lazy susan in knit sew along - day 3

sew along objective (yeah, i just did that...i promise i wont bust out an outline): to take your bodice from the lazy susan pattern and learn how to construct it out of knit fabric for a more versatile pattern.

wednesday july 24 - attaching skirts to bodice: i will be going over attaching a gathered woven OR knit skirt to the knit bodice and also how to attach a paper bag style skirt to your knit bodice. whew...busy day!

welcome back ladies! if you are just now joining us, check out this blog to learn about the sew along, and then check out day 1 and day 2 to see what we are up to.

alright - BEFORE you go cutting. listen to this very important piece of information. these sew alongs work just like my patterns. please read through to the end of the post before you do anything. i promise it will help things to go smoother and make more sense!

 

let's first go over some tips for sewing the skirt in a knit. you basically are going to do it the same as you did with a woven in the pattern, but i am going to point out some helpful tips that will make sewing with knit more of a pleasure. read: decrease the amount of swearing, temper tantrums and tears.

my first secret weapon:

 i do not sew knits without this stuff. lightweight fusible interfacing with stretch. it will make such a difference, especially when dealing with a thinner knit! you can buy this on a bolt as well, i just happened to luck up at wal-mart a few years ago and they had the bags on clearance for $0.33 and i hoarded stocked up. i use this when i go to hem a lightweight knit, since it keeps it from rolling. it basically gives the knit a little bulk, while maintaining the stretch, so it makes it easier to work with.

NOTE: although you sized down in your knit bodice, when going to cut the skirt make sure to cut the length for the size your child normally wears, NOT sizing down.

what i do is cut 2" sections to place around the bottom of my knit skirt piece. i like to hem about 1" with knit just to give it some extra weight so that it hangs better and doesn't flip up. now, in the pattern i have only allowed for a 1/2" hem, so you want to make sure to add a bit of length if you are going to be doing a larger hem.

NOTE: also, if you chose to do a drop waist on the bodice, you need to account for that when cutting the pieces for your skirt. the easiest way that i have found is to subtract whatever you added to your bodice from the skirt measurement. so, since i added 3.5" to my bodice yesterday, i am just going to take 3.5" off the length of my skirt. :)

here are my pieces of interfacing all cut and ready to be fused. 

now, take your knit and your interfacing over to the iron and you want to place the fusible side (usually it is bumpier) on the WRONG side of the bottom of your skirt fabric lining up the bottom edge. MAKE SURE THE STRETCH OF YOUR INTERFACING RUNS WITH THE STRETCH OF YOUR FABRIC. i mean it.

 now, iron it on along the edge of the bottom of the skirt. i have found a dry iron works best for this. the steam makes it not cooperate. once you have it all around the bottom of your skirt piece, go ahead and press up that 1" hem. see how much easier it is to deal with now? no roly poly!

i also added the interfacing to the top edge of my skirt where i will be gathering just to make it easier to deal with. :) but i only cut 1" strips there.

now to hem that skirt. another one of my knit secret weapons is this guy.

a double needle. this not only gives you a more professional look for a hem, it also gives the stitch a little bit of stretch which is needed with the knit fabric. now, if you have never used a double needle before, i highly suggest doing some google research before you try. but once you start using one, you will get hooked! i just wish my sewing machine had a better set up for the 2nd thread so that i didn't have to jerry-rig it with my thread holder in the back. haha. 

just like you would with a regular needle, use a straight stitch to hem and i go ahead and bump up the length to 4.0.

 once you have the hem stitched, it gives you a nice look on the right side of the fabric and an almost zig-zag look to the backside that gives the stretch. now let me tell you how that interfacing just saved your life. if you have a thin knit (i keep typing thin mint...think my belly is trying to tell me something) and try to sew with a double needle with no interfacing...let's just say the sight isn't pretty!

okay - now that we have our knit skirt mini-tutorial done, let's move on to attaching a skirt (knit or woven) to the knit bodice. i will discuss the paper bag skirt later.

you will run a gathering stitch on the top of your skirt portion just as you do in the pattern making sure to gather to the amount of the bodice.

 now, for quite possibly one of my fave tools for sewing knits...clear elastic tape.

