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tutorial

Seda Dress Tutorial: Adding Boning to View A – Off-the-shoulder version

by Pauline Alice 16 December, 2015

written by Pauline Alice

Holiday season has started and it means Party!!! Have you thought about your party dress for the holidays? Mine is going to be a velvet and polka dot tulle Seda Dress. And while sewing it, I took pictures of the minor changes I made in order to show you some variations you might want to try on your own version of the Seda dress.
So today, we’ll see how to add boning to the Off-the-shoulder version, View A.

View A of the Seda dress emphasizes the shoulders and neckline, I think it’s very sensual and quite sexy if you ask me. The dress is designed to work without added structure but depending on your fabric and your bust size, you may feel more comfortable adding boning to the bodice of the Seda dress View A.If your fabric is light and doesn’t have enough body, I would recommend adding an underlining. To underline the bodice, you can use muslin fabric, cotton batiste or silk organza (choosing the right underlining will depend on your fashion fabric, underlining should always be lighter in weight). Cut the bodice pieces out the underlining and transfer all the markings (you don’t need to mark the main fabric). Baste the fashion fabric and the underlining together, you can then use them as one piece.

Underlining will help structure the bodice of the dress, it will also prevent darts to be seen from the right side if your fabric is very light and will minimize wrinkles. And for our purpose, it will prevent to boning to show throught this double layers of fabric.So now on to the boning!

There are different types of boning, here the ones you’re most likely to find at your notion store:

Plastic boning. Sold by the meter/yard.
Steel boning. Either flat or spiral like in the above picture. Usually sold in precut length.
Rigilene boning. Can be stitch directly on fabric. Sold by the meter/yard.You’ll need approximatively two 28 cm (11″) boning for the front bodice and two 26 (10 1/2″) for the back, both about 1 cm wide (3/8″).

If you’re using plastic or steel boning, you’ll also need 1,10 meter (1 yd 1 ft) of bias binding, wider than your boning. So if you’re using a 1 cm boning, a 1,5 cm wide bias binding will leave enough room for the boning to move a little bit (attention, you don’t want it to move too much either).Plastic and steel boning insertionOn this illustration, you’ll see how to apply boning to the Seda dress bodice.

-Cut your bodice pieces from your lining fabric and stitch the darts on the front and back pieces. Press them as indicated in the instructions.

-Place the bias binding on the wrong side of the lining and pin it over the waist darts, going up to the neckline. Fold the top end of the binding to the wrong side. Make sure the top edge of the binding is below the neckline seam allowance (make it stop about 2 cm (3/4″) below the edge so it won’t get caught when you sew the lining to the main fabric).
-Stitch along the edge of the bias binding, going up and down, stitching very very close to the edges.
-Insert boning into the channel you created with the bias binding. Make sure your boning stops about 2 cm (3/4″) above the waistline edge. Stitch the bottom edge of the bias binding to prevent boning from moving.Rigilene boning insertionWith Rigilene boning, you’re going to pin the boning directly on the wrong side of the lining over the darts, as explained for the bias binding previously. You can melt both ends of the Rigilene so it won’t punch through the fabric (or stitch a piece of fabric over the ends). Make sure the boning stop about 2 cm (3/4″) from the neckline and waistline edges.
Stitch over the boning, on each side.Now you are ready to follow the Seda dress instructions just as they come.

Let me know if you have a question.

Next week I’ll show you how to add lining to View B of the Seda dress + some tips on sewing with velvet..

16 December, 2015 1 comment

Blog Patrons pauline alice Tutoriels et techniques Xerea

Xerea pocket tutorial

by Pauline Alice 27 July, 2015

written by Pauline Alice

I’ve been meaning to write a tutorial on how to sew the pockets of the Xerea dress for quite some time now. I know that some of you also requested it as these pockets are not set the usual way and they can be tricky.
So here we go, a step-by-step photo tutorial on the Xerea pockets:

Here are the pieces involded in the pocket construction:
– 1 Front (it can either from view A or view B. If you’re making view A, remember to stitch the dart before).
– 3 Side Front
– 7 Pocket

1. With right sides together, pin the pocket (7) to the front (1), matching the marks.

2. Stitch along the pocket curve. Notch the seam allowances. Clip the seam allowances at the top mark.

3. Press the pocket seam flat (you can understitch the seam allowance if you want). Open the pocket like on the picture.

4. We are going to stitch the side front (3) to the front/pocket piece. With right sides together, pin the side front (3) to the front/pocket. Start pinning from the top, side front to front and when you reach the pocket, continue to pin to the pocket curve as if it was one unique piece, matching the marks. Stitch.

