Simplified Gathered Sleeves Tutorial

    

       Well this post is rather late today...it's raining, it's Monday, enough said. So now then, let's chat about sleeves! Changing up the way a sleeve looks on a top or dress, can completely alter the over all appearance of the style. It's a simple way to make five of your favorite shirts, and nobody to ever guess it's the same top!

       A gathered sleeve is simply done by adding width to the shoulder portion of the sleeve. I have added width to the wrist portion of the this sleeve as well, so it is a very gathered sleeve. It can be as little or as much of a gather as you prefer. If you have a pattern to a top you like, you can alter it super easily by adding in space down the middle.

         This is how I do it, without using a pattern. Start with a cut out shirt.

     Take your cut out shirt, and line it up the shoulder with the fold on your folded fabric. The fold is always at the top of the shoulder, so that the seam will be in the underarm. For this sleeve I left a two inch gap between the fold and shoulder. If you wanted a less dramatic gather, you would only leave a half inch or an inch. Try to spread out the arm hole so that is a gradual curve.

     Trace the arm hole onto the fabric. Decide how long you want the sleeve to be, and measure down the fold that amount. This is where you will mark your lower arm hole.

      I wanted a gathered wrist, so I make my lower arm hole to be nine inches long. (For a total of 18 inches when it is unfolded)

     Now, I connect the dots between the two lines I have marked.

       When it is cut out, it looks like this. The curve of the arm hole should be very smooth.

     To sew it to the shirt, first sew the shoulder seams.

       Sew a gathering stitch across the top of the sleeve. Gather the sleeve so that is matches the arm hole.I kept my gathers all in the center, but you could do across the entire top of the sleeve if you wanted.

      Open your shirt out, wrong side facing up. Match the sleeve into the hole. I pop a pin right at the center just to make sure I keep it centered as I sew it.

      Sew the sleeve to the shirt.

     Lastly, sew from the wrist, all the way down the side to the hem of the shirt.

      And you are left with a lovely gathered sleeve! I used elastic as I hemmed the wrist to achieve the gathered wrist.

     It's hardly any harder than doing a regular sleeve, and is certainly worth the tiny bit of extra effort!

     
      I hope that all made sense! This shirt is part of my Fall collection which I am putting into my shop this week, and is also available locally at AJ's Boutique. Don't you just love Fall colors and prints??!! I do, and I'm dying for it to cool off around here so it will actually feel like Fall!

 Philippians 4:19   But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Linking to:
Home Stories A to Z
Suger Bee Crafts
Not Just A Housewife
Chef in Training
My Girlish Whims

DIY necklace for the untalented

      I'm severely challenged when it comes to jewelry making. (Interpretation: Abby has no patience for things that have small parts!) This necklace was right down my ally, it took five minutes and cost 25 cents! Want to know my secret?

      A belt...from the thrift store...that cost 25 cents. There's a real science to this, so watch close. Clip belt to desired length. Make sure you use the rustiest pliers you can find...it adds to the rustic charm.

       Attach extra chain to even out sides.

      Add the extra pieces on for a second little looptey-de-doop.

      Totally fab huh?! Yes, I know that that one link is backwards...and it's annoying me to no end as I sit and type this...and no, I'm not going to re-take the picture to fix it. Check back around next week and we'll talk about that shirt.

   

      It's just as fun to make as necklaces out of belts...promise. Have a great weekend!

1 Corinthians 13:4   Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 

Gathered Dolman Sleeve Top Tutorial

     I've mentioned before that I absolutely love draping on clothing. One easy way to achieve the effect of draping, without having to mess with tons of extra fabric, is to use gathers. I've done it here on the front panel of this shirt, just along the shoulder seams. 

      This is a very simple top to make, and here is how you can make your own. I used a yard of very lightweight sweater type fabric, that had some fun sparkle to it. (I told you I planned to contribute to the Fall sparkle trend in full force! Mmmm...love sparkles!) Fabric comes off the bolt, already folded in half. I cut a piece the length I wanted for the top (29 inches). Then I cut along the fold to create two separate panels of fabric to work with. 

       Now, you need to plug in your own measurements, following this guide. Measure the widest part of your torso, usually the bust, and use that for the width.  (If your fabric is not very stretchy do not subtract the half inch from "A".)

A = width/4 - .5"

B = A + 3.5"

C = A + 2"

      You need to cut out the front of your shirt like this. It may look kind of complicated with all the numbers, but it's really not. Just measure it all out, and then connect the dots!

         The back of the shirt is the same, with the exception of the widths. The top is more narrow than the top of the front.

      Ok, so if you are still tracking...it's time to sew it together! Gather the the front shoulder to match the width of the back shoulder.  I like to keep the gather right by the neck, and not so much on the sleeve.

     Sew the shoulder seams together. There will be a slight difference of shape under the arm. Just line up the fabric as you sew down the side seam. The extra width helps the fabric "drape".

      Lastly, you just need to hem the whole thing. 

     Super simple, huh! 

      This top is available at AJ's Boutique and my Etsy shop in all sizes. If you run into any questions making it, holler at me and I'll try to help! If you pop in next week, I'm going to show you how to make (or you can modify a pattern) a gathered set-in sleeve. 

       So just as a side note, do all three year olds loose their basic motor skills at this age??...mine has fallen down the stairs twice today and seems on a mission to destroy herself lately. If we can keep all teeth and appendages intact for the next year it will be a miracle!

