The Train To Crazy

Teaching sewing

My girls have always been fascinated with sewing. They began begging to learn at an early age. Not a surprise, of course! Now they love it so much I want my machine back! Teaching litle kids isn't as daunting as it seems!

First teach safety. Yada yada.

Next teach how to raise and lower the foot, backstitch, press the foot pedal, etc.

Finally, give him or her a scrap and let them scribble sew. Easy!

I don't see the point in restraining their creativity while they are young. They don't need to think sewing has to be a certain way with straight lines and perfect corners. In fact, they'll probably surprise you by what they come up with!

This is a typical scene from my sewing machine. My 3 oldest and the neighbor girl. All taking turns digging through scraps and sewing masterpieces. 

Sewing Stripes Tutorial

Sewing stripes can be intimidating. I brought up the subject on Facebook last week and many of you said stripes were out of your league. It is true, stripes can be fussy and the thought of lining them up sometimes makes my head spin but with these tips you'll find it is very doable and you'll be buying stripes from now on!

Tips for Cutting Striped Fabric:

1. When a pattern piece says "cut on fold", trace the pattern then flip the pattern over and trace again making a full piece that doesn't need to be cut on fold.

2. Use freezer paper for the pattern. Follow this tutorial of mine.

3. Line your key curves or points of the pattern up on a stripe edge. This will make it easier to determine if the opposite side is lined up in the same place. It will also make sure your dress doesn't end up looking crooked with stripes sloping down. Iron freezer paper in place then cut.

4. After cutting your front piece line up your back piece carefully. Make sure the key points are lined up at the same place on the stripe. If the bottom of the armpits are all lined up at the top of a red line you know the rest of the pattern should be aligned. Especially IF...

5. Do not stretch knit fabric when laying it down or cutting.

Tips for Sewing Stripes

1. Pin

2. Pin

3. Pin

This striped fabric made this fun maxi dress. If you follow me on Facebook you probably know the Go To Dress pattern is going to be released again soon is now available in sizes 12mo-12. There are many fun lengths and options too. I can't wait until you see this pattern. I'm certain you'll find it extremely useful!

This pattern is NOW available HERE.

Tutorial: how to turn a narrow fabric tube

Some things seem simple. I have spent more time in my life doing simple things, like turning a tube of fabric right side out, than I care to remember. Because what is little and simple turns out to be neither. It can be infuriating if you're just working with your hands. I broke down one day and bought a turning tool at the fabric store. It was only a few dollars so I figured why not try it. OH MY goodness it makes life so much easier! Am I the only one who was so clueless for so long? Do you want to know how to turn a tube of fabric right side out?

Step one. Get your rectangle of fabric. Mind was cut haphazardly by hand. Yours might look better. Mine also has some stabilizer ironed on because I used it for my messenger bag strap.

fold that rectangle in half the long way and sew the long way and one end closed. Grab your turning tube and stick (they are a package deal). This Turn It All on Amazon is basically what I have. 

Slide the tube all the way into the fabric. Way down to the end you sewed shut.

Now hold the fabric so the tube doesn't move and start pushing that stick into the tube, through the closed end of the fabric. This is where you hope you stitched well.

Keep going. Start to push the fabric down over the tube and stick as you push the stick.

Keep pushing that fabric and you'll end up with the tube on the outside and the stick inside. Push until the fabric is completely turned.

Now wasn't that easy? Much better than wasting 30 minutes of your time sanity. Iron and top stitch and you'll have a great strap for something.

How do you turn fabric? Do you have any tricks or tips?

Using Freezer Paper to cut out patterns {a tutorial}

Welcome to The Train To Crazy! If you find this tutorial useful I hope you'll subscribe, follow me on twitter, facebook or Google+! Don't forget to check out Make It Wear It, the weekly blog party to showcase all those clothing items and accessories you've been making.

I find that using Freezer Paper when sewing from a pattern makes life a little easier. 

• You don't have to cut up your pattern piece
• You don't need to pin the pattern or use paper weights to cut it out
• You can easily reuse the traced pattern piece saving valuable time

So, here's how it's done!

To date, the most I've re-ironed a single pattern piece has been 10 times. I think it still has some life left in it as well so I'm sure I will be able to continue ironing it on for projects to come. Considering it takes less than a minute to iron a pattern piece on and cut it out, I'd consider this a success! And did I mention no pins or paper weights? What's not to love?

Do you use Freezer Paper to cut out pattern pieces?  

Reader Question: How difficult are Japanese Pattern books to follow?

I get this question all the time. The short answer is; it depends. It depends on the book, it depends on your experience, it depends on how much of an adventure seeker you are. 

Japanese pattern books are not for you if:

• You want a pattern that walks you through how to make a garment. (unless you speak Japanese, of course).
• You have never made a garment before
• You are just beginning sewing
• You aren't up for a challenge

Japanese pattern books are for you if:

• You love a good challenge
• You have made a garment or two from a commercial pattern and understand some basics of garment construction. Again, the amount you need to know depends on the pattern book you chose.
• You want a book that has multiple fun patterns in it.

There is no denying that many Japanese pattern books are full of super cute patterns. Most times they are pretty easy to follow. I do have one book that is exceptionally difficult because it doesn't really have picture instructions. When ordering a book, feel free to ask the etsy seller how good the picture instructions are. They should be willing to send you a picture of an instruction page.

