Monthly Sewing Series: December

I cannot believe I’m typing out this post today. When I set out to start this series of sewing projects, it was impulsive. There was this challenge that taunted me to see if I could really do it. Now we’re 12 projects into this, and I have learned so much. We’ve seen some really fun projects, and some that had  potential but poor execution. But hey, the best way to learn in through trial and error, right? 

To end this year I used a free pattern from Mood Fabrics. You can find the pattern here. My plan was to create a fun piece I could wear around the house while I’m cleaning, playing with my kids, or cooking dinner. (The jumpsuit itself is oversized, and if I had to make it again I would size down.) 

After I finished this months’s project I sat back and thought about all the things I wanted to do next. The list is very long! So we may be ending our 2021 Monthly Sewing Series, but we’ll be starting the 2022 Monthly Sewing Series in January. To those of you who have followed along, thank you so much. I can’t wait to show you what 2022 MSS will look like. 

Monthly Sewing Series: November

This is hands down my favorite piece of all time. When I wear it I feel like a million bucks, and I’ve started to call it my Power Piece. You just feel good when you wear a piece like this. 

My sweet Mama bought a Cricut Maker 3 and I have been itching to use it on this project. If you have the opportunity to use one you need to. The possibilities for custom clothing are endless! The star patches were sew on, which I purchased from Amazon. You can find them here. 

Enough small talk, let’s skip to the good part. 

Monthly Sewing Series: October

 The cool weather that we were desperately craving here in Utah has finally come knocking. It feels amazing to be able to get up and not immediately start sweating your buns off everyday. And cool weather needs warm clothing, right? So let’s jump into this month’s project. 

I purchased this crew neck sweatshirt from Walmart for about $10. Currently there isn’t a lot of red in my wardrobe, so I thought with the holidays it was a smart choice. But the plain red? Boring. In most Walmart’s there is a fabric section, and that’s where I found a bundle of fat quarters for about $7. That’s all I needed to complete the project. 

My original plan was to add a pocket to the front in one of the fabrics from the bundle. The white floral was so pretty I couldn’t pass it up. There was no real pattern to the pocket, I honestly just eyeballed it until I like the shape. 

After I cut my pocket out I hemmed all the edges by folding over 1/4” two times. Once that was finished the next task was fitting my pocket to the sweatshirt. I ended up taking off an extra 1” from the top of the pocket. When you sew the pocket on, you want to sew everything EXCEPT the two slanted portions. That’s where your hands, phone, keys, etc will go. 

Instant upgrade, am I right? You could leave it here, but I needed to remedy a problem before I could really be satisfied. I’m about 6 ft tall, which also gives me long arms. The sleeves on the sweatshirt were an inch or two shorter than i needed. At first I had no idea how I was going to remedy this problem. Then I realized I had some extra pocket fabric leftover that could be used to lengthen the sleeves. 

Eyeballing where I wanted the strip to start (because being technical isn’t my style), I cut off the bottom half of the sleeve. This is such an easy, yet cute way to alter a garment that isn’t long enough. Add the strip, reattach the sleeve, and there you have it. What do you think? 

Monthly Sewing Series: September

This month’s project is all about comfort. I don’t know about you, but I have been ready for fall weather since the 4th of July. Come on, fall, let’s get to it! 

*for this project I used a t shirt and a pair of joggers that I already owned to make my pattern. That’s the easiest way to recreate pieces you already like. 

For this project you’ll need: 

Fabric (I used 2 yards, but I’m 5’11” and would have loved to have another 1/2 yard. I barely had any material left over.) 

Matching thread

Sewing machine

Articles of clothing you already like the fit of, or a pattern

Scissors

Pins 

1. I laid my fabric out completely flat, right side down. Then I folded my sides into the middle evenly on both sides. The raw edges of the fabric should be in a straight line down the middle. 

2. Trace out pattern pieces and ankle cuffs. Cut them out. 

3. With right sides together, stitch from the ankle to the crotch. Repeat for the second pant leg. 

4. With RIGHT sides together, sew along the crotch seam, attaching the two legs together. 

5. Flip pants out and they should look like a pair of pants. Add the cuffs to the ankles and sew in place. Repeat for the other pant leg. Then add your waistband. My jogger sweatpants had an elastic waistband that still fit for me, so I cut it from the old pair and added it to my new pair of joggers. Easy! 

6. Lay your fabric out similar to Step 1. Trace and cut out your shirt and the cuffs for the sleeves. 

7. Lay shirt pieces right sides together and sew along the shoulder seam and from the inner sleeve down the sides. 

8. Add the cuffs to your armholes, and finish off your neckline and your hem at the bottom of your shirt and you’re done! 

