Tag Archives: sew along

Summer Sew Along

I am both excited and somewhat anxious to begin our summer sew along!! It was the beginning of April when I posted a finish where I made a blouse using a Butterick pattern, B6024. It was a very simple pattern and several readers commented they would like to be able to sew a blouse. I thought about it and decided I would host a sew along where we could make a blouse together. This is the first time I have attempted a sew along, hence the bit of anxiousness. I have been sewing for a very long time, more than 40 years. However, I haven’t taught classes either in person or on-line. So it is with that bit of a disclaimer, I welcome you to sew along with me.

And sew it begins! Today we will talk about pattern and fabric selection as well as necessary supplies or notions.

When I began to plan the sew along, I looked at so many different, simple blouse patterns. A few readers sent me ideas of blouses that would be fun to make. But the more I looked, the more I came back to this pattern. Some of the suggested patterns were indie designer patterns that were really cute. However most of them were pdf patterns which means we would have a an additional learning curve. Downloading, printing and assembling pdf patterns can be a bit confusing. The patterns print on A4 (regular size) printer paper and then must be taped together and cut into the pieces. It isn’t terribly difficult but I thought for the first time it would be simpler to go with a pattern that is available and printed on regular tissue pattern paper. Thus I selected Butterick pattern, B6024.

This pattern is widely available. I found it in several Etsy shops for a great price as well as on Ebay. If you shop at Jo-Ann Fabric, they carry it as well. Lastly, it is also available directly from Butterick but it is a bit more expensive there.

Measurements for pattern B6024

Before ordering your pattern, you must determine the correct size. Pattern sizes correlate only somewhat to ready to wear clothing sizes. It is really important you take your measurements and order the size based on your measurements. If you normally wear a size 10, don’t just automatically assume that is your size when sewing clothing. Luckily, this pattern (like most patterns) comes to you with multiple sizes available in the one envelope. You will buy it with either XS, Small and Medium combined or with Large, XL and XXL combined and printed on the one pattern. For this particular pattern, you need only be concerned with the bust measurement and hip measurement. It is not a fitted blouse so the waist measurement doesn’t come into play. I will say this patterns runs a teensy bit on the large side. I think that is because of the loose fitting design.

The forgiving fit of this blouse is another reason I selected it. We will be making view C which has a bit of a cap sleeve (really just an extended shoulder) and two pin tucks on either side of the neckline opening. I also chose view C because the hemline is straight. We won’t have to deal with hemming a curved hem. This loose fitting blouse pattern should make for a good beginner sewing experience.

Now that we have selected the pattern, let’s look at fabric choices. You will see the yardage requirements on the back of the pattern envelope. This pattern suggests using lightweight cotton fabrics. These are fabrics such as chambrays, voiles, or rayon. Most quilting cottons are not considered to be light weight. The exception here would be Art Gallery Fabric. Art Gallery has a much silkier feel to it than other quilting cottons which allows for more drape. I have already made this blouse once with Art Gallery Fabric (the Diaphanous Sand fabric from the Gossamer line.) It is comfortable and hangs nicely. I do usually touch it up with the iron when I wash it though. There are so many fabrics available, both on-line and in the big box stores. While I am not going to go into detail on each of the types of lightweight cottons, I will say that sometimes the voiles and rayons can be a bit slippery to sew with. Just keep that in mind and use lots of pins. Chambrays and Art Gallery cottons are a bit easier to use.

To determine how much fabric you need, just look at the chart above. You will purchase the amount for View C listed under the size pattern you are using. The fabric you choose will either be 45″ or 60″ wide (some of the chambrays and voiles are wider fabrics than regular cottons). For example, if you are making view C in a size Large, you need either 2 and 7/8 yards of 45″ wide fabric or 2 and 1/2 yards of 60″ fabric.

Once you have your fabric be sure to prewash it according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Most likely you will wash on a gentle cycle with cold water and dry it on low heat. It is a fairly certain bet that a cotton fabric will have some slight shrinkage. You want to have the shrinking occur BEFORE you cut out your pieces. Otherwise, once you sew the blouse and wash it, it may shrink and then not fit as well afterward.

I plan to use this pretty fabric from the Gossamer line. It is called Filaments Ethereal. I measured the piece and then prewashed it. It had about 3/8″ shrinkage. The pictures show the fabric as it came out of the dryer. Wrinkled but not terribly so.

As I said earlier, this blouse is a simple one. Therefore, not a lot of supplies are required. Here is the list of supplies needed for our sew along:

Lightweight cotton fabric
Butterick pattern B6024
1/4 yard of 18″-20″ wide light weight fusible interfacing
Basic sewing machine with straight stitch and zig-zag capability
Soft measuring tape (to take your physical measurements
Smaller clear ruler (the smallest of your quilting rulers will be fine)
Scissors, thread and hand sewing needle

The project will be broken down as follows.

June 6: Fabric and Pattern selection (you are here!)
June 16: Laying out your pattern and cutting the pieces
June 19: Begin sewing – the front piece details (pin tucks & neck slit)
June 22: Shoulder, back and side seams. Seam finishing lesson.
June 26: Finishing details, including neckline and sleeve finishing as well as the hem.
June 30: Link up our finishes from blog posts or Instagram photos.

All of the posts will live here on the blog. If this isn’t a good time for you to join in, you can always work through the blouse on your own timeline. Comments and questions along the way are encouraged. There is no question too simple. I plan to write the posts assuming the reader has very little sewing experience. This way I will cover the details. If you have sewn garments before, it may seem simplistic but I want to be sure a reader new to sewing will be successful.

I set up a closed group on Facebook called Needle & Foot Sew Along. I would love it if you joined in. Let’s all post progress pictures and any questions we might have. Also, please help each other. If you have a suggestion or an answer to someone’s question, feel free to post them. The group is a closed group so you will need to click on join and I will approve you. Others will not be able to see our posts. I want to respect your privacy.

