DIY: Artsy Sew Along 1, Pattern Cutting/Pocket Making

 

Super cute sewing fabric from fabric.com.

Hey, my stitches! I hope all y'all are doing swell and, if you are stateside, having a lovely holiday weekend! It's been a rainy one here so I doubt there will be much of a fireworks-y celebration in my neck o' the woods. To that I say, c'est la vie and pass me my cuttin' scissors. I've got a skirt to stitch!

The pattern we're using: Simplicity #2226.

If y'all have joined the Artsy Sew Along, hurray! I'd love to see the fabric you are stitching with. Please post away on that page or share on Instagram #artsysewalong. Since many of you have mentioned that you are new to garment sewing, I thought some videos might be of some help to y'all. Granted, these are my videos, so take my tips and tricks with a big ole grain of salt. In fact, invest in a salt lick, ermkay? 

Sewing machine fabric and cute buttony fabric. 

 In this post, I'll chat with y'all about:

* How to prepare your fabric and your pattern pieces for cutting.

* Just how to go about cutting your fabric properly and making sure to get all of your markings correct.

* How to stitch those super cute pockets onto the skirt!

If all goes well, this post should help you get this far! You'll notice I opted for a contrasting fabric for the pockets...y'all know me, I'm totes tacky and love to play with patterns. By the way, I'll also be throwing in some of my fave sewing fabrics with links for some sewing-inspo in this here post! 

This clip is all about preparing your fabric and your pattern. It's super important to read through all the pre-stitching notes in your pattern as they are chuck full of sound advice. Don't just listen to this clip featuring my lovely voice. Which, by the way, sounds like angels singing. While chewing on broken glass.

Just incase you missed my clip about finding your correct size according to the pattern envelope, here you go!

I love the colors in these prints. Rulers and spools. 

 

If you're new to sewing then I know how overwhelming those pattern pieces can be. Lemme help ya navigate that territory, kay?

Scissors and spools. 

 I really enjoyed this beginning process of skirt making. I love when a project is simple and gives immediate results: yay, pockets! If you have any probs at all, please drop me a line in the comments, on the Artsy Sew Along page or on my Instagram (where I've been annoyingly popping up photos of the skirt progress).

Now, I will say, that I've been reading what some other sewists have said about this pattern and I'm a lil concerned. Many have mentioned that the waistband is too big. What I plan to do is create a muslin of the waistband (this is practice sewing, following the same pattern, but with inexpensive fabrics). This way I can do a little trouble shooting for y'all. I hope to be back with the second portion of stitching -- adding that waistband -- soon. 

Until then, be sure to share what you're up to and drop me a line about your progress, y'all! 

Read more »