Sewaholic

Minoru Sew-Along #11: Little Hidden Pockets

Tasia — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Pockets today! I love these pockets. They’re inside, safe from the rain, and with the velcro closure, nothing’s going to fall out!

Today we’ll sew on the interior patch pockets on our lining. If you’ve been running behind like me, and still haven’t cut your lining fabric yet, today’s the day! You’ll need to have your two front lining pieces cut out at the very least, so we can sew on the patch pockets.

Want to catch up on previous Sew-Along posts? Click the links below to read more:

First, we’ll start with constructing the patch pocket. Take the pocket piece, and if you haven’t yet, snip the notch on either side of the fold line. This little clip mark will make it easy to hem the top edge of the pocket.

Now press under the top edge of the pocket, using the notches as a guide. Turn the raw edge of the pocket inwards to completely meet the fold. You’ll see the difference in the photos below – the left pocket only has the hem pressed once, the right pocket has the raw edge turned in and pressed.

Next, we’ll press under the lower and left edges of one pocket. And then we’ll press under the lower and right edges of the other. We want to make pockets that are mirror images of each other, not identical to each other.

And now, a trick! This isn’t shown in the pattern instructions but I have a special way of making the top corner of your pocket look nice. Feel free to skip this step and follow the instruction sheet if you prefer, but this is a handy sewing technique to know!

Fold back the top hem along the fold line. Sew along the seamline from the fold line to the bottom fold of the hem, backstitching at both ends.

Trim the corner diagonally, trimming the inside seam allowance down to 1/4″ (6mm),

and turn the corner right side out.

It’s so nice! That’s the end of my trick. You can use this pocket-hemming technique to tidy up the corners of any square or rectangle shaped pocket. Now when we go to stitch the pocket hem, the corners are nice and square.

I stitched mine with the wrong side up, so I could keep the edgestitch along the edge. If you’re using special topstitching thread on the top, you’ll need to sew yours with the right side up.

For the velcro closure, the pattern calls for a small, 1″ piece of velcro. If you wanted to have more security on your pockets, why not make the velcro cover the entire pocket opening? In that case, measure off the top edge of the pocket, subtracting 5/8″ (1.5cm) on each side for the seam allowances. Cut a piece of velcro that length instead of the small piece and your pocket opening will be completely closed.

Or, use a snap closure! Or a button and buttonhole – make the buttonhole on the pocket piece, and sew a button to the lining side in place of the velcro. It’s totally up to you!

And if you aren’t concerned about losing the contents of your pockets, skip the fastener altogether! One of my first Minoru samples doesn’t have any closures on the pockets – although, I don’t put precious things in them because of it.

I’m following the pattern instructions for mine. Once you’ve cut the velcro, position the hook side on the pocket piece, according to the marking. The marking basically helps you centre the velcro between the seam allowances, so if you change the length of your velcro, simply re-centre the velcro based on where the original marking is.

Pinning through velcro is hard! I’d suggest taking the pins out right away when you go to sew on the velcro. They’ll be annoying, create lumps in our pocket edges and make it very likely we’ll snag our fingers on the pins. (I certainly did! It’s no fun to be slowed down in our sewing by a pricked finger.)

I stitched my velcro in the box-and-cross shape shown on the pattern piece. That’s what we called it when I worked in golf apparel – ‘box and cross.’ You’ll see it at the end of golf shirt plackets all the time, a box with an ‘X’ sewn from corner to corner.

You can follow this stitching pattern if you’d like, or simply sew a box around the edges. Or sew a box and then sew several lines through the velcro to make it extra-secure. It’s up to you!

Take the other half of the velcro (the softer loop side) and pin it to the lining at the marking. Sew it in place. You can see the box-and-cross I’m sewing in the photo below. First I sew the box, then pivot inwards to sew from corner to corner, up one short side, and down to the other corner.

Now it’s easy to position our pockets on the lining – simply line up the velcro pieces and press!

The velcro helps keep the pocket in place, but a few pins won’t hurt! I pinned around the pocket, and then edgestitched the lower and left edges. (Funny how I ended up demonstrating on the opposite side of what’s pictured in the sewing instructions! If you’re confused, I’m making the left side, but the pattern instructions are illustrated for the right side.)

I also basted along the raw edge of the pocket to keep it in place. You don’t have to, but I decided it was a good idea this time around!

And that’s it! Ah yes, don’t forget to repeat for the other side of the jacket. And cut out the rest of your lining pieces, we’ll need them for the next sewing step.

