This is a great way of using up scraps and you can really go all our with it and use many different fabric types and colours. For this particular one I have used more of a tone on tone vibe with a piece of left over natural linen against a natural organic cotton zw jumper.
I would definitely advise stitching this 'daisy' on your garment before you have sewn the whole garment together, ie sew the daisy onto the front body piece. Here I am using a jumper I made a few weeks ago so I am sewing the daisy on after the jumper is already made, not as ideal but as the body of this style is quite oversized its not too bad working this way and I still managed to sew the daisy on very neatly without it being too awkward.
: Sewing machine
: A gather foot for your sewing machine (you can technically do without it and gather manually, but this will be A LOT more time consuming so I highly recommend getting hold of a gather foot if you can)
: A garment to sew the daisy onto
: Scrap fabric to make your strips out of, you will need the equivalent of a piece that is around 80cm x 80cm (this can be made up of several different pieces and is a very rough estimate, you may need a little more or less)
: A piece of paper to make your daisy template (you can also draw this straight onto your garment if you feel confident doing this
: Sharp chalk or dissolvable fabric pen
: Scissors, ruler, and pins
Prepare your fabric to be cut into strips along the bias.
It is very important that you cut all your strips on the bias, the same direction as if you were cutting fabric to make bias binding. This is important because all the edges of the strips will be left raw and because of this they will fray over time with wash and wear. When you cut your strips on the bias this prevents excessive deterioration of the edges and instead the edges become soft and textural when they fray, instead of having loads of loose threads hanging everywhere!
The best way to cut several strips is to fold your fabric across the diagonal and then fold a couple more times, aligned with the first folded edge. (If you have my book Zero Waste Patterns there is a great tutorial in here on how to do this, under Cutting Binding).
Once your fabric is folded (depending on the thickness, and how good your scissors are, 4-6 layers of fabric should be enough) you can start to draw in your strips evenly across, each 4cm wide. Make sure the strips are straight and a right angle to the folded edge.
Cut your strips apart.
Now you will need to gather all your strips. Attach your binding foot (here I am using an industrial machine so your foot may not look exactly the same as this one) then set your thread length to as long as possible. Start gathering your strips by sewing through the centre of the strips, when you get to the end of one strip add the next one by simply laying it over the top of the last one with around a 2-3cm overlap.
The amount your strips gather in will depend on the thickness of your fabric and how wide your stitch length is set so play around with this a little until you are happy. Here I am using a linen so the gathers are not as much as they would be if I was using for example a thinner cotton fabric.
When you are finished you will need around 6 metres worth of gathered strips. If you don't have enough then cut a few more strips and add to it until it is long enough.
Prepare your daisy template by drawing out a shape on a piece of paper. I personally like mine a little imperfect but it's up to you how evenly you draw this shape. It should have a centre circle and 5 petals, as shown in the images below. The total diameter of the daisy should be approximately 32cm.
Place the template on your garment and work out where you want it to sit. I recommend also pinning the template on and trying on your garment to also make sure that it sits nicely when worn.
Once you have decided exactly where you want the daisy to sit you can trace the shape onto your garment with a piece of sharp chalk or dissolvable fabric pen. You will also need to draw in the rough outline of the inside circle as well.
Start pinning your gathered strips around the outer edges of each petal, the centre point of your strips should sit just inside the drawn on outline. As you go around each petal cut the strips to size, the strips should extend into circle part of the daisy by around 2cm each.
Sew on the outline of each petal, sewing through the centre of the strips as you go.
Now continue filling in the petals with more strips, following the curved shape of each petal, leaving a gap of around 1-2cm between each stitch line (so the edges of strips will push up against each a little once they are sewn on making it quite textural). For this step I would not recommend pinning the strips on as it can get quite tight and difficult to work with, just try to do it by eye. The final strip I have added to each petal is one single length running through the centre with the end finishing at the outer part of the petal folded under slightly.
Once you have finished sewing the petals you can now sew the centre circle. Start by pinning the first part around the outer edge of the circle, making sure you overlap over the edges of all the ends of the petals, to neaten these off. Once you have got the outer circle pinned start sewing it on through the centre of the strips and then continue going around and around until you get to the very centre of the circle. Leave a similar gap between each as you did for the petals.
Once you have finished sewing the entire daisy use your fingers to fluff it all up and even it out a little, you can also cut away any loose threads or uneven parts if you wish.
And now you have your finished Daisy!
]]>This tutorial covers all the sewing steps for the ZW Jumper. This jumper is an oversized cosy shape with slim fitting sleeves making it perfect for layering. Cutting instructions and all the other info for this pattern can be found with the sewing pattern.
Good Luck!
With the back bodies placed right sides together, sew the centre back seam with 1cm / 0.375" seam allowance (S/A). Overlock the seams together and press the seam to one side.
Place the front and back bodies right sides together and sew the shoulders together with 1cm / 0.375" S/A, making sure you match the front neck edges to back neck notches. Overlock the seams together and press the seams to the back.
Overlock the front and back hem edges between the notches. Starting a little above the notch point, turn the hem to the wrong side, starting at 0 near the notch and angling out to 2.5cm / 1" for the rest of the hem. Press and pin the hem in place. The hem may need to be slightly eased in due to the curve. Top stitch the hem down with two rows of stitching, around 0.5cm / 0.2" apart.
With right sides together sew the side seams with 1cm / 0.375" S/A starting at the sleeve hem, and finishing at the side seam notches. Overlock the seams together and leave a tail of overlocking around 2.5cm / 1" at each side seams. Press the seams to the back then tuck in the overlocking behind the seam. Top stitch down at the side seam, to hold the seam in place and to strengthen the start of the split.
Fold the neck ribbing in half lengthways, right sides together, and sew the centre back (CB) edge with 1cm / 0.375" S/A to make a tube. Press the seams open. Press the band in half widthways with wrong sides together and then top stitch the raw edges together with a wide stitch, around 0.5cm / 0.2" away from the edge.
Pin the neck band in place around the neckline of the jumper, right side ribbing to right side jumper, making sure the centre front (CF) notches match and the CB seams match. Make sure the ribbing is stretched evenly all the way around the neck. Stitch the ribbing to the neck with 1cm / 0.375” S/A then overlock the seams together, starting at the CB and finishing at the CB.
Attach the binding to the curved edge of the facing. Start by sewing one long edge of the binding to the facing with 0.8cm / 0.375" S/A, right side binding to wrong side facing. Fold the binding over twice to the right side of the facing and pin in place. Top stitch the binding down close to the fold line. You can have a small amount of tension in the binding when doing this, but you should not stretch the binding on.
Place the straight raw edge of the facing onto the back neck seam of the jumper with the right side of the facing against the wrong side of the jumper, and with the curved edge of the facing pointing upwards. Stitch the facing to the neck seam with a 1cm / 0.375" seam allowance, making sure that the CB seams match.
Press the facing down and do an under-stitch along the back neck close to the seam line on the facing. This stitch is to hold the facing down neatly onto the seam allowance and should ONLY be stitched through the facing and neck seam allowance, not the actual back jumper.
Pin the facing to the back jumper body, wrong side facing to wrong side jumper, making sure that the facing is sitting flat and not creating any tucks or pulls near the shoulders. Top stitch the facing down through all layers, around the curved edge.
WIDTHS 145-160cm / 57-63" - WITH RIBBING CUFF – VIEW 2
Fold the sleeve ribbing pieces in half lengthways, right sides together, and sew them together to make a tube, with 1cm / 0.375" S/A . Press the seams open. Press the bands in half widthways, with wrong sides together, and then top stitch the raw edges together with a wide stitch, around 0.5cm / 0.2" away from the edge.
With the jumper still turned the wrong way out, insert the cuffs into the sleeve, right side ribbing to right side jumper, lining up the raw edge of the sleeve hems to the raw edges of the ribbing. Pin in place making sure that the ribbing is stretched evenly around and that the centre notch on the ribbing matches the top seam of the arm, and the underarm seams match. Stitch the ribbing to the sleeve hem with 1cm / 0.375” S/A, then overlock the seams together leaving a short tail of overlocking at the join. Tuck the overlocking under the seam allowance and stitch in place on the seam so that it doesn’t unravel.
WIDTHS 160-175cm / 63-69" - WITHOUT RIBBING CUFF – VIEW 1
Overlock the raw edges of the sleeves. Turn the sleeves to the wrong side by 2.5cm / 1" and press and pin in place. Top stitch the hems down with 2 rows of stitching around 0.5cm / 0.2" apart.
And now you have a finished jumper!
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All of our patterns are drawn directly onto the fabric with the aide of instructions and small templates. This method can seem a little tricky at first to some, but I promise once you get the hang of it is is super easy!
There are many benefits to cutting this way, the most obvious being the zero waste layout. This method also makes it easy to use different fabric widths, and you also don't need to juggle large pattern pieces and work out the most economical way to lay the pieces on your fabric as everything is already planned out. Cutting zero waste is also quite fast as one cut line separates 2 pieces. Once you get the hang of it is a very streamlined and satisfying way to work.
For this tutorial I am using the ZW TEE block from my book Zero Waste Patterns. I am using this pattern as a way to show a very generalised look at the cutting process. The pattern you use may look different to this, but the method is the same.
FABRIC PREPARATION
Before beginning it is important to make sure you have the right size fabric. You can find information about the fabric size you need with each individual pattern.
It is a good idea to wash your fabric before use and iron to make sure it is as straight as possible. Once you have done this you will need to neatly square up your fabric and cut away any selvage edges that may be too wide or pulling the fabric in unevenly (or you can incorporate the selvages into the garment if they are not impacting the edges of the fabric negatively).
TEMPLATES
The templates are an important part of the cutting process and assist in drawing lines that are for example curved, or more difficult to draw directly onto the fabric yourself. The template I am using for this tutorial is from my book, where you take a piece of plain paper and trace the templates you need. The same applies for individual patterns but you may print them yourself and cut out the actual print outs instead. But overall the process is the same.
TOOLS
Apart from the usual cutting tools, such as scissors, weights, pins, and a measuring tape, there are a few extra tools that really come in handy with zero waste cutting, such as:
- A long straight or right angle ruler to draw nice long lines and to square up your fabric. If you don't have a ruler like this you could improvise by using a large piece of card, or something else with straight right angle edges to use as a guide.
-A dissolvable fabric pen such as a Pilot FriXion pen or a nice sharp piece of chalk is great for drawing clear lines, which is very important when drawing you pattern pieces directly onto your fabric.
-A calculator can also come in handy when working out certain fabric dimensions and cutting instructions.
NOW LETS BEGN!
ZW TEE CUTTING STEPS
Step 1: Using a plain piece of paper trace the template/s you need and cut out. Make sure you mark any important information on the template, such as the template name and if there is a centre front/centre back edge. This is to make sure you place the template on your fabric the right direction.
Step 2: Please note for this process I will be doing everything in half size to keep it clear in the photos, keep in mind this is not to scale when working with the actual fabric size!
Start by cutting your fabric to size, check that you are using the correct width and length as specified in the pattern information. Make sure the fabric is straight and squared up before starting. It is very useful to measure with a large right angle ruler or large piece of card for example. It is also very useful to measure from a few different points to make sure that the fabric is the right size all the way around. If you are out by a few mm here and there, don't worry, it will still work out just fine and will be close enough!
Once your fabric is nice and straight lay it flat on a table or on the floor, wherever you plan to cut, and take note of which direction your selvage edges run.
Step 3: The next steps can vary depending on what pattern you are working with. Follow the instructions of your chosen pattern step by step to see the order in which you do things.