seriously, yall...at first i thought of it as just an extra step involved in knits, but TRUST me when i say you will get so much more wear out of your garments if you take the time to add this stuff. truth be told. i have been known to put it in EVERY seam i sew in knits. this stuff is worth its weight in gold. you know how the interfacing adds bulk and stability to the knit? well, this tape adds strength to the knit and comes in especially handy when sewing something like a waistband. i find it helps to protect your knit from the weight of the skirt and it holds up better and helps the knit to keep its shape. have i sold you on this yet? i should probably be a spokesperson. hello dritz, yeah...this is amy. ;) i am a die-hard stretch rite elastic kind of girl, but the dritz clear works just as well and is easier to find in my neck of the woods.

anyways, what you want to do is to place this tape right along the bottom edge of your bodice (this works with the lined tutorial from day 1 as well, i just happened to take photos with this bodice). before you sew it down, stretch it out a few times. this kind of elastic needs to be "broken in" just a bit before it is used. if you have a serger, serge right along the edge not catching the tape in your blade. 

if you don't have a serger, use a zig-zag stitch to sew it down along the edge. i usually sew it to the right side of the fabric, but i honestly don't think there is a right or wrong here. louisa has a few dresses that has it sewn on the wrong side, and it is just fine. someone please alert me if there is a correct/incorrect method to this. :)

once sewn you will realize that you still have stretch to your knit, but it is stronger and more stable. pay no mind that my tensions are off. i could probably stand to clean my serger too, but let's not go there today.

now, place your skirt on your bodice, just as you would in the pattern, pin in place and sew the skirt to your bodice. 

now, since i sew my elastic tape on the right side, i always take about 1/8" of the seam off when i serge the two together.

remove your gathering stitch (i do this always, but it is helpful with knit so that you still have some give to the seams) and take over to the iron and press that seam out. look, you can almost see the strength of that seam now!

pat yourself on the backs ladies...as you have just finished up your knit lazy susans. rock on my dearies!

but wait...don't forget that awesome addition of a paper bag style skirt to lazy susan bodice! i do so LOVE this dress!

i used the taylor pattern by the mean princess. when it came time to add the elastic, i measured my bodice along the bottom edge and saw that it came to 23". 

so, for both of my casings, i cut the elastic at about 23.5" and sewed them together and placed in the casings so that the width of my skirt was the same width as my bodice as shown below.

 now to do some measuring and tinkering since i want to add clear tape to my bodice where i will be sewing it in place. so, with both the bodice and skirt turned inside out, you want to slide the waistband of the skirt into the bodice until the bottom of the bodice lines up with the bottom of the waistband as shown below.

 now, to attach the skirt and bodice, you will be stitching FROM THE RIGHT SIDE along the elastic waistband. i like to stitch along the bottom of the casings and the top of the casings as shown by the arrows.

so, i need to measure how high up from the bottom of my bodice i need to go to determine where to place my clear tape for that top casing seam. for my skirt, the top of the casing falls 1.5" up from the bottom of my bodice. i put a pin in place to make it more clear.

 now, draw a line on the bodice all the way around where the pin is. this is where you will stitch your band of clear tape (just as above, make sure to give it a good stretch first) to the WRONG side of the bodice with a zig-zag stitch.

now, this is completely up to you. you can add another band of clear tape along the bottom of the bodice, but i usually don't because the seam that will get the most abuse is that top one which you just secured your tape to. however, it would certainly be fine if you wanted to!

on a flat surface with skirt and bodice still inside out, place the waistband of the skirt back into the bodice and match up your bodice with the waistband as you did before (ie the top casing and bottom casing) and pin in place. pin until the cows come home in fact.

now, turn your dress right sides out and head over to the machine. with patience, sew along the top of the elastic casing first. i use a straight stitch with a length of 4.0, and stretch just a bit as you sew. this is NOT a time to be speedy mcspeedperson at the machine. take your time, you want this to look awesome.

 once you made it around your top seam, head on down to the bottom of the casing and do the same.

guess what ladies - pat yourselves on the back. you are done. you are well on the way to knocking out some GORGEOUS knit lazy susans in your sewing room.

join me tomorrow for the last day...and don't you know, i saved the best for last...DETAILS!!

lazy susan in knit sew along - day 2

sew along objective (yeah, i just did that...i promise i wont bust out an outline): to take your bodice from the lazy susan pattern and learn how to construct it out of knit fabric for a more versatile pattern.

day 2 - flutter trim bodice & drop waist: cutting and bodice construction for knit bodice that is not lined but has "flutter" trim along neck and arms. perfect for thicker knits. and just so stinking cute!