A few tips for success:

• Chose a pattern you want to make and then find the corresponding pattern pieces on the pattern sheet. Most Japanese pattern books have all the patterns layered on top of one another on the sheet so you have to pay close attention to which pattern you want. All are labeled by English letter so you can find what you are looking for. Well, all of the books I have at least.
• Study the directions and diagrams to find out how many of each piece to cut and whether or not you need to add seam allowances. I believe most of the patterns will need seam allowances added to them.
• Highlight the pattern piece you want with a highlighter before you trace it onto tissue paper, pattern paper or freezer paper (my personal preference). This will make the tracing easier because there are lines everywhere!
• Study the instructions and write out your own before you start. This will help so you don't miss a step. If it seems the picture diagrams start midway through the garment construction there is a good chance the garment you chose is similar to another in the book and their first instruction is something like "follow steps 1-6 of skirt A". Just take a look around and see if you can find the instruction pictures for the beginning of the garment. You probably will. If not, it will often have a picture of the garment with numbers all around marking which step to do first, second, etc. These are the harder books and I'd save those until you've made more garments.

Do you have any suggestions for people who want to jump into Japanese pattern books?

Reader Question: How do you make a swimsuit?

After showing you the swimsuits I made, many of you asked me how to make a swimsuit. I'm pretty sure I'm not the person to ask. After all, I did a trial and error method. There are a few tips to having success though, so here's my advice.

• Start with a pattern or an old swimsuit/leotard to trace. There are a few great bloggers who show you how. I particularly like the picture tutorial at No Big Dill. No old swimsuit to trace? Everyday Chaos has a great tutorial.
• Use swimsuit fabric. It should have two way stretch. Most fabric stores carry swimsuit fabric. Stretch it and see how it responds. Some swimsuit fabrics are lycra, some microfiber, some spandex. I used a fabric that wasn't as stretchy as I'd usually like but for $1.99/yard I wasn't too picky.
• Use a ballpoint or stretch needle in your machine.
• If you don't have a serger, use a knit/stretch stitch or a small zigzag so your seams have stretch.
• Use nylon thread (though I used polyester). 
• Use swimsuit elastic (the clear stuff) for the leg and arm openings.

That's it. Now go make yourself a swimsuit! Anyone made women's swimsuits or boy's/men's suits? Any tips or patterns you'd recommend?

 

Pattern Tip

****Join us for the Daphne Dress Sew Along August 9th-13th!*****

Have you found a basic pattern that you just love and want to make one in every color? That's how I feel about the pattern I used for the popular green striped dress. (By the way, thanks for all the great comments!)

The problem is, how boring would it be to make the same pattern over and over. Your wardrobe wouldn't be very fun. Here's my tip of the day: Go ahead and use that same great fitting pattern but just make some small variations. Embellish it or change a feature.

To change up this pattern I added this fun pocket and put on a heart. The girl adores hearts. I also omitted the elastic empire waist. 

Oh, and did I mention I am using up my stash? This pink piece of fabric wasn't quite large enough for the dress. No worries. I think this works just fine.

And with leggings to match, what more could a girl want?

These were super easy leggings. I used the LBB pattern. I finished the bottom with a rolled hem and added some elastic up the side on the bottom. Quick, easy, cute, comfy. 

And, in case you forgot what the green dress looked like...

Can you tell those are from the same pattern? What is your favorite way to embellish a pattern?

Linked HERE

Sewing for girls {school clothes}

Kindergarten is fast approaching. 
I'm starting to create Naomi's wardrobe for the fall. I started with a top from this Japanese pattern book.  I bought it at this Etsy shop last year and it is the first thing I've made from the book. Sewing from a Japanese pattern book isn't that difficult if you have experience sewing patterns, or even if you can figure things out by looking at pictures. This particular book has less detailed picture instructions than some others. I had to guess on a couple of the steps but considering I've sewn a shirt before I knew what to do. Pretty much. 

I think the top turned out very cute. I cut it a size 5/6. It is a tad big. Naomi has very narrow shoulders and is always complaining about shirts feeling "too big". She didn't complain about this one though, so that is good.

The fabric had such great texture that it lent itself well to a basic shirt like this.

It goes well with this skirt I made a few weeks ago, though I think it might be a bit boxy to go with this skirt. The skirt is already a bit big and will hopefully last through kindergarten. 

I think I prefer it paired with jeans. Love the gathering at the back.

Have you sewn much with Japanese pattern books? They really aren't that scary. I have a few suggestions to help you get started.

• Find all the pieces of the pattern and trace them onto freezer paper (you can find this in most grocery stores near the foil). Label the pieces with all markings. When you are ready to cut out your fabric, simply iron the freezer paper pieces onto your fabric and cut out. This is actually my preferred method for all patterns. As a bonus, you can iron the same pattern piece over and over if you need to. I've used the same freezer paper pattern to cut out 7 or 8 pairs of shorts and it still irons on well.
• Look over the pictures in the book that describe the steps to constructing your garment. Write out the steps for yourself in English, just loosely describing what to do. Even if it is just a few short words, this will help you later. You don't want to just start following the pictures and then realize at the end there wasn't a picture for a vital step. This way you can figure out any missing steps before you begin.
• Pattern sizes are done in cm. If you are familiar with European sizing you should be able to figure out your child's size. 

Now go have fun sewing from Japanese pattern books!

Linking HERE

Too large shirt to maternity shirt

I found a really cute shirt at Target today. I bought it a couple sizes too big to accommodate that growing baby. The problem with shirts that are a couple sizes too big is that there is too much room under the armpits and the chest. This was my simple solution.

Just a few rows of shirring made a big difference. It could probably use more but I'm leaving it this way.

It looks much better now from the front. Less like a too big shirt and more like a maternity shirt.