Sew what do I wear…Professional Edition

October 27, 2017

It’s that time of the year again…time for the Sew What do I wear blog tour hosted by Made for Mermaids and P4P. This season a group of very talented women are bringing you inspiration for business wear outfits so make sure to check them all out.

As busy professionals on the go one of the most important thing to keep in mind when sewing your office outfits is time! How much spare time to you have? How many outfits can you treat yourself to in the allotted sewing time? Easy and fast patterns will help you get many looks in a short amount of time.

Keeping that in mind, for today’s blog I chose two of the fastest to sew P4P patterns, the Brunch Blouse and the Pirate Pencil skirt. Both patterns have a minimal number of pattern pieces and are super fast to put together.

For a more edgy look I use some vegan stretch leather when I made the Pirate Pencil Skirt . I loved the look of the skirt un-hemmed so I just skipped this step all together…boom! Even a faster sew now!

As I was sewing the top length Brunch Blouse I realized I wanted to add some extra details to it but without much work 😉 Store bought single fold bias tape to the rescue! Instead of finishing the neckline with the bias tape on the inside (as per the pattern tutorial), I did a switcharoo and put the bias tape on the outside of the neckline. I finished the bottom of the shirt using the same technique. The bias tape hem add a little extra to the shirt, doesn’t it?

There you have it! Two easy to sew patterns and a pair of of stilettos and you made yourself a edgy office attire. If you live in a colder weather are, throw a Cocoon Cardigan over and you’re ready for a stylish day at work.

Make sure you check out all the amazing blogs that joined us for this tour!

Brunch Blouse – easy hacks

September 14, 2017

In true P4P fashion, we have a few easy, fun hacks for the Brunch Blouse. Grab the pattern here and get creating!

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Color Block Dress

First off I will show you how to achieve a color block look with the dress option of the Brunch Blouse. You can use the same principles for the top option, you will just need to adjust some measurements. Start by printing the pattern in the size you need. Now grab a ruler and some scissors or a rotary cutter (for paper only 😉 ) because we’ll do some cutting.

Take the front pattern piece and mark 1.5″ down from where the dart mark is. Now draw a horizontal line (perpendicular to the center fold). Measure the distance between this line and the bottom of the dress.

Divide the length in half and draw a horizontal line at the half way mark. You have now split the front in 3 separate pieces.

Measure the side seam from the bottom to the bottom colorblock line. Take your back piece and measure up on the side seam the same amount and mark it. Now draw a horizontal line on the back piece. We will be measuring the front middle part side seam now. Mark the point on the back piece from the bottom colorblock line to whatever the measurement was for the middle front side piece. Draw a horizontal line front that marking point. You have now color blocked your back pattern pieces too, making sure that they will line up beautifully with the front color block pieces. Great job!

We will now cut the fabric. DO NOT FORGET THE SEAM ALLOWANCE! Since we are only dealing with straight color blocking lines, I will show you the easiest way to add SA. Simply use a quilter’s ruler and cut away 1/2 from the newly designed pattern pieces. Remember you need to add seam allowance only to the colorblock parts, NOT the center fold or side and middle back seam. Those seam allowances are already included in the pattern.

Once you have all your pieces cut (3 for the front, 6 for the back) you will start sewing them together. First sew the front top to the front middle (RST) with 1/2″ seam allowance, serger your raw edges and optionally top stitch. You will now sew the front bottom to the front middle, right sides together. You now have your front piece ready. Repeat the process for the back pieces. Remember that the back of the Brunch Blouse is not cut on fold so you will end up with two mirrored back cuts.

Finish sewing your BB dress as per the tutorial instruction. How easy and fun was that? You can get creative with your color blocking…just imagine a beautiful ombre blouse, or a blouse with lace overlay for the top colorblock. The possibilities are endless.

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Belt Loops and Sash Hack

This hack is super easy but a fun option for a different look than the normal Brunch Blouse! You can do this hack with any option except the one that already includes the waist tie.

1. First, sew up your blouse/dress as usual. Make sure to mark the notches on the side seams, add a pin as well after you’ve sewn the side seams so that you can still see where the notch is.

2. To make the sash, refer to this cut chart based on your size. Cut two.

3. Right sides together, sew the short ends together. Press open and finish edges.

4. Right sides together, sew the long edges now, but leave 2″ unsewn in the middle. This is how you’ll turn it right side out when you’re done.

5. Iron the short edge over to form a triangle. Now sew here to make the pointed edge, and trim the seam allowance down to 1/2″.

6. Turn right side out, press, and topstitch as close to the edge as you feel comfortable. When you get to the 2″ you left open, align the seam allowance inside and and stitch shut while topstitching.

7. For the belt loops, first decide if you want two or three. I opted for two because I didn’t want one on the back (I just don’t like the feeling).

