Black And White Color Block T-Shirt - Free Pattern

Hello...

Today, I'd like to share my latest sewing project that I made in the beginning of December and that I already wore several times :)

The other day when I was popping around Pinterest, I found a free dress pattern that I cannot resist to give it a try. After I saved and printed the pattern, I checked inside my stash box but I couldn't find two yards of knit cotton to make the full dress.
Then, I went to another stash box and luckily found the leftover knit cotton in black and white, both are 75 cm. So, only enough to make a color block t-shirt :)

Well, my first experiment of this pattern was good. I like the simple basic pattern that is so easy to mix and match. For now, I am happy to make the t-shirt and for sure I will make the dress in the future :)

Pattern and alteration:
I used a free pattern The Brigitte Dress from Love Sewing Magazine, size 8.
As I made a top from this pattern, I cut the pattern on the hip line with the following alteration:

• Because I used knit cotton fabric, I skip the darts and the back zipper
• I added 1.5 cm in both sides at the waist line. This is the easier way to create a relaxed t-shirt without feeling tight at the waist
• Shorten the sleeve a little bit until the top of my elbow
• Finished the neckline with neckband, I followed this tutorials to sew the neckband ~~here is the link~~
• To made the color block t-shirt, I slashed the front pattern in four pieces and slashed the back pattern in two pieces. I added 1.5 cm seam allowance in all edges and 3 cm seam allowances for sleeve hem and hemline

 

Sewing Process:

I worked on the front t-shirt first by cutting all the pieces and put them in the order as shown in the picture below.



 

Then sew all the pieces right sides together. Here is the result,

After I have done the front t-shirt, then I worked on the back t-shirt. I cut the back in two pieces, white color for the top and black color for the bottom - as shown in the picture below left side,

Sew the back pieces right sides together. Here is the result,

And then sew the sleeves. After I have done the sleeves, I sew the neckband onto the neckline.
Then I did the last work on making this t-shirt, sew the hemline and sleeves hem 3 cm using a twin needle. Done!

And here are two more pictures of me wearing the t-shirt, side and back views,

Until next... and I wish everyone Happy Holidays!

DIY Friday : Christmas Goodie Bags

Hello...
I made two kind of oreo bites two days ago, one covered with dark chocolate and the other covered with white chocolate. Both were easy to make and delicious.
And then I remembered that I need some goodie bag to put them.
I searched inside my kitchen drawer and I couldn't find any. I was thinking to buy in the supermarket nearby but I decided that I need to make myself. I have a lot of scrap and it will be a good idea to use them... And also, as we are in Christmas season, I added Christmas tree felt decoration in it.

I am sure many of you already made a simple goodie bag or at least already have an idea how to make it. But anyway, I will show you my work on making this easy little thing and I hope you enjoy it :)

The size of this goodie bags approximately 20 cm width and 26 cm tall.

Materials:
~~ Just a little note : you can change the measurement of the goodie bag as your desire ~~

White cotton fabric in rectangle shape 23 cm width x 56 cm long - the measurement is including 1.5 cm seam allowance and 2 cm folded on the top of the bag to insert the ribbon, 2 pieces of 85 cm fabric ribbon in red color, white thread and diy Christmas tree felt for decoration ( I drew the Christmas tree template on the lightweight polyester felt using fabric pencil and cut it).

Sewing Process:
I sew the raw edges of my fabric using an overlocker sewing machine.
Pin the Christmas tree felt on the right side of the fabric, in the front side. Then carefully sew it using sewing machine.

Fold the fabric right side together, measure from the top 4 cm and pin it. Sew the fabric with 1.5 cm seam allowance starting from the pin down. As shown in the picture below, the green line is the line that suppose to sew.

Open the seam allowance and pin both side of the fabric, as shown in the picture below

Then sew along the opening area. Here is the result,

Then I worked on the top side where I suppose to insert the ribbon.
I fold the top of the fabric 2 cm in both front and back, pin it and sew around.

Turn it inside out and here is the result

I knotted both end of the ribbon. Then insert it inside the folded fabric using safety pin.

Insert the ribbon one more time but until the front bag only. Now I can pull or loosen the ribbon without being worried that might came out.

