Tuesday, June 21, 2011

A new V-neck tutorial


A little over 2 years ago now, I made and posted a tutorial for a V-neck shirt. It seems to have helped out a few people, so I thought I'd post another one. (Here is a link to the original, if you're interested)


  • Cut your neckband piece to needed length and width (for this shirt I cut mine at 2" wide and 28" long). Place raw ends right side together, and measure 1/2" up from the center and mark it with a dot. Then mark from that dot to each corner like this..


  • Sew basting stitches along the dotted lines, and trim off excess fabric.


  • Turn neck band right side out, and iron with raw edges together (ironing it in place will help prevent shifting, and ensure that you don't end up missing a layer of fabric while sewing it together). Sorry, I didn't get a picture of that part, but I'm sure you know an iron looks like. ;)
  • Place the neckband at the center front of the shirt. This is what makes a v-neck the trickiest, because you have to match up opposing angles. ****BEFORE DOING THIS, MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE SHOULDER SEAMS OF THE SHIRT SEWN UP***


  • But, with pins, it's not too hard. So pin the center in place.



  • Then manipulate it and place 2-3 more pins on each side of the center pin.

  • Sewing carefully, so as not to hit a pin, baste this center area to the front of the shirt. You've now completed the most arduous part of the v-neck shirt.


  • Finish sewing on the neck band (I like to serge mine, but you can use a sewing machine if that's what you have available).


  • You're done!! Well, with the neck band at least. You might want to add sleeves and sew up the side seams. ;)


I hope this helps you, but if anything is unclear, please don't hesitate to leave a comment with questions.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Diapers, wipes and bibs

Here are a few Very Baby fitted diapers I made. I forgot how much I love sewing up this pattern. The curves on it make it so easy and quick to sew.



I also made up a couple of Happy Snap one-size diapers. I made these as an all-in-two/pocket hybrid. They're made with a PUL outer, hidden bamboo fleece and an inner of bamboo velour, with a snap-in soaker AND a pocket opening for stuffing in extra layers.


Then, I made up this fitted diaper. I really like the curves of the Very Baby pattern, but what I don't like is the sizing. It tends to run pretty small, so each size is outgrown very quickly. I have the Darling Diaper Unlimited (DDU) pattern, and the sizing is much better, but I didn't like the front and wing curves. So I just merged the two patterns together, and I now have a better sized diaper with curves that are extremely easy to sew.


I also made a few bibs. I ordered a couple of bibs from a WAHM and I love them, but they'd get very expensive very quickly if you wanted a stash of them. So I used the ones I ordered as inspiration for making a few more for my own stash.


Lastly, I used up a few scraps to make some wipes/washcloths. They're 8"x8", and while I intended them to be the start of a wipes stash, they've very quickly been snatched up for washcloths. :)

Monday, June 13, 2011

DONE!!

Here we go, a clean sewing room (just ignore the sandals in the middle of the floor). Time got away from me though, and I didn't get to snap a few pictures of recent sewing projects, so those will come tomorrow. :)




Accountability

Here's my cleaning accountability post. My sewing room has been a *disaster* for a couple weeks now, and my goal today is to have another post by the end of the day with updated pictures of a CLEAN sewing room. And while I'm at it, I'll take and post some pictures of recent sewing projects...which all happen to be cloth diapers. :)

Messy room pictures...