Breezy Color-Blocked Summer Top with Melanie of The Crafty Cupboard

It is summer time, and nothing says summer attire to me like a cool, lightweight top.  Since I have a love affair with chiffon, I thought a color-blocked dolman shirt with two colors of chiffon was in order!  Working with such light-weight fabric can be tough, especially when laying out pattern pieces and getting everything to just stay put!! I’ve got a not-quite-tutorial for you on how I was able to get this together!

Because fabric like chiffon is so finicky, I first sewed the two colors of chiffon together and treated it as one piece of fabric.  Then, instead of putting the pattern on top of the fabric, I put the fabric on top of the pattern in order to get the color-blocking just as I wanted it. I had drawn a line on the pattern, and I was able to get the seam to line up exactly on it, no guessing and hoping it was where I needed it below the pattern!  I pinned (a lot!) and was able to get two perfectly matching front and back pieces for my top.

I added chiffon bias binding on the sleeves and neckline (nearly killed me! That was brutal!) and just did a rolled hem on the bottom.  I left a slit on the sides just to change things up a bit and make it a little more interesting.

It was a great no-fuss way of cutting out the pieces for this color-blocked shirt!  I love a good method of making things easier.  Feel free to visit me at the Crafty Cupboard for more sewing fun, crafty projects, and great inspiration! Happy summer sewing!

*****

This is so pretty! I've seen a lot of chiffon tops around, but sewing chiffon makes me really nervous. Maybe I'll give it a try....Also, if you're new to sewing (or just want to learn more), make sure to check out the I Can Sew Series on Melanie's blog.

-Terra

Pleated Dress Tutorial with Melly Sews

Hi Mama Says Sew readers! I'm so excited to be posting as part of Terra's Just sew series.

Today I'm sharing a flashback post to the very first tutorial I ever wrote - before everyone was on Pinterest, when I had first started my blog and no one had heard of it. It's also one of my favorite things I've ever made - I wore this last week to Tater's preschool graduation, and it still fits great and is so flattering on my figure. Which admittedly has more of a spare tire than it did when I made it. But with this skirt, no one can tell.

I'm not a very curvy girl (especially since I weaned Bean and lost my chest) (and also curves out to my tummy don't count) so I designed this dress to make it look like I have curves. But it's pretty easy to sew. It's a big rectangle than gets its shape from pleats and a little math.

First, take 2 measurements, one above your boobs and one below. In all likelihood, your below the boob measurement will be the smaller of the two. Take that number, double it, then add 2 inches for seams and ease. So in my case, it was 27 x 2 = 54 + 2 = 56. Then take a measurement from where you want the dress top to be and where you want it to end, and add 4 inches or so for hems and mess ups in your measuring. Next, take a measurement from the top of the dress to below the boobs, and then from that spot to your waist. Finally, you need your bust measurement, across the fullest part of your chest, and divide this number by 2.

So, to recap, here are your measurements:

1. Above boobs +2 inches (just note for later)

2. Below boobs x 2 plus 2 inches

3. Length + 4 inches

4. Top of dress to below boobs

5. Below boobs to waist

6. Bust measurement/2

Cut out a rectangle using measurements #2 and #3. Then, measure from the top edge of the fabric using measurement #4 and draw a horizontal line all the way across the fabric. This is where your waist pleats will end in front. Starting at that line and one inch in from the edge, draw vertical lines that are the length of #5 every 2 inches across the rectangle. It will look like this:

These will be your pleats. The red arrow in the picture above indicates which lines you will pull together to make the pleat.

Now, starting at the outside edges, you will fold and pin pleats, which are every other set of 2 lines. These are going to end up being the back part of the dress, so these pleats will go from the bottom of your drawn vertical line all the way to the top of the fabric. Do one pleat from the left side, then one pleat from the right side, then repeat. Each pleat removes 2 inches from the overall measurement of the dress. It will look something like this:

Here's where measurement #6 comes in - my #6 is 16 inches, so once I've removed 16 inches (8 pleats, 4 from each side) this is where I need to stop pleating all the way up. For the rest of the pleats, I will only pleat the vertical lines to the horizontal line I've drawn. This allows the pleats to open up to accomodate my boobs (what little of them there are).

