Pockets with a Difference, Part 1

For a long time I've been wanting to write posts about different types of pockets. I'm therefore going to say that this is the first in a series.

This week's pocket is one I got from Vogue 8065 which I've made many times as you see in the composite below.

 I pretty much changed the pockets a little for each version.  I'll explain how these pockets are constructed  and I'll include my new version.

There are two pattern pieces for these pockets. ( if you want to make them, the pocket which I've placed on grain in the photo. measures about 10" by10"   but shaped as you can see. The facing piece is 6" by 3". )

1. First mark carefully the placement of the pockets on the inside of your garment. Baste around this placement so you can see the placement on the outside of the garment.

 

2.  Now mark the placement of the opening of the pocket on the outside of the garment using the facing pattern piece.. On the inside interface this spot to support the opening.

  

3. On the wrong side of the facing piece, mark the lines for the opening of the pocket and stitch so it is visible on the right side.. On this version,  I used a welt opening.   

4 .Place the facing piece in the marked position on the right side of the garment. and stitch along the stitching line. ( In my newest version of these pockets, I added a pocket flap. This must be placed between the garment and  facing and then stitched.)

 

5. Clip carefully from top to bottom of the welt and turn this  to the inside and press carefully.

 

6.On the outside,top stitch around the facing following the basting stitches. Top stitch around the welt opening .

 

Now you are ready to sew the pocket to the wrong side of your garment.

5. Finish around the wrong side of the pocket using a Hong Kong finish or by serging..

6. Using Steam-a-Seam, affix the pocket to the marked placement lines

7. Turn your garment to the right side and using the basting line as a guide, top stitch around the pocket once or twice, whichever you prefer.( On my newest version, I sewed trim around the outside of my pockets).

 

 

Your pocket is complete! Isn't it lovely and a nice design detail for a coat, skirt, or in a smaller version , a top or dress?

Here are closeups of the pockets on the garments in my collage.

In this one , the opening is in the middle of the pocket and not on the side.

  

For this one, I worked from  the wrong side of the coat to bring the slot facing to the outside.

For this one, I slanted the opening a bit.

My newest version. To see more on this coat , look here at Sew Passionista by DIANA.

You could make smaller versions of this pocket, change the placement of the opening. Sew the pocket to the outside instead of the inside as I've done, and I'm sure we could think of other ways to use this great pocket technique.

 

 

 

You can read more at Sew Passionista by DIANA.

 

I do hope you are having a great time sewing something wonderful!

 

More later from

 

 

Flat Felled Seams

I just posted this jacket on SewPassionista by DIANA which I made reversible using flat felled seams. I thought I'd show you how I managed to make even the sleeves look really professional (IMO).

1. I sewed 5/8" seams and trimmed one side to a generous 1/8".  (It's important to think out to which side    you want to press and top stitch your seams before trimming one side )

2. I folded the remaining seam 1/8",pressed and hand basted it to be sure it would stay folded.

3. I then pressed the basted seam over to cover the trimmed side.( You could also baste again to be sure but I pinned down the seam from the right side and that worked  well for me)

4. I top stitched at 3/8" using a  stitch length  of 4 because my fabric was quite bulky and Gutterman Extra Strong thread with a size 14 jeans needle in my machine and polyester thread to match the print side in my bobbin..

I only did one row of top stitching rather than the usual.two for flat felled seams as I just didn't want to push my luck.

5. For the sleeves, I sewed them in flat (that is before sewing side seams )  and used the above steps.  I then sewed the underarm and side seams all in one and flat felled  in the same way as all other seams. I top stitched using matching rather than contrasting thread for the sleeves and side seams.

    Here is a sleeve on the print side.

To complete my reversible jacket, I turned all finishing seams including collar,lapels, center front,hem and sleeve hems under 1/8",basting and then turning again and top stitching.

I made buttonholes on the right side as usual and sewed buttons on
the opposite side sewing two buttons at the same time .

I really enjoyed the process of making this reversible jacket and matching jeans. (No they are not reversible!)  I hope I've inspired someone out there to tackle a project they think will be too challenging. Remember to take it one step at a time and before you know it, you too will have a garment to be proud of1

More later from

A New Take on the Hong Kong Finish

I've just finished the dress that is part of my Pattern Review Mini Wardrobe Contest entry. See here at Sew Passionista by DIANA. So now I'm hard at work on a brown denim suit for my sister Gloria.

