juliamom2009

You know what I would do?
I’d use the Building Block Dress block to get the right chest, shoulder, armhole width… That goes up to size 12. Make a basic dress or two to be sure of the fit.
Then I’d take the elements of the Sunday Brunch: wide cross over front placket, short bodice with gathered skirt, Mandarin collar and wide sleeves and draft…[Read more]

One of the easiest ways to deal with a sheer fabric is to underline. That is; cut the main fabric and the lining fabric, baste them together around the very edge, then treat them as one for the rest of the construction.
Obviously you won’t get the clean inside finish of a true lining. But you also won’t see your seam allowances through the sheer…[Read more]

Is it the circles on the second picture not lining up that has you worried?
Don’t forget that it’s at the stitched seam line, not the fabric edge, where they should line up. Whenever I get those slight discrepancies I try pinning the seam line at the notch point, matching the notches, and then work out from there and it usually works as the curve…[Read more]

Absolutely! I haven’t shortened the Parachute pants but it would work fine. I often do this to the previous years trousers as my son grows in length much faster than width.
I’d do a 3/4″ single fold hem and use a twin needle. If you’re not keen on twin needle hemming then a zig zag or even a long straight stitch, as the hem won’t need to stretch…[Read more]

I should start a list of stupid things I’ve done while developing new patterns. It would start with sewing a zipper completely closer earlier this week…

Hi Natalia,

I would suggest that you refer to our size chart to determine the right size. You can compare that to the finished measurement chart to determine how much ease you want. The waist can be raised or lowered as needed. You might want to make a muslin, first, if you’re unsure. I sometimes ask S to put an elastic around her waist, over the…[Read more]

Sorry, I just saw this! Yes, with dressmaking muslin you don’t wash it. You can iron it just fine, but the sizing gives it nice stiffness to make it easier for making muslins. It sounds like I really need to do a full tutorial about making a muslin–I’ll put it on my list for a video class, ok?

Well, my all-time favorite needles are a bit pricey but so luxurious to use. Have you tried the Tulip Hiroshima needles yet? Amazingly sharp. Their embroidery needles in assorted sizes (7, 8, 9, 10) are my favorites. But I’m surprised that you can’t find ordinary steel needles at Joann! Yikes!

I’m still not clear where you’re getting stuck. Are you on page 43, step 8? If so, the inside of the placket will show for now, just like it does on the coordinating illustration. Once you’ve sewn the neckline with the neck facing you’ll turn the placket right side out again so it doesn’t show anymore. If this isn’t where you’re getting stuck, can…[Read more]

Hi Jo, Can you be more specific about what’s giving you trouble? The placket starts on page 47. Is there a particular step that’s confusing you?

Yes, do interface both pieces. You’ll want the extra structure.

What you’re seeing in that illustration is the stitching on either side of the set-in placket. Typically a set-in placket is topstitched on either side. If you’re choosing the continuous (cut-on) placket, it is traditionally topstitched only on the innermost fold. You can do it…[Read more]

I would suggest that you check the finished measurements and compare them to your boyfriend’s measurements. A muslin in an excellent idea. This post might help get you started with making adjustments. (I know it’s written for a toddler’s belly, but the technique would be the…[Read more]

Hi there.

Answering on the fly here. Yes, it looks like the interfacing is missing from that illustration, sorry. We’ll issue an errata for that.

I’m not quite sure what you mean by your second question. Do you mean both center-front pieces for View A? If so, yes. And yes, edgestitch the innermost fold. Most of the illustrations show View B,…[Read more]

I forgot that existed, @Enbee! thanks for the link.

It’s really difficult to tell from small photos, but from what I can see it looks like a dropped shoulder adjustment would be the first thing to tackle. Keep in mind that this pattern is designed to fit loosely, so don’t take too much out! And if your library doesn’t have the book it’s a great investment if you can afford it. I refer to mine all the time.

I agree that jersey might be too casual. That’s a gorgeous dress! Are you sure you want to take it apart? If so, you could use the fabric from the original bodice for part of the new bodice, like @Enbee suggests. I suspect that you could match the color and texture of the original fabric pretty closely, especially if you sent a swatch to Farmhouse…[Read more]

The instructions to convert to a gathered skirt with a straight hem begin on page 74 of the book.

Trust the instructions! The beauty of Oliver + S patterns is that sometimes it seems counterintuitive, but if you do as the instructions say the finish is always beautiful!
So, yes, the facing is stitched with the right side of the facing against the wrong side of the pyjama top. Just as in the illustration (below step 1 Attach The Facing).
Now…[Read more]

I’d suggest taking a look at Fit For Real People for this one. It will show you how to adjust the shoulders, sleeve width, etc.

Does this blog post help?

metro t-shirt keyhole modification

If you omit the placket allowances and cut your back pattern piece on the fold, then you can create any shape of slit or keyhole opening you like at the centre back and facing as shown in that blog post.
Just be aware that you need to…[Read more]