Lumberjack Sew Along – day 5

January 28, 2022

Hello, friends and welcome to day 5 of the Lumberjack Sew Along! We are almost there! I love seeing all the beautiful shirts being created this week. Today we tackle the collar or hood.

Hood

For a more sporty look and “easier” construction you can add a hood to your Lumberjack. The hood can be made of either knit fabric or woven so you can get really creative with it. Line the hood with sherpa for a super cuddly one or line it with a fun minky print for an extra little something. Once you sew the hood pieces right sides together along the curve, place the lining and main right sides together. Sew along the face opening, turn right side out and top stitch. All you have left to do is attach the hood to the neck opening and finish the raw edge with single fold bias tape. I highly encourage you to use store bought bias tape, it will save you so much time. In a pinch, you can certainly create your own.

Collar

Oh the dreaded collar! Let me guess! It’s the “scariest” part of shirt! I hope I can convince you today that collars can be fun and not so difficult. The key to a great looking collar is making sure that the seam allowance is correct throughout. Another advice I have for when creating the collar is to press as you go. Remember to fuse the interfacing to the lining pieces of both the collar and the collar stand. If you added woven cuffs yesterday, you will find that the process is pretty similar today. Do not skip pressing 1/2″ hem on the collar stand bottom lining! Just as for the cuffs, prepressing this fold helps tremendously when enclosing the raw edge of the neckline in the collar.

You can see in the day 5 video how I added the woven collar to my Lumberjack. Once you finish your collar or hood, post a picture of your progress in the comments of day 5 photo of the Lumberjack sew along album.

Lumberjack Sew along – day 1 | cut fabric

Lumberjack Sew along – day 2 | chest pocket, shoulder seams

Lumberjack Sew along – day 3 | sleeves, side seams

Lumberjack Sew along – day 4 | cuffs

Lumberjack Sew along – day 5 | hood/collar

Lumberjack Sew along – day 6 | hemming, closures

Lumberjack Sew along – day 7 | winners announcement

Lumberjack Sew Along – day 4

January 27, 2022

Welcome to the 4th day of the Lumberjack sew along. Today we finish the sleeves with either cuffs.

Knit cuffs

The simplest way to finish the sleeves is with a knit cuff. Make sure that the fabric you use has great recovery and stretch. My favorite bases for cuffs are cotton spandex, rib knit and french terry. It is very important that you follow the grain of the fabric when cutting the cuffs. Lastly, press! Press and press some more! You will love the finished cuffs much better if you press throughout.

Woven cuffs

I opted for the woven cuffs for my Lumberjack. I love the classic look. If you have not done the vertical slits marked on the pattern pieces, now is the time to add them. You will now bind the opening with the fabric piece that is cut on the bias. Remember, the lining is the interfaced piece.

Tip: Do not skip pressing the lining 1/2″ along the bottom. It will make a world of difference when you stitch the cuff on.

If you need any visual help, take a look over today’s video. I show you step by step how to add woven cuffs to your Lumberjack shirt. Once you finish the steps, post a photo of your progress in the comments of day 4 photo of this sew along album.

Lumberjack Sew along – day 1 | cut fabric

Lumberjack Sew along – day 2 | chest pocket, shoulder seams

Lumberjack Sew along – day 3 | sleeves, side seams

Lumberjack Sew along – day 4 | cuffs

Lumberjack Sew along – day 5 | hood/collar

Lumberjack Sew along – day 6 | hemming, closures

Lumberjack Sew along – day 7 | winners announcement

Lumberjack Sew Along – day 3

January 26, 2022

Ahoy, pirates! Today, on day 3, we add the sleeves and sew the side seams.

Sleeves

Start by running a basting stitch along the curve of the sleeve. Gently and ever so slightly pull on the basting threads so it creates a faint gather. This will help when easing the sleeves into the sleeve opening. Pin the sleeves to the bodice, matching the shoulder seams with the notches. Stitch down with a 1/2″ seam allowance making sure that there are no puckers or folds along the curve.

If you are doing the unlined option, finish the raw edge with your serger or a zig zag stitch. If you are sewing the lined option, repeat these steps for the lining.

