LET'S SEW Archives - Nannycraft4u

Make Girl’s Bubble Shorts

April 28, 2015 by Nanny 5 Comments

Today I am going to show you how I used our shorts pattern to make girl’s bubble shorts with curved, gathered pockets for our little grand daughter, Jess.

What you need:

A shorts pattern (see how to make one here)

A Pocket Pattern (get one here)

Main fabric (I used a lovely soft denim)

Trim fabric

Sewing, cutting tools

Let’s Sew

1. Take the pattern and measure down the inside leg 2″ and then fold the pattern along from that point.

2. Place the pattern on the fold and cut 2.

3. Place the Pocket Pattern on the fold and cut 2.

4. With right sides together, sew down the short edge and along the pocket bottom. Trim corners and clip the curve.

5. Turn to right side.

6. Change the stitch length to gathering stitch and sew two rows of gathering stitch along the top of the pocket.

7. Take the trim fabric and fold up from a corner like so:

8. Cut along the line formed by the fold. This will give us a bias cut. Cut 2 strips about 7.5″ long x 1.5″ wide.

9. Fold in half and press.

10. Open out again and fold one edge over 1/4″

11. Pin to top of pocket, gathering pocket to fit:

12. Stitch along the fold line

13. Fold the other edge over 1/4″ and press – I finger pressed this.

14. Fold folded edge to folded edge, right sides together.

and pin

15. Stitch and trim seam

16. Fold to the inside of the pocket and pin

You want the pin to appear as shown, at the bottom of the trim on the right side

17. On the outside of the pocket, stitch in the ditch under the trim – you will see it catches the trim on the inside

but won’t be seen on the outside of the pocket!

18. Position the pocket so that it fits down the side fold of the shorts, at a height that suits you remembering that we have to fold over the casing on the top for elastic.

19. Sew a double row of stitching around the pockets’

20. Continue to make the shorts as we did when we made the boxer shorts.

21. Run two rows of gathering stitch around the leg bottom (as we did with the pocket trim)

22. Measure around the leg about midway between the knee and crotch and cut 2 strips of trim fabric to that length plus 1.5″

23. Join the ends to make a circle and press in half (as we did with the pocket trim), press over 1/4″ along one edge.

24. Lining up the seam of the trim with the leg seam, pin around, gathering the shorts leg to fit.

25. Stitch, trim , fold and finish as we did with the pocket trim.

26. Take a length of the trim fabric, fold in half and stitch around edge leaving space to turn through to right side.

27. Sew gap closed and attach the midpoint of the length to the centre back.

28. Bring ties to front and tie a bow.

I loved the little flowers on the trim fabric so decided to press some heat and bond to a piece, cut out some flowers and attached them to a little top, finishing them off with buttons!

Such a cute little outfit!! I can’t believe that even though Jess loved wearing this outfit, we could not find a single photo to show you! It is such a shame because they really looked much cuter on than I can possibly show in this photo. (one of the disadvantages of living apart from the models!)

If you make some Bubble Shorts, please share them with us!

Until next time

Nanny xx

Make an Easter Bunny Basket

March 27, 2015 by Nanny 9 Comments

Today I am going to show you how to make an Easter Bunny Basket! It uses the same basic idea that we used in the Card Holder and Xmas Treat Dish.

Finished size: Basket 3″ x 2.5″, Rabbit: 8″ tall + handle

What you need:

The pattern – available here

Two pieces of fabric – outside and inside

Iron on vilene

Scraps of white and black felt

Matching embroidery floss or fabric markers

A white pompom

Let’s Sew!

1. Fold your fabric pieces in half and place the pattern on the fold.

2. Cut out the Easter Bunny Basket, leaving a 1/4″ seam allowance.

3. Cut around the pattern on the vilene (no seam allowance)

4. Iron the vilene to the back of the main fabric

5. Trace the the dotted and filled lines from the pattern to the outside of the lining fabric. (I use my Frixion pen that disappears with ironing)

Nanny edit: Please find new, detailed info re these pens here and make your own decisions re their use!

