Browsing Tag

pattern hack

Ohhh Lulu Pattern Hack: Easy front closure

Tutorial, Uncategorized April 22, 2016

I had a customer email me a month or so ago asking for advice on how to add a front closure to one of my bras. She had some mobility issues and wasn’t able to easily get in and out of a back closing bra herself.  Last week I came down with a cold (my second cold of the month, unfair!) and my whole body was aching. Strangely enough, my right hand really ached and I could barely do anything with it! I really felt for this customer who had to deal with aching hands on a daily basis. 
I like this method because it uses a simple G-hook, but you can also use this method with a front clip. I sometimes also like to add a metal ring to the center front of my pull on bras, which uses basically the same steps. 

What you need:
1. Any triangle front bra pattern, like my Josephine, Scarlett (which I have used here), or Brigitte Pattern.
2. Supplies as outlined in the pattern.
3. G-hook or Front Clip

Instructions:

1. Following the pattern instructions, assemble cups and apply elastic around front edge.

2. Beginning at the center front and leaving a 1″ tail, apply the band elastic along the lower edge of the bra. Leave a 1″ tail and the end.

3. Feed one end of the elastic “tail” through the closed end of the G-Hook. Turn elastic towards garment and stitch in place.

4. Wrap the tail on the other side of the bra around the open end of the hook and stitch in place. This creates a small loop to catch the hook into.
Your hook should be upside down at this stage! It will get flipped around soon.
5. Turn the band elastic under and topstitch in place with a wide zig-zag stitch. Make sure to securely backtack at the beginning and end of your stitching line.

6. Finish the garment following the instructions in your pattern.



That’s it! now you have a neatly applied front hook closure! Enjoy!

Ohhh Lulu Pattern Hack: Advanced Techniques for the Emma Romper

Tutorial June 27, 2015
Hey guys! I finally released my romper pattern… I LOVE this pattern. It’s so versatile and comfy.
In my instructions for the Emma Romper, I give the basic assembly method…  I thought it might be fun to show you how you can take this pattern to the next level with some more advanced techniques! The basic assembly remains the same, but the finishing will be finer. Instead of doing serged seams, I’ll show you how to sew french seams. We’ll finish the crotch with bias tape and snaps (hand sewn or hammered), and add some gentle shirring to the waist.

What You’ll Need:
1. The Emma Romper Pattern
2. A fabric with a good drape. I’m using a Liberty of London silk.
3. Lace trim for the neck and legs.
4. Sew in or Hammer in Snaps
5. Small Scrap of Interfacing
6. 1/2″ Strapping and bra strap rings & sliders
7. Needles and Thread

Instructions:
1. Begin by applying lace along Front Neckline, as indicated in the Pattern Instructions.

2. With the wrong sides together, pin your center front seam. Stitch together using only a 1/4″ Seam allowance.

3. Trim back seam allowance to approximately 1/8″.
4. Using a warm iron, press seam allowance to one side. Then fold your garment along the center front seam, and press flat.

5. Stitch seam closed using a narrow, 1/4″ seam allowance.

6. Repeat the same process on the Center Back and Side Seams. 

 7. Sew lace onto the right side of the garment. Turn seam allowance under and press. Top stitch in place. An extra pretty way to finish the leg openings would be with appliqued lace. Check out my hero, Carine Gilson for some dreamy inspration.

 8. In this intance, I’ve finished the raw edge of the crotch seam with self fabric. I measured the width of the crotch seam (including the lace portion) and added 1/2″ to either side. I wound up with a measurement of 5″. I cut 2 pieces of fabric and 2 pieces of light weight interfacing that were 5×2″

 9. Iron interfacing onto the wrong side of your fabric strips. Fold in half lengthwise and press.

10. Pin and stitch on to the right side of the Front of the Romper.

11.Turn under the raw ends of your fabric strip.

12 Turn strip towards the inside of the garment, and top stitch all the way around the exterior of the strip. Repeat this process on the opposite side.