Inseam pockets

Before you sew the side seams you have to add the pockets. You will notice that the pattern features two different pocket shapes depending on whether you line or not your Lumberjack. While the unlined pockets may seem “odd” they, are drafted this way so they will be stitched into the front placket. This will ensure that the pocket won’t peek out from under the shirt when worn.

Make sure that you add the pocket placement slits/marking from the pattern pieces! It’s highly important that you follow the marking instructions.

Side seams

Once the pockets are sewing in the side seams, place the shirt right sides together matching the underarm points. Sew with a 1/2″ seam allowance. If you opted for the unlined style, finish the raw edge with your serger. If you are doing the lined style, sew the side seams of the lining as well. Place your lining into the main, wrong sides together. Going forward you will treat this as one piece.

Front placket

Press the front placket along the first fold line, then along the second one. Pin the lining front or the unlined option pockets in the front placket fold. Stitch down and press.

You can see today’s video below. Once you complete the steps, post a photo of your progress in the comments of day 3 photo of the Lumberjack SAL album. See you back here tomorrow when we will sew the cuffs.

Lumberjack Sew along – day 1 | cut fabric

Lumberjack Sew along – day 2 | chest pocket, shoulder seams

Lumberjack Sew along – day 3 | sleeves, side seams

Lumberjack Sew along – day 4 | cuffs

Lumberjack Sew along – day 5 | hood/collar

Lumberjack Sew along – day 6 | hemming, closures

Lumberjack Sew along – day 7 | winners announcement

Lumberjack Sew Along – day 2

January 25, 2022

Welcome to day 2 of the Lumberjack sew along. Today we create and sew the chest pockets and the shoulder seams. This shirt features two optional chest pockets that tie the lumberjack look together. I would not skip them. Judy is showing you some tips to help you sew the chest pocket below.

I sew my chest pockets slightly different so definitely check out today’s video as well. I give you my tips and tricks for achieving a beautiful looking chest pocket. Once you added the chest pockets to the two front pieces, you are ready to sew the shoulder seams.

If you are doing the lined option, you will be sewing the shoulder seam right sides together of the lining pieces as well as the main. I opted for the unlined style for my Lumberjack shirt so we will be sewing the shoulder seams using the burrito method. First, place the outer yoke and back piece right sides together. Now sandwich the back piece in between the right sides of the outer and lining yoke. Stitch in place and top stitch. Roll the back piece into a “burrito” and bring it up so that the front shoulders are sandwiched in between the RTS of the back yoke lining and main fabric. Stitch and optionally top stitch.

You can see all these steps in today’s video. Once you complete day 2 steps, post a photo of your progress in the comments of day 2 photo of the sew along album. See you back her tomorrow for day 3!

Lumberjack Sew along – day 1 | cut fabric

Lumberjack Sew along – day 2 | chest pocket, shoulder seams

Lumberjack Sew along – day 3 | sleeves, side seams

Lumberjack Sew along – day 4 | cuffs

Lumberjack Sew along – day 5 | hood/collar

Lumberjack Sew along – day 6 | hemming, closures

Lumberjack Sew along – day 7 | winners announcement

Kelli Dress Hacks

January 8, 2022

Straight Cut Skirt

I absolutely had to make this dress as soon as I saw Judy’s first sketches for the pattern. I love the cinched in waist and wrap over top and skirt, it’s just my kind of look. Sometimes it’s nice to have a little more coverage on a skirt, though, and I knew I wanted to try a really simple little hack to straighten the bottom edge of the underskirt piece, for a faux wrapover look.

The option is included for the full length skirt pieces, so it was the easiest hack to do and got me just the look I wanted for me.

The rest of the pattern is cut out as normal, the only piece we will be adjusting is the underskirt piece (the un-ruched skirt piece).

I was making the knee length, so I simply measured from the top of the skirt down to the knee length cut line on the right of the skirt pattern piece. Then I took that measurement (for me making the plus 2X size it was 25 3/4″), and used it to measure down the same length on the left side, using the full length skirt piece as a guide.

I am projecting onto tracing paper here to make it easier for you to see, as my fabric was a bit busy!

Then just draw a straight line across the bottom of the pattern piece to create your new straight hem skirt piece.

If you are using a projector, like me, you can also bring up the handy measurement grid included with the file for calibration, and use that as a guide for drawing a nice straight line across the pattern piece.

