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Making of Mother Gothel’s Cloak
I made this cape to go with a fan art version of the villain from Disney’s Tangled: Mother Gothel. For those who haven’t seen the movie, she wears a red dress and is sometimes featured wearing a dark blue/purplish cloak with a hood. I used McCalls 7886 to create the look. Read on to find out how I made the fabric and my review of the pattern. Pattern Description:Lined cape is gathered to neck band with hook and eye closure and has side arm openings and train. Hood is lined and has contrast ruffle. Purchased appliques. Pattern Sizing:XS – XL Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope…
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Making of Belle’s 1860-Inspired Bodice
Belle was a passion project of mine. After seeing the Cinderella’s dress in the 2015 live-action movie, I instantly knew that cut was meant for Belle. From the Basque waist to the bertha, this was not Cinderella’s dress. I sat and I waited, not confident in my skills to create such a gown. Then, five years later, I got the gumption to attempt the “Beast.” First I needed a design that was my own that I could love for my lifetime as I will never make her again. Going to the drawing board, I took inspiration from Cinderella, but I wasn’t in love with the relatively plain organza bertha. I…
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Demystifying the Single Welt Pocket: A Sewing Tutorial
The single welt pocket is a staple of business attire, commonly found on blazers, pants, and the occasional dress or skirt. Differing from a patch pocket, the single welt pocket is a pocket inside your garment, with a strip of fabric covering the pocket opening on the outside of the garment. While there are many ways to go about welt pockets, this tutorial covers the basic insertion of a single welt pocket with step-by-step instructions that are clarified with pictures. Once mastered, this easy technique, though somewhat time-consuming (it will take about an hour), will add a touch of elegance to your garments. Materials NeededFabrics: Garment fabric, pocket bag fabric…
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How to Sew a Smooth Scalloped Hem
I made a wrap skirt from a UFO dress from 2017 (pattern is lost and I didn’t have some of the pieces anymore). Wanting to not be plain Jane about it, I decided to do a scalloped edge on the overlapping piece to add even more visual interest to an already punchy skirt. So if you wanted to make something with a scallop edge, I got you covered. Here’s how you do so: Interface the edge of the fashion fabric you are going to scallop. (I also serged, this is not necessary though) 2. Draw your scallops! I took a candle and used that to trace to make my scallops…
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Science of Sewing: Enlarging a Sleeve
Enlarging a sleeve is something I have to do all the time! I don’t have the pencil arms patterns seem to think are normal, so I am constantly redoing the sleeves. I helps that I love a gathered sleeve head, that makes it even easier to alter. I’m working on a project that requires a rather fluffy sleeve. Having found no such pattern, I decided to make my own using an existing pattern as a base to alter to match. Note that there is some loft in the sleeve head – I’m interpreting that to be gathering. The forearm of the sleeve is also much wider than the bicep, so…
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Fraying Seams? Here are 7 Ways to Sew a Seam that Never Frays!
Fraying seams are the worst. They’re scratchy and uncomfortable, they can leave threads hanging out from under you clothes, but worst of all, they can be unstable, cutting the life of your garment to nothing in a flash. Here a few different ways to finish a seam that will increase the longevity of your garment and put an end to unseemly seams! Basic Straight Stitch Seam The simplest way to finish a seam is to sew a parallel stitch to the seam to keep the raw edge from fraying. To do this, sew your seam with the seam allowance instructed by your pattern. Then sew the selvage of your seam…
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Fabric Selection 101
Beyond a doubt, fabric selection is the most crucial part of sewing – it literally is the costume. When I was a starting seamstress, my fabric choices were ALL over the place, especially for skirts, I used lining fabric, charmeuse, silky solids, and a myriad of completely inappropriate fabrics for the styles I was making. Best part? They fell apart. Not just because I didn’t finish my seams, but because the fabric was quite literally, wrong. You can learn from my mistakes! Save yourself some coin to spend on the appropriate fabrics for a project. I’m going to talk all about wovens today and save knits for another. If you…
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Sewing Machine Needles: Simple Guide for Success
Using the right or wrong needle for the job can make or break your project that you’ve worked on for hours, days, or months. Figuring out which needle is right for your fabric selection is tricky, but below I’ve created two handy phone-friendly infographics for you to reference the next time you need to buy needles! And a bit extra, the anatomy of the machine needle and what all these different types of needles look like up close. For reference, a self-threading needle is a universal needle with a small slit to make it easier to thread, these are recommended only for stable wovens, mainly quilting cottons and their ilk.
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Sansa Stark Mockingbird Cosplay
Let me first say that I am a huge fan of Game of Thrones. Seriously. Big fan. I’m absolutely in love with the costuming on the show – it’s beautiful, intricate, unexpected, detailed, and wholly perfect. Which is why I’m making Sansa Stark’s black dress (Mockingbird Dress) from the show. It’s simple but stunning: So naturally, I scoured the main pattern companies for a similar pattern. And what did I find? Simplicity 1137: the “replica” of the costume! With a few MAJOR differences: Feathered bodice: actually not feathered – they used chainette trim Bodice is a bolero – not part of the dress. Opening is in the back, not the…