13. You can either hand sew on snaps or try your hand at hammered in snaps. I ended up putting hammer-in snaps in mine, but they aren’t quite as perfectly set as I would have liked!

14. Finish the upper edge and straps as indicated in the pattern.
15. To add some quick contouring around the waist, Try on the romper while it’s inside out. Find your natural waist, which is the narrowest part of your torso (you can also use the waist line guide on the pattern pieces) and mark that part at each seam with a pin (or use dressmakers chalk). I suggest trying on the garment to find your natural waist because waist height varies greatly. My waist is super high. My friend’s waist is perfectly in the middle of her torso… everyone is different.

16. I used some soft, 1/2″ elastic to cinch in the waist of my romper. To do this I used my pins as a guide and zig-zag stitched the elastic onto the inside of the garment. Pull on the elastic as you stitch. This creates soft gathers and will pull in your waistline. Alternatively, you could also sew a casing onto the inside of your garment, and draw elastic through the casing. Adding button holes and a drawstring would be fun too! I have also finished these with long satin sashes tied at the waist.

Now you’re ready for some seriously luxurious lounging.

Sarah & Ava Retro Swimsuit Tutorial Part 2

Tutorial May 24, 2015
It’s time for Part Two of my Retro Bikini Tutorial. I’ve done a tutorial on how to sew the Ava Panties as Bikini Bottoms before. I did this version just a little differently. I wanted to add a contrasting band around the waist and omit the elastic around the legs. I have full hips and thighs, so these bottoms fit snug as they are. If you’re on the thinner side, you might want to add elastic or bind your leg openings like we did on the Bikini Top.
Instructions:
1. To make the waistband, I roughly measured the waist of the panties front and back. I cut a size medium, which had the same measurement for front and back. I then drew a straight waistband, which was 2″ wide with 1/2″ seam allowance on either side. I indicated cut 2 on my new pattern piece, as my front and back measurement was the same.

 2. Cut your fabric – I’m lining the entire thing.

3. Baste your front lining to the swimsuit front.

4. Like we did with the swimsuit, we’re going to sew the lining and swim fabric all in one motion. Begin by layering: Back Self (rightside up), Front Basted Self (rightside down), then Lining. Pin together if needed and sew your seam. Now your crotch seam allowance in encased between your layers.

5. Sew your side Seams and try them on. They should fit snug all over.

 6. Sew the waistband into a continuous loop. Fold in half and press with a light iron. Attach to the waist of the panties, lining up your side seams.

7. I top stitched down my waistband seam allowance using a twin needle.

8. To finish the legs I simply finished the raw edges with my serger, then turned the edges and top stitched them with a twin needle. You can also finish with a zig-zag stitched hem, bind the legs, or use elastic.

That’s it! I’ve found it takes some getting used to sewing swim fabrics. They are slippery and can be hard to manage. But, the more bathingsuits I make, the better they get!

Here I am in mine. Neverind the pug butt and falling down fence. I made Izzy a matching suit too! Now hopefully the weather gets a little warmer so I can test mine out at the beach.

Sarah & Ava Retro Swimsuit Tutorial Part 1

Tutorial May 22, 2015

We had frost here last night…
BUT! I’m not going to let that get me down!  Last weekend I made this swimsuit. I was inspired by Alexia (from Whimsy Tails ) who made an amazing 2-piece version of my Abigail Swimsuit. You can see it on her Instagram. I really loved the way she place the stripes on the top. I decided I’d give it a go using my Sarah & Ava Pattern to do something kind of similar. I really loved how it turned out and I get lots of emails about using my patterns for swimwear so I thought I’d offer an indepth tutorial.

What you’ll need:
1. The Sarah Bralette Pattern and Ava Panties Pattern
2. Coordinating Swimsuit (Spandex) fabric.
3. Swimsuit Lining
4. Thread
5. Twin Needle
6. Rotary Cutter (optional, but handy)

Instructions:
1. Print out your patterns.