8. Cut rectangles 3″ x 1.5″ – four for two belt loops or six for three belt loops.

9. Stitch along the long edges, right sides together. Then trim seam allowance to 1/4″.

10. Turn right side out, press short raw edges to the back 1/2″. then topstitch down the long edges as close to the edge as you feel comfortable.

11. Find the notch on the blouse side seams you marked earlier. Sew the loops on to the side seams, over the notch, by topstitching the short side 1/4″ from the edge. If you’d like a loop on the back too, find the middle of the back neckline and use a ruler to find the center back of the blouse from there and attach.

12. Press everything one last time. Slip in your sash into the loops and wear your new blouse!

~Elisabeth

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Front Zipper Hack

This is a little more intense and involves one of those scary things… you know, a zipper! Now, if you’ve never installed a zipper this may be a little daunting, but I promise, take it slow, you can do this!

I am using a 7″ (I think?) exposed metal zipper but you can choose your preferred length if you want it shorter or longer. If you’re choosing this option, do this prior to any other step in completing your top. So now, let’s get started.

: Find center front of neckline and iron on interfacing to wrong side of fabric.

: Place top of zipper 1/4″ below raw edge of neckline. If your tails are longer, you can trim them later.

: Mark the zipper stop placement on your interfacing.

: Draw a 1/2″ rectangle down the center of the front bodice. (this will be your stitch guide)

: Cut down the center of the rectangle. Stopping just above the bottom, snip at a 45 degree angle to the corners.

: With right sides together, pin zipper in place.

: The raw edge of your fabric should line up toward the center of the zipper tape.

: Be sure that your zipper stop is aligned with the bottom edge of your rectangle.

: Stitch.

: View from the front

: Flip notch upward and stitch.

: View from back of zipper.

: Repeat with opposite side. With right sides together, pin zipper to front bodice.

: Stitch.

: View from back of completed zipper.

: View from front. You can stop here and top-stitch if you do not mind the zipper showing inside your item. Proceed to next step if you want to enclose it.

: Cut a facing and transfer the markings as previously done in the first few steps.

: Finish raw edges. Cut down the center of the facing and snip towards the corner at a 45 degree angle.

: Lay the facing right side up on top of the wrong side of your zipper and front bodice.

: Flip the facing toward the center so that the right side is now lined up with the wrong side of the zipper. Stitch.

: View of left side of facing stitched.

: Repeat on opposite side. Stitch.

: Pull notch down and stitch in place. (same as you previously did on your main front body).

: View from back.

: Top-stitch around zipper.

: Finish neckline using single fold bias tape as shown in the tutorial.

There you have it! I hope that wasn’t as difficult as it appears. If you’re not sure you’re ready to tackle the zipper on your top, try it on a few scrap pieces first. Practice makes perfect right?

We hope you enjoyed the hacks as much as we did. Don’t forget to share your makes in the Facebook Group, we’d love to see them! Happy Sewing!

P4P University – plackets

September 13, 2017

Ohhh….plackets! Why are you so scary? Today on the blog I’m hoping to change that perceptions of them and help you face this fear.

What are plackets?

Plackets are basically just a slit or an opening in the fabric that allows for garments to be easily put on or taken off. Sometimes plackets are purely decorative. You can find them on sleeves, on pants, back of skirts and neckline. You can have a placket on the back of the neckline or on the front. The most common neckline front plackets are for Henley or Polo style shirts. On this blog I will be using the new Brunch Blouse placket but you can certainly utilize the same principles for a Yo Ho Henley or a Women or Men Henley shirt too.

Interfacing? Yay or nay?

My first tip/recommendation is to always use light weight interfacing for the placket piece. Simply fuse a piece of interfacing to the wrong side of the pattern piece. You can get away with not using any if you’re making a woven pattern but even so, the result will be so much better if you do add it. Interfacing will help stabilize your piece which in turn will make it a lot easier to sew. ALWAYS use interfacing for knit plackets!

Mark and press!

As you can see in the video above, I use a tailor chalk to mark the pressing and sewing lines on the back of the placket piece. You can use a soluble fabric pen or a fabric marker too.

If you have a tailor clapper now would be a good time to use it. It will defiantly come in handy and help keep those pressing marks firm. Spray starch will help too!

Sew slowly!

Make sure you pin a lot and catch any notches that need to be enclosed! This may be the most tedious part of adding a front neckline placket so it is well worth paying extra attention and sewing slowly.

Enjoy the fruits of your labor! 🙂

Now that you took the time to create the perfect placket, show it off! Be proud of your achievement and don’t let sewing techniques intimidate you! Speaking of showing off…don’t forget to brag about your Henleys and Brunch Blouses in the P4P group.

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Color Block Dress

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Belt Loops and Sash Hack

~Elisabeth

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Front Zipper Hack

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