For the ZW Tee the first thing you will do is fold your fabric in half, right sides together, selvage edge to selvage edge. When you are cutting pairs of pieces this is always the best way to cut as you will end up with a perfect set. Most of our patterns use this method whenever it is possible.
Step 4: Follow the instructions outlined in the pattern you are using.
For the ZW TEE you will now mark out all your pieces step by step by following the instructions with the help of your measuring tape and ruler.
You will place your template on the fabric according to the instructions, lining up the centre front edge along the fold line of the fabric.
Continue on with all of the cutting steps to mark out all of your pieces.
Step 5: Once you have marked out all of your pieces check over everything first to make sure it looks correct according to your cutting plan, checking to see if the selvage edges are running the correct direction according to the cutting plan and that the fold line of your fabric is correct. *Please note if you are following this while working on the TEE I made a little mistake here according to the TEE layout and forgot to draw in my final piece (D), I have drawn it in the next step during the cutting process!
Now you can cut apart all of your pieces by following the instructions. The cutting steps are always numbered to help you to cut apart the right parts in the right order. It is important you following the number order when cutting to avoid cutting mistakes.
When a cut line is along a fold line this means that you need to cut apart the pieces exactly along the fold line.
And now you have your pieces cut out ready to sew!
]]>Good Luck!
*All garment views*
Mark your darts according to the cutting steps. Sew darts on the wrong side then press down.
*All garment views*
Garment view 1 has a centre front seam and garment views 2, 3 and 4 have a centre back seam. This tutorial shows the steps using garment view 1, but the technique is the same for all garment views.
For garment view 1 you should have a centre front notch measuring 7cm down from the top and for garment views 2, 3 and 4 you should have a centre back notch measuring 25cm down from the top. With right sides together sew from the notch down to the hem with a 1.5cm seam allowance. Press the seams open then press under a second time so that you have a small turn and turn edge. Top stitch this down close to the fold line on both sides continuing all the way from the hem to the very top edge of the neck. This stitch line should be visible from the right and wrong side of your garment. Working from the front of the garment stitch over the split point several times to strengthen this section.
*All Garment Views*
With right sides together place the front on top of the back and sew the shoulder then overlock together and press seams towards the back.
*All Garment Views*
Press the curved edges of the front and back hem facings approximately 8mm to the wrong side. Line up the centre front notch on the straight edge of the front facing and pin the centre front hem with right sides together. Stitch down with 1cm seam allowance and press the hem edge to the wrong side by 1cm all the way across. Repeat for the back hem facing.
*After this is complete continue directly onto the next steps as outlined below.
View 1 & 4: continue on to step 5a
View 2: continue on to step 5b
View 3: continue on to step 5c
Turn and press up the front hem another 1cm to the wrong side to make a small turn and turn hem. Pin the hem and facing in place and stitch the hem down following the curve of the facing at the centre front.
With right sides together sew the side seams together with 1cm seam allowance starting from the underarm notch and continuing down to the hem. Turn the back hem to the wrong side to cover the side seam, making sure the folded edge matches the finished edge of the front hem. Stitch down then overlock the side seams together, turn the back hem the right way and press to the back. Press the hem and back facing in place and stitch down following the curved edge of the facing at the centre back.
*After this step is complete go straight to step 6*
Measure down from the underarm notch 17cm and make a second notch (please note the garment in this photo is not to scale and has a slightly different measurement here as it is showing a shortened version of this top). With right sides together sew the side seams from the underarm to the second notch with a 1.5cm seam allowance.
Snip into the underarm notch right up to the stitch line. Press the seams open then press under a second time so that you have a small turn and turn edge running from the underarm notch down to the hem. Top stitch this down close to the fold line on both sides continuing all the way from the underarm notch down to the hem. This stitch line should be visible from the right and wrong side of your garment. Working from the front of the garment stitch over the underarm and split point several times to strengthen this section.
Finally turn the front and back hems to the wrong side with a 1cm turn and turn hem. Pin the hems and facings in place and stitch down making sure you follow the curved edge of the facings at the centre front and centre back.
*After this step is complete go straight to step 6*
Measure down from the underarm notch 15cm and make a second notch. With right sides together sew the side seams from the underarm to the second notch with a 1.5cm seam allowance. Press the seams open and continue pressing 1.5cm to the wrong side all the way around the armhole.
Press under a second time so that you have a small turn and turn edge running from the hem and all the way around the armhole. Top stitch this down close to the fold line on both sides continuing all the way around from hem to hem. This stitch line should be visible from the right and wrong side of your garment. Working from the front of the garment stitch over the split point and underarm point several times to strengthen these sections.
Finally turn the front and back hems to the wrong side with a 1cm turn and turn hem. Pin the hems and facings in place and stitch down making sure you follow the curved edge of the facings at the centre front and centre back.
*After this step is complete go straight to step 8*
Fold the sleeves in half and sew the underarm seams. Overlock the seams together and press to the back. You should end up with a pair of sleeves. With the body turned out the wrong way and the sleeve the right way, feed the sleeve inside the body and line up the sleeve armhole with the body armhole.
Match the underarm seams on the sleeves to the side seams of the body, making sure the seam allowances are pressed towards the back. Pin in place around the armhole making sure that the seam allowance on the body armhole is pinned at a right angle, so that the sleeve underarm has free movement here. Sew the armhole with 1cm seam allowance then overlock the seams together and press the seams down into the sleeves.
*After this step is complete continue directly onto the next steps as outlined below.
View 1 & 2: continue on to step 7a.
View 4: continue on to step 7b.
Press the sleeve hem to the wrong side with a 1cm turn and turn. Pin in place and top stitch down.
*Once this is completed go straight to STEP 8.
Place the neck band pieces together with right sides together on one end and measure 40cm away from the edge and draw a vertical line. Cut apart so that you end up with a pair the same size. These will be used as your sleeve hem bands. Put aside the remaining neck band pieces for later.
Fold the sleeve band pieces in half, right side together, and sew together. Press the seams open.
Gather the sleeve hem to fit the size of the sleeve hem band
With the sleeve turned the right way out and the sleeve hem band turned the right way out also, feed the sleeve band into the wrong side of the sleeve hem making sure you line up the seams. Pin the sleeve hem band in place, right side hem band to wrong side sleeve, then stitch together with 1cm seam allowance. Make sure you stitch with the gathers facing up so that you can sew these neatly and evenly in place. Press the sleeve band down along this seam. Press up the other raw edge of the sleeve band 1cm towards the wrong side.
Fold the sleeve band in half to the front to cover the gathers. Pin in place and stitch together through all layers close to the fold line.
*Once this is completed go straight to STEP 8.
These images show garment view 1 but the same technique works for all garment views. For garment view 3 there is an extra step to follow at the end to add buttons and button holes.
Place the neck band pieces right sides together and sew together along one short end with 1cm seam allowance. Press the seams open.
Pin the right side of the neck band to the wrong side of the neck edge, lining up the neck band seam with the left (when worn) body shoulder seam. Pin in place the neck band as far as you can to the neckline on both sides and sew with a 1cm seam allowance. There will be a length of neck band remaining on either end which will become your ties, these pieces will be different lengths on each side.
Press the seam allowance into the neck band and continue pressing in to the wrong side of the neck band by 1cm all the way along the ‘tie’ pieces. Press in all the other raw edges of the neck band 1cm to the wrong side, including the two short ends. Fold the neck band in half, wrong sides together, all the way around. Pin in place and stitch down through all layers close to the fold lines.
Finally tie into a bow at the centre front or centre back if you are working with garment view 1, 2 or 4. For garment view 3 continue with the next and final step.
AND THIS IS HOW THE TIE LOOKS WHEN IT IS AT THE BACK, VIEW 2 and 4.
To close at the back neck you will need to add 2 buttons approximately 18mm big. Overlap the long tie over the short tie leaving a gap between the centre back split edges of 2.5cm. Pin together the ties at the centre back and also add another pin 4cm away from the first pin, on the left side. Mark the size of your button holes by measuring the button size with the right edge of the buttons against the pins. Make a mark on the tie that is pinned at the underside exactly at the pin points. This is where your buttons should be sewn.
Sew button holes and buttons. When the back is buttoned up the long tie will hang down along the back of the garment.
And now you have a finished garment!
]]>To attach the sleeves it will require a mix of hand and machine sewing. This tutorial follows steps 5B-5D of the instruction booklet for the PDF Pattern.
Sew together the front and back sleeve pieces (you will have 2 sets) with a single stitch and overlock the seams together. Press the seams to one side so you end up with a symmetrical pair.
Measure the total depth of your underarm and finished strap length on the bodice. This measurement will be the finished size of you sleeve head after you have gathered it in.
Gather the top curved sides of your sleeves. Do 2 rows of wide stitching, the second row finishing no more than 1cm away from the raw edge. Leave loose tails of thread on both ends of your sleeve and also at the centre point. Gather in evenly to the finished measurement of your armhole. Tie off all the tails securely.
Attach binding to the gathered in side of the sleeve. The binding should be around 4cm wide and out of a light weight fabric. Start by pinning the binding in place, stretching on very slightly for some tension. Once the binding is neatly pinned in place sew the binding on with the gathers facing up to make sure that the gathers are sewn neatly.
Press the binding then turn flip your piece so you are working from the right side of the fabric. You may need to trim away the seam with the gathers slightly so that it is not too wide (the seam should be around 5-8mm wide). Fold the binding down twice to cover the existing seam then pin in place and top stitch down.
Sew the underarm seam of the sleeves with a single stitch and then overlock the seams together leaving a few centimetres extra overlocking hanging out on the bound side. Press the seams towards the back. Tuck the length of overlocking inside the seam then top stitch the seam down to hold in place neatly.
Press up the hem end of the sleeve 1cm into the wrong side of the fabric, then press up again 2cm all the way around. This will become the elastic casing. Top stitch the hem down leaving an opening close to the underarm of around 5cm.
Attach a safety pin to one end of the elastic then thread it through the casing. Once you have threaded through enough pin the other end of the elastic close to the opening so that it stays in place then continue threading the rest of the elastic all the way through. Finally join the 2 elastic ends together securely with a single stitch then top stitch down the opening.
Pin the sleeves into the armholes matching up the underarm seams. The binding along the sleeve head should be on the inside of the garment and not visible from the outside.
Hand sew the sleeves to the underarms/straps. Working from the inside of the garment hand sew together the gathered side of the sleeve binding to the strap/underarm all the way around. Then hand sew together the other side, the other edge of the strap to the outer binding edge of the sleeve, continue down along the inside of the bodice and gently tack down along here as well, making sure that the hand stitching is not visible from the outside.
]]>The pattern update will be sent automatically to anyone that has previously purchased this, if you don't receive this update please get in touch with info@birgittahelmersson.com and we will sort you out.
This tutorial includes all the sewing steps to make the ZW Workwear Jacket. Refer to the pattern for the cutting instructions. The fabric I have used for this project is a really cool organic cotton twill, 145cm wide, that Sam dyed last year using oak galls, onion skins and iron. I love that it looks a bit like a cloudy sky!
Attach the centre front facings (F) to the centre front edges of the front bodies (E). Sew right sides together with 1cm seam allowance then press the facing and seam allowances away from the body then do a top stitch on the facing close to the seam. *I have added an iron on interfacing to the front facing pieces for a bit more weight, but this is optional.
Sew darts into the side of the front and back body armholes. Take your dart placement template and place it on the wrong side of the fabric lining up the shoulder and armhole edge of the template with the front and back body (I have placed my front and back body pieces together here in pairs and will place a pin into all the guide points for the dart, then I have marked these point on all pieces, on the wrong side of the fabric). Draw in the dart shape by joining up the marked points then sew the darts together with right side of the fabric together. Press the darts down.