In a way, it's a piece of cake because ,except for being smaller busted than me, the two of us are exactly the same size. My Sandrs Betzina jeans fit her perfectly!

The jacket is this OOP Burda pattern  8605,

that I love and have made many times before including here, and here, and here, etc.


I love a Hong Kong seam finish which I blogged about before  in this post. But up until now, I've always applied it after sewing the various seams together. Well, I got the bright idea ,this time, and many of you probably already do this, to apply the finish before I join most of the seams together and it's so much easier this way. Who knew?!

Here are the various parts of the jacket with the animal print charmeuse strips already applied.

I'm just so tickled about this!

If I were ever to sell garments made by me, this jacket would be the thing. I love making this. I don't think I'll ever get tired of this pattern.

Here are a couple of shots of more examples of  this great Burda pattern.

My most favorite is the white denim one. The oldest is the red mini whale corduroy one made 10 years ago and  that I still wear.still wear. the most recent one is the black/pink print which gets me compliments evry time i wear it. I'm planning a new version in early spring.

Do you have a special pattern in your collection that just won't stop producing ideas for new versions?
Let's talk!

More later from

Did You Catch the Sale at Moods?

I'm so excited! For the first time ever ,I've ordered fabrics from Mood this week when they had a 20% off sale sitewide!

Now I already have enough fabrics to last me a very long time and so I made sure to only order pieces I can't find here and for me that means an assortment of stripes! I only ordered five of the fabrics that I had pinned to my Mood board  plus a few swatches of some of the others.

           
   
                                 


          

The only thing is , I don't have a plan for any of these fabrics. I've been trying very hard not to buy fabrics without knowing what I want to make out of them so they don't linger  long enough on my shelves to bother my conscience .Lol.

What is your strategy when buying fabric? Are you an impullse buyer ? Do you only buy a fabric when you know exactly what it will become? Do you stalk certain fabrics until you can resist them no longer? (That's pretty much what I do!!)  Or do you buy fabrics "just in case"? (I do that too).

Well, not exactly a post filled with useful sewing tips or information, is it! But I just wanted to share.

More later from

Seasonal Sewing Plans

I had fun this week while starting to put away summer fabrics. Most pieces had been slotted for a particular garment that didn't get made.

I decided that ,in order not to forget what I wanted to make , I would take photos of indidvidual fabrics paired with the patterns they had been intended for.

 I used my android tablet to take each photo and then made up a page  with each photo and ended up with this!

This little exercise became quite addictive so, I made up a page for my Fall/Winter sewing plan.So far I have these pieces planned for.

I'll add more to this page. of course, but I'm going to try very hard to stick to this plan. In this way, I'll use a lot of fabrics in my stash and I think it will keep me from adding too  many more new fabric to my well stocked shelves.

Don't you love starting a new season of sewing? There are so many possibilities ahead for creativity and pure enjoyment of our craft, isn't there!

Happy Sewing to you all!

Changing a French Dart to A Regular Bust Dart (on Vogue 1313)

If you follow SewPassionista by Diana, you know I've just finished V1313 by Ann Klein.
It turned out well (with a reservation or two) but I did make one important change to the pattern because of the striped front panel. I new a regular bust dart would distort the stripes less than a French dart which was on the pattern.

This post is to explain how to change a French dart to a regular bust dart.

Here's what I did.

Step 1. I traced the  upper bodice center pattern piece.

Step 2. I drew a line from the side seam to the bust point about 4" below the underarm..

Step 3. I cut a line through the center of the French dart, to but not through the new  bust line.

Step 4. I then closed the French dart . This  opened up the new bust dart.

If you don't need to do a Full Bust Adjustment, you're done  .

However I do need an FBA ,so this is what I did.

Step 5. I cut through the bust point and through the center front.

Step 6. I added paper underneath ,closed the dart ( no picture)to shape the outside of the dart  .

Step 7. ( Only if you did an FBA) .On the side front pattern piece,I cut to but not through to the side seam and spread the pattern the amount I added for my FBA  like this.

That's all I did. BTW, I got this info from Peggy Sager's video "Darts Are a Girl's Best Friend"

This worked very well for me  and I'm glad I gave it a try.

To see more about this garment, please visit Sew Passionista by Diana. I'll leave you with a couple of outdoor shots my DH  took this morning before I left for church.

More later from