As I said, this is the only pattern piece that needs adjusting. Then just sew up your dress as per the tutorial for the pattern, until you get to the instructions for the skirt pieces.

Follow the instructions for the floor length skirt pieces and hem the bottom of the ruched skirt piece, then gather the side as per the tutorial. Next construct the back skirt and then hem both the back and un-ruched skirt pieces (the piece we adjusted) separately.

Finally, lay the un-ruched skirt piece facing up. Then lay the ruched skirt piece facing up on top of it. Baste them together along the top and sides, making sure the hems line up nicely with one another. Here is a picture of the ruched skirt piece laying on top of the un-ruched skirt piece prior to basting.

Lastly, you will want to lay your back skirt piece, right side facing down on top of the two front skirt pieces. Here pictured below with the bottom corner flipped up so you can more easily see the layers.

Sew the side seams, taking care to make sure the hems all line up together nicely. Basting the first inch of each side seam at the hemline can help with that.

Flip the skirt through right sides out, and finish the construction of the waist seam as the tutorial instructs and you’re done!

Nice and quick and easy. I hope you love your new straight hem skirt as much as I do mine (which is quite a lot!)

Happy Sewing!

Dana xxx

Side Seam Splits for Floor Length with No Slit

If you feel like you need a little more stride/walking room in the floor length with no split you can easily add a side split (or apply this same method to the back seam for a back slit).

Simply stop stitching the side seams of the skirt where you would like the slits to go to. Press remaining 1/2″ seam allowance not sewn to wrong side and hem.

It’s that’s simple! Now enjoy your extra walking room in your floor length dress!

Rainbow Dress SEW ALONG – day 7

August 31, 2021

Hello, friends! Thank you so much for joining me last week. We absolutely loved seeing your Rainbow dress creations. Without further ado…

Our first winner is Patricia Mastin ! Patricia won a $20 gift card to Patterns for Pirates as well as a $50 shop credit to Hissy Fit Fabrics.

Congratulations Azure Glowacki Bednarcik ! She is our second winner! Azure won a $20 gift card from Made for Mermaids and a $50 shop credit to Hissy Fit Fabrics.

A big THANK YOU to our sew along sponsor. Make sure you check out Hissy Fit Fabrics on Facebook to keep up to date with their sales and preorders.

Thank you for joining us this week and make sure you share your gorgeous creations in the P4P Facebook group and Instagram. Stay tuned in the Sew Along group for the mermaids’ next sal announcement.

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 1 | Cut fabric

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 2 | Create rainbow skirt and add optional pockets

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 3 | Create collar

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 4 | Sew shoulder seams and add neckband

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 5 | Add sleeves and sew side seams

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 6 | Add skirt and hem

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 7 | Winners Announcement

Rainbow Dress SEW ALONG – day 6

August 28, 2021

Wooohoo! You did it! Last sew along day is here and all we have to do is add sew then skirt to the bodice and hem it. Easy peasy!

Mark the center of the front and back bodice with a pin or a clip. The skirt pattern has notches to show its center. Pin the skirt to the bodice, right sides together, matching the center marks and the side seams. Sew with the serger or a stretch stitch. Optionally you can top stitch the seam allowance up.

Lastly, hem the bottom of the skirt by folding 1” and PRESSING! Do not skip steam pressing before you sew…and after. You sew the hem using your sewing machine’s twin needles option or your coverstitch as I have. Before you start, take a look over our Hemming blog because we have a few tips for easy and successful hemming. If you are finishing the bottom hem using twin needles, a good refresher blog is the P4P University Twin Needles Tips.

Last Rainbow dress SAL video is below. Once you complete your project, post a picture of your finished dress in the comments of day 6 photo of the sew along album. That’s where the team will pick the two winners. I will announce them on the blog on Tuesday.

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 1 | Cut fabric

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 2 | Create rainbow skirt and add optional pockets

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 3 | Create collar

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 4 | Sew shoulder seams and add neckband

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 5 | Add sleeves and sew side seams

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 6 | Add skirt and hem

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 7 | Winners Announcement

Rainbow Dress SEW ALONG – day 5

August 27, 2021

Ahoy, matey! We are almost there! Today we finish the bodice by adding the sleeves.