Have a great weekend everyone! If you’re catching up on the sewalong this weekend, or sewing anything at all, have fun and happy sewing!

Pattern Store Under Maintenance, But It Works!

Tasia — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Hey everyone! Just a quick post to let you know that the Pattern Store is undergoing a bit of maintenance. It looks a little strange now – the major difference being that it’s only half the page width instead of going full across the page – but it does work and allow you to place orders, thankfully! So it works, it just looks a little different than usual.

There was a software update that required quite a large amount of work behind the scenes. And as you may have guessed, I know sewing, but I don’t know the behind of a computer nearly as well. So it’s been a bit of work getting things back to normal.

(here’s what the pattern store normally looks like!)

I apologize if you’ve tried to place an order in the last 24 hours and been told your country was not an option! All countries are always available as options here at Sewaholic Patterns. I have fixed up the country settings and all should be working now. In fact, you can now order patterns to ship to 230+ different countries instead of the previous 90-something, so this update is a really good thing!

Still having problems with the pattern store or the shopping cart? Let me know and we’ll work it out. Thanks for your understanding!

Minoru Sew-Along #10: All About Cuffs

Tasia — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Hello Sew-Alongers! Today we’ll put on our cuffs. We’ll be one step closer to finishing our jackets!

I love these cuffs. They’re a little different than your standard elastic cuffs. They’re meant to be loose, not cinched tight to the wrist, and they’re longer than you might think. They fall close to the middle of my hand. I love this, because when I’m cycling they keep my hands and wrists nice and warm without being uncomfortably tight.

That’s how I designed them – in my opinion, they look more modern than a typical outerwear-style elastic cuff. But you’re the one with complete creative control on your jacket, so if you’d prefer a tighter cuff, go for it!

If you’re unsure how much tighter to make your cuffs, measure a jacket from your wardrobe that you like, or test it in muslin.

Want to catch up on previous Sew-Along posts? Click the links below to read more:

Let’s get started on our cuffs! You’ll need your cuff fabric pieces, your half-finished jacket, and your 2″ wide elastic.

Take your fabric cuff pieces, and fold them right sides together, lining up the short raw edges.

Sew this seam, and press seam allowances open. Now fold the cuff in half, wrong sides together, lining up the long raw edges. We’re making a little tube out of fabric in this step.

Press the folded cuff flat.

Now, let’s cut our cuff elastic. Refer to the Elastic Guide in the instruction sheet, located on the front side, in the lower left corner.

Lap the ends of the elastic approximately 1/2″ and zigzag over the ends to secure.

I like to zigzag up and down a few times to make it really strong.

Insert elastic loop into folded cuff.

Now, we’ll baste the raw edges of the cuff together with gathering stitches. This part is a little tricky to do! Just go slowly, keep your needle down when adjusting your work, and keep the raw edges lined up with each other while making sure not to stitch over the elastic at all.

Sew a second row of gathering stitches close to the first. The second row is much easier than the first, simply stretch the cuff to straighten it out as you sew!

Now we have a neat little cuff, all ready to sew into our jackets. This is closer to how they’d construct cuffs in a factory setting. One person would assemble the cuff (and a couple hundred identical cuffs), then pass them on to the next person to sew cuffs into jackets.

Take your jacket, and arrange it so the sleeve cuff is facing you. Poke the sleeve cuff through the constructed cuff. Line up the underarm seam with the cuff seam, and match the notches on the other side. Pin the cuff to the sleeve at these two points.

Pull up the gathering stitches in between these points, and adjust the gathers to fit the sleeve opening. Sew the cuff to the sleeve.

Repeat with the second cuff. Look how nice they look!

Cuff Notes:

Worried about your gathers? Baste the cuff first, check the gathers, then stitch it.
Sleeves too long? You can shorten the sleeves at this stage if you need to! Trim the sleeve before adding the cuff, then sew the cuff to the newly-shortened sleeve.
Want a more gathered cuff on your next version of the jacket? Cut the cuff piece wider, but keep the elastic the same width, and it will look more gathered with more ‘scrunch.’
Want completely un-gathered cuffs? Measure your sleeve opening, then cut your cuff pieces the same width and omit the elastic. You’ll have the look of a cuff, without gathers or elastic. A good option for thick and bulky fabrics!
Are you a knitter? Wouldn’t it be amazing to knit matching cuffs for your jacket, and sew them on? You could probably skip the elastic (let me know if I’m wrong!) and it would be a lovely, professional touch. And warm! How about finishing the cuffs of a wool tweed Minoru Jacket with wool knit ribbing? I’d love to see that done up!