welcome back! i hope you have been having a great time so far! i have really had fun dressing up these lazy susans. i love when you can take one pattern and give it twists so that you end up with a few versatile looks! talk about bang for your buck! i know you girls work hard for your money and i want to get you the most for it! if you are just now joining us, check out this blog to learn about the sew along, and then check out day 1 to see what we are up to.

alright - BEFORE you go cutting. listen to this very important piece of information. these sew alongs work just like my patterns. please read through to the end of the post before you do anything. i promise it will help things to go smoother and make more sense!

now on to some business. just like with the lined bodice we did yesterday, you want to SIZE DOWN. so, grab your pattern pieces and trace off the FRONT bodice piece from the size below what your little one would usually wear. since we are not lining this bodice, we are going to be using the same piece for both the front and the back - so no need for another pattern piece. easy, right? you will be cutting 2 on the fold from the front bodice of the original pattern.

now, if you do not want to drop the waist...carry on below 2 photos. BUT if you do want to drop the waist (i am currently obsessed with drop waists), listen up. :) to figure out how much to drop the bodice, measure your kiddo from the underarm to the top of where you want the waist to be. my model is in the bed getting her "booty seep" (hehe that is what she used to call it) so let me show you on my dress form. as you can tell, i am still learning on how to draw with a mouse.

my measurement was 6.75" roundabouts (this doesn't have to be rocket science). so what you want to do is to measure from the bottom of the underarm curve on the pattern piece down and extend the original bottom of the bodice until you reach your measurement. for instance, with my measurement being 6.75", the bodice already extended 3.25" from the underarm, so i just needed to add an additional 3.5". hope that makes sense. as i said, it really isn't rocket science and i will totally admit that i did another one and i just eyeballed it. :)

now, place your pattern piece on the fabric, pin in place and cut 2 on the fold. remember, just like yesterday, you want the stretch of your fabric running perpendicular to the fold.

once cut, place your bodice pieces right sides together matching up the shoulders and pin ONE shoulder together and sew (3/8" seam allowance). repeat after me, only sew one shoulder. :) also, just a quick reminder - if you are not using a serger, don't forget you need to use your stretch stitch!!

now, take it over to the iron and press out that shoulder seam. then, take your bodice to a flat surface and lay it out so that the neck opening is extended. you want to measure the neck opening as shown below. again, this isn't rocket science and you don't have to be exact, but you certainly want to be in the ballpark.

see, my measurement comes to about 14". this number is going to tell us how to cut the strip to use as the flutter that will also finish off our neck and arms. :) generally the rule of thumb with ruffles/gathers is that you want to go 1.5 to 2 times the amount of the area to be gathered. i like to err on the side of having plenty, so i just go ahead and go with the most generous measurement. so, i am going to double my 14" and cut a strip that is 28" long.

NOW, to give you some options...you can do this flutter trim one of two ways, you can either have a double row of flutters as shown here:

or a single row.

i did both, duh. and i will tell you as nice as the double looks, i actually prefer the single. the double, i fear is going to be too heavy and will pull that neck over time, which makes me sad since i love the dress. it also created a crazy wonky situation in the underarms that i had to jerry-rig so that it was halfway presentable. so, i would say just play around with your knit and try to determine which one you like best. 

so, to pull out our math skills again, if you are doing a double row of flutters, cut your strip:

(length of neck opening * 1.5 or 2) by 1.5" and iron it in half lengthwise

if you are doing a single row of flutters, cut your strip:

(length of neck opening * 1.5 or 2) by 0.75" no ironing needed

now, you may think that 0.75" doesn't seem wide enough, but trust me, it is! i actually cut it 1" the first time and ended up ripping the seams out as the extra fabric created too much weight and weighed down the neck. not cool!

okay...off to gather that strip.

if you have a double flutter - run a gathering stitch along the FOLDED edge of your strip. i know this goes against all of the woven sewing you have done, but you WANT that raw edge to show. thankfully knit doesn't fray and instead will give you a really great textured, fluttered look with the raw edges.

if you have a single flutter - run a gathering stitch along one of the edges. now, i will tell you my little secret, with just one layer - i find it MUCH easier to gather with an elastic bobbin here. that way i don't have to rip out my gathering stitch later and well, let's just face it...it is quicker. if you are not familiar with this technique - do a quick google search. that is how i learned as well, there are some awesome tutorials and you tube videos out there! and if you sew with knit often, you will find yourself gathering with an elastic bobbin often. it is a lifesaver with knits!

 see how pretty and gathered it comes out?