2 Corinthians 9:7   Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 

linking to:
My Girlish Whims
Someday Crafts
Sew Much Ado
Be Different Act Normal
Six Sister's Stuff
Chef in Training
Home Stories A to Z
Suger Bee Crafts
Not Just A Housewife

Sacks Fifth Avenue Knock Off Dress

      It's been ages since I've done a knock off of anything. I guess I've had enough ideas in my own head to keep me plenty busy. When I saw this dress, I was struck by how simple, yet elegant it was. It's not too dressy, yet not too casual, and very wearable. 

Sacks Fifth Avenue  $233

     Using the exact same method as this dress tutorial, it was super simple to replicate! I used a dressy polyester/spandex blend that has great movement and drape. If you look at the original dress on the store site, you can see it has a wrap style skirt. I did the same thing on mine, although it's kind of hard to see. Here is my knock off version. (As a side note...I'm not a model, and I'm not a photographer...so let's not get too crazy on the comparison thing! )

     I did make a few minor changes just to suite my particular tastes. I dropped the waist a bit, because I think lower waist helps balance out my tallness. I also didn't make the skirt quite a gathered as the original...tons of gathers make look wonderful on a model, not so much on me! If you look at the original dress, it has a tad bit of drape to the neck line. I created that in mine, by doing two little tucks on the shoulder seams.

         I absolutely love how comfortable and versatile it is. I made it quite generously long, so that I can wear heals with it.

        Besides the advantage of customizing the details, sewing something yourself is always cheaper! My dress cost me about $20...which is quite reasonable indeed! Just as a side note, I have no issues with the price of the original...if they can sell it for that price, by all means. I'm sure it's of the highest quality. I just would rather not pay that!

 Take a look at that tutorial and make yourself one! If you want to do the wrap style skirt, just add about 15 inches to the width of the skirt. Overlap the excess fabric as you sew it to the top. It's super simple!

      P.S. If you haven't noticed yet, there is new pages at the top to help searching tutorials easier! Take a look and enjoy!

Galatians 5:26   Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.   

Linking to:
under the table and dreaming
Brassy Apple
The Girl Creative
Boogieboard Cottage

Blog Update

      I just wanted to pop in to point out a few changes I made to the blog. There is now two new pages at the top, sewing tutorials and DIY projects. They are broken down into categories to make searching a little easier. Posts tend to get buried over time, and nobody likes to read through pages and pages looking for one post! Well, I don't anyway, not sure how you feel about it. I used Inlinkz link manager, and it wasn't too terribly painful to do. If you've been wanting to do this to your blog, I'd recommend trying them out. Even for a computer illiterate person, such as myself, it was rather simple. Happy browsing!

It's that time again...Winter scarf sewing

       When I was up north the other week, I had a rather shocking revelation. Seasons actually change up there! It was cool and lovely in the mornings and evenings...which led me to realize I had best get a move on with stocking the shop with Fall and winter items! I must say, the heat and the bugs around here certainly did not put me in the mood to sew scarves. Looking at them does make me happy to know sometime in the future it will cool off!

     I have a good more to do, but this is a good start. I've been stock piling knits for a while now, can you tell?? I showed you last year, in this post, how you can make your own ruffled scarf using elastic thread. This time around, I thought I'd throw out a few pointers on using elastic thread. I've had some questions on it over the last few months, so hopefully this will help a little.

1. Hand wind your bobbin with elastic thread. Don't pull it tight, but don't let it be loose either. You need a little stretch in the thread as you are winding for it to sew right.
2. Set your top stitch length just a tad longer than your usual straight stitch. You shouldn't need to do anything to the top tension.
3. If the elastic isn't sewing in tight enough, or it is too tight, adjust the bottom tension. You can do that by adjusting the little screw on the bobbin case. You'll need to make it tighter or looser based on how thick the fabric is you are working with. (see the little screw on the side? Just mess with it to get the thread to feed right. Don't forget to set it back for regular thread!)

       Also, just to throw out there, all knits are not created equal. For a nice ruffle, the thinner the knit is, the better. Rib knit or double knit will not behave very nicely with elastic thread, even baby rib knit does not do too fabulous (although, I do use it on occasion).

       Once you make one, you'll find yourself wanting to make one in every kind of knit you can find! Speaking from experience here...good thing I have my shop as an outlet for my addiction!

       Off to sit under my AC and dream of winter!

 1 Peter 5:7   Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 

linking to:
My Girlish Whims
Sew Much Ado
Someday Crafts

under the table and dreaming
Brassy Apple
The Girl Creative
Boogieboard Cottage

Pencil Skirt Variations - Sweater and Ruffles

       A little bit ago, I showed you how to make these lace pencil skirts. (see tutorial here for sale here.)

     I loved mine so much, I decided a few more were in order just for my own personal use. This time I tried it with some sparkly (mmmm...sparkles make me happy) striped sweater type fabric...

    ...and some ruffled fabric. (I see I need to trim off that top little bit of ruffle...didn't notice it until after snapping pictures.)

      I wanted to show you these two, because if lace isn't your thing, there is still plenty of options for this skirt! These two fabrics were much stretchier than the lace was, so they are more "straight" than "pencil". It's ok, but if I did it again I would cut them a bit more narrow below the hip.

      These will be fun to wear through the winter with boots. I made a top out of the sweater fabric, so I can do a sweater dress look if I want. The more options the better, right?!

      Hope you have a tremendously fabulous Labor Day!

Romans 8:28   And we know that all things work together for good to them thatlove God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

Linking to:
Under the Table and Dreaming
Brassy Apple
Homemaker on a Dime
The Girl Creative

My Girlish Whims
Sew Much Ado
Someday Crafts