Flap Pockets on the Minoru Jacket

Tasia — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

I thought I’d point out these great-looking flap pockets that Kirsty from Rocket Sews is adding to her Minoru Jacket. Isn’t the fabric fantastic? Talk about brightening up a dull rainy day!

If you’re up to speed with or ahead of the sew-along, it may be too late for some of you to add these pockets to your Minoru Jacket. It’s not impossible, but pockets might be trickier to construct if you already have the jacket sewn up. (Adding pockets while the jacket is still flat is always easier!) This is a great method for adding pockets on your second or third versions of the jackets, as an alternative to inseam pockets.

She’s even shared her pattern for the pocket flap and pocket bag for you to make your own. Click the image, or click here to read her post on the pocket details! And while you’re there, take a look at the hood features she’s added. A drawcord and toggles make it easy to tighten the hood on particularly wet or windy days! Looking good so far!

Minoru Sew-Along #9: Front Plackets, Front Zipper

Tasia — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Hey, everyone! Happy Tuesday! I am pleased to report that I’m feeling well enough to sew again. Isn’t that the worst, feeling too sick to sew? When it hurts to concentrate and focus your eyes on those tiny little stitches? Well, I feel much better now! Thanks for your patience and well wishes!

I think it was a case of exactly what Lucy said: “It’s like your body holds on as long as it needs to and then goes, ‘right, that’s it. Enough is enough.’ My body was kind enough to let me finish packing up the last of the pre-sale orders and then decided to force me to rest. Could it be that my body is smarter than my stubborn mind, perhaps, and knows when to take a break?

The good news? We’re back to sewing, hurrah!

Today we’ll sew our front plackets to the jacket, and baste in the front zipper. Now you’ll really be able to try on the jacket and see how it looks!

Want to catch up on previous Sew-Along posts? Click the links below to read more:

The one good thing is that while I was away, many of you had a chance to catch up. So we’re all much closer to the same place in our jackets now!

Let’s get to it! We’ll need our half-finished jackets from this post, and our front placket pieces. We’ll only need to sew in two of our band pieces today, but we needed to cut 4. (Make sure you have four placket pieces in total!) And if you’re like me and still haven’t cut your lining, we won’t need it today thankfully.

Apply fusible interfacing to your band pieces. (To save time, you might want to fuse interfacing to all four band pieces at once, while we’re at it.)

One thing I should mention, if you’re using a nylon or similar fabric, you may not want to use fusible interfacing as it might melt your fabric! Consider a sew-in interfacing instead, or perhaps doubling-up your main fabric to strengthen the front bands. Having the bands interfaced helps to support the collar and the zipper but if it really won’t work with your fabric, leave it out completely. You’ll end up with a slightly softer, more relaxed collar and band area.

If you applied the interfacing to all four bands, set two of them aside. (One pair, that is – check to make sure you have two different bands set aside (not two of the same side) and two different bands ready to use today.) Compare the tops which are slightly angled, and the notch placement – your pair of bands should be a mirror image of each other, not identical!

Pin the front placket to the centre front opening. (Placket, band, it’s the same thing. I call them plackets in the pattern instructions but also think of them as front bands, too.)

Line up notches to neckline seam, and match notches halfway down the body.

Sew plackets to jacket, starting all the way at the top and stitching all the way to the bottom.

Press seam allowances towards plackets, and topstitch this seam. (I didn’t press the seam before topstitching it, but pulled the seam apart gently to make sure it was open while topstitching.)

Remember to use the same topstitching stitch length and distance away from the seam as we did in this first topstitching step!

Trim seam allowances. Repeat for the other side of the jacket.

Now, we’ll baste our centre front zipper in place. Take your zipper, and open it up a couple of inches. You want to be sure that you’re basting in place with the zipper pull on the outside, not on the inside. See how in the photo below, we have our zipper aligned with the placket edge, but with the pull facing down?

Starting with the left side of the jacket (right side actually, but the side that’s on your left when facing the jacket), pin the zipper tape to the placket.

Now when we turn the zipper tape and seam allowance to the inside, our zipper slider is right where we want it – facing us!

I find it’s easiest to start pinning the opposite side at this point too, so we don’t end up with twisted zippers.

Continue pinning the zipper all the way down, to the bottom of the jacket.