If you have a blog and want to grab the button for your sidebar, it is available! Let me know and I will send you the HTML code.

Finally, for participants of this sew along, I would love to offer you a discount on the Art Gallery Fabrics I carry in my shop. Use coupon code SEWALONG15 for a 15% discount. The coupon code will expire on Sunday, June 11th. I want to be sure you get your fabric ordered (whether from me or someone else) so that everyone has fabric and pattern ready to go by Friday, June 16th.

Here is the homework that needs to be completed before the next post on June 16th.

Order your pattern
Purchase your fabric and interfacing
Prewash your fabric

Leave any questions or concerns in the comments. Have fun selecting your fabric!! See you back here on Friday, June 16th! 🙂

Proposed Sew Along

19 Replies

Hi Everyone. I am pleased, and somewhat surprised, to see the wonderful response I got from yesterday’s post about the blouse I made. I also posted it on Instagram and got quite a bit of discussion going there as well. It seems like numerous readers are interested in trying to sew a simple blouse.

How would you feel about my hosting a sew along? I would need some time to plan it out but I think I could get it going and host it in the summer – maybe begin the event at the end of June?

Here is the basic structure I am thinking about:

I will select a few patterns, post the list of suggestions and take input – we can decide as a group which pattern to make. Then we would wait for a week or two while people purchase their pattern.
I will prepare the “lessons” so that we can work together slowly and go through the steps to make the shirt or blouse.
First post would be about selecting fabric and listing any notions we might need.
2nd post would be fabric prep.
3rd post would be cutting out the pattern
4th post would be first steps in sewing
5th post would be second steps in sewing
6th post would be finishing steps (eg finishing, hemming, details to polish the project)
7th post we will share photos of how gorgeous we look wearing the new top. We could link to the blog or I could set up a little Facebook group so we can share as we go.

I think this would be such a fun thing to do with whomever is interested. Please let me know in the comments if this strikes your fancy. If say, more than one person (?) is interested – we are on! Would you like to stretch a bit and learn something new? Want to get to know your fellow lovers of fabric and sewing? Here is your opportunity!! If for some reason, June isn’t going to work for you, the sew along posts will live for eternity here on the blog. You can always come back to it when you have the time. I will be happy to answer questions via the comments.

Mid-week WIP Update

12 Replies

Lots of projects in various stages in my sewing room this week. It is actually kind of fun to have multiple things going on. I sew a while, cut for a bit, practice a little FMQ – none of it feels tedious because I am moving back and forth between projects.

My main sewing machine is being very cranky right now so I am sewing on my smaller machine. I love this machine though – the tension is not sensitive and it sews like a little work horse. Much like The Little Engine That Could, this machine just keeps going (I think I can, I think I can.) I really miss the needle down feature and the thread cutter on my bigger machine though. Makes such a difference when I am sewing for a long period of time.

Anyway… Here is what’s going on:

I am working on my 241 tote bag that I mentioned in this post last week. This project has become so much fun because after reading that post, Tami from Sew Much for Free Time commented that she was also going to make a 241 tote. We did a bit of emailing back and forth and decided we would have our own little sew along. After working on my Stepping Stones quilt though the quilt along at Inquiring Quilter, I found I really enjoy the social aspect of the project. I love seeing everyone’s progress, having others to ask questions and get input, and seeing the fabric choices and how much that changes the pattern that we are all using. I think working on this tote with Tami will be the same. We set up a few deadlines for progress and hope to finish up together. It is low key though. If life gets in the way, so be it. We are just enjoying our virtual time sewing together! If you want to see Tami’s progress, hop over. We are just getting started. Anyone that wants to, is more than welcome to join us. Leave me a comment if you want more info.

By today, we are both aiming to have our bags cut out and pieces prepared. I spent yesterday morning prepping everything. I plan on using these Allison Glass fabrics.

The pattern seems very straight forward so I doubt there will be much difficulty makijng this bag. I traced my pieces with a chalk marker and cut from there. Printing the pieces on regular printer paper made for thick pieces. I didn’t want to pin and cut them because there might be some inaccuracy. Tracing the pieces was quick. (When I was cutting pieces, I took the pictures under the kitchen lights which distorts the color.)

Once the pieces were cut, I fused the interfacing to the outer pieces.

I’m really excited about this project. It is going to be perfect for my niece’s birthday gift.

Besides working on prepping the bag, I also did some FMQ on the Mystery quilt along that Lori Kenedy is hosting over at the Inbox Jaunt. This week we were instructed to quilt little stars and suns. Lori calls them Spirograph Suns though we did a simplified version of them. The motif is so fun and you’ll find the tutorial here.

We only have a few more sections to quilt and I think I will be a little sad to see this finish up. I love that the structure of this QAL only requires I quilt two lines each week. Not time consuming but it forces me to practice two new motifs each week. (Also, take a look at my fish. I feel like I stitched my fishies going upstream. Shouldn’t they should swim from left to right…. I must have gotten turned around (not all that unusual for this quilter.) 😉

My Stepping Stones quilt is basted and ready to be quilted. I am looking forward to the weekly post tomorrow as she plans to give some ideas on possible quilting motifs for this pattern. Choosing how I will quilt something is still a challenge for me but maybe I will be inspired by Jennifer’s post tomorrow.

Finally, I am working on a mini that I will share later this week. It is going to be cute though. Here is a sneak peek.

I am going for an old-fashioned, vintage feel and I think it is coming together well.

OK – what do you have going on in your sewing room? i would love to hear.

Linking this post up with all sorts of fun sites. Take a look at the list. You’ll find it at the top of the page, under Link Ups.

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