Take your back neck facing (B) and press in the curved edge to the wrong side by approximately 8mm / 0.25". Turn the facing around so it is right way up and place it on the back neck on back body, on the wrong side of the fabric. Your fabrics should be facing wrong side to wrong side. Pin in place and top stitch down through all layers around the curved edge of the facing. Top stitch across the top of the neck to hold down the facing here as well, approximately 5mm / 0.125" down from the top neck edge.
*The bottom edge of this facing is a great place to insert a little hanging loop before you stitch the facing down, using a roulle loop or some cord, or in my case a little garment label!
Gather the bottom of your sleeves (G) on the right side of your fabric between the notches so that the finished width of your sleeve is the same as the width of you sleeve cuff (H). You should end up with a pair of sleeves.
*If you are using a particularly wide fabric you may need to gather this section in quite a lot. If so you can gather a larger section of the sleeve to account for this.
Fold the sleeves (G) in half with right sides together and sew the side seams with a 1cm seam allowance and then overlock the seams together. Press the seams towards the side with the gathers.
Fold the sleeve cuffs (H) in half with right sides together and sew the side seam with a single stitch and then press the seams open.
Slide the sleeve cuff (H) onto the sleeve (G) with the right side of the sleeve cuff against the wrong side of the sleeve making sure that the side seams match up, and so that the bottom edge of the sleeve cuff lines up with the sleeve hem (both should be turned wrong way out). Sew together with a 1cm seam allowance then press seams towards the sleeve cuff.
Press the end of your sleeve cuff that has not been attached yet 1cm to the wrong side, then fold the whole sleeve cuff in half, wrong sides together. Pin in place and top stitch down on the sleeve cuff close to the fold, making sure you cover the existing seam where the gathers are. Once you are done turn your sleeves right side out.
Place your front and back bodies together and sew together the shoulders with a single stitch then overlock the seams together. Press seams towards the back.
Turn the body right way out and line the sleeves up against the armhole side of the body to determine your armhole size. The armhole size should be exactly half the sleeve width measured down from the shoulder. Mark a notch that is 1cm deep then overlock the front and back side seams separately starting at the notch and continuing all the way down to the hem.
Sew together your side seams with a 1cm seam allowance starting at the underarm notch and continuing down to the second notch up from the hem. Press seams open.
Prepare your back split facings (A) by pressing under the curved edge to the wrong side by 1cm. Prepare your front split facings (M) by pressing under one top edge and one side edge so that you end up with a pair of facings, pressing under by 1cm to the wrong side.
Pin, with right sides together, the bottom shorter edge of the back split facing to the bottom edge of the back body, and the bottom edge of the front split facing to the bottom of the front body, lining up the longer raw edges of each of the facings with the front and back side seams. Stitch together along the bottom with 1cm seam allowance.
Now fold your hems up to the first notch, with right sides of the fabric together and pin the hem turn up and split facings in place all the way along the side seams. Make sure that the top of the hem seam allowance is turned down towards the hem (the seam allowance where the split facing joins the hem). Sew together then turn out the right way and press and pin in place the split facings and a small portion of the hem on either side.
Along the centre front hem edge turn back the CF Facing (F) along the seam line, right side to right side, then turn under the other raw edge of the CF Facing to the wrong side by 1cm. Pin in place measuring 10cm up from the hem (or to the first notch). Sew down along this line then turn the hem out neatly to the right side.
Pin together the CF Facing and the hem turn up then top stitch together with a vertical stitch line, make sure you only stitch together the CF facing and hem turn up, do not stitch through the outer body of the jacket . Press the hem up evenly around the whole jacket and pin in place along the hem and a short way up the CF facing/body.
Fold your collar (I) in half lengthways with right sides together. Pin the short ends together and mark out a diagonal sewing line. The start of the top edge (along the open raw edges) should measure 3cm in from the edge and the bottom edge (along the folded edge) should measure 1cm in from the edge. Sew together along this line then snip away a small triangle on the bottom folded edge of the seam. Turn the collar out neatly the right way and press. Stitch across the raw edges of the collar around 5mm / 0.125" down from the top to secure together the opening.
Place your collar on the back body neckline with right side to right side, lining up the raw edges of the collar with the raw edges of the neckline. The centre back collar should match the centre back body neckline and the front edge of the collar on each side should match to the notches on the front body necklines. Stitch the collar to the neckline with an 8mm seam allowance.
Turn your body to the wrong side and place the collar binding (J) onto the neckline, right side collar binding to wrong side neckline. The centre back collar binding should match to the centre back neck and each binding end should extend a little way past the collar on the front necklines. Stitch down with a 1cm seam allowance then press the collar binding up and away from the neck.
Turn your garment to the right side then press the other raw edge of the collar binding to the wrong side by 1cm then fold the binding in half and pin in place on the front side of the body neckline making sure you cover the previous stitch line. Top stitch down through all layers close to the fold line.
Along the top of the neckline turn back the CF Facing (F) to the seam line, right side to right side, then turn under the other raw edge of the CF Facing to the wring side by 1cm. Pin in place and top stitch together across the top with a 1cm seam allowance, making sure that you manage to just cover the binding along this edge too. Turn out neatly the right way.
Pin the CF Facings and hems in place all the way around. Starting from the inside of the jacket on the left front body top stitch down the CF Facing close the the fold line and continue down and all the way around the hem, following the line of the split facings and then back up again to the front neckline on the other side.
Sew the sleeves into the body. With the body turned the wrong way out and the sleeves turned the right way out slide the sleeves into the body armholes, right sides facing together, and pin in place along the raw armhole edges. The gathered side of the sleeve should be against the back body. Make sure that the underarm seams match and that the shoulder notch on the sleeve matches the shoulder seam of the body. The underarm side seam on the body will need to be pinned towards the back and at a right angle so that this part is sewn neatly.
The darts should be pressed down and angled away from the armhole edge slightly. Sew together the armhole with a 1cm seam allowance the overlock the seams together and press the seam allowance down into the sleeve. Turn the jacket out the right way and make sure that the underarm is sewn neatly and can move freely at the underarm point.
Fold down the top edge of the Hip Pockets (K) twice to the wrong side by following the notches (if you are sewing the size TWO you should also do the same for the breast pocket L). Top stitch down close to the folded edge (I have also done a second row of stitching on my pockets around 8mm up from the first stitch line).
Sew together the Breast Pocket pieces (L). Place one long end of one piece onto one long end of the other piece with right side against wrong side. Stitch together across the top edge with 1cm seam allowance. Press the seam allowances up then turn the pocket to the other side. Fold the top raw edge down to the wrong side by 1cm then fold in half and pin down making sure it just covers the first seam line you have sewn. Top stitch down close to the fold.
Press in the sides and bottom edges of your hip pockets to the wrong side by 1cm. Press in the bottom edge of your chest pocket to the wrong side by 1cm then press in the sides so that the finished width is the same as your hip pockets. At the top corners fold under a triangle so that this sits neatly inside
*If you are using a fabric that frays easily you can also overlock the sides and bottom edges first before you press them in.
Pin your pockets in place on your front bodies by following the measurements in the pattern instructions. Sew down on the sides and bottom and do a triangle on the top edges for strength.
Now you nearly have a finished workwear jacket! The last stage is adding buttons and buttons holes which is the only step I wont go into too much detail on. Add buttons and button holes to the centre front edges by following the instructions in the pattern and sew button holes according to the specifications of your sewing machine.
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For this tutorial I will only be cutting the OUTER fabric. When you get to cutting the LINING the steps are very similar so you can refer to the CUTTING PLAN document for more details on this.
To do this tutorial you will need to follow the CUTTING PLAN document in your chosen size. I will be showing the cutting steps 1-4 using templates I, D, C and E.
The images here show the fabric already cut to size and folded in half and the fabric is layed out the same direction you see in your CUTTING PLAN document. I am not showing the entire length of fabric here, just the section where you will be using the templates.
Cut your templates out, making sure you cut according to the correct line based on the fabric width you are using. For this tutorial I am cutting a size ONE jacket and using a fabric width of 150cm so I have made sure to cut along this line for templates I, D and C. Template E is the same for all fabric widths. Here you can see the templates I will be using, the second image shows how template D is positioned, inside the the sleeve head template (I). This may even clear up some questions right away for anyone that has been wondering how this piece fits in!
Prepare the full length of fabric you will be using for this project and fold it in half lengthways (selvage edge to selvage edge). In these images the foldline is positioned on the right hand side, the same way as your CUTTING PLAN diagrams.
Following cutting step 1/4 mark a horizontal dashed line by following the measurements, this is not a cut line but a guide line to figure out where the sleeve head template should be placed. Next mark a second guide line running vertically through the centre point of your fabric.
Following cutting steps 1/4 place your sleeve head template on your fabric making sure you line up the horizontal and vertical guide lines on the template with the ones you have drawn on your fabric. Draw around your template with a solid line across the bottom curved edge and the side straight edges ONLY. Mark notches according to the template.
Following cutting steps 2/4 place your collar stand template (D) on the INSIDE of the sleeve head lines you have just drawn in. This template should fit perfectly into the corner here. Start by placing it on the right side of your fabric and draw around the template with a solid line. Mark notches. Now flip the template and place it on the left side and draw onto your fabric with a solid line. Mark notches.
Following cutting steps 2/4 draw in the remaining vertical lines with a ruler along the left and right sleeve to make the pocket pieces (F, G and H).
Now you will get to cutting steps 3/4, which is to cut out the pieces you have drawn in, however for the purpose of this tutorial I am going to skip this and go straight to step 4/4 and cut out everything at the end.
Following step 4/4 place the collar template (C) on your fabric lining up the top edge of the template against the sleeve head and the centre vertical line on the template with the vertical guide line you have drawn on the fabric. You should also make sure that the double notches on the template are pointing towards the folded edge of your fabric, this is the back section of your body armhole. Draw around the template with a solid line and mark notches. Some of these notches are marked on the Collar (C) and some are marked on the body armhole so make sure you do this correctly according to the directions on the template.
Following cutting steps 4/4 place the back neck facing template (E) on the left hand side of your fabric lining up the top and side straight edges of the template with the sleeve/collar stand lines and side edge of the fabric. Draw around your template and mark notches according to the template. You should also mark notches on the back body, the right hand side of your fabric, along the pocket/collar stand lines according to your cutting plan instructions.
Now you can cut out all of your pieces following cuttings steps 3/4 and 4/4.
And that is it for this tutorial, I hope this has been helpful in clearing up any questions for anyone wondering exactly how to use these templates!
Good luck and happy sewing!
Birgitta x
]]>This top is an oversized boxy shape with a straight neck and long sleeves with an elastic inserted into the sleeve hem to gather it in. As this is such a minimal shape I would highly recommend using a linen fabric or something that is of a good quality with a nice drape to it.
I first made this design a couple of months ago, the ZW Tent Top , but it was a little different with a crew neck and a binding finish (which I will also share a tutorial for in the coming weeks). As I am sewing this one by hand I wanted to make sure there were minimal seams and finishes so I simplified the neck making it straight, and eliminated the side seams. This one is great for beginners wanting to try out a zero waste pattern and can be done easily on the go. The great thing about hand sewing is that you can bring it with you anywhere, just like knitting a scarf on a bus, bring your garment with you in a little bag and slowly work away on it while you are travelling to fill in the time. I made this one over a few days in different locations. Photos by Sam Grose.