2. Trim away margins where indicated.

3. Tape pattern together.

4. Optional: I wanted to have a diamond motif pattern layout on the back, so I added seam allowance to both my back pieces, instead of cutting them on the fold.

5. Make adjustments. I have a slightly larger cup size than what I’ve drafted this pattern for. All I have done is cut between a size small and medium. If you need a significant change to the bust area, you can slash and spread the cups to increase the size. You can also wing it, like I sometimes do, by just exaggerating the curve of the cup and adding some height. If you are more petite, just straighten that sucker out. Check out my tutorial on adjusting the cup size of my Jasmine Bra for some further instruction.

Cutting between a small and medium

5. Optional Pattern Placement: I have drawn a line on my pattern pieces so I know where to place my stripes. I wanted to create a chevron motif over the bust so I took a little bit of time before cutting my fabric to make pattern placement indicators on my pattern pieces.

7. Cut your fabric! For a swimsuit, you’ll need to cut Lining & Swim Fabric. You don’t have to line the back, but I think it makes for a nicer suit.

8. Cut your binding. Using a contrasting fabric, cut several long strips of binding (stretch should be going lengthwise). I cut mine in 1 inch strips, as I wanted narrow, quarter inch straps and binding. Cut accordingly! Using a rotary cutter makes life a lot easier.
9. Baste lining to Front Cup.
10. We’re going to line and sew our cup seams in one motion so that our seam is encased between the lining and swim fabric. Layer your pieces like so: Side Cup Lining, Basted together Front Cup (lining side down), finished with Side Cup (right side down). Sew your seam (1/2″ Seam Allowance). Why do it like this? This way your lining and exterior fabric won’t shift and you’ll have less seam allowance to worry about between your layers. I’m serging my seams, but you can also just use a zig-zag stitch.
11. Prepare your binding by turning under the raw edges by  1/4″ and pressing with a warm iron. Careful not to melt your farbric!

 12. Baste Binding along front edge of cup using a narrow zig-zag stitch. Gently pull on the binding as you stitch. You wan the suit to contour along your bustline. When you’re done, turn the binding under and top stitch with a twin needle. If you don’t have a twin needle, you can also zig-zag stitch. The binding gets applied exactly the way you’d apply any binding (though I apply mine to the right-side first). I made a Video! Watch!

Raw edge trimmed back, binding is ready to be turned under and top stitched.

Twin-stitched binding.

 13. Baste Lining to Center Front Band.

14. Just like we did with the cups, we’re going to sew our lining and exterior fabric in one motion. Layer your fabric like so: Side Front Band Swim fabric, Center Front Band Basted Piece (Swim Fabric Down), finished with the Side Front Lining. Sew your seam, and now your seam allowance is encased.

15. Stitch cups to Front Band

16. Prepare your back pieces. If you’re doing it like me, you’ll have to sew your Center Back Seams. Then, go ahead and baste your lining to your swim pieces. Stitch your Upper Back to your Lower Back.

17. Sew your side seams then try this baby on! If you’re happy with the fit, finish your seams by serging or zig-zag.

18. Apply Band Elastic on the inside of the garment using a wide Zig Zag stitch, as indicated in the pattern instructions. I have also made a video to show you exactly how to do it. 

 19. Now it’s time to bind the upper edge of our tops. I used a length of binding approximately 80″ long (I had to attach two pieces in order to get this length). I started basting on my binding approximately 31″ down the length of the binding – this extension forms your strap. You will be left with a long extension on the opposite end as well.

20. Folding your binding in half, and making sure all of the raw edges are turned towards the inside, top stitch with a twin needle.

21. Cut your straps so that they are both an even length and tie the ends into knots.

22. Cut a strip of elastic approximately the same lenth as the bottom of your top. Stitch it into a loop.

23. Pin the binding evenly around the bottom of your swimsuit top and baste on. Finish just like we did all of the other bindings by top stitching with a twin needle.

I’ll post the tutorial for the coordinating bottoms in a separate post!