6. Create the face (or draw it on with fabric pens). I used small pieces of felt for the eyes and nose and backstitched the mouth.

7. Cut the pads from the white felt and sew in place in the front corners – I used the machine.

8. Put right sides together and starting at the top of a handle piece, stitch down that side to the end of the other handle piece. Repeat on the other side, leaving a space to turn through to the right side.

9. Clip into corners taking care not to cut stitching, turn it through to the right side. Push corners out carefully (I use the blunt end of a wooden skewer)

10. Ladder Stitch the opening closed and press well.

11. Stitch around the filled lines to form the base of the basket.

12. Turn in the edge of one end of the handle. Insert the end of the other handle piece and stitch.

13. Turn to the inside and fold the back corners along the dotted lines and stitch.

14. Now turn to right side, fold the front corners and stitch.

15. Press the foot flat.

16. Stitch a pom pom to the back for the tail

Now isn’t that just the cutest!!

All we need now is a egg hunt!

Nanny note: Not one chocolate egg was devoured during the making of this tutorial!!

Until next time

Nanny xx

Make a Hexie Keyring

March 23, 2015 by Nanny 8 Comments

Hi! Today I am going to show you how to make a Hexie Keychain like this one that I made for my friend, Sue.

What you need:

1 Key ring

A feature fabric for the front

A co-ordinating fabric for the back and border

A scrap of firm, iron on wadding the size of the small hexagon – I used Vilene H640 because I had small scraps but would like something firmer

1″ and 1.75″ Templates for Hexagons – get them here

A fine needle and thread to match the fabric

Let’s Sew!

1. Print the templates

2. Using the templates, cut 1 small hexie from each of the Main Fabric and the Vilene and 1 large hexie from the Coordinating fabric. Notice how the small hexie is placed to make the top of the picture at a point.

3. Iron the Vilene to the back of the feature hexie

4. Place the hexies, wrong side together, centering the small one.

Nanny note: I am using a Pilot Frixion pen – if you don’t have one, do yourself a favour! They are available at supermarkets in Australia and the beauty of them is they disappear when you press!

Nanny Edit: New, detailed info on Frixion pens here – please read and decide for yourself if you want to use them

5. Trace around the small hexie.

6. Press the edge of the large hexagon to the traced line all the way around. I used my fingers.

7. Place the small hexie back onto the large one and pin.

8. Fold the edge of one side into the line and press and then fold over to the front of the feature hexie and pin .

9. Take a needle and thread to match and start hand stitching (I used a slip stitch) about half way along that side.

10. Before you get to the corner, fold over the next side and continue around the corner making sure to catch both sides to form a neat corner.

11. Continue folding and stitching until all sides are done .

12. Take the keyring and, using a matching thread (I doubled the thread) stitch it to the top corner of the Hexie.

Taa daa – there you have it! You can stitch the corners if you like, I didn’t worry because they are all folded and stitched well.

Now I just need an owl lover! Don’t forget to share a photo if you make one – I love to see!

Until next time

Nanny xx

Wotza Wednesday – Fabric Confusion

October 2, 2013 by Nanny Leave a Comment

I have had a number of questions about fabric terminology so today I am going to try to simplify some of the language of fabric for you.

FABRIC OR MATERIAL?

First off we sew with fabric – it was always called material by my grandmothers but today, anyway, we buy fabric to create an item. Material refers to the raw material used to create the fabric and it varies to produce different fabrics. eg cotton, wool, man-made fibres.

What’s a BOLT?

We buy fabric from the bolt. It is the rolls of fabric you see when you go to a shop. The fabric is usually folded selvedge to selvedge and then rolled onto cardboard – this is the bolt.

What’s a SELVEDGE?

The selvedge is the edge that doesn’t fray that runs right along the length of the fabric on both sides.

If you look at a selvedge you will notice that it has information on it : The name of the design, manufacturer and some coloured dots. If you are trying to match another fabric, use the coloured dots as a guide – they are the colours that have been used in the design.