For this top I used a beautiful peach linen purchased from The Fabric Store on Brunswick Street in Naarm (Melbourne). This store used to be one of my favourite local fabric shops when I lived here and I miss it so much! Always so many beautiful things to choose from.
This pattern works well for a fabric width between 135-145cm. The cutting plan shows measurements for using a 135cm wide fabric and also includes instructions to change the measurements when using other widths.
I have used a length of fabric for this that is 115cm long however you can easily adjust the lengths to suit your needs. When using different fabric widths the finished length of your sleeve may change a little so keep this in mind.
This is a one size fits most where the fabric width determines the finished garment size. To work out wether this will fit your own measurements measure your fabric width then remove 20cm. This will give you the maximum bust/hip measurement suitable for the fabric width you are using. For example if you are using a 135cm wide fabric the maximum bust/hip is 115cm.
I went pretty cowboy on this and just used a measuring tape and scissors to cut by eye, but if you have some extras tools to ensure you are cutting straight lines such as a long straight or right angle ruler, and chalk or fabric marking pen, then by all means use these. Your basic tool kit required to make this is:
-a thin elastic, 0.5mm - 1cm wide for the sleeves. You will need x 2 lengths of around 22 cm each (for this one I had one long length which I cut to size at the end, after inserting it into my sleeve hems)
-Hand sewing thread
-Hand sewing needle
-Pins
-Fabric scissors
-Measuring tape
PRESSING SEAMS: If you have an iron great, otherwise you can finger press the seams. This technique works super well with a linen fabric. To finger press your seams simply put your garment on a flat surface, with the right side of your garment facing up so you can see the finished seam edges, and press down all the way along the seam with your finger. When the sewing instructions specify to press a seam you can do this either with the finger pressing technique, or an iron.
When working out the pattern for this one I wanted to make it as simple as possible with minimal seams so I played around a little to figure out the best way to go about it. In the end I eliminated the side seams and used the selvage edges as the centre back seams, If you can keep the selvage edges on this one as you can use them in a creative way to finish many of seams so that they do not fray.
The pattern/cutting plan below shows the measurements required for a 135cm width. If you are using a different fabric width instructions are included at the bottom of the cutting plan for measurements A, B,C,D and E. All other measurements can be the same for all fabric widths. For example if you are using a 145cm width and you want to calculate measurement B do the following : 145cm divided by 2 minus 1cm = 71.5cm.
To change the lengths of the Front and Back body and Sleeves simply add or remove the desired length.
Cut your fabric to length, 115cm as shown above, or to your preferred length. Make sure that the ends have been straightened off neatly. I cut mine on the floor and was battling kids and dogs for space, but I managed in the end!
STEP 1
Fold your fabric in half, selvage to selvage and right sides together making sure everything is sitting nice and straight.
STEP 2
Measure your sleeve length and cut apart your sleeves, making sure it is the same length all the way along. Then cut apart your sleeves along the fold line, your sleeves should be equal halves of your total fabric length.
STEP 3
The remaining piece is your front/back body, the fold line is your centre front. Measure from the folded edge across 33.25cm (if using a 135cm wide fabric) which is half your total front body width. Then measure a line down vertically 33.75cm which is half your sleeve width. Cut this line, this will become your armhole.
STEP 1
Pin the centre back seam in place and sew together with a running stitch taking a 1cm seam allowance, or enough to cover the selvage edges. Your body should already be folded in half with right sides together as this is how you cut this piece out. The selvage edges are perfect here as it means you do not have to finish these edges any more and your fabric will not fray. I did a running stitch going one direction down the seam, and then I went back the other way with a running stitch again to fill in the gaps. Once sewn finger press or iron the seam to one side.
STEP 2
Now that you have your centre back seam sewn you will have 2 straight edges across the top of the front and back bodies. Turn down these edges by 1cm twice, wrong side to wrong side and press and pin in place. Then hand stitch down. I have hand stitched this with a bit of a mixture of a slip stitch and a running stitch by sewing from the wrong side of the fabric, working from right to left, and then alternating my needle going through the folded hem edge and the garment with around 3-5mm between each stitch. The stitch line will be visible from both sides.
STEP 3
Now place the garment with the top edges together, right sides of the fabric together. The cut out armhole slits should be on the left and right side and the centre back seam should line up with the centre point of the front body. Pin together the shoulder along the top edges on the left and right side. The amount will vary depending on your fabric width and your preference. Start with pinning around 15cm on each side then try the top on to check how it is sitting. The middle open part that remains is your neckhole.
Now working from the wrong side of the garment sew together the shoulders the amount you have pinned. Start from the outer edge on each side (the armhole), as you sew you will need to remove the pins and lay the seams flush together and sew on a slight diagonal alternating the needle on each side as you go. Im not sure if this stitch has a name but you can hopefully see by the photos below how this is done.
Once you have sewn on the inside turn your garment to the right side and sew back the other way in the same fashion, make sure that you do a couple of extra stitch at the neck point to add strength here then sew back towards the armhole.
STEP 4
Sew your sleeve underarm seams. Fold one sleeve in half, right sides together, one side of the sleeve should be along the selvage edge and the other along a raw cut edge. Place the raw cut edge around 5mm away from the selvage edge and pin in place. hand sew with a 5mm seam allowance away from the raw edge (approximately 1-1.5cm away from the selvage edge) with a running stitch. Finger press the seam making sure that the side with the selvage edge covers the raw edge. Pin in place and do a running stitch around 8mm away from the seam to make a feature top stitch along the seam. Repeat for the other sleeve.
STEP 5
Lay your body flat and place one end of your sleeve against the armhole, I have offset the underarm seam so that it sits into the back body by around 8cm up from the underarm point, to reduce bulk. Measure to see that your armhole cut-out is the right length and cut into it further if needed. The armhole cut out should be exactly the same length as your finished sleeve width folded in half.
Now turn the body wrong side out and slide the sleeve inside the armhole, right side to right side, making sure that the sleeve underarm seam is on the back part of the armhole. Pin the sleeve into the armhole, extending the raw edge of the sleeve out past the raw edge of the body armhole by 1.5cm. Pin the underarm as shown in the photos below. Sew with a 5mm seam allowance with a running stitch, finishing the underarm part into a point shown in the photos below.
Turn the sleeve edge that extends past the body armhole down twice, making sure the final folded edge sits just on top of the running stitch you have just sewn. Pin in place and sew the folded edge down with a running stitch alternating the needle between the folded edge and the body armhole seam you just did, with around 5mm between each stitch. Turn your top the right way out and press the seam down into the sleeve side.
STEP 6
Try your top on and determine how long you want your sleeves to be. I have pinned mine up approximately 4cm. Press the hem amount up all the way around then turn in the end 1cm and press. Put your elastic inside the folded edge of the hem and pin the hem in place making sure you leave the ends of elastic coming out together, as shown in the photos. Hand sew your hem down with a running stitch alternating your needle between the folded hem edge and the sleeve with around 5mm between each stitch. Leave a small opening where the elastic is coming out and pull in the elastic to your desired size then tie a knot to hold together and trim away excess. If your elastic is too wide to tie a knot you can instead cut to the desired size and overlap the elastic ends by 1cm, then sew ends together securely with a straight stitch or zig zag. finally sew down the remaining hem to encase the elastic fully in the sleeve.
STEP 7
Finally turn the hem up to your preference, I have turned mine up 1cm plus 1cm. Press and pin in place. Hand sew down with a running stitch alternating your needle between the folded hem edge and the body with around 5mm between each stitch.
Now you have a finished top! Wear loose or twist and tuck in at the front to add shaping at the waist.
]]>There are some changes made to the pattern and sewing techniques to complete the quilted jacket. The full pattern layout can be found in the ZW Bell Jacket Instruction Booklet. The below outlines the sewing steps required to make this hack, the full cutting plan can be found in the PDF Instruction Booklet.
1. Sew the centre back inverted pleat on the back neck, the pleat should be pressed in place down to the stitch line and then you can sew across the bottom of it to hold it in place here, through all layers. OR if you prefer you can hand tack it in place from the inside so that the stitch line is not visible on the outside of the garment.
2. Sew the shoulder together then bind the edges together using a lightweight binding (if your fabric is a bit thick then you can bind the edges separately, sew together, then press open).
3. Mark out your sleeve hem darts on the inside, making sure that you remove 5cm from the bottom of the templates first. Bind the sleeve side seams separately then sew side seams together, taking in at the bottom towards the hem according to the template. Press seams open and sew the remaining darts. Press darts to one side and stitch down around the hem to hold in place. Sew the sleeves into the armholes and overlock the seams together (you can opt for a binding here but instead, but keep in mind it can get quite bulky).
4. Now the 'easy' part is done. Next you will need to assemble your collar, which is done differently to the bell jacket pattern. As there is no lining and the quilted fabric can be very bulky it is done in such a way that reduces the bulk as much as possible, however this does take a bit of care and some hand sewing to assemble.
Start by binding the centre back edges of your collar pieces separately then sew together with a 3.5cm seam allowance and press open. Sew down the seam allowance neatly top and bottom as shown, approximately 5mm away from the raw edges.
5. Place your collar stands together in pairs and sew the centre back seam, press open and trim away the seam allowances a little at all ends. Place the collar stands together, wring sides together, and sew together around all sides around 5mm away from the raw edges.
6. Now sew a piece of light weight bias binding to the top curved edge of the collar stand, right side binding to right side collar stand and taking around a 8
mm seam allowance. This binding will be visible from the outside of the garment so use the same binding you are using to finish the rest of the jacket.
7. Now sew the other end of this binding the the underside of the collar, right side binding to right side collar, matching the centre back seams. Finally take a second strip of binding and press in the ends by around 8mm. Place this binding on the inside of the collar to cover these seams neatly. Pin in place and hand stitch down on both sides all the way along.
8. Ok so a note here: The collar I am using for the rest of this tutorial is not constructed the same way as the one you just saw, it took a while for me to find the best way to make this collar so I have done a few different iterations of this, the below collar looks a little different so don't be confused! The process to attach the collar to the neck is the same.
Now make sure you have a notch marked on the front left and right neck, it should be 4.5cm away from the centre front edges, this is the start point of your collar. Line up the the end of the collar that has the collar stand attached to it by matching the centre back point to the centre back neck. Work out at what point each end of the collar aligns with the notches on the front necks and place a pin here. Then attach a binding around the other curved end of the collar, finishing around 1cm past the point of the pin on each end.
9. Now line the collar up with the back neck again, with the right side of the garment facing up and the the wrong side of the collar facing up, as shown in the image below. Then loosely pin the raw edges flush up against each other and tack on place starting at the notch on each end.
10. Now sew a strip of binding, right side to right side, along the neckline only (not on the collar part) around 8mm away from the raw edge (the edge that is sitting flush against the collar). Press the binding up and then turn under the other end by around 1cm to the wrong side of the binding and pin in place all the way along the neckline making sure that it covers the hand tacked together edges neatly here.
11. Now take another length of binding and press in the ends to the wrong side by around 8mm on each side. Turn the jacket to the wrong side and place this strip of binding over the neckline on this side, cover the raw edges neatly and pin in place, making sure that at the centre front neck it lines up nicely with the binding on the other side, at the top edge. Hand stitch the binding in place along both edges, then turn the jacket back to the right side and hand stitch the top binding edge in place here as well.
12. Now the hard part is done! Attach a binding to the straight edges of the centre pocket seams then sew together with a 2.5cm seam allowance and press open. Neaten up the seam along the bottom edge if needed so it follows the same shape as the curve. Attach a binding to the top edge, then attach a binding around the curved edge leaving a little tail on each end to tuck under later.