now, if you have gathered with an elastic thread, head over to your iron and hover it and steam the snot out of it and watch it shrink. i swanny, this never gets old for me! it amazes me each and every time. PS - i adore how my iron created a fishbowl effect of my sewing room in the background. i cannot hardly believe it is actually clean too!

steam magic aside, if gathering the old fashioned way, run your gathers (while trying to not lose your mind as the strip wants to coil this way and that) along the strip until you end up around your measurement for the neck opening, or until your desired level of gathers. some people like a ton of gathers, and some don't. honestly, it is up to you. i told you this isn't rocket science but you do want to have enough of the strip to cover your neck opening and you want your gathers consistent.

now, lay your bodice on a flat surface, and place your gathered strip right sides together with the bodice with the gathered edge flush along the opening of the neck as shown below. pin in place. as you can see, i have some fabric strip left over. this is totally fine since i am happy with the amounts of gathers that i have. :)

take this over to your machine, and stitch it down to your bodice neck opening with a 3/8" seam allowance. now, if you didn't use elastic thread - once you have your strip sewn down, you want to make sure to remove your gathering stitch. if not, you will not have the full amount of stretch your knit will allow since that gathering stitch will hold you back and the neck is one place you NEED that for going over the head. :) i know it seems like a silly step, but i always, always, always remove my gathering stitch, even with wovens. once you start, you cannot stop. and since there are methods to my madness, i always gather in a completely different color than what i sew in so that it is easy to differentiate which one to remove.

take the bodice over to the iron and press that flutter trim out. take your time here since this is a detail that you want to look a million bucks!

 just a side note, but my sewing room smells like heaven right now. my friend phoebe got me hooked on these candles from anthropologie (these are all i can afford in that store) and i have yet to meet one that i didn't want to eat. yummy smelling candle in my sewing room make me happy. this is one of the few things i will treat myself to! ps - look at my sweet brown dog as a puppy on his first swim. man i miss that doggie!

once you have your trim pressed, take to a flat surface and with right sides together match up the shoulders of the side that you haven't sewn together, making sure to match up your flutter trim as well. pin in place and sew with 3/8" seam allowance.

 press that seam and now we are going to turn our attention to the armholes. we are going to do the trim on these EXACTLY as we did the neckline. so, start first by measuring and then go to cutting your strips, gathering and attaching. i feel silly repeating all the steps since we just did them, so i wont. ;)

NOTE: if you want to add flutter sleeves in addition to the flutter trim, attach your flutter sleeves to the bodice as you would in the pattern BEFORE you add the flutter trim. That is a whole lot of fluttering going on and Capt. Jack Sparrow isn't even in the room. Oh be still my pirate-loving heart.

 once you have sewn the flutter trims on both armholes and ironed out the seams, match up the armholes right sides together, taking care to match your trim as well (shown below), pin in place and sew down your side seam with 3/8" seam allowance.

guess what ladies...it is about "pat yourself on the back" time. :) 

now for all of you top-stitchers let's get to work on that neckline and those armholes. remember, when you top-stitch on knit, make sure to lengthen your stitch length (i use 4.0 or 4.5) and stretch your fabric as you sew. this ensures that the stitches will stretch some with the knit while going over the head and over arms instead of popping. while top-stitching isn't for everyone, i recommend it for this type of flutter trim, and more for a functional than fashionable. it helps to secure that flutter trim in place so that it doesn't want to roll out. remember, take your time! you want this looking amazing!! photo props to my husband since i have yet to grown that other arm. this is how i stretch as i top-stitch.

and on that note girls...we have completed day 2 of the sew along. i cannot wait to see photos and don't forget to get your "booty seep" and come back tomorrow to learn about attaching skirts to our awesome knit bodices!! remember to post all photos/questions/concerns/tips to the brownie-goose lovers page on facebook!

