Hart's Fabric

Monthly Archives: August 2012

Lace Stretch Pencil Skirt Tutorial

August 27, 2012

I went shopping last week with my sister and all we  saw at the mall were lace dresses, lace shirts, lace skirts and lace scarves.   My sister even bought a lace dress to wear to a friends wedding.  I came home inspired to make something out of lace for myself.    We just got in so many new laces at the store and lace is obviously in fashion right now,   so I thought what a perfect time to bust out a lace skirt tutorial.

This stretch lace pencil skirt is sooo easy to make that I finished mine in under an hour.  We will not be using a pattern, all you need is your favorite pencil shaped skirt, which we will trace for a skirt pattern.  You will not need any zippers or elastic either!  How awesome is that?!

Supplies:

-favorite pencil skirt

-1/2 yard stretch lace

-1/2 yard stretch jersey, interlock knit or ponte knit

-tailors chalk

-scissors

-sewing machine with matching thread and ball point needle

 

Step # 1:  Pick out your fabric.

 

You could either match the color of your lace to the jersey lining or you could go for a contrasting color like I did.  These were the two lace fabrics that I was debating between.    After a couple co-workers opinions and much debating  I finally decided to go with the navy interlock for the lining and the turquoise stretch lace for the outside of the skirt.

Step #2:  Trace your pencil skirt

 

 

Lay your favorite pencil skirt down on your fabric in the direction you would like it to go and trace around the skirt with chalk 5/8″ around the outline of the skirt.  The reason we are chalking it at 5/8″ beyond your skirt is for your seam allowance.  I loved how the selvedge edge looked on the lace and wanted to make that the bottom of my skirt.  I thought it would look great and it would be less work because now I do not have to sew the hem.  Yea!

Step #3:  Cut out the Fabric

As you can see I am cutting through two layers of fabric.  (for the skirt front and skirt back)  This will save you some time cutting two layers at once.  Repeat for the lace fabric too.

Step #4:  Pinning the Fabric

Pin the front and back of skirt panels with right sides facing each other up the side seams.  Pin lace to lace and jersey to jersey as if you are making two separate skirts.

Step #5:  Sewing the side seams

Stitch each side seam along where you pinned, sewing each skirt sides separately right sides facing in.  Remember to sew with a zigzag stitch when sewing with stretchy fabric so your thread will not break when you put the garment on.

Step #6:  Putting it together.

Turn sewn skirt  to the right side facing out.  Then insert lining (face out) into the lace skirt (face out) and pin along the waist band matching the lining to the lace.  Then sew a zig-zag stitch around the the waist joining the two layers together.

Step #7:  Cutting out and inserting the skirt facing.

Cut two 5″ Strips of fabric from your leftover lining fabric  and chalk mark the waist line on each side.  Then  match front and back facing right side together and pin down the sides.  Next zig-zag stitch along chalk marks on each side of facing.   Pin the facing right side of facing to the lace on the outer edge of waist band and stitch all the way around the waste attaching the facing to the skirt with a zig-zag stitch.

After you stitch the facing to the skirt you will then zig-zag stitch the leftover seam allowance down to the facing so it will lay nicely inside the skirt.  The pics below give you a visual of what this will look like.

Step 7:  Wear your new skirt!

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Tutorial: Fancy Felt Bows!

August 20, 2012

This is a fun and easy tutorial that will give you an adorable little felt bow as a product. This particular tutorial is how to make a bow for your hair but you could also add these bows to fun fashion projects,  add them to home decor projects or make all sorts of accessories like broaches or earnings.

This is an easy project that really doesn’t cost much or take many supplies making it a great craft to do with kids or just an easy project for yourself.

The supplies you need are:

1. Wool felt Squares in any color you desire.  You can use other types of felt squares or fabric but I’ve found wool felt looks the best.

2. Scissors

3.  Hot glue gun and glue sticks

4. Hair tie or clip (optional)

In the photo above I have already cut the felt into the shapes needed for a bow. These are the three basic shapes need for any bow but you can cut them various ways to get different looks. I would recommend playing around with your shapes with paper first to make sure your getting the desired look.

Step 1:

Take your hot glue gun and your main bow piece and fold half to the middle and tack with a dab of hot glue.

Step 2:

This step is basically the same as the first just repeated with the other side.

Step 3:

After you have the main part of the bow tacked together take you felt piece that will be the ends of the bow and tack them to the center of the back of the bow with a dab of hot glue.

You now should have something that looks like this:

Step 4:

Now flip your bow over to make sure the center is in the middle and where you want it.

Then flip back over and add a dab of hot glue to attach the center.

If you desire you can add a hair tie or clip or you can just seal the other side and have a cute bow. Here’s how I added a Hair tie to make a cute hair piece:

Now your all finished! You can add other embellishments like cute vintage buttons or whatever you hearts desire. Make a million of them for you and your friends!

