Tag Archives: Sewing patterns

Burda style magazine in Manila!

April 4, 2012 By in Sewing Tags: , , 5 Comments

This week is Holy Week in the Philippines which means that almost everyone is on leave and on vacation…but I’m still at work since it’s not the best idea for me to make long trips or to fly somewhere almost 36 weeks into my pregnancy. I’m saving my leaves for Christmas break! Happily though, something arrived today to keep me company at work (although it means I wont be getting much work done):

I’ve been really curious about the Burda style magazine since so many hobby seamstresses and blogs often post about it. It can’t be purchased anywhere here in Manila (like a lot of sewing supplies and references) but luckily I saw a link on burdastyle.com here which directed me to http://www.newsstand.co.uk. I ordered just 3 issues first since I’m not sure how much I will like the magazines and how easy it will be to sew from them. The first one arrived today, and from the looks of it I’ll be getting a longer subscription. :-) Only thing is I’m not used to tracing out patterns since I’ve only used the ones from the Big 4 which I just cut out. It’s always fun to teach yourself new things though! If you guys have any tips or suggestions or favorite patterns from the new magazine do let me know! :-)

Butterick 5196 maternity top, completed!

April 3, 2012 By in Sewing Tags: , , Leave a comment

Now that I’m in the home stretch of my pregnancy (35 weeks and counting!), I really need more maternity tops (quickly!) since my regular clothes, even the stretchy ones, just won’t fit me anymore.  I’m so happy to share that I finally finished my new maternity top that I posted about earlier here.

Here’s my finished twist maternity top from Butterick 5196, I made it with around 1 and 1/4 yard of lightweight jersey.  It ties at the back (or in front if you would like) which I love because it somehow defines the waist a little bit.  I also really like the way the twist highlights the baby bump, I’m planning to make another one but I would take an inch off the top portion to make the neckline a bit higher.  When I was cutting the pattern out, I already took off an inch but in the portion below the twist since most patterns from the Big 4 are intended for women 5’6″ in height and I’m only around 5″2 on a good day (hehehe).

Image

Things I learned:

  • Narrow hemming (using my sewing machine for the neckline and by hand for the armholes) – Narrow hemming is sort of a pain especially when you’re trying to do this on curved parts of knit fabric since it’s hard to press/pin evenly while your fabric is curling on the bias.  Ultimately, you want a tiny hem without much bulk.  Using your sewing machine, there is a lot of pinning, basting and sewing.  If you do it by hand the stitches are almost invisible on the right side and it’s easier to make the hem as tiny as possible.  I followed the narrow hem tutorial here, it worked okay but I found it kind of involved and time-consuming so I ordered a narrow hem presser foot from Amazon the other day.  Will share with you guys how that works out for me once I figure out how to use it!
  • Blind hemming using my serger – I made a tutorial for those of you who might need it here.  I still need lots of practice though!

The verdict:

  • Great pattern with a few minor edits needed, makes a cute wardrobe staple!

Another sew your own maternity top in progress, Butterick 5196

March 29, 2012 By in Sewing Tags: , , 1 Comment

I’m nearly done with my next maternity top using Butterick 5196.  I decided to do version A using some pretty green jersey and I can’t wait to share the finished product with all of you, I just have to hem all the edges which I want to do with my new serger/overlock machine.  It shouldn’t take much time once I get cracking on it, but I’m still practicing how to make a good blind hem on some jersey scraps.

Overall, I found the pattern pretty straightforward and easy to follow.  Since I’m not that tall (okay, I’m short hehehe) I would shorten the top pieces of the front pattern next time to bring the neckline up a bit.   Other adjustments I had to make were in the twist portion at the middle since there is a gap that will show some skin because the pattern gives you pretty generous allowances for this part.  I can’t fault Butterick though since you have to pull panels of fabric through the gap.  Here’s what the back of the twist portion looked like before I sewed it down a little more.

Skills I learned making this top:

  • Narrow hem
    • I had no idea how to make a narrow hem, the instructions on the pattern were just so vague to me. Good thing I found a tutorial here on InfoBarrel that didn’t involve a narrow hem presser foot which I don’t have just yet.
  • Blind hem
    • I’m still working on this now, will update the post once I have the step-by-step for the blind hem using a serger!

Make your own maternity top! Kwik Sew 3487

March 18, 2012 By in Sewing Tags: , Leave a comment

I recently purchased a couple of maternity patterns online since I wanted to try my hand at making my own maternity tops.  Since it’s our first baby, my tummy has only recently gotten to the point that I really can’t wear my regular clothes anymore.  I bought some maternity clothes here in Manila at HAB (Havin a Baby) and Eden (at Aura Athletica in Rockwell) and they were okay, but I find the quality and variety available here quite lacking.  I recently made a maternity tunic from Burda 7356 which I haven’t posted about yet, but I much prefer this top I made following pattern 3487 from Kwik Sew.  I bought the pattern online at sewingpatterns.com.

I made it in a dark orange cotton jersey that I picked up in Fanbi, Greenbelt 1 and I have to say that I really like the results!  It’s very comfortable, with fusible interfacing to give structure to the neckline and side seams, and I only used a little over 1 yard of fabric to make it, so it was a great deal as well…unless you count the hours I spent making it plus my labor cost per hour hehehe.

Things I learned making this top:

  • How to  use fusible interfacing.  I bought fusible interfacing online, and it took less than 5 minutes for me to attach it to the neckline.  Just make sure your interfacing’s sticky part (the rough part) faces the wrong side of the fabric, then press down with a hot iron for 15 seconds on each section of your fabric until everything is fused together.  I used a makeshift pressing cloth (a scrap piece of cotton fabric) to make sure my jersey wouldn’t burn or have shiny marks from the hot iron.
  • I had to learn how to understitch to prevent the lining or facing from rolling over to the right side (nobody likes puffy seams and seeing the wrong side of the cloth or your lining sticking out!).  You could probably get away making the top without understitching since it’s not visible from the right side of your fabric but since I’m a beginner, I figure I better learn how to do things the right way first before making any shortcuts.  :)  Plus, since I’m taking the time, I might as well construct well-made clothes that will really last!  There are several tutorials on how to understitch online, I used the one by Tasia of Sewaholic with the link here.  It didn’t take much time at all!

The verdict:

  • I really liked this pattern and I’m already planning to make it again in a different color, maybe either with the short or long sleeves next time.  But since I have narrow shoulders, I will reduce the length at the shoulders by around half an inch to an inch to make the fit at the armhole a bit more flattering.