13. Place the pocket onto the left hand side at your preferred height, make sure it is at least 6cm away from the centre front edge to allow for the overlap to close the jacket. Pin in place, tucking the little ends at the top under neatly. Top stitch down adding a little triangle on each top edge for strength.
14. Now you may have seen earlier the body of my jacket was very short, the fabric I have used is very narrow and for this particular pattern layout the fabric width determines the garment length, so I have now added an extra piece to the bottom to make the jacket longer. I have also added 2 rectangular patch pockets using scrap fabric, finished in the same way as the chest pocket. Finally bind the hem all the way around and then bind the centre front edges, turning in the top and bottom ends neatly to finish.
You can also add buttons and button holes here if you like, horizontal button holes look lovely on this jacket, the first one starting around 2cm down from the top edge and the the others spaced evenly below, around 11-13cm apart.
And now the jacket is finished!
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This blouse should be cut out in a very similar way to the jacket pattern , except you use pieces C to finish the inside of the neck, and the collar is square, and is made from the pocket pieces. There are also no hem darts on the sleeve (although you can opt for this instead if you wish) and instead there is an elastic to bring it in art the wrist.
1. Start by sewing your blouse body and sleeves together. Sew the CB inverted box pleat, shoulder, which should be overlocked together as well, and then sew the underarm of the sleeve and overlock edges together, then sew the sleeve into the body armhole, matching the notches, and overlocking the seam together. You should also prepare your back neck facing, sew together at the centre back, press seams open, then attach a binding to the curved edge. Make sure you pin the inverted pleat on the back body to hold it in place for later.
2. You should now attach an iron-on interfacing to one of the collar pieces (G) and to the centre front edges of the front bodies, up to the width of the first notch and down the whole length of the centre front. Press in the centre front edges on the front bodies to the inside by 1cm, and then press in again to the first notch, all the way down to the hem.
3. Take your collar pieces and place them right sides together, sew across one long edge with 1cm seam allowance. Press the seam to one side and then do an under-stitch close to the seam, this side with the under-stitching will be your under collar. Fold the collar in half lengthways with right sides together and sew together each end. The amount of seam allowance you take here will depend on how long this piece is (it can vary slightly depending on how long you have made your sleeves in the cutting plan). The finished collar width for a size ONE= 47cm (shown in the pic below), and a size TWO= 49cm. Turn the collar out the right way and press, then sew together the other long edge with a single stitch around 5mm down from the raw edges.
4. Place the collar onto the back neck, the under-stitched side of the collar against the right side of the body. Pin in place along the neck making sure that the centre back point of the collar matches the centre back pleat on the body, and that the finished edges of the collar match the notches on the front necks. Sew together with a 1cm seam allowance. Check that at the shoulder seam it is sewn correctly so that it sits neatly at this point.
5. Take pieces C (front neck binding) and place right sides together in pairs. Sew together along the curved edge with a 5mm seam allowance. Press the edges to one side (so that you end up with a pair) and do an under-stitch along this edge close to the seam to hold down neatly. Press and stitch together on the short and long straight edges, around 5mm away form the raw edges.
6. Turn back the centre front edges to the first notch, right sides together, and stitch together at the top edge. I like to angle my seam down slightly so that it is a little lower at the centre front, you can do a 1cm seam allowance at the 'collar' point and then angle down to around 2cm seam allowance at the centre front edges.
7. Now place one of the front neck binding pieces (C) and place the long edge on the front neckline seam, the under-stitched side facing up. This piece should extend past the centre front turn back around 2-3cm. Pin in place starting around 1cm into the turn back and finishing at the shoulder seam (piece C should extend past the shoulder point a couple of cm here as well). Stitch together between these pinned points ONLY with a 1cm seam allowance. Press away from the body and then under-stitch along the part that has been sewn to the neck to hold the seam down neatly here.
8. Turn the centre front folded back edges the right way out. Press and pin in place down the centre front and stitch down the folded in 'placket' close to the edge. This stitch will catch in the front binding pieces as you go, make sure these are sitting neatly at this point, at an angle that gives enough for the front neck seam to sit nicely.
9. Place the back neck facing onto the back neck, right side facing against wrong side body, to cover the seam allowance along the neck. Pin to the back neck between the shoulder points only and stitch together with 1cm seam allowance. Press the facing away from the body and do an under-stitch along this sewn edge to hold the seam down neatly here.
10. Now pin the loose ends of the front neck binding to the shoulders at a right angle. Sew to the shoulder seam then sew the remaining part of the back neck facing to the shoulder seams, as far as you can up to the neck point. You need to take more seam allowance on the back neck facing, as shown in the photos, this is similar to how much extra is taken when attaching it to the bell jacket. This part can get a bit fiddly so spend some time making sure that it will be sewn at just the right spot so that the shoulder and neck seams sit neatly on the outside as well, once done.
11. Turn the back neck facing to the inside of the garment, wrong side to wrong side. Press and pin neatly in place, making sure that the centre back pleat is held neatly in place. Top stitch the facing to the back neck so that the stitch is visible on the outside of the garment as well. Do a top stitch on the front neck seam, around 8mm down from the top to hold everything neatly in place here. Working from the right side of the garment stitch from the start point of the centre front placket stitch line up to the shoulder seam.
12. Overlock all 4 edges of the pocket bags to stop the seams from fraying too much. Press down the top to the wrong side by 2.5cm and top stitch in place with 2 rows of stitching. Press in the sides and bottom edges to the wrong side by 1cm. Pin pockets to the front of the blouse to your preference. I have placed mine approximately 47cm down from the shoulder seam, and 8.5cm in from the centre front edge. Top stitch down working a triangular stitch on the top corners to strengthen here.
*TIP: if the pocket drapes down a lot when worn (this can happen when using a soft drapey fabric) then you can add a vertical button hole to the inside centre point of the turn down on the pocket bag, before stitching this down, and then add a button corresponding on the body of the blouse. This will be a little concealed button and button hole and it will hold the pocket in place nicely at the top. (You can off-course choose to do a visible button and button hole if you wish instead!).
13. Turn the hem to the inside twice by 1cm and top stitch the hem in place.
14. Now press the sleeve hems to the wrong side by 1cm, then press up again into the wrong side by 2cm. Stitch down leaving an opening of around 3-4cm. Thread the elastic through with a safety pin then join the two ends with a zig zag or 2 rows of top stitching. Stitch the opening closed and even out the gathers.
*You should now add button holes and buttons but I do not have specific images/steps for this! For mine I added x5 button 1.5cm wide. The button holes run vertical down the right side, starting around 2cm from the top edge on, and then the other 4 spaced evenly apart by 11.5cm. Buttons sewn to the left side to correspond.
And now it is finished! Here is my completed blouse below (still missing buttons!)
]]>*The sewing steps are numbered in order based on the PDF Instructions Booklet.
STEP 2A
With right sides together place the front shoulders on the back shoulder and sew together, matching the notch on the back neck to the front neck edge. Press seams open as far as you can along the shoulder seams.
*I'll let you in on a little secret here....I am making a very luxe long version of this coat, it's looking so good! To make this all you need to do is add the required length to the body of the pattern, for this one I added an extra 55cm. For size TWO you will need to add length a little differently, you can refer to the Pattern Adjustments tips at the end of the Instruction Booklet for more.*
STEP 2B
Mark darts using templates J and K, on the wrong side of the fabric, on the sleeve hems. These templates allow for a 5cm hem allowance.
Divide the sleeve hem into 4 equal quarters. Mark one dart in the very centre of the sleeve hem using template J, then mark one on either side, these ones centred between the side seams and centre dart, also using template J. Using template K, mark darts (called darts for consistency, but this is more like side seam shaping here) on the left and right side seams. There should be 5 dart markings in total on each sleeve.
TIPS: Before sewing it can be really helpful to cut a notch at the start point of each dart/shaping on the bottom raw edge of the hem.
STEP 2C
With right sides together fold the sleeve in the centre matching underarm edges together. Sew the centre sleeve seam by following the dart markings. Sew the underarm seams together starting with 1cm / 0.375” seam allowance at the top and continuing down along the markings for the side seam ‘dart’. Press underarm seams open.
STEP 2D
Open out the sleeve so that the underarm seam is in the centre and so that the other 2 darts are on the fold. Sew the sleeve darts by following the dart markings.
STEP 2E
Starting at the hem cut into the centre fold line of each dart up to around 1.5cm / 0.5” away from the finished point of the dart. Press all darts open and then do a stitch around the hem of the sleeve to secure the seam allowances in place.
STEP 2F
Sew the sleeve to the armhole making sure you match the sleeve underarm seam to the front armhole notch on the body, the centre notch on the sleeve to the shoulder seam, and the double notch on the sleeve to the double notch on the back armhole. Gently press seams down towards the sleeve.
And there you have it, sleeve and body is constructed.
]]>This is a tutorial that further explains how to do the inverted box pleat on the back of the ZW Bell Jacket with colour photos. This tutorial is shown using the size ONE, if you are sewing the size TWO follow the steps to sew on the back panels, then you can follow the same steps below for doing the inverted box pleat.
*The sewing steps are numbered in order based on the PDF Instructions Booklet.
STEP 1E
With right sides together sew the CB pleat at the first notch away from the centre back. Sew a straight line down from this point 10cm / 4”.
STEP 1F
Fold out the pleat so that the centre is in the centre of the pleat. The pleat should be an inverted pleat, when looking at the outside, right side, of the garment. Lightly press the pleat in place and then do a stitch along the top neck to secure the pleat in place.
*TIPS to keep the pleat sitting neatly at the centre back add a few pins to hold in place, this pleat will get secured down later on once the lining has been attached.
]]>*The sewing steps are numbered in order based on the PDF Instructions Booklet.
STEP 6A
Turn the jacket inside out and sew the body hems together of the LINING and OUTER, with right sides facing together. Line up the CB point of the LINING to the CB point of the OUTER. The centre front edge of the lining should finish approximately 5cm / 2” away from the centre front bound edge of the OUTER body.
STEP 6B
Put the sleeve LINING into the sleeve OUTER, right sides together, and match together the bottom hem edge of the sleeves at the underarm seam point, making sure that the sleeve is not twisted. Pin together at this point to hold in place.
Turn the sleeve wrong way out by feeding your hand in between the lining and outer and all the way down the sleeve to the hem, then pull the sleeve out by the hem through this centre front opening.
Hold the sleeve together at the hem point and take out the pin at the underarm point, then place the sleeve hems together at this point with right sides together and place the pin back in, the raw edges of the lining and outer should be matching together. Pin around the rest of the sleeve hem matching the seams of the darts. Sew together the hems then turn the jacket right way out.
STEP 6C
Press the sleeve hem up so that there is 4 cm / 1.5” distance from the folded edge to the seam that joins the lining. Pin in place and hand stitch together, making sure that the stitching is hardly visible, or if you can, not visible at all, from the OUTER side of the sleeve.
STEP 6D
Turn back the bottom edge of the centre front hem, on the OUTER 5cm / 2” right sides together, making sure that the lining is going down and away form the OUTER body. Sew across the bottom part of the fold back 5cm / 2” up from the edge (or to the desired hem turn up).
*Please note the jacket used for this tutorial has a larger hem turn up than this. If you adjust the length of your jacket make sure that you adjust the lining length accordingly. A good lining length is to the finished length of the outer, this will leave enough extra for blousing once sewn.*
STEP 6E
Turn out the right way and lift the lining up into the OUTER body, right sides facing together. Trim away the bound edge on the inside folded up edge of the centre front body, to reduce bulk.
STEP 6F
Press the body hem up all the way around, so that there is 4cm / 1.5” from the folded edge to of the hem to the seam that joins the lining to the outer.
