Author: sewuprising

Fall Mini Capsule, PHEE Style

It’s almost fall again, my favorite time of the year! Each season I make a mini capsule wardrobe to base my wardrobe transition off of and in spring I wrote a whole series covering the processes of using my capsule wardrobe EBook to create the perfect, tailored to me me-made capsule wardrobe.

Usually I go all out and create a bunch of new pieces but this year I wanted to focus of reincorporating a few of may most favorite me-mades into my wardrobe!

If you need help creating the mini capsule of your dream grab a copy of my Ebook on Etsy! PS It’s on sale!

I like to pick a few favorite patterns I love and build around that using quality fabrics. This season I made multiples of the P4P Brunch blouse and PegLeg Leggings as well as the Madelyn Top Pattern.

Both sets of leggings, my black rayon spandex cardigan, and the white Madelyn top are all reincorporated items for this capsule and I am so happy to bring them into fall. You can read more about them in my personal blog.

There is only one item I still am undecided on… What I should make for a layer out of the new cozy french terry! I know I want some sort of cardigan but choosing a color is really hard! What do you think I should make to fill that spot??

Okay enough blabbing lets look at some of the outfits I can out together using the Soduko wardrobe template featured in Sew Your Capsule!

Fabirc Links (Aff Links)

Rayon Spandex

Supplex

Twill

The Soduko capsule wardrobe works really well for me because I can layer the pieces together or wear them separate like I am in these pictures to create the most possible outfits. The graph below shows how many outfits can be made with just the nine pieces using three items at once, look how may different options there are!

If you’re a capsule newby I suggest sticking to a fairly neutral palette with just one or two pops of color like I did fr this mini capsule to make it easier t mix all of the pieces together. Once you have done a few however it gets easier and easier to mix in multiple pops of color. Playing with varying textures is always a good idea in any capsule wardrobe!

Are you making a capsule wardrobe this fall? Leave a message down below telling me where you like to find your capsule info!

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Pinspiration hack: three trends, one dress


This may have been one of those instances where less is more but… I went for it anyway and love the results!

When I first found this pink, drapey dress on Pinterest I fell in love with it and went on the hunt for a pattern to recreate it, to no avail. It is the perfect mash up of a bunch of the trends I am loving right now (midi skirt, extra long flutter sleeves, and a overall loose fit) into what has to be just the most perfect combination.

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Annoyed, I put the dress on the back burner for a few months… Until I hit a inspiration roadblock and decided to power through and figure out how to make this dang dress! Turns out it was a super easy hack I could do with patterns I already owned which is a bonus win!

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Now mine is significantly shorter than the pin-speration dress because math is hard and circle skirts take a crap ton of fabric but the general overall vibe is the same and I am in love!

I used my much beloved Phee rayon spandex (seriously 90% of my projects are made out of Phee rayon spandex at this point) and three different Made for Mermaids patterns to create this faux wrap dress. I used the currently sold out periwinkle color for my make but I think this would be especially stunning in the royal blue or burgundy colors for fall!

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For the upper part of the dress I used the Isabel wrap dress sized up two sizes and turned it into a faux wrap by sewing both sides of the front into the side seams. The skirt is the Adeline pattern circle skirt (but really any circle skirt would do). The sleeves were from the Sierra dress/romper pattern and all I did for those was lengthen them by eight inches, easy peasy! For the tie I just cut a 5″ tall by WOF piece, and sewed a long rectangle.

I also chose to swap the direction of the wrap tot he other wide to be more flattering to my body (hello lopsided chest) which is a major bonus of sewing your own clothing!

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Strappy Back Hack for the Noelle Bralette



The Noelle bralette from Madelyn Intimates is one of my go-to again and again patterns. I have made so many variations in the past and have even shared on the Phee Blog how I make the pattern work for my gigantic boobays in a past a few months back and I have hacked it into a swim top more times than I can count.

But when it came to making a new swim suit for this summer I wanted to update my tried and true pattern with a sporty (-ish) strappy back but found instructions nowhere on the internet to do such a thing. Super annoying.

Which means I made my own and of course I am going to share with you all how I did the thing today (because that is what we do in the sewing world right!?) So lets stop with the chatter and just jump is because no one wants to read me babble right? Yeah I agree.

Supplies: – Noelle Bralette Pattern printed assembled and adjusted if necessary – at least 1/2 nylon spandex from Phee – 1/2 yard of powernet from Phee – 5/8″ swim elastic (at least the length of your under bust measurement) – 1/4″ swim elastic less than 12 inches- sewing machine, needles, thread, pins, etc. etc.