I am done!
Now I can fill my bag with homemade sweets :)

One more picture of finished bag with goodies. For more nicer look, you can finish your goodie bag with butterfly knot, as shown in the picture at the beginning of the post

As the oreo bites were very cute and delicious, I think they deserved more pictures to show to you :) And you can make this easy bites yourself, I bet you and especially your kids will love it.
You can pop over this link for the recipe, Snowman And Reindeer Oreo Pops

This DIY Friday will be run every week, you can follow me through PINTEREST, FACEBOOK or FLICKR

Merry Christmas everyone!

DIY Friday : Tailor's Hams And Sausages

Hello...
I felt sorry that I didn't make a DIY project last week. As I mentioned on my previous post, I wasn't at home. So, there is no opportunity to make it.

For this week I decided to make tailor's hams and sausages. I wanted to make them since so long but always distracted with other things.
I am sure this two little things will be very useful and work much better than my rolled towel :)
The tailor's hams will help me to work better on pressing any curved seams. The tailor's sausages will slip easier inside the sleeve and help me to press and open any hard seams that I can not reach.

PATTERNS:
I found the free patterns from Tilly's blog, she wrote a very easy step by step tutorial with pictures how to make them. The original patterns are from Victory Patterns.
If any of you want to make your own, please feel free to click over the link for the pattern and tutorial ---HERE---

The picture below is my sewing in progress, I followed the step by step tutorial but instead of using thick cotton I used medium weight cotton and also as I don't have sawdust for stuffing, I used polyester.
Some people on the blog also mentioned that would be nicer if I used two type of fabrics, one side with cotton fabric and another side with wool fabric. I was thinking about that, but as I was so lazy to dig up my stash to look for wool fabric, I just went with same fabric :)

 One more picture of the finished projects

This DIY Friday will be run every week, you can follow me through PINTEREST, FACEBOOK or FLICKR

Happy crafting and I wish you all a great sewing weekend!

MAGAM November - Black Linen BurdaStyle Jacket

Hello everyone...
I am late for posting my November garment for MAGAM challenge. As usual I was busy with some stuff and then I went out for mini vacation to Bangkok - Thailand with my family. So, only today I manage to updating the blog :)

Actually, I finished the jacket on time. I wore it two times and I love it. The jacket is so comfortable and easy to wear with anything. The style is just perfect for my taste - not too boxy and not too tight.
Too bad that in the pictures you can not see the details of the jacket because the color is black. But trust me, this jacket is really cute. And even cuter because I used vintage buttons :)

Also, I chose the linen fabric because I want a light jacket that is perfect to wear in not so cold weather.

Pattern:
I used BurdaStyle Jacket Pattern 09/2014 size 36 with alterations. I made the jacket length longer 10 cm and moved the pockets little bit lower than the original pattern 5 cm.
I shorten the sleeves length 8 cm and made the whole jacket with same fabric - no contrasting fabric (leather) as the original pattern had.
Also, I sewn four buttons instead of three because I lengthen the jacket.


Image source 

Materials:
2 yards of black linen (the left over fabric from this skirt), 2 yards of gingham check fabric (poly-cotton blend) for the lining, fusible interfacing, four vintage buttons, grey ready made bias tape and same color of threads

Sewing Process:
I made two muslins, the first one didn't turn so well. The sleeves was too tight. Then I adjusted the sleeves and made the second muslin (picture below).

After I have done the muslin, I started work with the jacket by cut all the pieces, pin it and stitch it with sewing machine and a lot of hand sewn for finishing the lining.

 

It was a slow project but I am happy with how it turned out. I didn't find any problem during sewing this jacket, I like BurdaStyle pattern and I used to work with it. Most of their pattern are good for my petite size with little adjustments/alterations. The only thing that I want to say is their instructions, sometime not so clear but I can deal with my self-taught. So, for beginner sewist it might be a little difficult to work with.