Making sure that the seam joining the lining body hem to the outer hem is going up into the body, positing the lining under the centre front fold back of the body, at the bottom part of the hem, making sure that everything is sitting neatly along this edge. Place a pin to hold in place, exactly along the seam joining the lining to the outer.
Now starting from the top of the centre front neckline, making sure the lining is neatly placed underneath the centre front folded in edge, pin the lining in place all the way down. There will be extra lining when you get to the bottom, when you get to the bottom pin that you placed in step 6F, remove this pin while holding the fold up in place along this point and make a tuck with the excess lining, going downwards.
STEP 6G
Pin the hem up all the way along, the same amount as the front, 4cm / 1.5”.
*Please note the jacket used for this tutorial has a larger hem turn up than this!*
Do a hand stitch to hold the centre front OUTER to the lining, along the pins. Then hand stitch the hem up, along the seam that joins to the lining, as far as you can between the centre front points. The stitching should be hardly visible, or if you can, not visible at all, from the OUTER side of the garment.
That was the last tutorial for the ZW Bell Jacket. The very last step is attaching buttons and button holes! Refer to the Instruction booklet for more on the placement and your individual sewing machine for how to sew button holes.
]]>These are further images to help in sewing the collar to the ZW Bell Jacket outer and lining. These instructions are particularly difficult to explain with just text and illustrations, as is done in the PDF Instruction Booklet. I hope these images serve as a better reference to working through these steps! The collar is attached in this way to reduce bulk along the neckline. When you are working with coating fabrics it can become very bulky through these seams so this method helps to reduce the bulk as much a possible.
*The sewing steps are numbered in order based on the PDF Instructions Booklet.
STEP 5H
Sew a binding strip onto the left and right centre front edges of the OUTER body.
The method of attaching binding below is a little different from the usual attachment, this is a way that reduces bulk, it is great to use for edges that won't be visible from both sides once the garment is made. I learnt this technique from one of our super star interns a few years ago (shout out to Bettina!). I have been sewing for over 20 years and it just goes to show you never stop learning!
With this method start by attaching the binding to the right side of the garment first, right side binding to right side garment, with a 1cm seam allowance, then press away from the body. Fold the binding to the inside of the garment along the very centre front edge of the body. Pin in place then stitch down from the right side by stitching in the ditch.
STEP 5I
Place the LINING side of the collar onto the neck of the OUTER body, right sides together. Match centre back seams together and continue the collar around the neckline finishing at the second notch away from the centre front neckline. Pin in place and sew.
STEP 5J
Place the OUTER side of the collar onto the neck of the LINING body, right sides together. Match centre back seams together and continue the collar around the neckline finishing at the first notch away from the centre front raw edges of the lining body. The start point of the collar on the front neckline should finish right up against the start point of the LINING collar sewn during step 5I. Pin in place and sew.
STEP 5K
Fold back the top edge of the centre front neckline to the first notch, right sides together and sew across the top edge with a 1cm / 0.375” seam allowance. You will need to move away the front part of the lining, up to the start of the collar, out of the way, so that you don’t sew over this. The bound edge of the centre front body should sit flush up against the start of the collar and the start stitch point where the lining is attached. Once sewn move the lining back over the top edge, the centre front raw edge of the lining should sit along the folded centre front edge of the OUTER. Pin in place along the neckline from the centre front to the shoulder point. Stitch together through all layers up to the shoulder seam point only.
STEP 5L
Do an understitch on the right side of the lining to hold down the seam allowances, on the lining side only close to the neck seam.
STEP 5M
Turn the jacket out the right way and press the lining and seam allowances down.
STEP 5N
Press the back part of the collar neatly in place, the back neckline seams should be pressed going opposite directions on the OUTER and LINING necklines so as to reduce bulk. Pin together the OUTER and LINING collar along curved seam that joins the collar stand to the collar, making sure that the seams on the inside are sitting neatly and nice and flat, pin together to hold in place.
Pin together the back neckline, making sure the LINING and OUTER neckline seams match as closely as possible and that the seams are going opposite directions to reduce bulk. Hand stitch together along the back neckline and the collar stand seam, joining together the OUTER and LINING collar pieces neatly.
Finally pin down the back neck facing to the back lining and pleat so all layers are held neatly in position. Hand stitch the bottom part of the curve near the binding, around 12cm / 4.75”, to hold all layers together. The stitching should not be visible from the outside of the garment.
]]>
This is a tutorial showing the hand stitching on the collar of the ZW Bell Jacket, which is an optional step, but it as a great way to secure down the lining so it doesn't roll out, and it looks beautiful too! (This is step 5O, in the PDF Instruction Booklet).
This finish can be done if your lining is still rolling out slightly and is done so that the lining is not visible from the right side of the collar, or do it as a feature as this is a really beautiful detail on the underside of the collar.
Pin the OUTER collar to the LINING collar in a few places so that it is held together neatly and the collar sits nicely. Hand sew the LINING to the OUTER, going around the outer edges first, around 1.5cm / 0.5” away from the edges, with a running stitch, only lightly catching the OUTER side as you go (this stitch should not be very visible, or visible at all form the OUTER side of the collar.). Continue this stitch by spiralling it all the way into the centre of the collar with the same spacing all the way around.
]]>
*The sewing steps are numbered in order based on the PDF Instructions Booklet.
STEP 5A
Before starting make sure you have attached an iron on fusing to the wrong side of the OUTER and LINING collar pieces (C).
STEP 5B
With right sides together sew the CB seam of the OUTER collar pieces following the notch for the seam allowance amount. Press seams open. Repeat for LINING collar pieces.
STEP 5C
With right sides together place the collar stand OUTER pieces (D) together in pairs and sew the centre back seam. press seams open. Repeat for LINING.
STEP 5D
Place one LINING collar stand onto one OUTER collar stand, wrong side to wrong side, lining up the CB seams. Sew together with a stitch around all edges approximately 5mm / 0.125” away from the raw edges then repeat for the other set of collar stands.
STEP 5E
With an 8mm / 0.375” seam allowance sew the OUTER collar (C) along the bottom edge with the notches to one of the collar stands (D) along the top curved edge with the notches, with the right side of the collar against the OUTER fabric of the collar stand. Match the CB seams and the notches. Press seams open. Repeat with the collar LINING, right side of the collar against the OUTER fabric of the collar stand.
STEP 5F
Place the LINING collar onto the OUTER collar, right sides facing together, and sew together with an 8mm / 0.375” seam allowance along the top curved edge of the collar between the notches on the outer edges of the collar. The bottom part, along the collar stand edge, should be left open.
STEP 5G
Snip into the notches on each side right up to the start of the stitch lines, you may also want to trim the seam allowances around the curves a little so that it will press nicely once the collar is turned the right way.
Turn the collar out the right way and press. Do an understitch close to the seam on the lining side, it may be difficult to get the understitch close to the notches due to the curve of the collar so just do this as far as you can between the notches, to hold the lining side neatly down. This stitch line should not be visible on the OUTER side of the collar.
]]>
*The sewing steps are numbered in order based on the PDF Instructions Booklet.
STEP 4A
Sew the centre back pleat on the body LINING the same way as the OUTER.
STEP 4B With right sides together sew the centre back seam together of OUTER pieces E, along the short straight edge. Press seams open. Repeat for LINING pieces L.
STEP 4C Place the LINING piece L onto the OUTER piece E, wrong side to wrong side, lining up the centre seams. Pin in place and top stitch together, stitching approximately 5mm / 0.125” away from the raw lining edges along the top straight edge and around the curved edge. This lining acts as an interfacing piece for the back neck facing.
*The jacket used for this tutorial has had a layer of fusing/interfacing attached to the entire length of fabric before cutting, but generally speaking you would not have an interfacing on the wrong side of the back neck facing AS WELL AS the lining. The lining is intended to act as the fusing/interfacing to strengthen this piece.
STEP 4D Bind around the curved edge of the facing.
STEP 4E Place the back neck facing on the back lining, right side lining to wrong side facing and pin in place, matching the centre back facing seam to the centre back pleat and making sure that the pleat is evenly and neatly pinned underneath the facing. The centre back top edge of the back neck facing should line up with the centre back top edge of the back body. The left and right top edge of the back neck facing will sit above the shoulder line by around 2cm / 0.75”, or an amount that ensures that the back neck facing sits neatly on top of the back lining.
STEP 4F
Place the front shoulder over the back shoulder, right sides together and sew together, making sure that the top shoulder edges of the front and back linings match together (ie: the right and left top edge of the back neck facing should sit above the shoulder line). Press seams to the front.
STEP 4G
Sew the darts on the sleeve lining hems using templates M and N. Mark 4 equal quarters across the bottom edge of the hem, on the wrong side of the fabric. There should be 5 darts across the bottom hem.
Press darts to one side. Do a stitch around the hem of the sleeve, approximately 8mm / 0.375” up from the raw edge to secure the darts in place. The bottom folded edge of each dart will sit slightly above the hem line.
STEP 4H
Sew the sleeve to the armhole making sure you match the sleeve underarm seam to the front armhole notch on the body, the centre notch on the sleeve to the shoulder seam, and the double notch on the sleeve to the double notch on the back armhole. Gently press seams down towards the sleeve.
NEXT TUTORIAL for the ZW BELL JACKET
]]>*The sewing steps are numbered in order based on the PDF Instructions Booklet.
STEP 3A/3B
Sew together the hip pockets by placing pieces G and H, right sides together, in pairs and sewing one long edge together. Sew together the chest pocket by placing pieces H right sides together and sewing along the long edge.
Press all seams open then overlock across the top short edge of each pocket.
Repeat STEP 3A for lining pieces, sewing together the hip pockets together in pairs and the chest pocket together. Press seams open. DO NOT overlock across the top edges.
STEP 3C/3D/3F
Place the hip pocket lining pieces onto the hip pocket outer pieces, in pairs, right sides together and matching the bottom edges together. Sew one long edge together, then move the pocket lining to the other long edge of the outer pocket and sew together in the same way.
Press the seams towards the lining. Even out the lining on the hip pockets so that the lining is centred to the outer pockets top stitch across the bottom short edge.
Repeat steps for the chest pocket
Turn hip pockets and chest pocket the right side out and press.
HIP POCKETS: Fold down the top edge so that the total height of the pocket measures 21cm / 8.25", wrong side to wrong side, and press and pin in place. Do 2 rows of top stitching to hold down the fold of the pocket.
CHEST POCKET: Fold down the top edge so that the total height of the pocket measures 15cm / 6" 11.5cm, wrong side to wrong side, and press and pin in place. Do 2 rows of top stitching to hold down the fold of the pocket.
Finally hand sew the sides of the pockets together along the folded edge to close the holes neatly here.
STEP 3G
*Pocket placement is a guide only, pin on the jacket and try on first to see you are happy with where they are sitting. Keep in mind that the centre front edges will turn in at the first notch on the neck when the jacket is finished, and the hem will turn up 5cm / 2”, so you will need to allow for enough space for this and make sure they are not too close to the centre fronts or hems.
*The colour image of the jacket below shows the jacket with hems already turned up and the centre fronts turned in to the first notch.
Pin the hip pockets in place on the left and right front body, measuring 43cm / 17” down from the shoulder to the top of the pocket and 13.5cm / 5.25” away from the centre front edge.
Pin the chest pocket in place on the left front body, measuring 25cm / 10” down from the shoulder and 13.5cm / 5.25” away from the centre front edge.
Top stitch all pockets to the body on the long edges and the bottom short edge. Secure the top left and right corner of each pocket with an extra stitched triangle.