5. Place the pocket inside and press the pocket opening flat and the seam allowances toward the front. Trim and finish them.I hope this will help you. It’s a difficult step to photograph but if you make a pratice pocket before sewing your Xerea, I’m sure it will be easier to understand.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Best,

27 July, 2015 12 comments

Blog Patrons pauline alice Tutoriels et techniques Xerea

How to sew bias binding on the Xerea neckline

by Pauline Alice 16 June, 2015

written by Pauline Alice

I didn’t think I would have to make a tutorial for the Xerea dress but yesterday i received 2 emails from seamstresses who had trouble with the back yoke of the pattern. They told me it was too short for the back piece and didn’t match at the shoulders.
After checking the pattern, I understood where the confusion came from: the pattern pieces are correct but it would be easy to get that difference in length if you didn’t sew the bias binding just as instructed.
So let’s see how you should attach the bias binding on the Xerea dress neckline.

bias1 Here is the illustration for this step in the instructions booklet. The instructions tell you to “finish the neckline with bias binding: with right sides together, pin the bias binding to the neckline matching the edges. Stitch on the first fold line. Fold the bias binding to the inside twice and edgestitch.”In pictures, this would look like that:

Here is your bias binding: double fold and a pretty normal width, here approx. 2,5 cm (1″) when completely open.

First, pin the bias binding on the neckline, with right sides together (oups, my fabric is upside down, make sure yours is with right sides together!). The bias binding raw edge should match the fabric raw edge.

Then stitch inside the first fold line crease. This should be between 0,3 and 0,5 cm (1/8″ and 3/16″) from the edge.

Fold the bias over the seam allowances along the center fold and then fold it again to the inside. Press. Edgestitch.
The bias binding is stitched on the inside of the neckline and is now invisible. This will give you a very narrow seam allowance around the neckline and the back yoke seams are matching correctly in the back.

You can also fold the bias binding only once to the inside. This will give you more structure to the hem, but I would recommend this only for the sleeve and dress hem, not the neckline.

Another possibility would be to make the bias binding a decorative part of the dress and make it visible on the neckline.

Pin the bias binding to the neckline, matching the raw edges. I like to pin it to the wrong side but this is a personal preference, you can also pin it right sides together. Stitch inside the first fold line crease. Fold the bias binding over the seam allowances to cover them and edgestitch (make sure your binding covers the first line of stitching you did). This would look nice with a constrating color binding.Please let me know if you have any questions.

16 June, 2015 1 comment

Sin categoría

Sorell trousers Turorial

by Pauline Alice 15 June, 2015

written by Pauline Alice

I would like to start this post with an giant THANK YOU!
Thank you to all of you who bought the new patterns, the Sorell trousers and the Xerea dress! I’m so happy (and relieved) that you like them!And Thank you to my testers! I’m so grateful for your help, your advices on the design and instructions… Without you all, I wouldn’t have been able to release these new patterns!And now, let’s talk about the Sorell trousers! Again!

I know sewing trousers can be intimidating: what with the fly, the pockets, the waistband… so many details that can go wrong.
I knew a step-by-step photo tutorial would be the perfect support for this pattern and that many beginners would feel better with extra pictures and instructions.You can download the Sorell trousers Tutorial here (in English).If you have questions, feel free to ask them in the comment section below.
Want some ideas for your Sorell trousers? Check out my inspiration board on Pinterest.

15 June, 2015 2 comments

Blog Extras Patrons pauline alice Quart variations

Quart Coat pattern variation: the finished biker jacket

by Pauline Alice 23 February, 2015

written by Pauline Alice

Last week, we were seeing how to make a biker jacket using the Quart coat pattern and I can finally show you the finished jacket.
The inspiration for this variation was this Kristen jacket by Iro:

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Kristen jacket by Iro

Instead of the grey jersey fabric, I chose one of my stock I’d been keeping for more than two years. This bouclé tweed is from Linton (official supplier of Chanel) and I was waiting for the perfect idea to use it. I’m glad I kept it as I really like the constrast between the “lady” fabric and the rock’n roll shape of the biker jacket.

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I interfaced all the jacket pieces with a light weft interfacing as the tweed is quite loosely woven. As I explained in the previous post, I just cut the pattern pieces above hip level and used a separable metallic zipper instead of the buttonholes.