PS - if you don't already have some of this in your sewing arsenal, you may want to grab some. i find it EXTREMELY beneficial in the sewing room with knits. especially when it comes to attaching skirts and things of that sort. :)

let's hear it for the first ever BG sew along!

okay ladies...totally new territory for the girl behind BG here. but, you asked...and i caved. i mean, i do like to have a good time!

sew alongs. i am probably like the last person in the free world to catch on this train. i also just recently got on the whole shorty train too and i am completely obsessed. anyways - they are about to begin here at BG and i am so stinking excited!

here are the rules:

1. there are no rules.

seriously. mostly because i would probably break them am new to this as well and basically just want to have fun, help to teach a few different techniques to your BG pattern and get everyone involved in sewing. i really, really am so excited that more and more people are sewing. it makes me smile!

the first sew along will start next week. i will be showing you how to take your already crazy-versatile lazy susan pattern and make it in knit. knits are becoming oh so popular lately and rightfully so. once over the fear of sewing them (yall, they really aren't bad, especially not the good ones...the bad ones, well they cause me to make up bad words and lose my religion all while dripping sweat from my underarms) you will realize how much you can do with them, how forgiving (i have to giggle here, i had written unforgiving and literally read it 3 times before it dawned on me i had the wrong word, talk about an editing disaster, haha) they are and mostly...your kids will love them. they are so comfortable!!

now, i will totally confess to you and tell you that i fought the knit craze as hard as i could. i was scared to death of the stuff. i had no reason to be, i just was. well, one day, i finally caved and gave it a good try. i am so glad i did. now, i wont tell you that i am always tooting glitter and kissing unicorns when i sew knit, because that isn't true. when i have a good knit, the unicorns are there and purring while i sew, wait do unicorns purr?? but, when i have a thin, slinky, rolly knit...earmuffs to everyone in a 50 mile radius. promise.

but in all honesty...that happens with wovens too. i mean, we all have some not so dreamy days in the sewing room, right?

but, more than anything, if you are new to knits - WELCOME and i am here to hopefully get you prepared. we will do this together and you will get hooked and start looking for knits wherever you go! so, first things first. read up on knits. google search everything you can think of. that is what i did, and what i still do to this day. this is a GREAT blog post for knits. seriously. i have it bookmarked because it covers almost everything you will ever need!

http://sewaholic.net/a-big-list-of-tips-for-sewing-knits/

now, for buying your knits. just like any other fabric, not all knits are created equal. you will learn quickly the different in a good knit and a bad knit. my most fave knit of all times is a cotton lycra. to me, it has enough beef to the fabric for ease of sewing, and it has a great recovery (meaning it wont stay all stretched out) thanks to the lycra. i sew with jersey knit a lot, since that is what you will usually find locally like at hancocks, joanns or hobby lobby. but you have to be careful since your jersery will not recover. for instance, if you make a pair of pants or leggings, when the knees strech for bending/sitting, that fabric wont recover and you will wind up with baggy knees. 

the most important piece of advice i can give you with a knit is to feel it. but, that is nearly impossible since most local stores don't carry a large selection. so, if you are buying online...look for the weight. i like to stay in the 8 oz and up category. i heart a 10 oz, but you cannot always luck out.

so, for those of you that are ready to shop for some knits to test your waters...i asked on my FB page and here are some of the places you suggested:

• girl charlee
• purple seamstress
• the fabric fairy
• banberry place
• funkalicious fabrics
• eurogirls boutique
• chez ami
• burlap button
• nature's fabrics
• one red blossom

how fantastic is that! and i just heard a little birdy tell me that chez ami is actually having 30% off right now! i have never ordered from them, but have only heard great things! 

for the sew along, i am going to be showing you 2 different ways you can construct the bodice:

ONE: for when you have a very thin knit. (this particular knit is from girl charlee and is the chartreuse oatmeal stripe, i cannot remember its weight but i want to say it was around 6-7. it is thin, and a bit see-through but it has rayon so it is ooooooh so soft!).

TWO:  for when you have a heavier knit. (this knit is also from girl charlee, it is the peacock cotton lycra. it is labeled as 10 oz. i really like it, and the color is beautiful. photos don't do it justice!)

so, before next week - go get you some knit fabric, do some homework/reading on knits and grab the lazy susan pattern if you haven't already. oh yeah, and i almost forgot...come and join in the fun of brownie-goose lovers on facebook. that is where we can all share photos and tips for the sew along (and all the time actually).

i think the sew along will start on monday - but as i said, no rules...so i haven't gotten it all figured out just yet. ;) but i know it will be fun! and as i work on the blog to get it more user-friendly...bear with me! technology is not my strong point. :)

and in case you don't have the pattern yet but want to shop...here is what you need:

sorry this is so blurry - how frustrating! now, the one confusing part is that you may NOT need a lining depending on the weight of your fabric. but not many places will cut anything less than 1/2 yard anyways, so you should be good to go! also, you can construct not just the bodice, but the skirt as well of knit or you can mix and match like i did above with a knit bodice and woven skirt. possibilities are endless!