The Rainbow Dress includes 2 style sleeves, a fitted style and a gathered one. Both available in short, 3/4 and long length. The fitted sleeves are finished with a hem. The gathered sleeves are banded.

I opted for the gathered style, so you can see this option in today’s video. Start by sewing two rows of stitches, one about 1/4” and one 3/8” away from the raw edge, in between the two notches. Use the longest stitch length your machine allows. Do not backstitch! Leave long tails at the beginning and end of each row. Pull on then tails to gather the sleeve, matching the 3 notches on the arm curve with the ones on the bodice (front, shoulder seam, back). Pin in place and stitch.

Sew each of the arm bands, right sides together at the short ends to create a loop. Gather the bottom of the sleeves to match then arm bands. All you have left to do is sew the bands to the sleeves, right sides together, and press.

Here is day 5 video. Once you finish the bodice, post a picture of your progress in the comments of day 5 photo in the sew along album. See you back here tomorrow for the final steps!

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 1 | Cut fabric

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 2 | Create rainbow skirt and add optional pockets

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 3 | Create collar

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 4 | Sew shoulder seams and add neckband

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 5 | Add sleeves and sew side seams

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 6 | Add skirt and hem

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 7 | Winners Announcement

Rainbow Dress SEW ALONG – day 4

August 26, 2021

Welcome to the fourth day! Today we start working on the bodice, pretty quick sewing day.

Let’s start by placing the bodice front and back, right sides together, aligning the shoulder edge. If your fabric is on the stretchier/heavier side, you can add clear elastic into the seam. Just remember to keep the seam allowance 1/2”, even if the clear elastic is narrower than that. Sew the shoulder seam with the serger or a stretch stitch on your sewing machine.

Whether you chose the high or the low scoop neckline(adult pattern only), take a look over our P4P University Neckbands 101 before you attach then neckband.

Top stitching then neckband is optional. However, if you to decide to top stitch the collar style, I strongly recommend using a triple stretch stitch or a lightning bolt stitch for this step.

In the video below I show you how to sew the shoulder seam and add the neckband using a serger. When you finish these steps be sure to post a picture of your progress in the comments of the Day 4 photo (album is in the M4M & P4P Sew along group). See you back here tomorrow!

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 1 | Cut fabric

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 2 | Create rainbow skirt and add optional pockets

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 3 | Create collar

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 4 | Sew shoulder seams and add neckband

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 5 | Add sleeves and sew side seams

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 6 | Add skirt and hem

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 7 | Winners Announcement

Rainbow Dress SEW ALONG – day 3

August 25, 2021

Welcome to day 3 of our Rainbow dress sew along!

Today we create the collar and baste it to the front bodice. You will notice that the collar lining pieces are slightly smaller than the main lining. That is intentional, it will help the collar lay nice and flat once sewn. The Rainbow dress collar can be woven or knit. I strongly encourage you to interface at least the lining piece with a woven interfacing, such as Pellon SF101.

I have decided to add a little extra detail to my Rainbow dress collar so you will see how I incorporate piping in this project. I prefer store bought piping because it saves me the effort and time, but you can certainly make your own. To create your piping from scratch, simply cut strips of woven fabric that are 1.25″ wide on the bias. Press the strip lengthwise wrong sides together. Lay your cord in the crease and stitch with a long straight stitch as close to the cord as possible. OR….go to Joann or Walmart and grab some pre made piping 😉

Pin the piping to the outer curve of the main collar pieces, aligning the raw edges. Start about 1/2″ lower than the top and finish about 1/2″ from the end, veering your piping. This detail will ensure that there is no extra bulk in the shoulder seam or neckline. Baste it in place. I show you this step in the day 3 video.

Tip: use a zipper foot when working with piping!

Now that the piping is added, place your lining piece over the main, right sides together. Ease the collar pieces as show in Judy’s video below and stitch.

Turn the two collar pieces right side out and give them a good steam press! Optionally, you can top stitch the outer edge. If you added piping, use the zipper foot when top stitching.

The final step for today is to baste your collar to the front bodice. Align the raw edges of the collar with the neckline and shoulder seam. Remember that for the adult Rainbow dress this option is only available for the high neckline.

You can see how I created the collar in the day 3 video below. Once you complete these steps, add your check in photo in the comments of day 3 pic. You can find the check in album on FB, in our sew along group.