You can find the tutorial to make the biker version here: Quart biker jacket tutorial.

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In the end, I’m very happy about the way this jacket turned out. It’s easy to wear, comfortable and the fabric is so pretty. I wore it everyday on my trip to Paris. If you are making this version, don’t hesitate to send me pictures or leave a comment.
Have a great week!

23 February, 2015 38 comments

Blog Extras Patrons pauline alice Quart Tutoriels et techniques variations

Quart coat pattern variation: transform it into a zipped biker jacket!

by Pauline Alice 12 February, 2015

written by Pauline Alice

Today, I want to show you a new variation for the Quart coat pattern. I don’t know about you, but I like to use the same patterns multiple times. If you want to make a motocycle style jacket like this Iro number, here is the tutorial.

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What I’ve been dreaming of: Kristen jacket by Iro.

You’ll need a 50 cm (20″) separable metallic zipper, a ruler, a pencil and your Quart pattern pieces.Take your main pattern pieces: front, back and side. You’ll need to decide the length of the jacket, for mine I drew the cutting line about 10 cm (4″) below the waistline mark, seam allowances included. Do the same for the lining and the front facing. Draw new pocket marks, approx. centered around the waistline.

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Stitch the collar to the jacket and baste one side of the zipper to the front piece and collar, with the teeth at 1,7 cm (3/4″) from the edge. Follow the instructions and at step 37, sticth the whole facing to the jacket with right sides together, enclosing the zipper in the seam.

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The other ziper side is simply stitch directly on the front piece and collar. In order to know where to place it, overlap the front pieces matching the grainline and mark where the zipper should meet (in red in the illustration). Baste the zipper to the front and collar and stitch with a zipper foot.

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To add a leather welt to the pockets, cut 2 pieces of leather of 10 x 16 cm (4″ x 6 1/4″) and fold them vertically. Stitch the extremities together and turn inside out. Place the welt between the pocket marks on the front piece and stitch at 1 cm (3/8″) from the edge. Redraw a new pocket (see the illustration above) and place hem over the welt and the pocket marks on the side piece. Stitch the pockets according to the instructions. Stitch the welt side to the side piece.

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I’ll show you the finished jacket very soon (I’ll take advantage of a trip to Paris for a fair to take the pictures). By the way, printed patterns orders made between February 14th and 19th will be shipped on Friday 20th, thanks for your understanding.

12 February, 2015 20 comments

Tutorials and techniques

Tutorial: easy binding vent

by Pauline Alice 29 January, 2015

written by Pauline Alice

I know a few of you have requested a tutorial on how to sew the sleeve vent for the Carme blouse pattern. I wrote one a couple of months ago for Craftsy so I thought it would be nice to share it here as well (with translation).
This tutorial might come in handy if you’re making the new Eliana dress pattern as this is the technique used to make the front/back opening on the bodice.
It’s quite easy and produces such great results. If you are making a blouse or shirt, using sheer or lightweight fabric and want to add a vent to a one-piece sleeve or an opening on the bodice, this tutorial definitely is for you!

Here’s how to sew an easy vent with binding!

Supplies:

You’ll need your fabric piece (sleeve or bodice) and a strip of fabric cut on grain twice as long as your opening and about 1″ large (you can also use bias binding, just know that it may not sit as flat as on grain fabric).

Step 1:
Cut the opening.

Step 2:
With right sides facing you, pin the sleeve/bodice opening and the vent together. The center of the sleeve/bodice opening will sit about 1/4″ from the vent edge, this will account for the pivot/shit of fabric.

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Step 3:Stitch 1/4″ from the edge. When you reach the center, put the needle down, lift the foot and pivot the fabric to the back. Make sure there is no fold at the corner: the stitching line is just barely on the sleeve/bodice.
Then continue until the end.

Step 4:
Press the seam allowance toward the vent. Then fold the other edge of the vent by 1/4″ and press.
Fold the vent over the seam allowances. The folded edge of the vent should sit just over the stitching line. Pin in place.

Step 5:
Edgestitch. Remember to pivot when you reach the center.

Here is how it looks from the right side:

Step 6:
Fold the vent with right sides together. Stitch diagonally across the end, it will keep the vent inside and flat.

Press the vent to one side.

There you go! Now you can add cuffs or hem your sleeves for the Carme and stitch the bias binding neckline on the Eliana.

29 January, 2015 12 comments

Sin categoría

Quart Coat Tutorial

by Pauline Alice 8 January, 2015

written by Pauline Alice

Here it is, the Quart coat tutorial!