NEXT TUTORIAL for the ZW BELL JACKET
]]>Here I have used a bias strip that I cut myself from a light weight cotton shirting, it is around 3.5cm wide. If you are using a length of binding that you have purchased by the metre where the edges have already been pressed in you can still do this method by simply following the steps and using the pressed edges as your guide for the stitch lines, and when folding in.
Place your binding on the inside of the garment (wrong side of the fabric) and attach the binding with a single stitch around 0.5cm away from the edge (or a tiny but less than a 1/4 the width of your binding). You should have the right side of the binding facing the wrong side of the garment. As you sew stretch the binding on slightly, this is particularly important to do when you are sewing binding onto a curved neckline or armhole.
Gently press the binding up and turn your garment to the other side, so you are now working from the right side of the fabric.
Thats it binding done!
Birgitta x
]]>Start by pressing in the edges of the straps approximately 1cm, then fold in half and top stitch together with an edge stitch on both sides.
2a. Sew the CF seam together of the front bodice lining (B) and then press open. (if you are working with a size 3XL or above you will also need to sew together the CF seam of the front bodice (A) in the same way).
2b. Sew the bodice (A) and bodice lining (B) together on both sides with a single stitch, right sides of the fabric facing together.
2c. Turn out the bodice the right way and do an edge stitch to secure down the seam allowance, on the bodice lining (B) side only. I feel like this is one of the steps that can often be mis-understood in the patterns and I find it quite difficult to explain with only text and illustrations! This edge stitch should only be visible on the bodice lining side and is done to ensure that the lining does not roll out to the front and so that everything sits nice and flat when pressed. Once you have finished your front bodice, repeat the same steps for the back bodice (C+D).
*Another little side note here, if anyone is wondering if there is a difference between the bodice outer (A + C) and bodice lining (B + D) pattern pieces, as they do look very similar, yes there is a difference! The bodice lining pieces are a tiny bit smaller in the width compared to the outer, this is so that when these pieces are sewn together and bagged out they sit just right! The lining in a garment often sits much better if it is slightly smaller.
2d. BAGGING OUT THE STRAPS: Attach the straps with a single stitch to the front bodice (A) on the right side of the fabric, make sure it is sitting right up against the side seam.
2e. Turn your bodice to the inside, so you are exposing the 'wrong side' of the fabric, and bag out the straps by joining the bodice and bodice lining together with a single stitch across the top. Make sure that your side seams are folded neatly down to the lining side and that the straps are sitting neatly into these edges. Bag out the right way and then do an edge stitch as far as you can between the straps to hold down the seam allowance on the bodice lining side (B). This edge stitch is done in the same way as the side seams, step 2C. Finally press in place and then repeat for the back bodice.
3a. Gather your pre-prepared dress (I shall not go into detail on the dress for this tutorial!) to fit the front and back bodice.
3b. Sew the gathered section to the bodice (A) with right sides of the fabric together. It is really important here that you make sure you sew on the sides with the gathers so you can make sure they are sitting neatly and evenly as you sew. Make sure that the bound edges of the dress underarms are sitting neatly up against the side seams, similar to how the strap was attached in step 2d.
3c. After sewing lift up the bodice and gently press the seam where the bodice and gathered skirt are joined (do this from the front of the garment). Turn under the 1cm seam allowance on the bodice lining, making sure that the side edges are turned in neatly. Pin in place making sure that you cover the existing seam. I have pinned on the inside of the garment but you can also pin from the front if you prefer. Finally do a top stitch through all layers along the bottom edge of the bodice, making sure that you catch the lining as you go. Repeat steps for the back bodice/dress.
*TIPS if you prefer not have a visible top stitch here you can instead hand tack the lining down on the inside.
EXTRAS: SHORTENING STRAPS : This is a little extra bit here on shortening the straps. This pattern has a longer strap which will need to be shortened to your preference once you try the dress on. The most simple way to do this is to shorten it at the end by folding down the amount you want to shorten and then stitching the strap together.
*TIPS: If this is too bulky you can instead determine the finished strap length before bagging the strap out into the back bodice, this way you will have this lovely neat finish on both sides of the garment. You can either leave the excess length of the strap inside the back bodice between then outer and the lining, or trim away the excess.
And that's it for this tutorial! I hope this is helpful to anyone trying to get a neater finish here!
We have couple more tutorials planned for the ZW TIER DRESS in the coming weeks. If there is something in particular you would like to see a tutorial on for this pattern feel free to get in touch via info@birgittahelmersson.com
Birgitta x
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When we make stock for the shop we almost always do our pant fly's with buttons instead of a zip. WHY? Because it makes it easier for the life of the garment, firstly it is much easier to replace a button than a zip, and also at the end of its life if the garment gets sent for textile recycling the buttons can be removed super easy. Also I just think it looks super nice!
So in this tutorial I will only take you through the steps of putting in the button fly here, for all other steps of doing this ZW BLOCK PANT hack you will need to refer back to main ZW BLOCK PANT - FLY FRONT HACK TUTORIAL.
SO before starting it is good to know that you pretty much do everything the same as you would inserting a zip, except for you dont sew the zip in and instead attach an extra piece on the inside of your pant where the fly facing is, which is for your button holes.
Starting from step 5 of the main tutorial, you will need to prepare one extra piece, your 'button fly'. This piece has not been factored into the cutting plan so you will need to cut this separately. If you have some left over fabric from what you have used to make your pant then cut from this, otherwise it is also perfectly fine to cut this from a contrast fabric as it is not fully visible from the outside.
5a. First start by cutting your button fly piece and keep in mind this is an EXTRA piece from what you have already cut for the fly in the previous tutorial. This should measure 8.5cm wide by the length of your fly pieces you have already cut from the main plan. Fuse one half of this piece and then fold in half lengthways, right sides together, and single stitch and turn out the bottom edge. Press in half and overlock the raw end to finish.
Mark your buttons holes. I like to start my first button approx 4-5cm down from the top, and my second 6-7cm down from the first button. depending on your fly length you may want 3 buttons, but for me 2 here usually works great.
Make sure that your button holes start around 1.25-1.5cm away from the folded edge, otherwise your buttons may be a little visible from the outside of your pant.
Sew your button holes and cut open using a quick unpick.
5b.
Overlock your centre front pant seams separately and attach your fly pieces to your front pants.
Below you can see your right pant requires the fly facing (piece 2) and your left pant requires your fly placket (pieces 1). Start by sewing together your fly plackets, right sides (pieces 1) together, with 0.5cm S/A. Press the seam away and edge stitch to hold in place. Turn back the bottom edge and bag out with 0.5cm S/A. Once you have bagged out and pressed this piece, sew together the other edge, raw side, and finally overlock to finish.
5.c
Attach your fly facing (piece 2) to your right pant. Start by overlocking the side and bottom of your fly facing, then attach the non overlocked side to your centre front (CF) pant, with right sides together and 1cm S/A. Press the fly facing and all seams away from the CF and edge stitch down.
Sew together your centre front crutch, finishing around 2-3cm past your fly facing and then attach your fly facing to the left centre front pant (sorry missing a couple pics here but basically you need to do everything you do in the MAIN tutorial step 5, but WITHOUT sewing on the ZIP, and don't stitch down the fly facing yet!).
Below shows the fly facing and fly placket sewn in with an outside and inside view.
5.d
Attach your pre prepared button fly to the right centre front pant by placing it on top of the fly facing on the inside of your pant. Pin in place making sure that you keep it a few mm's away from the edge so that it is not visible from the outside of the pant. Also make sure that you pin trough all layers and keep your fly placket on the other side out of the way.
Stitch down your fly facing and button fly to your pant all in one with 2 rows of stitching to ensure that you catch the button fly into the stitching. At the end secure your fly placket by doing a stitch through all layers at the bottom corner of your top stitching. This is to ensure that your fly placket does not flap around when worn! (All of this is again very similar to the MAIN tutorial, just without the ZIP!)
5.e
Now mark out and attach your buttons. I have shown this step below before the waistband has been attached but I would recommend doing ALL the buttons at the end when the pant is totally finished.
And here we have the finished pant!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!
Happy Sewing!
Birgitta x
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This is a hack using the ZW BLOCK PANT pattern, which removes the elasticated waistband to instead give you a flat waistband at the front and sides with a zip and button fly closure at the centre front. This is a great way of making the block pant have a more fitted, tailored look at the waist, with a smaller section of elastic at the centre back for ultimate comfort. This pant also features darts to create more shaping from the waist down to the hips.
Now I need to warn you, this tutorial was epic to put together, I think I counted around 80 images in total, BUT I hope that I have made it as clear as possible. On that note I would definitely recommend this tutorial for more seasoned sewists, unless you are a pretty confident beginner who is up for a challenge!
This hack is also great to see how to put a fly front into a pant with a zip, I do mine a little differently from some other methods I've seen. I can't quite remember if I was taught to do it this way a long time ago or if I morphed into doing it like this along the way, but I find this method the easiest, so I hope you enjoy learning it!
This hack is broken up into 2 sections, CUTTING and SEWING. Please read the SIZING carefully below as this is a little more fitted in the waist so you may need to go up a size from what you would normally use with the original ZW Block Pant Pattern.
*ALL MEASUREMENTS ARE SHOWN IN CM'S. MOST SEAM ALLOWANCES ARE 1CM UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED.
Here Shoko is wearing a size SMALL in our ZWBLOCKPANT - LILAC ORGANIC COTTON.
-A 16cm zip to add into the fly front. You will need to use the below cutting steps as you follow your main Block Pant cutting plan. The below steps will need to be added in as you go.
-One 2-2.5cm button to close the waistband at the centre front.
-A length of 5cm / 2" wide elastic for the centre back waistband (see your size below for detailed measurements)
-Heavy weight fusing to fuse your left and right front/side waistband pieces, and fly facing.
- A length of binding to finish the inside edge of the waistband (as per instructions in the main pattern)
SIZING : FINISHED WAIST SIZE
The following adjustments will change the maximum stretched waistband size which means you may need to choose a size up from what you normally go for. Read below to see finished waist band measurements for each size, shown here as flat - stretched (accounting for the elasticated panel int the back waistband)
After you have completed 'Cutting Steps' 1 of 2 and you have sewn piece C to piece A/B, cut a 5.5cm strip from the end of piece A as per the diagram below.....
You will then use this strip to cut the below pieces, this layout changes slightly depending on which size you are using. Please note when using sizes XL-3XL there will be a small rectangular off-cut. Either find a way to use this in your garment, or save it to re-purpose into another project.
1: Fly placket
2: Fly facing
3: Belt Loops
XS-L - CUTTING PLAN
XL-6XL - CUTTING PLAN
Before cutting out the rest of your pieces you need to adjust the front waist drop from 2cm to 1cm, this is the step you will find on page 5 of your CUTTING PLAN labelled as 'Angle waist line into front'. With this change you can now cut all of your pieces as per the main instructions.
Take your front and back waist band pieces that you have already cut by following the main ZW BLOCK PANT instructions (pieces D from the main CUTTING PLAN) and cut as per the below instructions. Each size has slightly different measurements, refer to size chart below for detailed measurements by size, the cutting plan is shown at the bottom with this layout being used for all sizes.
4: Right front waistband
5: Left front waistband
6: Centre back waistband (cut 2)
7: Belt loop (cut 2)
8: Belt loop
9: Elastic length (this refers to how long to cut your 5cm wide elastic by size)
MEASUREMENT CHART - WAISTBAND AND ELASTIC
ALL SIZES - CUTTING PLAN
After all these pieces are cut put notches into your left and right waistbands as per the below diagram. Your right waist band (piece 4) has a notch 1cm away from the end, your left waist band (piece 5) has a notch 5cm and 1cm away from the end. The below diagram shows the order of your waist band pieces with centre front (CF) and centre back (CB).