Monthly Sewing Series: August

I gave myself a challenge for this month’s project: I could only use fabric and supplies that I had on hand, and I needed to make something I’ve never made before. Easy enough! My eye has been on this dress for years, so finally attempting to make it has felt very rewarding. The fabric print isn’t my all time favorite but it works for now, you know, until I get my hands on some fun fabric.

How I made the dress:

To prep, I measured across my chest. Then I measured from where I wanted the top of the dress to sit and measured down my body until I hit the length I wanted. The last measurement you’ll take is the width of your dress, for my dress I measured at the widest part of my hips and added an inch for both sides. The straps can be adjusted in length to whatever length you want. I cut mine out at 4” wide so that when they were sewn and flipped inside out they would be 2” in width. 

1. Fold your strap in half, right sides of the fabric together. Stitch up the length of the open side and only one of the ends. Flip the strap inside out and press it flat. Top stitch around the perimeter of the strap. Repeat for all of the straps.

2. Measure how far in you want your straps to sit. You could place them 1/2” from the outer edges, and they would sit right on the corners. When I initially added my straps, it wasn’t until I had finished that I realized I had placed them too far in on the chest portion. Don’t do that or the corners at the top look flappy and weird. I did fix mine by folding the fabric and top stitching it in place later, but if you want the easier route, don’t do what I did. 

3. Take your two lining pieces and hem the bottoms or each pieces. Then with right sides together you’re gonna make a sandwich. Take the front dress piece and lay the straps at the top where you want them to sit. Pin them to the dress. Then take the front lining piece and lay that on top of it. You should have the straps sandwiched between the fabric, with the right sides of the fabric on the inside. Sew along the armhole and chest piece down to the other armhole. 

4. Flip the pieces right side out, and your straps should come out the top and me nice and secure. Press your seams flat, and top stitch near the edge to finish it off. Repeat step 3 and 4 for the back pieces and back lining of the dress. Add your pocket to the front piece here if you choose to have one. 

5. Take the finished front and back pieces and lay them right sides together. Sew the side seams from the armhole down. Finish off the raw edges however you like. Press your seams. 

6. Hem the bottom of the dress, press it flat, and you’re done! 
 

Monthly Sewing Series: July

Wanna know what’s easy to make, fun to wear, and perfect for summer? 

Wrap pants. 

Hands down these are my favorite out of all my projects. They can be casual, they can be fancy. Change the fabric and it can be such a versatile piece for your wardrobe. Did I mention they are so freaking easy to make? 

 

This was the tutorial I used and to see it for yourself, you can view this video. Just know you’ll have to adjust your measurements to fit your body. It took me two attempts on scrap fabrics before I figured out the sweet spot for my plus size body. (I am a 20/22 for reference.) 

Important notes:

1. Fabrics with more structure are easier to work with. My grey and black pair are made from a silky rayon/spandex blend and it is so slippery it tends to slide off my hips. Keep that in mind when you’re choosing your fabrics. My green pair are a poplin material and they hold up so much better. 

2. If you have a stretchy material that cuts clean you do not need to hem the raw edges. On my grey and black pair I left edges raw at the bottom because they won’t fray. 

Monthly Sewing Series: June

 Every year we load up our car and drive a few hours north to Bear Lake. Usually we camp or rent a cabin, and we play at the beach for days. It’s the perfect little retreat for us in the middle of Utah’s scalding, dry summers. When I started planning out my projects for the year I didn’t even think about making something for the beach, but right after I finished my May project I was scrolling through Pinterest and found this photo: 

The maxi dress swim cover that isn’t actually a dress was so up my alley. Naturally, I scraped my original June plans and decided this was going to take its place. Don’t you worry, though, I still have plans to make that project. Maybe it will be in next year’s series (spoiler alert lol). It really felt like a good direction to take, so I jumped in and got started. There is so much fabric in my stash, but I chose to use the fabric I had planned for the month anyway. It was a lightweight cotton material that I thought would be cool. And you’ll never guess what happy little discovery I stumbled upon. I follow so many diy/craft/sewing channels on YouTube and my favorite is Orly Shani from the DIY Designer. She does incredibly fun DIY projects that always inspire me. Low and behold, she has a tutorial for this exact kind of cover up. I don’t believe in fate, but this came close to changing my mind lol. Why work harder when you can work smarter and follow a tutorial? If you want to check the video out I’ll leave a link HERE.