Clic here to download the PDF of the tutorial. Clic here to download the wind flaps variation.

Download the PDF files on your computer and print the flaps variation at full scale. Access web tutorial from the tutorial PDF, clicking on the coloured link.

If you have any question, leave them in the comment section below.Thank you!

8 January, 2015 43 comments

Blog Tutorials and techniques

Tutorial: how to sew a right-angle seam

by Pauline Alice 27 November, 2014

written by Pauline Alice

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Today, I’ll share with you a tutorial I wrote for Craftsy on right-angle seams.

If you ever had to sew a right-angled seam, you know how difficult it can be to get a neat and flat corner without any pluckers. As a pattern designer, it’s always a challenge to explain these complex steps with easy-to-understand illustrations.

The Malvarosa dress has drop shoulders with right-angle seams, and I know that it’s the most feared step of an otherwise relatively easy pattern. But, fear this step no more!

Here are two different methods for stitching these right-angle seams: one you can use on normal fabrics and the other for more delicate and fraying fabrics.

Method 1: For “normal” fabric

Use this method if you have a normal fabric (not prone to fray excessively or very delicate). It’s the easiest one and will give you very nice results. But I would still recommend making a test version first

1. Here are your 2 pieces of fabric, right sides facing up. Seam allowances will depend of your pattern (usually 5/8″).

2. Pin the side together. As you can see, the top edges don’t meet: You should have about twice the seam allowance length
overlapping the corner.

3. Stitch until the apex point (where the seam allowances meet) using short stitches.

4. Carefully, clip the seam allowance up to the stitching line, (snip into just the bottom layer, the one with the angle in).

5. Pin the other sides together. You can see how it looks from both sides. Pivot the angle at the apex point so the edges meet and pin.

Stitch the other side until you reach the apex (make sure not to stitch over the fabic “fold”, the two lines of stitches will meet at the corner).

6. Press the seams to the outside. Here is the right side: if you see a little plucker like here, you can clip carefully a little bit closer to the stitches from the wrong side.

Method 2: For delicate fabrics

As you can see with the previous sewing method, we were clipping first into the seam allowances and then stitching very close to the edge. But with a delicate fabric or one fraying easily, it wouldn’t be possible to get a nice corner seam. So we’re going to use a piece of organza to create new seam allowances, similar to what you would do to sew gussets.

1. Pin a piece of organza over the inside angle, on the right side of the fabric. Make sure the apex point is covered (this is
where the seam allowances meet).

2. Stitch the organza around the angle, pivoting at the apex. Clip both layers diagonally into the corner, as close as possible
to the stitches.

3. Press the organza to the inside, folding it on the stitches line.

4. Pin the outer angle to the inner angle, using the piece of organza to lay both layers flat against each other. As you can
see, the organza seam allowances will allow you to stitch easily into the corner. Stitch, pivoting at the corner.

5. Press the seam allowances to the outside. From the right side and from the wrong side of the fabric.

Right-angle seams are mostly featured as style lines as they don’t usually give any shaping like a princess seam or a dart. But used as a gusset, they serve both purpose: interesting design lines and pattern making functionality. You should definitely give them a try!

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27 November, 2014 3 comments

Blog Extras Patrons pauline alice Turia Tutoriels et techniques variations

Turia dungarees: pinafore dress variation

by Pauline Alice 28 August, 2014

written by Pauline Alice

You’ve been quite a lot to ask me if it was possible to turn the Turia dungarees into a pinafore dress. And my answer is YES! And more importantly, it’s very easy to do!

Adeline and Sonia have already made this variation and they have tempted me so much. I think it would look so cute with a sweater and tights during the fall/winter. How about corduroy, velvet or brut denim?

TURIA PINAFORE DRESS VARIATION

1. Take the shorts front (10) and back (11) pieces.

2. You need to decide if you’re going to place the front piece on the fold or if you want to keep the center flat-fell seam. For the centered seam, trace a horizontal line (the blue one) starting from the top of the center front seam and parallel to the granline.

If you prefer to eliminate the center seam, trace a foldline (in red) starting 1,5 cm away from the center front seam and parallel to the grainline. You’ll place the new piece on the fold of the fabric.

3. For the back piece, you need the center seam. Trace a new seam line (in blue) from the top of the center back seam parallel to the grainline.

