Using woven fabric for a knit pattern

 As part of our Lagoon week activities, roday we have a great tutorial for you!  This week we're shining the spotlight on the Lagoon Top, Dress & Skirt pattern. 

Be sure to grab the Lagoon pattern at 40% off with the code only found in our Newsletter! (Sign Up Below)

Today we are answering one of the most commonly requested questions, "Can I use woven fabric for a knit pattern?"  Or to put it another way, "Can I use non-stretch fabric for a pattern drafted for stretch fabric?"

Our answer: Sometimes!  And with some very specific modifications.   

1.  Look at the finished measurements

First of all, you need to start with an appropriate pattern.  We've made a list of more suitable patterns for this below.  When you're looking at the finished measurements chart, if you see that a garment has negative ease (this means it's smaller than your child's measurements - usually found in swimwear, leggings, fitted tees and so on) this is really not a suitable pattern for using woven fabric.  

2.  Make part of the pattern from woven fabric

If you make only the front of the bodice from woven fabric, but the back and sleeves from knit or stretch fabric, you're good to go! The knit/stretch fabrics will stretch, and you can still use the pretty woven fabric.  You can see how Jenny did this with the Lagoon pattern in the dress above.  She used (non-stretch) fabric for the bodice front, and stretch fabric for the bodice back, waistband and skirt.

3. Gathers = You're good!

If the knit pattern is gathered in any part, you can use woven fabric for that part.  In the photo above, you can see where Audrey used woven fabric for the bubble overlay on the Lagoon Dress and knit fabric for every where else.

4. Reduce the number of layers

The more layers there are, the tighter it will be.  For example, if the garment is designed to be fully lined, you may be able to eliminate the lining and use non stretch fabrics.

4. Usually size up or size up in tight areas

When you were looking at the finished measurements chart, you may have noticed your child's measurements were larger than the finished measurements.  Or some of them were.  In those areas, be sure to go up to the next size.  In the photo above, Audrey used flannel fabric on the Base Blazer, and the only area she wished she'd sized up is the arms as the roll up cuff was very hard to roll up.

5.  Add extra width/height as needed

Some knit patterns are designed for knit fabric with 2 way stretch.  This means the fabric stretches only either vertically or horizontally. These are better candidates for using woven fabrics on some sections, as the pattern is already designed for fabrics with less stretch. Other patterns call for fabric with 4 way stretch, which means the fabric stretches BOTH horizontally and vertically. These will require more sizing up adjustments, usually around the body, which is where most knit patterns are designed to stretch. Another area to consider is the underarm point, which will probably need to be dropped for woven fabric, as knit garments are usually designed to hug the underarm area.  

6.  Make a muslin!!!!

This should probably be point number one!  But after making all the adjustments to the pattern that you think might be needed, you DEFINITELY need to make a muslin or practice garment before you sew the real thing with that special woven fabric you just HAVE to use!

7. Finish your seams

Knit pattern instructions don't always include options for finishing the raw edges of your seams.  But since woven and non-stretch fabrics will fray, you should use a zig zag stitch or serger to neaten up the insides of your garment. Delicate fabrics like Organza, chiffon or double gauze may even need French seams, since those fabrics are especially delicate and prone to fraying.

8.  Use gathering stitches for places that would be stretched to fit.

If the garment is supposed to be stretched or eased to fit while sewing (for example an armscye or waist) you will need to add gathering stitches to the larger piece to make it fit to the smaller piece.  

Knit patterns more suitable for using woven fabrics on some pieces:

Don't take this list as our blanket approval that any of these patterns can be used for using woven fabrics!  These are just some suggestions of patterns that are easier to modify for wovens from out pattern shop. Use our tips above for a successful outcome!

Lagoon Dress, Top & Skirt

Morgana Zip-Up

Seafoam Skirt

Blank Canvas Cardigan

Cinnamon Cardigan Pattern

Baie Blazer Pattern

Becky Skirt Pattern

Coral Wrap Dress, Top & Skirt

Abby’s Watercolor Dress

Abby’s Spidermonkey Pants

L & J Hoodie

Cicero Jacket

Foliis Jacket & Dress

Caraway Cardigan

Aster Cardigan

Patterns already designed for knit AND/OR woven fabric:

All Wrapped Up Robe

Sweet Dreams Pajama Pants & Shorts

Still Sleeping Eye Mask Set

Cancun Cover Up pattern

Evergreen Skirt Pattern

Ultramarine Coverup

Odeline Blouse & Dress

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Hidden Neck Binding Tutorial with a Ruffle

Today we have a great tutorial for you!  This week we're shining the spotlight on the Lagoon Top, Dress & Skirt pattern.  Be sure to check back all week long for tons of Lagoon fun.