We will need to adjust the back piece of the pattern to allow room for the ties. This is going to be a personal choice but I took 1 1/2 inch off of the pattern piece in the middle/fold. Instead of cutting on the fold we will cut two mirrored back pieces.

Start by cutting out your fabric using the front and back pattern pieces out of both your outer fabric and powernet lining. Then cut two strap pieces that are two inches in width by the length of your fabric. There should be two front pieces, four back pieces, and two strap pieces when your are done cutting.

Sewing step one is sewing the bust darts like instructed in the pattern booklet. Personally I sew both the powernet lining and outer nylon spandex darts at the same time but you could also do them separate and sandwich the extra material in the middle, total personal preference. Then attach your side pieces in your preferred method.

Then finish off the top neckline of your bralette using the 1/4″ inch elastic in a 1:1 ratio with the neckline length. Full written tutorial on how to apply swim elastic here. and a video tutorial from Phee swim week last year here!

Fold the short edge of the middle piece in 1/4 of an inch and top stitch in place

Then finish off the lower edge using the 5/8′ elastic and the same method used for the neckline. Cut the elastic 3.5 inches shorter than the bottom edge of your piece and stretching to fit as you sew to provide a snug fit.

Now the fun part, adding the straps. Get your pins or clips ready because you are about to need A LOT of them! Basically we will be applying these straps like a quilt binding but the nylon spandex fabric can make it a bit trickier.

Lay one strap piece on top of the unfinished under arm edge with right sides together leaving a 1/2′ tail on the end to allow for finishing. Sew along the edge using a 1/2″ seam allowance being sure to back stitch at the beginning and end.

Fold the unattached edge of the strap piece and round to the back of the top piece, enclosing the raw edges Think double fold bias tape here! Continue folding the strap piece all the way to the end using a generous amount of pins in the process. Stitch the strap closed using a narrow triple zig zag stitch close to the inside edge of the strap along it’s entire length.

Finish off each edge of the strap by turning the raw ends to the wrong side by 1/2 inch and top stitching. Trim any excess fabric if necessary.

Now we need to create the loops that will hold the straps along the back of the piece. Cut two 8″ by 1.5″ straps of fabric and fold them in half length wise with the right sides together. Stitch using a stretch stitch and 1/4 inch seam allowance before turning right side out.

Then attach to the wrong side of each back piece creating three loops that are about 1/2″ high. I like to sew two rows of top stitching when attaching the loops, one over my previous line of top stitching and another one close to the edge.

Then finish trimming up any loose threads, thread the back loops using the straps, slip your new creation on and head to the water!!



by Categories: Bras, Swimwear Leave a comment

Pattern Hack: Adding a Lace Overlay to the Brooklyn Brief

There is nothing I love more than a versatile pattern! The more looks I can get from one great pattern the better so when a spark of inspiration ignited for a way to make my beloved Brooklyn Brief sewing pattern have any more design options I was at my sewing machine so fast I actually made myself dizzy.

I have shared a few of my favorite Brooklyn Briefs made from Phee circular knit in the past including this striking hot pink pair which I actually made three exact copies of because I love them so much. I find myself wanting something a little bit … more than the sporty look the Brooklyn gives. And “more” for me means lace, AAAALLLLL of the lace!

Turns out hacking an all lace back and even a lace over lay from the View A Brooklyn Brief pattern pieces is super easy! The tutorial for switching out the view A back for an all lace version is a Phee exclusive pattern add on you receive when you download the pattern so I am not going to be sharing that here but I do want to share how to do the front lace over lay. It is super quick and makes the panty look super sweet!

If you want to make your own, here is what you will need….

Since this is a two in one tutorial I wanted to break it down and include both video and written tutorial for adding the lace over lay, check out the video below and keep scrolling for the write up!

So here is what you do! Begin by cutting out a panty view a front piece out of your main fabric. Then take your view B center front piece and add a 1/4 inch seam allowance to the side you would normally cut on the fold. Then cut out two separate, mirrored lace pieces using your now adjusted view b center front piece, placing the x edge along the scalloped edge of your lace.

Place your two pieces on top of each other with right sides together and matching the scalloped edges. Use a small zig-zag stitch to sew down the side you added the seam allowance to 1/4 of an inch away from the edge. Press the seam open and top stitch if desired.

Place your view a panty front piece right side up on your work space and then place your lace piece right side up on top of that. Align the crotch curve, top and leg openings and pin in place.