 

Well, here is step by step of my work on the jacket : 

• I sew front darts, back jacket pieces together, sew the sleeves pieces together, fused fusible interfacing onto the collar and then sew the collar.
• After that sew the front and back jacket at the shoulder and the sides, right sides together. Then sew the sleeve onto the jacket body.
• Sew the pockets and attached it on the jacket body.
• Sew the bias tape on the front facings and the neck facing. 
• Sew the front lining darts, the back lining pieces together and the sleeves lining pieces together.
• Sew the front facing and the front lining together, so the area with bias tape is in between the facing and the lining. I did the same for the neck facing, sew it to the back lining.
• Sew the front lining and the back lining at the shoulder and the sides, right sides together. And then attached the sleeves onto the body lining. 
• Then attached the lining to the jacket. By putting the jacket and the lining right sides together. Pin the collar in between the jacket and the lining. Pin the lining and the jacket, and then sew it.
• Trim the edges using a scissor and turn the jacket inside out.
• After that, I make sure that the lining is sit right in any edges of the jacket. Then hem the lining in the jacket body using hand stitch.
• The last work, sew the button holes and buttons. Done!

Some more pictures the jacket, but sorry for the amount of wrinkles in the sleeves. I used linen fabric that is very easy to get wrinkles..

 

Have a great Friday and happy sewing to you all!

DIY Friday : Green Tote Bag With Trains

Hello...
I hope you all had a lovely weekend :)
I am late for my DIY Friday post this week because I was busy with a lot of things. I was preparing the post in Friday afternoon but I couldn't finish it.
So, only today I manage to sit in front of my computer and continue writing the post :)

I love making tote bag. In the previous time, I made several in different colors and shapes. I used some for myself and I gave some to close friends and family.

And this time I made tote bag for my son Eduardo to put his stuff (blanket and pillow) to take to school.
I was thinking that this tote bag will look nicer/cuter if I put some sticker in it. Then I searched my stash box and found the train stickers that I bought last time. I showed it to Eduardo and he likes it :)

The sewing process of making this tote bag is easy and fast, I have done it in three hours and it was a very relaxing project to make :)
The size of this tote bag approximately 17" width, 11.5" tall and 5" deep.
I will show you my process in detail and I hope this post will help the beginner sewist.

Materials:
1 yard of home décor fabric in green color, ruler, tailor's pencil chalk, thread, tailor's pins, fabric and multipurpose scissors, thread cutting clipper, train stickers, snap fasteners and a little fusible interfacing.

Sewing Process:
1). I measured and cut my fabric 17" x 18" on fold as shown in the picture below. Remember that the folding area is in the bottom
Also the measurement is including 1/2" seam allowance for all edges

2). In the corner bottom of the bag measure 2.5" x 2" as shown in the picture below. I did the same way for the other side

And then, cut the fabric using the fabric scissor

Here is the result after cut in both sides

3). I made the bag facings 18" x 2.5" - cut two pieces and the bag straps 24" x 8" - cut two pieces. Also prepared the snap fasteners and fusible interfacing 2" x 2" - cut two pieces to support the fabric when insert the snap fasteners.
Sorry, I forgot to take picture of the fusible interfacing

After that, I worked on the bag straps by fold the fabric right sides together. Stitch it. Turned the fabric inside out. I pulled the fabric with chopstick to make it easier :)
Then press the fabric using the iron and topstitch in both sides.

4). I folded the tote bag fabric right sides together and marked the middle line with the pin. Then I placed the bag strap 2.5" from the pin as shown in the picture. I did the same way for the other side

I put the bag facing on the top of the bag fabric with strap right sides together and pin it (as shown in the picture). Stitch it. And then sew the raw edges using an overlocker sewing machine. I did the same way for the other side

5). I fused fusible interfacing in the wrong side of the middle bag facing and inserted the snap fasteners. As shown in the two pictures below

 

6).  I folded the bag right sides together, pin it in both sides. Stitch it. And then sew the raw edges using an overlocker sewing machine

7).  I pin the bottom of the bag right sides together. Stitch it. And then sew the raw edges using an overlocker sewing machine.

8). I turned the bag inside out and topstitched the facing as shown in the picture

9). I fused the stickers using the iron (as the sticker instructions said) and I am done! :-)

And here are two pictures of the final bag.

I usually post DIY Friday in progress here in FACEBOOK PAGE and also made a special board of DIY Friday here in PINTEREST. You are all welcome to stop by :)

Happy sewing!