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Centered Zipper Tutorial

August 13, 2012

A Centered zipper is one of the most common zipper applications. It is most commonly used on skirts, blouses, and dresses in a center-back seam but can also be used on a side seam.

I used a YKK nylon Zipper and the “E” zipper foot for my Janome machine. There are a variety of zipper feet you can get for your machine but for this zipper application you only need a basic one.

The first step is to finish your seams. I used a serger but if you don’t have one you can use your pinking shears or a zig zag stitch. This will prevent your fabric from fraying and keep threads from getting caught in your zipper when you wear your garment.

Next mark the end of your zipper on the fabric. Align the zipper in the correct placement and mark where the zipper stop is. I inserted a pin but you can also mark with a fabric marker.

Measure your zipper and mark the endSew at seam allowanceIron seam allowance

Now you are going to sew this entire seam at the correct seam allowance (usually 5/8″). It is easiest to start from the mark or pin and sew down to the bottom. Make sure to back stitch where the zipper will end to enforce the seam. Then baste (extend the length of you stitch to create a temporary seam) the rest of the seam (where the zipper will be). This way you can easily take these stitches out after you put the zipper in. (See the diagram below). Then press seam open with your iron!

Next we want to center the zipper on the seam and baste it on. There are a few different ways to baste it on. I used double sided tape but a glue stick works great too! Apply the tape or glue to the zipper tape only and trim off any access before applying to the fabric. Place the zipper in the appropriate place and allow glue to dry a little.

Now using your zipper foot you will sew around the zipper. Start on the top left side and follow the zipper down. At the end of the zipper, where you have you pin marking the zipper stop, rotate and sew a perpendicular line. Back stitch to reinforce it. Next, pivot again and follow the zipper back to the top. Below is an example of what the end of the zipper will look like.

Take your seam ripper and carefully rip basted seam open to expose the zipper. The your done! You have successfully inserted a centered zipper!

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Macaron “Sew-a-long” Part 4- Share your pics

August 10, 2012

 

Hello fellow “sew-longers.”  I hope everybody’s dresses are coming along nicley.  Just a friendly reminder there is only one week left to finish your Macron dress. I will need pictures sent in by August 15th to be eligible to win!  Please send pics to amy@hartsfabric.com  If anyone has any questions or suggestions about your Macaron please comment below.

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Learn To Cross Stitch a Cupcake – Free Pattern!

August 6, 2012

Cross stitching is a fun and easy craft to learn. This tutorial will teach you the basics and provides a cute free pattern to follow.

To start, assemble your materials. For this project you will need a 5.5″ by 5.5″ piece of 14 count aida cloth, a 4″ embroidery hoop, DMC embroidery floss, a tapestry needle,  a pair of thread snippers, and your FREE PATTERN.

Embroidery floss skeins come with 6 strands of floss twisted together, for cross stitch on 14 count aida cloth you will be stitching with two strands. First you will cut an approximately 12″ long piece of floss. Then divide out two strands and thread them on to your tapestry needle.

Cross stitch charts are divided up into a grid of squares. Each floss color is represented by a symbol, and there is a color table which shows you which symbol represents each color.

When you follow a cross stitch pattern, you begin at the center of the pattern and fabric; that way your cross stitch will be centered properly in your embroidery hoop. I started this pattern using color 437, tan. Counting out and up from the center of the pattern I reached the point that the tan starts at on the pattern.

Aida cloth is a block weave fabric, which means there is a hole at the corners of each block. One block will equal one square on the chart. First you will start at the back of the fabric and come up through the hole in the lower left corner, and then down through the hole in the upper right corner.

When you are starting a new floss you will need to secure the tail on the back of the fabric. In cross stitch you never want to knot the floss, instead you will leave a tail on the back that will be secured when the initial stitch has been crossed. After you enter the aida cloth from the front of the fabric shown above, you will then come back through using the lower right hole. From the back this will cause the floss to cross over the tail securing it in place.

This is what your secured tail will look like.

Back on the front side of your aida cloth, you will complete the stitch by entering the top left side hole.

Your completed stitch will look like this! The most important thing to remember when cross stitching it to make sure all of your stitches are crossed in the same direction: bottom left corner to top right, then bottom right corner to top left. This way all your stitches will be even and clean.

Continue stitching using your pattern as a guide.

First color done! Now you will need to secure your floss.

Whenever you finish a piece of floss you will need to secure it, much the same way as when you start a new piece. You will weave the tail under a completed stitch on the back side so that it is secure. Then clip your floss.

Your secured tail will look like this.

Now continue following the pattern color by color until you image is complete!

When you are all finished you can frame you cute little cupcake!

 

 

 

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