Be sure to grab the Lagoon pattern at 40% off with the code found only in our newsletter! (Sign up Below)

The Lagoon Top, Dress & Skirt pattern has a hidden neck binding and (optional) ruffle on the neckline. This may be an unfamiliar finish to some, but it is so clean and pretty, that we encourage you to give it a try!

Here are a couple more tips for the hidden neck binding:

• Use a good quality knit fabric with good stretch and recovery! The lighter weight the fabric used, the more likely the neck binding and ruffle will gape out away from the neckline. This is not desired! Save time and frustration by using the right kind of fabric.
• Pressing is your best friend! Use a lot of steam and press the neckline often while you are sewing it.
• Pull the neck binding slightly below the neckline while topstitching it in the final step so it does not show on the outside of the Lagoon. This is especially important if you are eliminating the ruffle on the neckline.

Lagoon Top, Dress & Skirt pattern This pattern is from Project Under the Sea pattern collection. Project Under the Sea fabric can be found here.

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Seashell Satchel Zipper Pocket Tutorial

The Seashell Satchel is a really simple pattern, but there are so many ways to take it up a notch!

The Seashell Satchel is also a great spot for our iron on digital designs! It would also work well for panels!

Audrey added a ruffle to the top of hers.

The pocket can be divided into whatever dimensions you prefer- add pen slots or size one to fit your phone.

Today we are going to look at another option- adding a zipper pocket.

The zipper pocket can be placed on the inside or outside, depending on your preference. It is a great way to keep small items more secure.

Seashell Satchel Zipper Pocket Tutorial

This is designed to work with the pieced version of the medium Seashell Satchel. You will cut all of the pattern pieces for the Seashell Satchel with two changes.

1. Replace the front top piece with:

1 3/8" X 12" main and lining
4 1/2" X 12" main and lining
12" or longer zipper

2. Cut the top band pieces 2" X 12" 

To prepare the front zipper panel:

Sandwich the top of the zipper between the top main and lining pieces.
Sew with a 3/8" seam allowance using a zipper foot.
Press the pieces away from the zipper and topstitch 1/8" from the seam.
Repeat for the bottom pieces.

To assemble the bag:

Sandwich the main body of the bag between the zipper panel and lining.
Sew using a 3/8" seam allowance.
Press the top pieces upward and topstitch with a 1/2" seam allowance to enclose all of the raw edges.

Repeat for the back of the bag, topstitching as desired (you will only see one side at a time anyway.)

Sew the top bands in the same manner as the pattern instructions. They will just be more narrow so as not to add more layers over the zipper.

Baste the sides and be mindful of the zipper stop. Trim the ends of the zipper to align the edges with the rest of the bag.

Follow the rest of the directions as per the pattern. 

Here is a video tutorial to make this a little easier for you!

We are adding more and more content to our YouTube channel so be sure to check it out!

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Get the Seashell Satchel pattern HERE!

The rest of this week we are focusing on our other "S" pattern - the Seafoam Skirt! Make sure that you are signed up for our newsletter to get special discounts on our Project Under the Sea Deep Dive featured patterns every week!

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Shorten A Zipper Tutorial from Project Run & Play

 As part of our feature week on the Zealand Zip Off Pants pattern, we've made a great tutorial for you.  The Zealand Zipper uses separating zippers, and because of the limited number of lengths zippers can be purchased in, sometimes it's necessary to buy a longer zipper and shorten it.  This tutorial works for most zippers.

Remember to save!  The Zealand Zip Off pattern is 40% off with a code found only in our Newsletter! Sign up Below!

Find the Zealand Zip Off Pants pattern here in the shop.

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Sew Your Stash: Painting Tulle

When you can't find the perfect fabric for your project, make it yourself! Jenny from Made of Starlite did just that with her show-stopping tulle from the Project Art Studio Lookbook!

When building the vision board for Project Art Studio, I ran across thee amazing painted tulle skirts! They were the perfect embodiment of everything an artists studio should be in my opinion: colorful, playful, and whimsical! I just knew I HAD to do something similar!

I started with regular mesh tulle from JoAnn Fabrics, nothing fancy, and regular acrylic paint. I tried a few techniques to get the paint to stick to the tulle, the most successful being suspending the tulle between two chairs with hangers and using a foam craft brush. I also went over most of the lines at least twice. 

I would be curious to experiment with different types of paint for this type of project! The biggest hurtle I came up against was getting enough surface tension for the paint to fill in the holes of the tulle and make a solid line, rather than just breaking apart and sticking only to the individual fibers in the fabric. I wonder if a different, thicker paint would stick better. I also ran out of fabric medium, which I usually add to acrylic paints when using them on fabric, and I wonder if that would have helped any, or made it worse?

Full disclosure: Because I ended up with straight acrylic paint, this in not a washable dress. The skirt is pretty stiff, and some of the paint has flaked off as she has worn it. I would say that this technique, while SO cool, may be for more of a couture piece than every day wear. She has worn it to a fancy night out over the holidays, as well as to a play. It still looks new, but we did notice a few flakes on her seat at the theatre as we were leaving. 

