Welcome back to sewing lesson number 4!!! Now that you have a couple woven sews under your belt, you are ready to tackle knits!
It took me years and years of sewing with wovens before I had the courage to try knits. And let me tell you, you don't need to be afraid of knits. With a few tips and tricks, it's really not that much harder than sewing with wovens. Basically, you just need to remember that the seams need to be able to stretch with the fabric. Jump over to the Sunflower Seams blog to read about all of my tips and tricks for sewing with knits.
After reading about sewing with knits, you can grab the Clove pattern for 20% off with code KNIT20OFF. If you would like to sew some wardrobe staples for your kids, Clove is the perfect pattern to start with. You get both the shirt and the shorts in one pattern. AND it works well for boys and girls. You can get a lot of mileage out of this one pattern. And if you sew this pattern, post a picture of it in the Sunflower Seams Facebook Group, the Learn to Sew with Tamar Hope Group, the Sewing Hub group, and/or Instagram with the hashtags #learnwithsunflowerseams and #learnwithtamarhope, to be entered to win a free pattern of choice! Each post is an entry!
Before you go though, I want to show you how to lengthen any pattern. One of the huge reasons that I sew is the ability to make modest clothing for myself and my kids. Shopping for shorts, skirts, and dresses for girls is extremely challenging. It seems like as the girls get older, the shorts and skirts get shorter! I love that I can make clothing that can keep them modest and also teach them about the importance of modesty.
The first step to making modest shorts is measuring the inseam that you want. Measure from the crotch area, down the inside of the leg to the length that you wish the shorts to be. This length is the inseam. To the desired inseam length, add the crotch seam allowance and the hem allowance. For example if you want a 3 inch inseam, take 3 + 3/8 inch + 1 1/4 inch. Your final measurement of the pattern inseam is 4 5/8 inches.
Take your pattern piece, and measure the current inseam of the pattern piece (the short curve).
Draw a line parallel to the hemline and below the top of the inseam.
Cut along the drawn line and separate the two pattern pieces by the amount that you need to add to get to your final measurement.
When you cut out your fabric, blend the two parts of the line together.
You can use this strategy to add length to any pattern.
Now, go and make some summer outfits!
If you don't have kids to sew for, here are some great adult patterns that I love.
If you're looking for affordable, quality knits, check out knitfabric.com They have quality knit staples for a great price, lovely European organic knits if you want something special, and the lowest price for custom knits that I have seen anywhere. There's a lot there, but if you're looking for the quality affordable choices click on the picture in the banner that says "Under $10/yard". I've ordered from them numerous times and they are always fantastic!
And as always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me in my group. Learn to Sew with Tamar Hope
Happy Sewing!!!
-Tamar
~This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy from the links, I may receive a small commission, but these are all products that I use and love. You can learn more by reading my Privacy + Disclosure statement. ~
Add comment
Comments
The important part of lengthening a pattern is of course measuring carefully - great blog lesson on this! Thank-you!