4. You might want to add some length as well to the hem as the shorts are… well, shorts! I would recommend adding at least 10-15 cm (4″ to 6″) for a mini to mid-thighs length dress. Just follow the side seams and add the desired length.

5. Stitch the seams the exact same way! See, that’s a very easy variation!

28 August, 2014 9 comments

Blog Tutoriels et techniques

Flat-fell seam tutorial

by Pauline Alice 22 August, 2014

written by Pauline Alice

One thing you need to know is that I don’t have a serger. It means I’m obsessed about seam allowances and how to finish them neatly so they don’t fray or even show on the inside. My favourite techniques are lining (I line everything I can, now you know why the Alameda dress is fully lined!), french seams, bias binding and when there is no other solution, the zig-zag stitch (the less, the better).

But with trousers, there is another seam available, which is strong, beautiful on the outside AND on the inside and leaves all the raw edges enclosed: the flat-fell seam!

So let’s see how to make this flat-fell seam as you’re going to use it on your Turia dungarees. This is also the typical seam you can find on denim trousers or men shirts.

FLAT-FELL SEAM

Place your pieces WRONG SIDES together (yes, yes, wrong sides, I know it’s weird!). Pin and stitch together (note: 1,5 cm or 5/8″ seam allowances included in the pattern).

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Press the seam allowances to one side.

Note: for the center front and center back seam, it’s important to press the seam in the opposite direction if you want them to match at the crotch. For example, press the center front seam allowances to the right and the center back seam allowances to the left.

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Trim the bottom seam allowance to a minimum (about 0.5 cm or 3/16″).

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Fold the superior seam allowance over the trimmed one. It should enclose the bottom seam allowance. Press.

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Stitch very close to the folded edge. Try to keep your stitches parallel to the first stitching line.

There you go: a very strong and clean seam with double topstitching from the right side and no raw edges on the inside.

Did you know the flat-fell seam? I hope you’re going to use it on your sewing projects, it’s a great technique!

22 August, 2014 7 comments

Blog Patrons pauline alice Turia Tutoriels et techniques

Turia dungarees: Pockets tutorial

by Pauline Alice 21 August, 2014

written by Pauline Alice

I’m not going to make a full Sew-Along for the Turia dungarees pattern but rather a series of small tutorials on the most important features of the pattern construction. The pattern construction in itself is quite simple, apart from the pockets and the straps, there are only 3 main pieces: the bodice, the font and the back. The most complicated step is certainly how to make a flat-fell seam, as it may well be a new technique for you. Don’t worry, it’s easy and we’ll cover it on Friday!

But let’s start today with the patch pockets! Because dungarees are a casual and most importantly, a practical garment (yes, yes, even for going to the ladies room, it just takes practice!), pockets are an essential element.

I’m going to show you how to sew easily the front and back patch pockets:

FRONT POCKETS

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To help you fold the seam allowances in, staystitch all around the front pocket just inside the seam allowance (about 1,2 cm from the edge or 1/2″). You don’t need to staystitch the top edge of the front pocket.

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Clip the seam allowance of pocket opening: that’s the curved edge. Be careful not to cut the stitches!

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Fold the seam allowance to the inside and press.

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Stitch two rows of topstitching along the curved edge. Here is how I like to sew my topstitching so that the distance between the rows is always the same:

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I like to stitch the first row about 3 mm (1/8″) from the edge. Then I like to place the edge of the needle plate against the first stitching line and follow it (that’s roughly 8 mm or 5/16″).

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Fold the sides and bottom seam allowances along the staystitch. Make sure the staystitching line is on the inside of the seam allowances.

Press.

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Place the pocket on the dungarees front piece, matching the marks and pin it in place. The top edges of the pocket and the front piece should match. Then stitch two rows of topstitching along the sides and bottom, leaving the curved and top edges open.

BACK POCKETS

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Staystitch all around the front pocket just inside the seam allowance (about 1,2 cm from the edge or 1/2″).

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Turn the top edge along the staystitch, press. Fold again and stitch two rows of topstitching.

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Fold the sides and bottom seam allowances along the staystitch. Make sure the staystitching line is on the inside of the seam allowances. Press.

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Place the pocket on the dungarees back piece, matching the marks and pin it in place. Then stitch two rows of topstitching along the sides and bottom, leaving the top edge open.

On Friday, we’ll see how to make the flat-fell seam and next week, I’ll explain how to change the pattern into a pinafore dress very easily as quite a lot were interested in this variation. Have a great week!

21 August, 2014 10 comments