What’s a WOF?

WOF stands for Width Of Fabric – the width from one selvedge to the other. Quilting fabric is usually 42″ wide but if you buy upholstery fabric, for example, it may be much wider.

What’s a cut of FABRIC?

Fabric is sold by the metre or part there-of. If you buy on-line you will notice that the fabric is sold in units and the size of that unit is outlined by the seller. It is most often 0.25 of a metre and if you want to buy a metre you order 4 units. (Some sellers may sell per yard which is about 91.5 cm)

If you are purchasing in a shop, some will have minimum cuts – this simply means that you have to buy at least that amount. If I am shopping in a ‘new’ shop, I will always ask if they have a minimum cut. If you only want 20 cm and the minimum cut is 1m you need to know!!

If you want 2 metres they will unroll the fabric from the bolt and measure 2m along the selvedge, and then cut across – this is a good time to watch carefully and don’t be afraid to say if you think they about to cut it short or crooked. You can lose inches if it is not squared!!

In the same way, if you only want 1/4 m or 25cm they will measure along the selvedge and cut.

What’s a FAT QUARTER?

A fat quarter is a quarter of a metre but it is not the usual 25cm.

Remember if you want 25cm, they will cut that across the fabric from selvedge to selvedge. You will have a strip, WOF, that is 25cms wide

A fat quarter however, is cut by firstly cutting a metre from the bolt and then and cutting it in half lengthways and crossways. You end up with 4 ‘fat’ pieces approx 53cms x 50cms.

In the same way, you can see that by cutting 0.5m from the bolt and then cutting it in half, you will have 2 Fat quarters.

I hope this helps you to feel more confident when shopping for fabric!

Thank you to Sue at Splash into Craft for allowing me access to her shop for photos! Why not drop by and tell her Nanny sent you!

Until next time
Nanny xx

Let’s Sew Along – Skirt – Tutorial 3 – Let’s Sew!!

July 30, 2013 by Nanny Leave a Comment

Let’s Sew!!

The first thing I am going to do is, using the largest stitch, sew the side seam on the skirt waistband, using the prescribed 1/2′ seam allowance. I will then fit it around myself and pin the other side seam. I am doing this to check my sizing and all is OK with mine. If you are not sure about your fit, please ask!

I will now follow the instructions as written and tell you of any thoughts, changes etc that I have.

I realise that everyone does not have an overlocker, so I like to use these opportunities to get you to expand your understanding of your machine and what it can do! Rather than zigzagging my seams, I am going to use my overedge foot:

This foot has a series of thin wires – you must ensure you follow your machine directions re the stitch width to avoid the needle hitting the wires. My stitch width has to be set at 5 or more.

I have sewn the seam and using the edge of the Overedge foot to run along the edge of the fabric, I am doing an ‘overlock’ stitch

Just like an overlocker except it doesn’t have blades to trim the seam!!! So press your finished seam towards the waistband and change your foot. I am using my ‘Stitch in the ditch’ foot:

The blade runs along the ‘seam line’ and you set the needle to the distance you want the topstitch to be away from the seam.

Step 2

Sew the right hand side seam – I decided to trim mine back before finishing:

Take the time to make sure you match your seam lines.

(d) I just used a pin to mark where the teeth finish:

(e) Stop when you reach the pin and do a couple of reverse stitches:

Change your stitch length to the longest (mine is 5) and finish the rest of the seam.

(f) Before pinning the zip as instructed, go to (g) and mark your stitching line (much easier without the zip being there!!) Check that your topstitched seams are meeting:

Pin the zip in place:

Using your largest stitch, baste the zip in place. Change the size of your stitch and attach a zip foot:

(h)

Where you start each time, dont do reverse stitches and you will have long threads. Tie them off and with a needle thread them through into the seam cavity for a neat finish!

Step 3

As I mentioned previously, I didn’t make a waistband binding, but instead made a facing by using the pattern the same way on the fold. I cut the top and side as before and then trimmed the depth of the facing to the width the fabric allowed: