Once Upon a Sewing Machine

Ruffle Bums a Summer Pattern

onceuponasewingmachine — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 14:24:13 +0000

OK I admit it I think ruffle bum rompers are pretty stinkin cute. So I present the shamelessly girly Ruffle Bum Romper from Peek a Boo patterns. In May I had dreams of hot summer days and toddlers running freely in their summer rompers. I also had baby gifts to sew, so when I saw this pattern up on Thrifty Thursday I grabbed it. The romper sizes newborn to 24 months so technically she’s at the top end of the scale. One last summer of ruffled romper fun?

(Full Disclosure we are affiliates of Peek a Boo Patterns. The opinions in this post are 100% ours)

In reality our summer has been cool and the rain- oh the RAIN. But we did have one hot day awhile back with a chance to sport our super summery gear. This romper gathers with elastic at the leg and across the back. I shortened up the elastic at the leg, and they fit great.

I didn’t take the pattern‘s advice and try it on to double check the length of the elastic that runs across the back. It bags a little in the back, preventable if I would have tested it first!

I think the pattern lends itself to a great baby gift, maybe with matching booties! The pattern does call for snaps so you can easily change diapers. I don’t think I would label this a super fast sew, but it’s straight forward.

I’ve been thinking this could work for the newborn boy crowd too- without the ruffles of course. What do you think? Would you taper some of the fullness out too? Anyone have go to baby boy patterns they use?

Happy Sewing,

Rachel

PS- In honor of Romper Week at Sewing Mama RaeAnna, Peek a Boo Pattern Shop has ALL romper patterns on sale this week for just $6!
No coupon required.

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Pattern Review: Banyan Pants

onceuponasewingmachine — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:30:12 +0000

Picking the Pattern

If you follow us you know we are always on the lookout for a good boy’s pant pattern. They are not easy to come by. Pull on elastic pants are fine for the little ones and even our 3 1/2 year old toddler does well in them . Easy on – easy off. In O’s case mostly easy off. There are times that we are just looking for a little more style. Rachel picked up this FIGGY pattern a while back in a bundle and never got around to sewing them up. I was more than happy to try them out. I used a little bit of a less traditional boy color for some extra fun.

Pros:

These pants appealed to me for several reasons. I like side pockets and the pleated front. The cuffs makes it a little more sophisticated than average.

I am a fan of how the instructions are laid out from the very beginning. The pieces that need interfacing are listed at the start. Interfaced pieces are pictured as well further down the line.

She also has you do all pleats, darts and pockets together. Which is great, I would rather place all pleats and darts at once and prep all pockets and apply/insert at once. I had not done side pockets in this fashion before. I definitely will use this application again.

On to the zipper. I must admit this also was a new zipper application for me. I found the instructions and pictures well written and easy to follow. I could not believe how easy the zipper went in.

Back pocket

Cons:

Back to the zipper- As easy as the zipper was to insert, it has a rather narrow fly. I like my fly flap top stitching to be a little further from center than it is. That is just a personal preference and has nothing to do with the instructions but more to do with the design. I may make the fly flap wider when I make these pants next time.

I bar tacked at the base of the zipper as well as the side, due to the fact that I needed to shorten the zipper. The only zipper I could find in the correct color was 9 inches. Of course it was. I have been on a roll lately. All my zippers have needed shortening.

I felt the waistband application was cumbersome. Again this was a different waistband application than what I typically use.

That being said I am VERY please with the final outcome. The waist lays flat and the zipper and the edges meet perfectly. I did find the left and right sides short. I needed to fudge seam allowances since I did not have the 1/2 inch that I should have had. Again, I may have made an error in some other seam allowance. I must admit I am not very exact when sewing seam allowances on garments. I also stitched my elastic in place, as I have a hard time believing tucking it would keep it where it belonged.

Fit:

I sewed up the 4/5. Normally O wears a 4T. He has been growing lately and is a little on the big end for his age. He is tall and also has biker thighs! he is overall proportioned well, so I was hoping this would work. Of course we have spoken before about being 350 miles apart and not having access to little people bodies on a regular basis.

They are pretty long. Since the cuff is narrow they stay at his ankle so there is a fair amount of extra pant in the body. The waist is just a snidge tight. We think when he springs up to a 5T height he may thin a bit too, or well move the button a little.’

Verdict Is:

All in all I am very pleased with the outcome of these pants. I used a light weight linen fabric and they are crisp and cool and stylish. O announced that he liked his green pants and put them on a few times- but never long enough for pictures. Time will tell hopefully once the he grows into the fit they will go into regular rotation. The other up side, these pants are great for boys or girls and this color will be great on M as well.

Based on the pants, we think the shorts would be really cute- though a bit more girly.

Do you have a pant pattern that you are in love with? Let us know. We are always on the lookout.

Happy Sewing,

Donna

More Sewing for Boys

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A Simple Shoulder Tie Top

onceuponasewingmachine — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:57:21 +0000

It’s our last peasant top tutorial! Are you tired of peasant tops? What- never! If you are looking for a full run down you can find the 2T pattern (and directions on resizing it HERE, use that for the original peasant dress tutorial, the ruffle neck tutorial, and the shirred short sleeve tutorial.

This fourth dress, tunic, or top is the simplest to sew of the bunch. If you are new to sewing and looking for a confidence builder this is a great start. If you are an experienced sewer and need a new top for a child FAST- this one is for you!

Cutting the Pattern

You will need two body pieces, cut on the fold. We are going to make a large tie, so in order to make a larger casing extend the top of the dress straight up. I added about 2″ to the top of the pattern.

You can use your sleeve pattern to cut out the ties. Fold it in half and place the short end on the fold. Cut 2

Sewing Up Shoulder Tie Peasant Top

1. Sew your Ties. Fold your ties right sides together and sew up the long side of your tie. Turn your tube right side out using your preferred method. I’m a safety pin girl myself.

2. Finish your ties by tucking in the raw edges on the short ends and topstitching closed. Set your ties aside.

3. Sew up your side seams with your two body pieces right sides together.

4. Finish your armholes. I used store bought bias binding, you can also make your own binding. Finish the entire armhole from the top to the back of the garment, this will give your casing a nice finished inside edge too.

5. Create your casing. I finished my top edge with a line of serging (though if you are not sewing with pictures in mind I would suggest matching your threads better) If you aren’t serging turn your top edge over 1/4″ to before you turn down your casing. I eyeballed my casing by holding up my tie. It is approximately 2″.

Stitch down the bottom of edge of your casing. Repeat on the back piece.

6. Feed one tie through your front casing and one through your back. I recommend tacking down your ties near the center to keep them in your casings. I thought I would be fine by sending them through the wash tied- not so much….

Easy Peasy summer top in 30 minutes! Do you have a favorite summer pattern?

Happy Sewing,

Rachel

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Cottage Mama- a Pattern Test or Two

onceuponasewingmachine — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:36:09 +0000

More often than not I lately I’ve been feeling drawn to bold color. But when I started sifting through my stash for this pattern test I found this Swiss Dot I had picked up for a different reason and decided on a different vibe for this outfit.

We were thrilled to be included in the pattern testing group that Cottage Mama assembled. It was really a fun experience. Through a private Facebook group tester shared their finished product pictures and any questions as they went. My Facebook feed was a little bit sewing summer camp some days while I watched some amazing dresses, tops, and pants scroll through my page!

The Miss Matilda top and dress pattern was released earlier this week. It features a ruffle around the neck and down the bodice.

I think M’s outfit has a soft easy feel to it. But this top and dress is super versatile. I would encourage you to check out some other testers examples on the Cottage Mama’s Blog. Quilting cotton and contrasting fabrics make the pattern more dramatic and dressy.

The second pattern we were able to test was released yesterday, the Skip and Play pant and capris.

The ruffle at the waist is so cute in person- I’m not the hugest ruffle girl- I was totally won over by these pants. M’s are capris, but the length at her size has been shortened. You can check out examples of other pants and capris here. The pants come with the option for a ruffle as the second cuff, like ours, or a two layer flat cuff.

Getting pictures of the child stationary was a bit of a feat this day. Her brother and her were busy playing dino, and kangaroo, and tiger….

ROARRRRRRRR

and let’s not forget about our local photo bomber…

The patterns are currently available in PDF format here, with the paper patterns to follow near the end of June.

Happy Sewing,

Rachel

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Sew You Had a Boy with Feather’s Flights

onceuponasewingmachine — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:30:03 +0000

We’re very excited to have Heather from Feather’s Flights as our Sew You Had a Boy guest this month! I follow Heather’s blog regularly, and if you are sewing for a boy I highly recommend you do too! If you’re not sewing for a boy, then tune in for the sewing for women and great inspiration for using your fabric stash along with upcycled materials.

2T Romper From T-Shirt

I am so excited to be here today! I love spreading and sharing the love about any boy sewing projects, especially because I have a cute little guy of my own. This is such a fun boy series!…..Well, I’d like to tell you a story. My bother gives me a lot of his old t-shirts that he doesn’t want. He gave me an awesome monkey face shirt. This monkey shirt was THE inspiration to my t-shirt romper pattern and tutorial post from last year. I loved the idea of a little boy running around in a shorts romper with a huge monkey face on his belly. I didn’t use it originally because the face was so big that I would have had to cut off a lot of the sides to make it the smaller size.

Last fall I made a 24 mos/2T romper pattern because my readers asked for it but forgot about it quickly because Henry wasn’t even close to that size. Well, the summer here has already started off as a hot one, and Henry needs some easy, cool rompers to get him (and me) through the summer! I was finally able to used the monkey face without cutting it up!

This is Henry’s hilarious face he likes to do during dinner. He puts his whole body into it! I did change the this romper a little by overlapping the front over the back. I used a small/medium sized shirt and the shoulder seams were showing on the back overlap part. It does make the back gap a little, but hopefully Henry will grow into it this summer.
I used some orange snaps for the inseam and some awesome plaid for the facings. I would love to see this pattern with contrasting sleeves or something! Here are the links to the two pattern sizes and the tutorial:….2T Pattern…6-12 mos Pattern….T-Shirt Romper Tutorial….Thanks for letting me visit!Make sure to visit Heather and stop by the Sew You Had a Boy page for more boy sewing inspiration!

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Shirred Short Sleeve Peasant Dress or Top

onceuponasewingmachine — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 21:47:10 +0000

Here is the next easy variation on your peasant top pattern, the shirred short sleeve top or dress. This top makes use of a sewing material I’ve been meaning to try for awhile now, elastic thread. I’m happy to report it was a much easier, happier experience than I had anticipated. I’ll share all the details below.

Let’s start sewing your top!

Don’t have a pattern? Start here.

Sewing a Short Sleeved Peasant Top

The process to creating the base of your top is going to be similar to identical to the original peasant dress tutorial.

First you’ll cut your pieces. Follow the pattern instructions you’ll have two main body pieces, and two sleeves (cut at the short sleeve mark)

1. Attach both of your sleeves right sides together to your front.

2. Repeat with the back. You’ll now have a garment that looks like this. I’m using fabric from a skirt, so I have hems already, otherwise this would be an easy time to hem your sleeves. I recommend a small hem. Turn 1/4″ then another 1/4″ and hem.

3. Sew your side seams. Go from the bottom hem all the way up to the bottom of the sleeve in one continuous stitching line. Hem the bottom of your shirt.

4. Create your casing. I finished my edge with serging, you can also start by turning your fabric over 1/4″, then another 1/2″ to create your casing. Stitch the bottom edge all the way around. Leave open a spot to feed in your elastic.

5. Insert your elastic and feed it all the way through. I used about half the length of the ungathered neckline. Try on and adjust to your desired length. You can see I’ve used more elastic in this neckline than on the ruffle neck peasant dress version. It gives a little different look, both work. Sew your elastic together. Sew closed your casing.

6. Now you’re here. If you like you can stop at this. Perfectly cute- super fast to sew. If you want to add the shirring detail to the sleeve, move on to the next step.

Sewing with Elastic Thread

I’m going to give you what worked on my machine. The research I did suggested that each machine is a little different- you’ll want to do some test runs first.

What I need to know about sewing with elastic thread

Where do I buy it? It is located with the rest of your elastic and is widely available, I picked up a spool at Joanns.

Where do I put this in my machine? Elastic thread is hand wound onto your bobbin. Use your regular thread up top.

I’m sorry did you say hand wound? Yes, it turns out that isn’t really terrible. Keep a consistent tension. You don’t want it real loose or it gets bunched and twisted (from experience). My understanding is it won’t go well if you wind it really tight either.

How do I set the machine? Here is where you will want to practice. And I would recommend using either the actual material or the same type of material. On my machine I got the best results by setting my stitch length out as long as it would go and not changing my tension. I have read, however, that some machines perform better with the tension cranked up.

You’re creating a gathering stitch, so I started with those settings and tweaked from there.

Does my material matter? Yep. This recycled skirt material is very light. I had a significant shirred effect after one line of stitching. You may need 2-3 rows of stitching to create the same effect with quilting cotton.

7. I put in two lines of elastic stitching at 1/4″ and 1/2″. Tailor this to your material choice.

You’re all set! You can use this same detail to give a little different effect at the bottom of a long sleeve top too.

We’ve got a few more girl projects lined up for you, including a pattern test we are dying to share that is being released!

We are also really excited to have Feathers Flights for a guest on Thursday’s Sew You Had a Boy post.

Happy Sewing!

Rachel

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Let’s Play- the Pleated Playsuit

onceuponasewingmachine — Fri, 31 May 2013 13:29:42 +0000

We had the chance to pattern test Elephants and Elegance’s new pattern. The Playsuit is sized 12 months to 9 years.

The best part she’s offering it as a free download! And you know free patterns make us feel a little like this…..

Before I send you running wind in your hair style over to Heidi’s page I’ll give you a peek of the version I sewed up for M.

I pulled this fabric from the stash, I didn’t have a lot of it, but it was happy and bright. It’s called Marmalade, that makes me smile.

The pattern features a pleat in the front and back, which is really easy to do! Shhh don’t tell. She’s wearing some bubbles by this point, no worries right?

I accented the back and pocket with a turquoise I had on hand.

The trickiest part of this pattern for me was not the sewing. It was the tracing. The bodices and the facings sit layered on the pattern sheet- which is great-saves space! But may I recommend not trying to trace those pieces while not looking at the guide, late at night, and tired. You may end up with some odd pieces.

And if you do happen to do that. Don’t cut the fabric you have less than a yard of while repeating to yourself this doesn’t seem right. Stop and check those instructions. Just you know in case…that would ever happen to someone.

I added a little piping to the pocket instead of using the lining as an accent. The fabric is so busy I wanted a little something more there.

Ready to make yours? You can grab your Pleated Playsuit at Elephants and Elegance.

p.s. We’ll be back with a tutorial for this top on Sunday.

Happy Sewing,

Rachel

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Ruffle Neck Peasant Dress Pattern and Tutorial

onceuponasewingmachine — Wed, 29 May 2013 11:30:35 +0000

Our first variation on our basic peasant dress pattern is the ruffle neck peasant dress! This is the first of 3 summer variations we have planned for you. Need the pattern or direction on how to grade it to your size. See our peasant dress introduction.

Read all the way through the instructions before you cut your pieces. I’m going to give you a few armhole choices- and it will effect how you cut.

Ok let’s start!

The Peasant Dress Pattern

Start with your two pieces, the body and the sleeve.

Cut 2 of the main body on the fold, one front and one back.

Now take your sleeve piece, we are going to use this to cut your neck ruffle.

Place the pattern short end on the fold. Don’t follow the armhole curve. Instead cut straight across (where the ruler is placed).

Now you will have a long rectangle twice the length of the long sleeve pattern piece. Good?

You’ve got your pieces cut we’re ready to start sewing.

Sewing Your Ruffle Neck Peasant Dress

1. Sew your side seams together.

Finish the edge with your preferred method.

2. Finish your armholes.

You have two choices.

You can finish the armhole with bias tape. Either by making your own bias tape or using store bought single fold bias tape.

***IF YOU CHOOSE THIS METHOD

You may want to alter the length and depth of your armhole. This pattern was drafted for a sleeve the versions we mocked up with bias tape around the armhole are pretty airy. You can pretty much see right into her shirt when she moves. While this is not a huge deal for a 2 yr. old tumbling around the backyard- you may want to adjust your armhole.

Option 2- add elastic to your armhole

I cut a piece of 3/8″ elastic 2″ shorter than the length of my armhole. Then I sewed it in a U from the top front to the top back of armhole.

It isn’t tight on her arm, and these are meant to be easy play dresses so I left it at that. You can of course create a casing for your elastic if you prefer.

Set aside the body of your dress.

3. Hem the bottom of the ruffle.

Turn the bottom of the ruffle over 1/4″ and then a 1/4″ again. Now you’ve enclosed the raw edge. This seam maybe visible on the finished garment so I strongly recommend the double turn over sergering and turning once.