So while I wouldn't call this a fail, it's not 100% where I would like it to be. My goal with children's fashion is to be able to wear and abuse it, and for it to still look amazing! Stay tuned for more fabric painting adventures in the future! Someday I will find the perfect medium for my next painted tulle dress to last forever! 

What is Color Blocking + our 5 top tips

This week, as part of our Sew Your Stash event, we're talking about color blocking.  So we first need to clarify what is meant by color blocking!

Color blocking: Mixing two to three (if not more) bold and often contradictory colors together in one ensemble to make for an exciting statement piece.

For those of us who sew, color blocking is a GREAT stash buster because it allows us to use up smaller cuts of fabric.  You know, those pieces that are left over from cutting out a bigger project that are just big enough that you hate to throw them away!

Top 5 Tips for Color Blocking:

1.  Plan ahead!  Draw out your plan ahead of time.  Did you know that every single pattern in the Project Run & Play shop has line drawings included?  These line drawings are perfect for printing out and sitting down with a handful of crayons to plan your project!

2.  Remember to add seam allowances!  If you've decided to color block the front of a shirt, and the pattern piece says cut on the fold, you have to remember to add a seam allowance on the center front of both pieces.  Anywhere you cut a pattern piece for extra color blocking, remember to add seam allowance.

3. Check and then check again before you cut!  Because we're so used to cutting things out with the fabric folded in half, this is an area to use caution.  We recommend when color blocking to cut everything out with the right side of the fabric up and then you just have to remember to cut mirror images, which will mean turning over the pattern piece.  Don't worry if it sounds complicated, just mark your pattern pieces ahead of time!

4.  Nest your seams.  This is a trick we garment sewers learned from quilters!  They're the experts at getting corner and angles to line up, and they have a neat little trick they call nesting the seam.  It works like this: instead of pressing your seams open, press them toward one side (the darker fabric if applicable.)  Then, when you bring two joints together, the seam allowances will nest right up next to each other, and on the right side, it will create a PERFECT junction.

5.  Press your color blocked seams well.  No seriously!  Everyone's eyes will be drawn to the color blocking, and you want those seams to look amazing!  We like to press our seams flat first with lots of steam, and then a second time with lots of steam.

There you have it!  Color blocking defined and our top 5 tips.  Are you ready for some more color blocking fun?  Come back tomorrow!  (Use the graphic above to save these tips on Pinterest.  Do you follow us there?)

Vintage Striped Shirt Tutorial with SewWhit Designs

Want to make a cool vintage inspired striped tee? Whitney from SewWhit Designs is here to show us how to recreate this look.

I started with some White Jersey and this vertical striped print. My son wasn’t super keen on the pink so we decided to cut that stripe out.

I used my rotary blade and a plastic quilting ruler to help make straight cuts.

Book Bag Patch Tutorial

 

If you are sending your kids back to school the teachers often request a few items to help stock the classroom. They always need tissues and Clorox wipes!!! So why not whip up a quick Book Bag to send them in!?!?

This was actually my very first time using Cricut Iron On and I only had dark fabric, so I decided to test the waters with a patch on the front of the bag. The frayed edge patches are very trendy lately and I love how it turned out! I actually got a little carried away and made three of them!

Grab your FREE Book Bag pattern from the Project Run and Play shop!

Book Bag Patch Tutorial

Cut a piece of light colored canvas or other heavyweight fabric to the desired size. I started with an 8" x 10" rectangle. You can decorate it with an iron on digital design or create a unique background.

For the stitched lined paper patch:

Sew a horizontal light blue line of stitching one inch from the top edge of the fabric.

Stitch another blue line 3/8" from the first line.

Repeat until you get to the bottom of the fabric. The fabric may shift, so square up the edges and trim the loose threads with a rotary cutter as needed.

Sew a vertical line of red stitching one inch from the left edge of the fabric.

Add iron on vinyl to the patch.

To attach the patch to the bag:

Apply washable glue stick to the back of the patch and center it on the front of the bag, pressing and smoothing it in place. 

Stitch 1/8" from the edge around the patch, pivoting at the corners. 

Stitch around the patch again 1/8" from the first line of stitching towards the inside.

Pull out the loose threads on the edges to create a frayed effect.

Sew the Book Bag as per the pattern instructions.

I think they turned out really cute! You can get the Back to School Digital Designs in the shop and there are plenty of different elements to create tons of cute, original bags!

Don't forget to get your free printable first day of school posters from the shop, too!

In case you missed it, last week we also had a tutorial round-up for different ways to use digital designs in your children's sewing projects! Click HERE to learn more!

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FREE Book Bag Pattern

Back to School Digital Designs

FREE First Day of School Posters