Mod Mondays - The Link Up

Welcome to the final week of the Mod Monday series.   This series has focused on my Shoulder Tie Dress pattern and simple modifications that can be made to truly make the pattern your own.   If you would like to see the previous weeks, you can click on the links below.  The links to the Shoulder Tie Dress pattern are in the sidebar on the right hand side.  

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Now it's time to show off your creations!  Please link your blog post showing your creation!  I can't wait to see what ideas all of you have tried!

Until next time, Happy Sewing!

Mod Mondays - The Shoulder Tie Dress: Variation 3

Welcome back to our Mod Monday series!  This series features simple modifications that can be made to my easy and free Shoulder Tie Dress pattern.  See the sidebar to the right for the links to the tutorial series.

If you have missed the previous installments of this series you can find them at the links below.
Week 1
Week 2

This week's mod changes the skirt portion of the dress as well as the ties at the neck.

For the ties I simply did two pieces of ribbon which tie at each shoulder instead of a single piece which tied only on one shoulder.

For the skirt portion I changed the construction a bit.  I just took twice the distance across the bottom of the front and back pieces of the bodice and cut a rectangle using that measurement and the finished length of the skirt plus seam allowance and hem allowance.

I changed up the side seams a bit by adding drawstrings.  To do this I simply finished the short edges  and the bottom hem of the skirt pieces before I sewed them together.  I made the seam allowance a little wider than usual to accommodate the ribbon.  I pressed them open and then ran another line of stitching to hold the seam allowance back, parallel to the side seam on each side of the seam. At the bottom I turned the corners under at a 45 degree angle so they wouldn't show below the hem.  This made a casing for the ribbon.  Then I just cut the ribbon a little longer than the side seam, fed them up through the casing and basted them at the waist.

The skirt was then gathered onto the bodice which was constructed just as in the tutorial.

For this little lady I chose a pretty purple print because purple is her favorite color.  I think it is one that she wears well!

Again, this is a very simple mod that really anyone can accomplish.

I hope that you will join us next week for the Mod Monday link party and show off your mod ideas for this pattern!

Until next time, Happy Sewing!

Mod Mondays - The Shoulder Tie Dress : Variation 2

Welcome to variation 2 of the Mod Monday series!  This series features simple modifications that can be made to my easy and free Shoulder Tie Dress pattern.  See the sidebar to the right for the links to the tutorial series.  If you missed out on week one please take the time to go back and see it, you don't want to miss out on that cuteness!

The variation for this week involves changing the neckline a little bit.

For this variation I drafted a simple flutter sleeve, sewed it so that the straight edge of the flutter sleeve continued the casing line and then used elastic to gather the neckline instead of ribbon or ties.  For this little one, I could have probably shortened the elastic a bit as it was just slightly big on her, but I didn't get the chance to do that before picture day.

The flutter sleeve is drafted as just a very simple shape.  It looks something like the shape below.  The amount of curve that you add will determine the shape of the flutter sleeve.  There is no real right or wrong, it just depends on your taste.  I used a pretty steep curve for mine.  The more steep the curve, the more dramatic the sleeve will be.

The skirt portion of this variation, once again, follows the tutorial as it is written.

For this variation I chose a pretty blue print because this little one has the most beautiful pale blue eyes and I knew that the dress would only show them off.

I'm looking forward to the link party coming up on Monday, September 29.  I hope that you will share your variations with me!

Until next time, happy sewing!

Mod Mondays - The Shoulder Tie Dress: Variation 1

Welcome to Week 1 of the Mod Monday series!  This series will feature simple modifications that can be made to my easy and free Shoulder Tie Dress pattern.  See the sidebar to the right for the links to the tutorial series.

For this first modification, the change made to the pattern is as simple as adding one buttonhole.  Really, that's all there is.

I changed the location of the bow to the center back by simply adding a buttonhole to the center back before sewing the casing down.  Thread the tie through the buttonhole into the back casing, through the front and then back through the back casing and back out the buttonhole. I used an extra long piece of ribbon to add a bit of romantic drama to this particular dress.   Super easy, super cute!

Everything else about this mod follows the tutorial instructions just as they are written.

I had been told that some of the favorite things of the little miss who modeled the dress are pink, flowers and dresses.  She was incredibly cute when she saw the dress for the first time.  She hugged it to her chest, jumped up and down and ran to try it on. I think it was a hit with her and she looks lovely wearing it. She is so very photogenic that it was really difficult to choose which photos to use, so I will leave you with just a couple more of my favorites.

I hope you will join me next week for Variation 2!

Until next time, happy sewing!

Mod Mondays - The Shoulder Tie Dress

I have a fun little series planned for the month of September and I have been waiting anxiously to share it with you! I had originally planned to do this series earlier in the summer. Pattern writing, however, took longer than I anticipated and so I had to put this off for a little bit.

Back in the early spring I did a tutorial series on my Shoulder Tie Dress pattern.  The links for this series are in the right hand side bar of my blog. There are so many ways that this simple pattern can be modified to truly make it your own that I wanted to showcase some of them. My hope is that I might inspire some of you to try your own ideas. All of these are very simple modifications that any adventurous beginner to intermediate sewist can do with ease.

The posts will appear on Mondays with the last Monday of September featuring a link party in which you can link to your blog post with your creation. I hope that you will join in on the fun!

Until next Monday, I will leave you with a few teaser pictures. I had so much fun with this little photo shoot!  We set up a little picnic in the park with bubbles and pinwheels and cookies and pink lemonade.  The girls were all great and had a good time playing together, even though some of them had never met before that evening.