4. Create the casing.

Your elastic is going to run through this ruffle piece. Turn the top edge over a 1/4″ and then turn again a 1/2″. You now have a casing with a clean finished edge.

5. Sew your ruffle together.

You should now have a circle. Important: don’t sew your casing closed. When you seam your short raw edges together make sure your pieces are open like the edge shown above.

If it is easier for you to press your casing in after you sew your seam together swap step 4 and 5.

6. Attach the Ruffle.

Put the seam you just sewed to the center back. The raw edge at the top of your dress should sit up against the top of the casing.

Pull down the casing. The top edge of your dress is now enclosed.

Sew the bottom edge of your casing all the way around. Leave open a spot to thread your elastic.

7. Add your elastic.

I cut a piece of elastic half the length of the ruffle (in other words the length of one long sleeve).

Thread your elastic through. Try on, and adjust elastic to desired fit.

Sew elastic together, and finish stitching closed your top casing.

8. Hem

Turn over 1/2″ and then another 1/2″. Hem. Now you have a fully enclosed hem.

9. Put it on and go to the park!

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This One is for the Girls, Four Dresses one Pattern

onceuponasewingmachine — Tue, 28 May 2013 15:46:38 +0000

If you sew for a girl you are, I’m sure, familiar with the staple peasant dress. It is cute, easy, and very forgiving as far as sizing and sewing go. An easy project for a beginner, it can also be detailed, transitioned, embellished, and made to be something much more for an advanced sewer.

This week we are revisiting our most popular post the Peasant Dress Tutorial, and bringing you three new summer time variations. The best part? You only need two pattern pieces to make all four of these dresses! And since this pattern will give you measurements for top, tunic, and dress lengths that is 12 different garments! No need to measure out rectangles or extra pieces- we’ve got you covered.

Here is the pattern for an 18 month- 2T. You can see in the image above she was closer to an 18 month size. Now at a 2T we are using the same pattern still- it is certainly less blousey, but is still a good fit.

If your child is not a 2T here is what you will need to do. Increase your sleeve width by half an inch for each size up you want to go, and one inch to the top of the bodice. I would recommend measuring to find your ideal body length.

We have received the most questions about drafting the armhole. So before we get started with the dresses I’m going to run you through in detail the drafting of your armholes. If you would prefer to draft from the measurement in the original post go HERE to grab the shape and measurements.

Drafting a Peasant Dress Sleeve

1. Sorry the image above got a little dark. You are starting with your two block pieces. A rectangle for the sleeve, and your A line shape for the dress body.

2. For my 18mo./2T I measured down 5″ and over 2″. Increase your size 1/2″ aprox. as you go up a size.

3. Draw in your rectangle.

4. Add in your curve. I simply free hand this in. If you want a different shape you could play with this line.

5. Cut out the armhole curve on the sleeve. Then line the top of the sleeve up with the top of the body. It should look like above. Trace and cut the exact same shape out of your body. Remember on both piece you are working on the opposite side from your fold line.

6. You now have the two pattern pieces you’ll need to make each of these dresses!

Tomorrow we’ll start with our first new variation! We hope you’ll join us and consider following us via email, Bloglovin, Facebook, or Twitter to make sure to catch each of the dress tutorials.

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Summertime Pajamas

onceuponasewingmachine — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:42:56 +0000

Quick post today! Wanted to share some cute pjs recently sewn up. This is a favorite pattern of ours Alex and Anna’s Winter PJ’s from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop. (affiliate link). We made these up for O when the spring weather rolled in his pajamas were a big hit, little sister likes hers just as much!

M has spent the winter in hand-me-down pajamas. Which means she sports a lot of dinosaurs, puppies, and trucks.

I mean she had a few girly pajamas, but she probably was due a few more.

On the bright side she loves dinos and trucks too, so was not oppose to rocking big brothers PJs. Again this pattern sewed up nice and easy. With professional looking results.

We used the same pattern, just cropped the sleeves for this top. Ignore the wrinkles we were out playing, the laundry basket had to wait, sorry Martha this mama isn’t ironing the pjs.

I like cuffs on the bottom of pj pants, my kids are wild sleepers, helps keep their legs covered.

Working on a fun stretch of posts for next week we hope you’ll really like- stay tuned!

Happy Sewing,

Rachel

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