Sew your pleats on the lines, making sure to backtack at the beginning and end of each pleat. This is especially important for the pleats that end at the horizontal line.

A little more math, and then we're done with math, I promise! Here's where we finally use measurement #1. The top of the dress in the center front isn't pleated yet. I need to figure out how much to take out in each remaining pleat so the circumference of the dress at the top edge will equal measurement #1.

So, here's the example using my measurements. My #1 is 32. Measurement #2 is 56. I've taken out 16 inches in pleats that went all the way up, so I currently have 40 inches across the top of the dress. I have 5 pleats left to do (which I know because of the pleats I did that only went up to my horizontal line), and I need to take out 8 inches (40 minus 32). That means each pleat needs to take out 1.6 inches (8 inches divided by 5 pleats). I use the stitched in pleat waist and a ruler to mark centers of the last 5 pleats (wish I had a picture of this!) and then mark lines .8 inches to either side of the center. This is where I will sew my top pleats, to 2 inches down from the top edge of the fabric, making sure to backtack.

Now, I'm going to press the pleats flat. When all is said and done, your dress in progress will look like this:

The pleats at the right edge of the picture are sewn all the way up, and the pleats at the left side are only sewn at the waist and the top edge, and open in between, though they are ironed all the way down.

Okay, now we're ready to cut the dress down to shape the back. Fold the dress in half, with the raw vertical edges even. Make a mark on the vertical raw edges 1.5 inches down from the top edge. Lay a ruler or straight edge across the dress to form a diagonal line from the center front to the mark you made on the center back. Like this (center front on right, center back - raw edges - on left):

Draw a line, then cut the dress. This diagonal will help make sure that the dress appears even all the way around, shaping for the fact that you have boobs in the front but not the back.

Now it's time to put in a zipper. I used an 18 inch zipper because I had one laying around, but you could probably use a slightly shorter or longer length. I decided to use a contrasting color , since the white swiss dot used for the dress ran the risk of being too sweet. I thought the gray punched it up a bit and the exposed zipper was a little trendy. If you don't know how to install an exposed zipper, check this tutorial.

Now it's time to add a band to the top. Cut a piece of fabric the length of measurement #1 and 2 inches wide. Fold in half longways and stitch the short ends with 1/2 inch seam allowances. Pin one long edge of the band to the top edge of the fabric, right sides together, and stitch.

Now, fold and pin the band to the inside of the dress, folding under the raw edge and just covering the seam line. Like this

You're going to stitch in the ditch on the front side to fasten this in place. It will look like this when you're done

Once you get the band on, it's time to try on the dress and measure for straps. I made straps 17" long and 3 inches wide, then sewed them into tubes with a 1/8 inch seam and turned them right side out. Press flat, with the seam becoming the center back of the strap. Try on with a bra with straps so you can pin them in place to cover your straps. Sew the straps on in the ditch between the band and the dress, with lots of backtacking

Finally, hem the dress and sew a hook in above the zipper. You're done!

And me starting to get exasperated with Hubby on the photo shoot

Nautical Romper with Sumo of Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Hello! I'm Sumo, and I blog over at Sumo's Sweet Stuff.

My mom spent my childhood trying to convince me that I wanted to learn how to sew, but I didn't get smart and agree with her until about three years ago. I'm mostly self taught, and absolutely love sewing. It's definitely my favorite creative outlet. I'd take fabric shopping over shoe shopping any day of the week, even if for nothing else but to see it sitting prettily on my shelf. I have three darling little girls that I love creating and sewing for; I can't seem to stay caught up on my projects for them because I see new ideas of things I want to make all the time. You'll find a little bit of crafting, and a whole lot of sewing over at Sumo's Sweet Stuff. Some of my favorite projects are my ruffled t-shirt dress, bustle skirt, and cascading ruffle tank. What can I say, with three girls, we've got a thing for ruffles over here!