NOTE: Your zipper will end before the placket does. That’s intentional! It’s supposed to end before the placket for looks, and also to reduce strain on the bottom of the jacket when we’re sitting down. If you really wanted your jacket zipper to end in line with the bottom of the placket, measure from top to bottom of the placket, and choose a zipper that matches this length exactly, shortening to fit if needed.

Let’s baste our zipper in place! This basting stays in permanently, but it won’t be the only line of stitching holding our zipper in place when we’re all done. Open the zipper completely and separate it at the bottom, so you can sew one side at a time.

Baste about 1/4″ (6mm) from the edge or so. I like to use the edge of my presser foot as a guide, but in this case I’m using the left edge and getting it as close to the teeth as I can without riding over them. Repeat with the other side of the zipper too. If you come across the slider, simply move it up out of the way while you stitch that section, and move it back down when you’re done.

And that’s it for today! You’ll be able to try on your jackets now, and get a proper idea of fit. When we stitch the zipper down for real and press that seam, it will give us a little more ease, in case you find the fit to be snug!

I have some serious catching up to do after being away for a little while. Thanks for understanding and I’ll do my best to have the next Sew-Along step ready for us shortly!

Sick Day

Tasia — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Sew-Alongers and regular readers, I am sick today. Now that I can finally get to my machines again, I can barely keep my head up, much less focus on sewing straight lines!

Thanks for bearing with me while I am sick, when I was busy with order shipping, and now that I’m generally behind on the sew-along.

(source – I thought a soothing bedroom photo would be better than a sickly photo)

In Renfrew Pattern news, all of your pre-orders have been shipped! I went in yesterday (don’t worry, I didn’t ride my bike while sick) and shipped every last pre-order out the door. You’ve all been sent email notifications confirming when your pattern was shipped.

If you didn’t receive an email confirming your shipment, please let me know! If you do need to contact me, please include your name and any order numbers or confirmation numbers so it’s faster to look it up.

Off to sleep it off and sweet-talk Mr Sewaholic into making me chicken soup…and hopefully be well again soon!

Renfrew Top Patterns: Now in Stock!

Tasia — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s an especially happy day around here, as the Renfrew Top pattern is now in stock! The pre-sale went exceptionally well. I’ve never packed, labelled and shipped so many orders before. They just kept on coming!

I was expecting mass disaster because I couldn’t do it the usual way, but it went more smoothly than ever before. Promo codes work! In fact they’re even better, because orders are easier and faster to process if they stay within the shopping cart system. And you can input a separate shipping address, and order as many patterns as you want. I’m happy that it worked out! (Look forward to more promo codes in the future, too!)

Thank you to everyone that pre-ordered a Renfrew Top pattern. Your orders are on their way! (Unless you ordered it yesterday evening or overnight, in which case, I might be packing up your shipment as you read this!)

Click here to visit the store. I know, we have an uneven row in our pattern store! Time to get cracking on the next pattern and finish off that lonely row of one. I look forward to filling up the page with new patterns in the coming year!

I’m super excited to add the Renfrew Top to the current collection. It’s a great wardrobe-building pattern, works well under the Minoru Jacket or with the Crescent Skirt for a casual look. There are so many possibilities for variations too! You could use contrast bands, or use a striped fabric for the body, one of the stripe colours for the bands. Embellish your top with applique, cut-outs, or trim. Plus, you can choose any of the sleeve options to work with any of the necklines. So many ideas for such a simple pattern!

Have an awesome day and if you wanted to pick up a copy of the Renfrew Top, click here to visit the store!

Wondering if you can pay by credit card, if you don’t have a Paypal account? The answer is Yes! Just click ‘Checkout with Paypal’ and you’ll have the option to pay as a guest, without creating an account.

Having trouble with the shopping cart? Contact me and we’ll sort it out. Thanks, everyone!

A Sew-Along Day Off

Tasia — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Hey, Sew-Alongers! I apologize but I don’t have a Sew-Along post ready for us today! A shipment of boxes arrived last week that took over most of the office, so I wasn’t able to get to the sewing machine at all. (And I still haven’t cut my lining fabric either! So behind.)

Which means I have nothing prepared for our next step yet. I hope you’ll understand! I hope to get everything sorted in the next day or so and then back to the Sew-Along.

I’ll leave you with a silly photo of me wearing the half-finished jacket:

Pretty cool that we can try on our jackets already, right? Remember there’s a front band on each side, so don’t panic when your jacket won’t meet at centre front. I know that a couple of you found this out last week after sewing up the sideseams! The bands add a couple of inches to fill in that centre front gap, all the way from the hem to the top of the collar.

