The Dana/Maddie Sew-a-Long Day 3

Hello day 3 of the sew a long!!! Time to work on the sleeve bands! Now if you read ahead in the pattern this is likely the day that scared you - but they are MUCH easier than they seems to be - so take a deep breath and just sew with me! NOTE: I chose the option of doing flutter sleeves. If you did not choose this option follow the directions on the pattern - this part works for bias tape finish non sleeves too)

Now lets start those sleeve bands! For the front and the back you should have this:

Now you want to sandwich the main piece armscyes in between the sleeve bands (sleeve bands should both be pretty side facing inward. When you put them about as shown on page 11 be sure to line up your notches. (Do you see the three layers all together?)

sew around for all 4 sleeve bands (we will attach the front and backs soon so no worries about that right now!)

Snip snip about the arms so they turn out easily but do NOT snip the stitches! Fold the sleeve bands out and iron them flat. (I forgot to get a picture of that - but you can see it on page 13 in the Dana pattern) 

Now we join the front to the back via the sleeve bands!  spread the sleeve bands for your front and back and pin them up and stitch together on both sides

Now go and get a snack or a sip of water. The stressful part is over and done - just easy sewing from here on out!

Get your flutter sleeves and the pattern says to zigzag but i love to use my oversticthy foot. So I set to zigzag and the fabric feeds through and folds over and sews it so pretty.

(see the over stitch foot work there on the left - no raw edges! Those get neatly tucked inside and you can stitch that down later on) For now set your machine to it's longest stitch length again and sew to gathering lines (as shown below)

Are you feeling tired yet? I am starting to feel like I need a cookie... Meet back here tomorrow to finish off okay?

In the meantime check out our facebook lab group! Don't forget the album is up there for entering your Dana/Maddies into for the prizes we have !

Dana and Maddie Sew a Long Day 2

Welcome to day 2 of the sew a long!

Today we start sewing! First get your ruffle strip and fold it in half and allign the raw edges to the bodice top. (do for the front and back)

Remember to set your stitch length to the highest you have for gathering purposes. I sew 2 parallel lines to gather

Ruffle until it is the same length as your binding strip. Next as per the directions on page 9 do the binding strip on your ruffle right side down on your wrong side of main piece with your ruffle in the middle.

now onto page 10 of your directions, iron your ruffle piece away from the main fabric and then fold your binding trip over to the front and under (shown below - I folded it up on the left so you could get an idea of the layering) 

In this next pic you can really see how the binding strip is folded under - I ironed it like this and then pulled the ruffle piece up. I just found it much easier to work with this way.

Pull the ruffle bit up - but keep that binding strip down and carefully pin into place. It might want to get away from you or bunch up behind there as you pin so keep your eye on that.

Edgestitch that binding strip in place 

You should repeat these steps for the front and back pieces. and now your front and back main pieces should be complete! 

Tomorrow we will work on the sleeve bands! This is pretty painless so far right? If you have questions hop on over to the facebook page ! 

The Dana/Maddie Top Sew-a-Long Day 1

Hello All! 

Welcome to the very first pattern sew a long! I am pretty excited about this, so i apologize in advance for the exclamations points. 

First, let's start with a little introduction though. Hi!!! My name is Jeanine, I am a recent addition here at the Scientific Seamstress, you might have seen me about facebook if you are there. If you are not you should be! 

Join our facebook lab group for the day to day and to ask away any questions you might have, and just to chat too! Especially if you are sewing along you will want to be in the lab group there is a prize album for Dana's and Maddies is open June 1st until June 15th, 2013. There are some great prizes to be had!!!

If you just found this and want to sew a long (and why wouldn't you?!) Get your pattern in the etsy shop.

(This is me. I thought I would post a picture in case you like to put a face to the writing. ps. I am wearing an Angie dress - pattern also in the etsy shop)

So step 1 is going to be to print your pattern. Make sure you are set to not scale and right before the pattern pieces start at the end of the instructions there is a printing guide so you only need to print the pages for the size you need.  I put arrows on this screen shot to show you where you should be looking. I also always print in draft/fast mode to save on ink

Once you have your pattern printed I assemble every Sisboom pattern in stages. Tape together the A, B, C, D pieces and then tape A to B and AB to C and so on.

And below you can see my pattern ready to go. I also want to mention I always write the measurements I need for non pattern pieces (ruffle and binding strips in this case). I just find it easiest to have it right there and not have to go back through the pattern and also next time I go to make it I have that there so I won't forget those pieces in case I decide to just cut my fabric before opening the pattern, you know, since I've made it before. I read the directions off my tablet as I sew. I find it is a nice size to just have next to me. 