I also have this thing for rompers. I pretty much think they are adorable on little girls, and make sure my girls always have at least one during the summer time. I don’t even care if it has snaps, or if I have to pull the whole thing down every time for potty and diaper changes. It’s totally worth it to me for the cuteness of a romper.

This year my girls each have two rompers, one store bought, and one made by yours truly. What do you think about this nautical romper?

I, for one, think it’s absolutely darling and I’m going to show you how to make one today.

Here’s what you need:

- fabric

- tank

- buttons

- elastic (I used 3/4” for the waist, and super skinny elastic cord for the slit in the back of the romper)

- fabric marker

- iron

- sewing machine/accessories

Depending on what size you are making, you’ll need to cut a piece off the bottom of your tank. For this 4T sized romper, I cut four inches from the bottom. It really depends where you want the waist of the romper to be: empire, true waist, or more around the hips. I’m going for a true waist.

Based on where the waist is going to be, figure the length of the shorts. For 4T I did a length of 10 inches. This accounted for the hem of the shorts, as well as the inch overlay where the elastic is going to go. Figure out the length, and then 1.5” to it to account for both of those things.

The width again, is going to be a personal preference. You need to be sure that the two different leg pieces put together will equal the width of the bottom of the shirt at the bare minimum. I wanted the shorts to be a bit of an a-line, so to account for that, I went a bit wider. Each of my leg pieces for a size 4T were 10” x 22”.

Take each leg piece and cut out a crotch. You can do this by using an existing pattern piece that you already have, or by laying a pair of shorts of the same size, folded in half, to give you the angle.

Take each leg piece and hem up the bottom.

For each leg piece, pin right sides together and sew the small seam from the crotch to the bottom of the short. This will not be a very long seam.

Turn one leg piece right side out.

Place one leg piece inside of the other leg piece, with right sides facing.

Sew along the entire crotch seam.

Now when you pull one leg out, you’ve got yourself a pair of shorts.

Lay out the tank, and place the shorts underneath it, lining up the middles. Mark where the top of the shorts and the shirt are the same width.

Cut at an angle from your mark, to the bottom point of the short piece – on each side. This will give the a-line angle.

Now sew up those side seams on the shorts. Finish the top edge of the shorts while you’re at it.

Finish along the bottom edge of the tank. This is not necessary, since knit doesn’t fray, but I think it gives a more finished look and will help when attaching the tank and shorts.

Iron down the very top edge of the shorts.

Mark about one and a quarter inches up from the bottom of the tank. This is where you are going to sew the first part of the casing to attach the tank and shorts.

Turn the shorts right side out, and pin to the tank, lining up the top edge to the marks you made.

Sew tank and shorts together.

Turn the romper inside out, and sew again along the bottom edge of the tank. Leave a two inch opening. This is creating the casing for the elastic.

Measure the waist of your little gal, and cut a piece of elastic to this length. Use a safety pin to guide the elastic through the casing.

Overlap the ends of the elastic about half and inch to an inch, and sew together. Sew the casing shut.

Almost done!

Since the elastic has to be pulled up and down over the hips, we need to open up the back of the tank a little bit to allow more room. Or you could put in snaps if it’s for a younger child or baby.

Hem in the slit, inserting a small piece of elastic cording to make a loop.

Hand sew a small button to catch the elastic loop when the romper is being worn.

Hand sew some buttons to the front of the tank for a decorative look.

Finished! Do you love it as much as I do?

I love how the casing, combined with the a-line on the shorts, gives the romper a bit more shape.

And buttons just make everything cuter.

Of course, I have a coordinating disease, and made three rompers so that my girls all had one. I didn’t end up making a casing on my youngest’s, but it still looks pretty darn cute!

Thank you so much for letting me visit here today! I hope you’ll come visit me at Sumo’s Sweet Stuff!

*****
I love rompers too, and this one is super cute! And I'm with you-I'll take fabric shopping over shoe shopping  pretty much any day!
-Terra