Use a small zig-zag stitch to secure the lace to the panty front along the scalloped edges. Baste the remaining edges together using a long straight stitch and then finish your panty as normal! Easy as that!!

Happy Sewing, Nicki @ http://www.sewuprising.com


by Categories: Techniques, Uncategorized, Women's Bottoms Leave a comment

Pattern Hack: Adding a Zippered Pocket to a Legging Waistband

Pockets. Oh, pockets.

There great scandal of the lack of pockets in women’s apparel is still raging in the ready-to-wear world but how lucky are we as sewists to get to add pockets to literally anything we desire!? Even to leggings, a traditionally pocketless garment that is so lovely in so many other ways.

Today I wanted to share with you how I quickly, and easily add a zippered pocket to the back waist band of your very favorite legging pattern, perfect for keeping keys safe and secure when you are exercising (or shopping, I don’t judge!). The only thing besides your fabric and pattern you need for this hack is a 7″ zipper in a color of your choosing! Let’s get started!

I am using the Patterns for Pirates contoured waistband for the Peg Leg pattern in this tutorial but this technique would work for any legging pattern you may have.

Begin by finding the center point of your back waist band both vertically and horizontally. Mark that point with a washable marker (I still use crayola, it has never failed me!).

Draw a box 5 inches long and 1/2 inches tall around that center point with your washable marker and a point 1/4 of an inch in from each short edge in the middle of the box.

Using small fabric scissors cut a line straight down the middle of your box stopping at the 1/4 point marks. From those points, make small snips at an angle toward the corners of your box.

With your zipper open, place the right side of one zipper half against the cut slit and pin in place. Flip the zipper to place the edge of the other zipper side against the other edge of the slit and pin in place. The teeth of the zipper should be facing down and outwards.

Stitch the zipper to the waist band piece using a straight stitch down the middle of the zipper tape. Flip the zipper ends and pull to the wrong side of the waistband, tucking in the end tabs of the waistband as well. Press well (but be careful not to melt any of the zipper teeth).

Top stitch around the entire zipper 1/8 of an inch from the folded under edges. Be sure to secure stitches at beginning and the end.

Continue to assemble both your inner and outer waistbands as instructed in your pattern through attaching them together with a top seam.

Once joined, flip your waistbands so that both the inner and outer waistbands are facing outward and press the upper seam. Use your washable marker to draw parallel lines equal distance from the ends of your zipper, mine are 1 1/4 inches out for reference. using a stretch stitch on your sewing machine (a small zig-zag or the lightening stitch work)sew down those two parallel lines and finish your leggings as your pattern instructs!!

See how easy was that!

I am wearing my new olive supplex leggings (with zippered pocket!) with a winter white Rayon Spandex Madelyn Top, both fabrics are two of my favorites from Phee!

The Madelyn has a straight hem option included but to give it a sportier vibe I added a a multi length curved hem,another super quick hack you can find here!

by Categories: Pants, Techniques, Uncategorized, Women's Bottoms Leave a comment

One dress, Five costumes

Confession Time: I hate sewing costumes. I just can’t get my head around sewing a whole outfit, spending all of the time and money it takes to make something good, just to wear the thing for one day or one event. It pains me. Actual pain. So… I usually just buy something RTW. Ick, I know, but it meant I could spend more time sewing things for myself and others that would actually be worn more than once.

Since this year I am participating in a RTW fast, however, (and still going strong!) taking the lazy route and buying a costume wasn’t going to be an option. But even so, I couldn’t get myself, to sew up an actual costume, and instead came up with a compromise of making myself a basic dress that I know I will wear again, and designing a costume around that.

I decided on sewing up a basic black dress, because I only have six in my closet already which obviously isn’t enough, in what is probably my most used pattern of all time the Made for Mermaids Mama Ava tee. I whipped it up in Phee Rayon Spandex in black with 3/4 sleeves, because it’s only the middle of September and the high temps where I leave are already only reaching 55 degrees, and a classic V neck so that the dress really could be a plain base for anything I found to go with it, and drove my happy little butt to party city to pick out a costume. Thirty minutes later I left with over $200 of accessories, enough for five different, super easy costumes!

 

Basic Witch

Devil

Kitty Kat

I’m a Mouse, Duh

And my personal favorite…. Cruella DeVil !

And my absolute favorite part is that this is a dress I will get so much wear out of in almost every season going forward! Yay for practical, easy sews!

Now I really don’t need five costumes so help me pick which one to keep? Right now I am torn between Minnie and Cruella, leave your vote below!

by Categories: Dresses, UncategorizedTags: , 3 Comments