

BODICE INSERT

Following the same process for applying lightweight fusible interfacing to our waistbands we will be doing the same thing to our bodice inserts to give it a bit more structure and support to the buttonholes.

 Grab your bodice insert and interfacing pieces.

Following the manufacturers instructions for your lightweight fusible interfacing, apply it to the wrong side of one of the bodice insert pieces.

Right sides together pin the bodice insert pieces together.

Stitch the pieces together and leaving a 1'' opening along the bottom edge.

Trim seams and grade each corner.


Turn the insert right side out and give it a good press.

Slip stitch or top stitch the 1'' opening closed.

Hopefully you have picked out some super cute buttons for your bodice insert?
Hand stitch your buttons in place on the bodice insert, where marked.

On the front bodice create the buttonholes where marked, stitching through the shell and lining fabric.Attach your bodice insert to your Odette dress!

HEM ( ALL VERSIONS)

 Try on your Odette dress and mark your preferred hem length.

Turn the raw hem edge up 1/4'' to the wrong side and stitch it down.

Turn the hem up another 1'' the wrong side and press.

Catch stitch the hem in place, easing in the fullness of the skirt of you stitch.

Below is what your finished hem will look like from the right side.

STITCH THE BODICE LINING DOWN
( ALL VERSIONS)

Now onto the bodice lining that has been just hanging there the whole time! But before you stitch the bodice lining down at the waist you need to stitch it down to the zipper tape. So you can either slip stitch this down or use your machine. If you choose to use your machine i will have a tutorial on how to do this coming up on the blog soon.

OK, back stitching the  bodice lining down at the waistline. On the inside of the dress pin the bodice lining down to the bodice shell. Just the same with stitching the bodice lining down to the zipper tape you have two options as well with the waistline. You can either hand stitch it down or using your machine 'stitch in the ditch'.

I opted to hand stitch my bodice lining on this particular Odette i made, below is the finished product.

VIEW B&C

Folks who are stitching up View B&C versions of Odette may be wondering how to finalize the bodice lining at the armholes. Well its easy! 

On the inside of the bodice turn the bodice lining under to the wrong side and pin in place. This is easier to do if you use your dress model. Now you can simply hand stitch each bodice lining armhole down, again using your dress model while doing this makes it easier.

And that's it for the Odette sew-along, i hope you enjoyed it! You should have yourself a superb Odette dress to wear.

In the coming days i will have a pattern hack and some tutorials for the Odette dress so keep an eye out for those.

You can also show off your finished Odette in the Flickr/group as well on the Facebook sew-along page. Use the hashtag #odettesewalong on the social side of things so i don't miss any of them!

Abby

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