Sorry for the delay in Sew-Along posts, and thanks for understanding! If you’re still working on the earlier posts, here’s a day or so to get caught up with the group!

PS. Remember, the Renfrew Top Pre-Sale ends today. If you’re on the Sewaholic Patterns mailing list (different from the daily blog-post email list), check your mail for the secret code that will give you free shipping! Not on the list? Sign up here!

Adding Pockets to the Minoru Jacket: Amy’s Awesome Tutorial

Tasia — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

I have an excellent surprise for you guys today – a tutorial on how to add pockets to the Minoru Jacket! Amy from Sew Well was kind enough to take photos and write up a guide to adding sideseam pockets. If you’ve been holding off sewing your sideseams because you wanted to add pockets, this tutorial is for you!

Not only did she document how to sew the pockets into your Minoru Jacket, she’s even provided a downloadable pattern piece if you’d like to add this pocket to your jacket. Amazing! (And don’t you just love the fabric she’s using, too? I love the colours!)

Click here if you’d like to check out the tutorial. Thanks, Amy!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

PS. Remember, the Renfrew Top Pre-Sale ends Monday. If you’re on the Sewaholic Patterns mailing list, check your email for the secret code that will give you free shipping! Sign up here if you’re not on the list yet!

Minoru Sew-Along #8: We Finally Get to Pull the Gathers!

Tasia — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

The day you’ve been patiently waiting for has arrived. Today, you can pull up the gathering threads on your jackets! (When we get to that part in the sewing instructions, that is, not before!)

Today we’ll sew the collar to the jacket neckline, sew the underarm and sideseam, and topstitch the underarm seam.

Note: If you’re wanting to put inseam pockets in your jacket, stop before sewing up the underarms and sideseams. No pocket tutorial as of yet, but it’s coming! (Unless there’s someone out there who already wrote one? Let me know if you’ve seen one, written a side-seam pocket tutorial yourself, or would like to!)

Want to catch up on previous Sew-Along posts? Click the links below to read more:

You’ll need your collar (either the hood-and-collar combo we made the other day, or if you’re making View B, just the collar piece) and your jacket body.

Line up the collar along the top neckline, right sides together. (Someone asked about seeing the collar from the other side, this is it! You can see the zipper tape from the inside, but it’ll be hidden when the collar is completed.)

We’ll pin them together in three strategic places:

Pin the centre of the collar to the centre of your jacket.
Pin the edge of your collar to the edge of your jacket.
Pin the notch in between.

Now, pull up the gathers in between the pins! Distribute the gathers evenly. If you’re unsure about the gathers, baste this seam first. Check the gathers, adjust if necessary, and then sew the seam for real.

Sew the collar to the jacket. Looks good!

If you did tailor’s tacks, you can take them out. I’m going to pull my little green threads out so they’re out of my way.

Trim the seam allowance, press it upwards towards the collar, and topstitch this seam. Don’t forget to topstitch the same way you did in this post!

Here’s how it will look so far:

Our jackets are going to look pretty good by the end of today, as we’re going to sew up the sideseams and underarms now! (Unless you want to add inseam pockets. In that case, don’t sew up the sides quite yet.)

Fold your jacket so it looks like the photo. Start with your jacket back facing you, right side up, and fold the jacket front over, lining up the sleeves and sideseams.

Pin along the sideseam and underarm seam, matching raglan seam intersections at front and back. (Yes, that’s my uncut lining fabric underneath! Still haven’t had a chance to cut all of the lining pieces…)

Stitch the sideseam and underarm seam as one. Or, if you’re thinking of making adjustments to the fit of the jacket at this point (perhaps the hip width, if you’re less of a pear-shape) baste this seam instead. Try on the jacket, adjust the seams to fit, and stitch the seam permanently.

Trim and press this seam towards the back. In the photo above, I’ve shown how I clipped it at the armhole so it turns and presses more easily. This next step is optional, but I like to topstitch the seam from the underarm down to the hemline. I feel like it gives it a sporty look and more durable sideseams.

It started to get dark while I was sewing, so that last photo is a little dim and blue-tinted.

And that’s it for the day! It’s sure been a busy week for us so far. I’m starting to like this peach jacket more and more! I had moments of doubt about the colour but now that it’s coming together, I’m liking the look! How do you feel about your jackets so far?

PS. I know I’m a bit behind on replying to comments. I’ll do my best to catch up by the end of the week, so you’re ready to go over the weekend. Thanks for understanding!