Until next time, happy sewing!

  

Tiered Pillowcase Dress: Week 5 - Finishing the Dress

Welcome to the final week of the shoulder tie dress sew along!
The links for the previous weeks are in the right hand side bar for those of you who might need them.

Let's get started!

Week 5: Finishing the Dress (time needed: about 1 - 1 1/2 hours)

1. Fold your bodice piece in half and mark the center point of both the front and the back along the bottom edge.

2. Attach the skirt to the bodice using the same method you did last week when attaching the two tiers together.  Match your center marks and your side seams.  Draw up your gathers, pin and sew using a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

3.  Finish this seam with a serger if you wish.

4. Press the seam toward the bodice and topstitch as with the tiers.

5. Cut your length of ribbon and place a safety pin in the end.

6. Lay your dress in front of you with the front facing you.

7.  Beginning with the side nearest your right hand (the left shoulder of the dress) insert the ribbon into the casing using the safety pin to thread it through to the other side.  Pull it through until there is about 18 inches left on the tail end.

8. Continue threading through the back side of the bodice.  The two tail ends should tie at the same shoulder.

9. Adjust and pull the ends until they are even.

10. Fold the ribbon ends in half long ways and clip them at a 45 degree angle.

11.  Apply a small amount of Fray Block or Fray Check to the ribbon ends to keep them from raveling.

12.  Tie your ribbons and adjust gathers as needed for the fit you like.

13.  Congrats, you are finished!

Here are a few shots of some of these dresses that I have made. For a couple of them I sewed ties instead of using ribbon.

Thanks for following along!

Tiered Pillowcase Dress Sew Along: Week 4 - Gathering The Bottom Tier

Welcome back!  So here we are at Week 4!  Today we will gather that bottom tier onto the one above.  

If you are just joining us, you can catch up on the previous weeks at the links below. 

Preparations

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3 

Week 4: Gathering The Bottom Tier (time needed about 1 1/2 to 2 hours)

1.  Lengthen your stitch length on your machine a few clicks.  On the top edge of the bottom tier and starting at a seam,  sew a line of stitching 1/2 inch from the edge.  DO NOT backstitch!  Stop at each seam and clip your threads leaving a longer tail than usual.  Continue in this fashion all the way around the edge of the tier until you come back to where you started.   

2.  Sew another line of stitching parallel to the first one.  I usually use the edge of my presser foot for a guide for this.  Start and stop at the seams, clipping threads and leaving long tails just as you did with the first line.  Be careful not to catch the thread tails from the previous line of stitching.  

When you get finished it should look like this. 

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 on the top edge of the top tier as well. 

4.  Return your stitch length to your normal setting. 

5.  Taking your top tier, fold it in half and mark the centers of each side.  Mark both the top and bottom edges.  

6. Do the same with your bottom tier, if you are making one of the smaller sizes, and mark the top edge only.  If you are making one of the larger sizes, one of your center seams can serve as your center mark.  

7. Place your two tiers right sides together.  The upper edge of the bottom tier should be lined up with the lower edge of the top tier. The upper tier will be "inside" the bottom tier.   

8.  Line up your side seams.  If you pressed your seams in opposite directions you can "nest" them together, just like in quilting. Pin these in place.  Place your pins perpendicular to the edge of the fabric.  

9.  Line up your center marks and pin these in place also. 

10.  GENTLY begin to pull the bobbin threads on the bottom tier and gather the fabric up on them.  Take your time and carefully slide the fabric down a little at a time.  Patience is key here.  Don't tug too hard or you will break the bobbin threads.  Just keep steady pressure on them and working the gathers down the stitching line a little at a time.  

11.  Pull up gathers until they are distributed evenly and the two fabric edges are the same length. You will need to slide the gathers back and forth a bit to get them distributed evenly.  Make sure that the gathers are as perpendicular to the stitching line as possible.  Pin this in place all the way around the edge.  

12.  Beginning at one side seam, begin stitching the two tiers together with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.  Remember to use your needle down and go slow stopping to adjust and remove pins as needed.  Try to keep the gathers as perpendicular to the seam as possible.  Stitch all the way around until you come back to where you started.  Don't forget to backstitch! 

13. Turn the fabric so that you are looking at the right side of the skirt.  Double check all the way around to make sure you are satisfied with how your gathers and seam look.  

14.  If you are finishing your seams with a serger, take another trip around this seam on your serger using a slightly narrower seam allowance than 1/2 inch.  I start just a little bit before a seam and then when I get back to that spot, I taper it out, overlapping my first stitches and then stitch off the edge.  Be careful not to stitch off the edge before your knives stop trimming thread and fabric.  

15.  Press the seam from the bottom tier toward the top tier.  

16.  Topstitch on the top tier, through the seam for the bottom tier, about 1/8 inch from the seam. This will hold that seam in place and the skirt will hang better.   

I like to use my "edge joining" or "stitch in the ditch" foot.  It has a small "fin" that sticks out in the front.  

I set my needle off center a few clicks to whichever side of the seam I want to topstitch.  In this case I set it to the right 6 clicks.  Make sure that the foot you are using has a wide enough opening to allow you to do this or you are sure to break a needle.  

When you begin to stitch, let the "fin" on the front of the foot ride along in the seam.  You can see in this picture how the needle is offset from center.  This helps give a nice evenly spaced topstitch.  

And there you have it!  Week 4 is complete.  Next week will be so much fun as you FINISH your dress and then show it off!  

I can't wait to see! 

Until then...

Happy stitching!