Does it work in knit? A little guide.

Let's talk about making woven patterns with knit fabrics! It is a question I see a lot of. So here are a few basics! 

When deciding on a pattern to make with knits you are going to need to decide whether to downsize or if it will work AS IS. 

Patterns like the Sisboom Devon/Leighanna and the Meghan and Molly and Scientific seamstress Portrait Peasant work as is.  They are all peasants and so you don;t have to adjust. The fit of the main will be a bit more flowy than woven.

 but because the elastic in the neckline is what gives a peasant the stay on and shape nothing needs to change. As . you will want to be certain the most stretch direction is across the body though. if you have the stretch go up and down you will get a very wonky hemline.

The marlo is another option where you can do AS IS - but if you want to lengthen the ruffle or size down a bit you can for a closer fit 

Here is Leah modelling her knit Marlo with lengthened ruffle, which means the kids version, Cathy would work as well in knit. 

Some patterns work FAB in knit as the main part. but because of the design still need the stability of some woven and so if you keep the collar/ top bands in woven you can do the rest in woven! 

An example of this would be the Sisboom Shana which you also saw on the blog back in january

Which means the kids version, Emily would work as well.

Another pattern that follows this principle would be the Sisboom Dana and Maddie. and the Sisboom Vanessa and Bettyann as well as the Scientific Seamstress Bebop 

The arrows point to the pieces you can cut out in knits. just leave the armbands,straps,top bands woven. These patterns NEED the stability of woven in those places to hold shap and stay on!

The Easy fits also work GREAT in knit and so do the Sisboom Judy/Katies. For the Judy and Katie's use woven for the waistband facing.

and Tortola and Tobago are great in knit as long as you use woven facing, again it needs the stability to hold shape. You do NOT need to size down or cut on the bias to do the tanks in knit.

pic from AliCat&co - Thanks Brianne!

And remember that this knowledge is transferrable. So have a look at the pattern and how it is constructed to decide whether to proceed with making it knit or not. 

and as always check out our super amazing facebook group! 

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Hop Into Spring with a Front Pouch All the Rage Raglan! (TUTORIAL)

Have you picked up a copy of our Raglan shirt pattern yet? This pattern has soooo many possibilities! 

Today I want to show you how to make this huge front pocket! I Have a style of shirt like this that I picked up on sale years ago and I LOVE it!!! I recently pulled it out from the closet and thought - I could make this with the all the Rage pattern! 

For fabric, a light-med weight knit worked perfectly for this style of shirt. I used a very scientific Ohm print found at Girl Charlee, but the basic information is that it is listed as 7oz. Which is absolutely perfect for this project. If you go any heavier the front pocket is likely to weigh down the shirt. As is, I do recommend doing a hood if you are worried about weigh down. 

For this version I banded the sleeves and bottom as shown here. I choose the lapped hood option, did the sleeves an inch shorter than the short sleeve cutting line since I planned on banding them and I choose the 17" length for the 4T size because I wanted it tunic length. to wear with tights. 

I choose the shirt sleeve option so it would look cute layered with sleeves and still be comfy in the summer time! 

You will cut all the pieces for the options you choose as per the pattern to start.  When you are ready to cut the front pocket you will need to create a pattern piece. Take your front/back short piece and lay it down on paper a few inches away from the edge. and then do some quick dashes where the sleeves would go.

Now you will curve down from the top where the neckline/sleeve corner is and go to the bottom - giving a good amount of room at the bottom for the "pocket". You can see the shape you are going for below. You will cut one of these new pieces on the fold. 

Do a gathering stitch at the neckline of the pocket piece

and gather it as tightly as you can.

Now put your front pocket onto your front shirt piece after you have sewn the sleeves on but before you sew the sides together.

Pin it at the top a inch ish away from the sleeve edge as seen below:

Pin both sides of the pocket edge to the shirt edge and for the bottom you can do a gathering stitch or do as I did and do a few small pleats.

Now set your machine to a 3 or medium length stitch and sew the top and sides and bottom of the pocket to the shirt front.

Now you will continue to sew the shirt as per the pattern! Not to hard was it? If you have any questions please feel free to ask us in the LAB group on Facebook!

Do you love it as much as my girl and I do? Please share pictures of any All the Rage Raglans you make with us on Facebook! We'd love to see!