For laying out your pattern on fabric - check the stretch - you want stretch to go across your main pattern piece not with it - As shown in the picture.

ETA: I am using woven fabric

Here are all my fabric pieces cut and ready to sew! Don't forget to make the notches in the binding and ruffle pieces - they will come in very useful when you get to sewing!

Now there is just one thing to do before we start sewing - interface 4 of those sleeve band pieces (2 mirror sets). I didn't have any iron on interfacing - so I had to use sew in (blech). If you are in the same boat - don't waste your time sewing it in!!! Get out your kids glue stick and lightly glue stick them on to your fabric - works like a charm!

(pps. Yes, I did get that interfacing brand new in package at the thrift shop for 25C! and ppps. Do you like my toddlers craft? Can't let my sisboom scraps get thrown out so we craft - she thought her butterfly needed to be in my picture)

On day 2 we will start sewing, but for now you are ready to sew - so go get yourself a snack! I know i am partial to gummy candies :)

See you tomorrow! any questions? Hop on over to the facebook page!

The pattern that grew with baby

When I was pregnant with my son, I was working in a lab at Cornell and sewing doll clothes on the side.  I knew our income was going to drop significantly after I went on an indefinite maternity leave, so I started researching cloth diapering. This was 2004, so cloth dipes were just starting to make a resurgence nationwide.  I happened to live in Ithaca, NY (which was, and always will be stuck in the early 70's) so I had lots of support from other cloth diapering mamas.  Anyways, cloth diapering itself wasn't that hard - lots of laundry, some stinky diaper pails...but all in all not too bad. 

We bought disposables when we were traveling or when the house was on the market, but otherwise we did great with very unfancy cloth diapers (handmade pre-folds with purchased wraps).

Louie spent most of the early weeks in onesies and sleepers, but when it came time to dress him up and take him out, I found that pants for his size didn't fit over his diapered bum.  Maybe it was the hormones, too many episodes of Baby Einstein (specifically, Baby Neptune), or possibly too much time on the mothering.com forums, but I came up with an amazing concept for a WAHM  (work-at-home-mom) business...POOFYPANTS!  I had learned a lot about drafting and sewing pants from sewing for odd-shaped dolls.  I applied this knowledge to engineer pants for a creature with a huge butt and tiny ankles.  Knowing that length would outpace width, I designed the leg openings to be rolled up or cuffed. 

The first few pairs I made were 0-3 months (Lou's size), and 3-6 months (which seemed HUGE at the time - lol).  I made an insane number of pairs out of my fabric stash (latent nesting hormones) and put them on ebay with matching onesies (simple patch applique, but very cute).  I immediately got requests for larger sizes.  Since I didn't have a model that size, I waited a few months.  When Lou was 7 months, I drafted the 6-9 month size.

 

He was thrilled.  By the time he was 10 months old, I was back into doll clothes, but I still drafted the 12 month size just for him to wear to a party.

 

I actually sold a LOT of Poofypants during my first few months of motherhood, and not just to the cloth-diaper set.  Turns out, the pants looked super cute on all precious baby butts, regardless of the padding.  Moms loved the fact that they were reversible and grow with baby.  There is just something special about the fit - and it changes just like the little ones' proportions...no grading rules - just a mama's instinct (sooo contrary to my scientific training).  It works so well, though.  The infant sizes are more "frog-legged" while the toddler versions are designed for running around, squatting, and having tantrums :) .

I drafted my original patterns on tissue paper from my baby shower gifts, and I stashed them away when I moved on to bigger kids' clothes and eventually patternmaking.  I dug them up last year, and decided that they might make for a fun pattern.  I thought they were different enough from my Easy Fit Pants (which is probably my best seller of all time) to warrant a pattern just for the little ones. 

So, I made a set out of fresh, fun, Sis Boom prints, appliqued a teeny onesie, and sent the set of to a gorgeous baby and her photographer/bowmaking mommy. 

I put the pattern up for sale...and it was an insta-hit on Craftsy, Etsy, and YouCanMakeThis!!!  So even though my baby is long out of diapers, I get a little teary-eyed seeing testimonials like this:

"I'm a beginner and I found these instructions the clearest of any i've used, with step by step diagrams and clear worded instructions. I also love the range of sizes provided and the separate patterns per size so they are easy to cut. The pants are absolutely gorgeous!" 

"Easy to Sew, Plus best pattern I can find for those Newborn sizes! Love It"!

"A very well-written pattern and crystal clear instructions. Plus, the finished garment is totally adorable and an excellent fit! I was lazy when doing the coordinating trim and just used a bit of bias tape! "

"This is the easiest pattern I ever bought. Very clear instructions, several pictures - easy to follow. I have some experience in sewing but I'm sure any beginner can make these in no time!"