DARTS: Once your front and back pant legs have been cut (pieces A and B/C in the main pattern) you can add in your markings for side seam darts. These are placed at all 4 side seams. The centre of the dart begins 4.5cm in from each side seam, the dart width is 4cm in total and the length is 16cm.
FRONT PLEAT: The front pleat will need to be made slightly larger, make sure your pleat starts at the same notch on the centre front side (refer to the main CUTTING PLAN by size). Your total pleat size changes depending on what size you are using. See below for more...
XS-XL : Total pleat size 10.5cm
2XL-6XL : Total pleat size 11cm
You will need to fuse the inside (wrong side) of your left and right waist band (pieces 4 + 5) , your fly facing (piece 2) and one of your fly plackets (piece 1). I recommend using a fairly heavy weight fusing so that your waistband is nice and structured.
2a:
Sew together your centre back (CB) and sew your front/side waistband pieces to your back waistband pieces, with 1cm seam allowance (S/A). Press all seams open.
2.b
Binding: Use a binding width of between 3-4cm. It is very important that you attach the binding on the correct side as your right waistband overlaps your left waistband. Follow the layout below and you should be good! Below shows the waist band from left to right.
Sew your binding onto the outside first with 0.5cm S/A, then press down, turn to the inside and pin in place. The inside part of the binding can remain raw as this will be hidden inside your waistband when finished. This is a great way to sew your binding onto a waistband as it is not as bulky as doing a more traditional bind.
2.c
Fold the ends of your waistband in half, right sides together, pin in place and bag out with 1cm S/A.
You can now put aside your waistband and elastic for later.
3.a
Pin your darts in place on the inside (wrong side) and sew. Do this on all 4 side pant legs near the side seams. Press darts AWAY from your side seam.
3.b
Fold your pleats towards your side seams from notch to notch, pin in place and secure stitch across the top to hold in place, approximately 0.5 cm down from the top.
4.a
You will need to attach your pockets a little higher than your pant as due to the darts and pleat the top of your pant has a curve in it. To account for this offset your top pocket edge by approx 1.5cm by raising it up above the waist line of the pant. Make sure you still sew your pocket opening 17cm down from the top of the pant. The excess at the top of your pocket will be hidden in the waistband later on. Im not going to go into further details on how to sew the pocket as you can find this info in the pattern, or by heading to our pocket tutorial on the ZW GATHER DRESS POCKETS, as they are done the same way.
4.b
If you are working with a smaller size you may need to trim off a part of the pocket as once the pleats are put in your pocket bag can get a little close to the centre front fly. I would suggest doing this for sizes XS-M. To do this cut off a triangular piece as shown below, so that you don't loose any width/depth in your pocket bag. Yes I know not zero waste, but you need to have a functional pant also. Save the scraps for something else!
*Update! If you want to do a button fly here instead head to this TUTORIAL for step 5.
5.a
Now it's time to attach your fly and zip. Start by overlocking your centre front pant seams separately.
Below you can see your right pant requires the fly facing (piece 2) and your left pant requires your fly placket (pieces 1). Start by sewing together your fly plackets, right sides (pieces 1) together, with 0.5cm S/A. Press the seam away and edge stitch to hold in place. Turn back the bottom edge and bag out with 0.5cm S/A. Once you have bagged out and pressed this piece, sew together the other edge, raw side, and finally overlock to finish.
5.b
Attach your fly facing (piece 2) to your right pant. Start by overlocking the side and bottom of your fly facing, then attach the non overlocked side to your centre front (CF) pant, with right sides together and 1cm S/A. Press the fly facing and all seams away from the CF and edge stitch down.
5.c
Now take your zip and pin it to your fly facing making sure that you leave at least 1.5cm gap at the top before the zip teeth start so that you wont be sewing over metal later! I like to line up the other end of the tape with the centre front seam which always sets the zip in a really good position. When you get to the bottom of the zip angle out the bottom part of the tape, starting around 5cm up from the bottom, with the tape extending out over your CF seam around 0.8cm, as shown below. Sew your zip down to the fly facing, I like to do one line of stitching as close to the zip as possible, using a regular machine foot, and then a second row of stitching on the far edge of the tape so it doesn't flap around. The final image here shows how it will look when turning your fly facing to the inside.
5.d
You will now need to sew together your centre front crotch seam, extending around 2-3cm past your fly facing. Make sure you cover your fly facing so that it is not visible from the outside of the pant when sewn.
Pin your fly facing neatly to the inside and top stitch down from the outside, making a curve at the bottom, before finishing as close as possible to the CF seam. I like to do 2 rows of stitching here as I think it looks super profesh on a fly front when your garment is finished.
5.e
Now stitch the other side of your zip to the left CF pant. Pin your zip in place and angle in the bottom slightly so that it sits flat and even, form the inside and outside, you will know when its sitting right as your fly will be sitting perfectly from the front. Sew your zip tape to your CF pant using a half foot so you can get fairly close to the teeth, making sure you angle out your stitch line accordingly along the bottom of the tape. Now do a second row of stitching to hold down the edge of your tape.
5.f
Attach your fly placket to your left front, pinning it in place on top of where you have just sewn the zip. Using your half foot stitch this in place all the way down. Finally top stitch one little corner at the bottom through all layers so that your facing does not flap around.
Now you can sew together your side seams, and the rest of your pant as per the main instructions right up until you need to attach the waistband. You should also secure the pocket bags to the top of your pant, making sure that it is sitting nicely, see below.
6.a
We are now up to the final stage! Start by sewing your belt loops. You have 5 belt loops, some may be slightly different widths and lengths so make sure you order them so that they are symmetrical. I will use piece 8 for the CB, pieces 3 for the back sides as they are a little wider, and pieces 7 for the side fronts. Fold your belt loops in half and turn in both edges. Pin in place and top stitch together with a double stitch. Line up all of your belt loops and mark them so that they are all the same height, you will not need to trim this off but rather have this sitting slightly further into your waistband.
Now pin your belt loops on and secure them in place by sewing across the top, around 0.5cm down. Your back side belt loops should line up with the side seams of your back waistbands. You can measure where this should sit by placing your waist band above your pant and lining up your CB seams, as shown below.
Front belt loops should sit near your front pleats, this location may change a bit depending on which pant size you are sewing so see what looks most balanced by eye.
6.b
Pin your waist band in place all around the top of the pant, onto the right side of the garment, right sides together, making sure that your centre fronts are sitting super neat and flush with the CF pant. Pin CF and CB first and then pin the rest so that it fits evenly across this part, you may have to ever so slightly ease your waistband onto your pant. Sew your waistband on with 1cm S/A. Be very careful when sewing over the zip section that you do not accidentally sew over metal. If it's getting a little close hand turn your wheel over this part for a few stitches just to be safe.
Now press all seams up into the waistband and fold the rest of the band in half and pin your waist band in place so that the side with the binding extends around 1cm or so past the seam. ONLY PIN your left and right waistbands down. Now sew your waist band down by stitching in the ditch, being very careful over the zip part again. You should ONLY sew down your left and right front waistband pieces, and leave your CB waistband open.
Here on the ends you can see that the band is folded under a little on an angle where the binding is, this is so that this part of the waistband sits inside the band and looks neat when finished.
Leave the back waistband un-sewn for now....
6.c
Now take your elastic and slide it into the back waistband , pinning each end in place, with around 1cm of the elastic feeding into the front waistbands sections. Top stitch the elastic down by sewing through all layers and stitching right over the seam that joins the CB waistbands to the front waistbands.
And I'm sorry I didn't get a photo of this actual stitch line finished, but sew in the seam that is pinned in the above photo! Now pin the back waist band in place and stitch in the ditch using a half foot so that that you don't accidentally sew over the elastic. I seem to have missed taking a photo of this actually stitched here as well but if you scroll further down you will see more pics on the finished waistband.
Now turn up your belt loops, turn under 1cm at the top, pin in place and top stitch firmly down. This part can get fairly bulky so take extra care here when sewing. Finally do a button hole on your right waistband, and sew a button on the left. Now you have a finished pant with a fitted waistband and fly front!
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial! I have tried my best to make sure that all the steps are correct but as this is a particularly involved one please do get in touch (info@birgittahelmersson.com) if you pick up anything that doesn't seem right and I will fix it up ASAP!
Thank you,
Birgitta xx
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The trick to doing this pleat is to make sure that you follow the line of the top pleat all the way down to the hem. Start by either laying your finished pant on a large flat surface or have them hanging neatly with a coat hanger. Pin your pleats in place on both legs, making sure they are even and that they each measure the same distance away from the side seams. The amount to pleat should be similar to your top pleat (which changes slightly for each size).
Once you have pinned your pleats in place do a top stitched square to secure this down.
NOW FOR SOME TROUBLESHOOTING!
Once finished there are some things to check so that the pleat is sitting correctly. Make sure that when hanging your pleat looks flat and neat from the top all the way down, without any wobbling along this folded edge, try your pants on to check.
If you do have some wobbling this may mean that the angle of your top pleat is not sitting quite right, but don’t worry this is an easy fix! Simply pinch up a small amount of your top pleat until the pant sits flat again, and then insert this excess into your waist band. The part that you adjust should only be the pleat section, a small amount can make a big difference here!
And lastly IRONING. I would not recommend ironing in your crease all the way along, this could impact the way the pant falls, if you want to give it a little iron though you can press the hem section and then hang and gently steam the rest of the pant.
And that is it, super simple! You can buy our latest ZW Block Pant Pattern HERE. And if anyone has any requests for tutorials please get in touch, we would love to hear from you! info@birgittahelmersson.com
Bx
]]>This is an updated tutorial on how to sew the inseam pockets in the ZW Gather Dress. We recently updated all of our patterns and one small change was that we have removed one notch from the side pockets, this is to slightly simplify the construction but also to add a little more depth into them, as far as i'm concerned the larger the pockets the better!
I have done this tutorial using a smaller sized sample for ease of photographing it so keep in mind it is not to scale.
Once you get a handle on how to do it this way I find it to be such an easy way of inserting inseam pockets, it really works great for any type of inseam pocket and makes for a really neat finish. This pocket is attached to the front skirt first before sewing your front and back side seams together. I will be using a single stitch and overlock for this but it is also possible to do a french seam for light weight fabrics. Cross hatching indicates the 'wrong side' of the fabric.
STEP 1.
Fold your packet bag in half, right sides together, and stitch and overlock your bottom edge.
STEP 2.
Attach one side of your pocket bag to the front side seam, right sides together, matching notches, stitch together with a single stitch and snip into the notch further after sewing through both layers ensuring you get very close to the stitch point. Edge stitch this seam back, on the pocket bag side, around 1-2mm from the seam edge, finishing just above the notch. The last image here shows how this should look on the inside (wrong side) of the garment.
STEP 4.
Turn your pocket bag to the inside of the skirt and press the lower part in place and stitch onto the front skirt side seam from the notch down to the bottom of the pocket bag. Leave the top of the pocket bag loose for now. Last image shows the inside (wrong side) view of the garment.
STEP 5.
Sew together your front and back skirt side seams, with a single stitch and overlock, with right sides together, making sure you leave your pocket opening free. Take particular care in making sure you stitch perfectly up into the notch point, where the pocket opening finishes, so that it looks neat from the outside with no raw edges showing. You can do this easily by making sure you stitch from the front skirt side so you can see where your original stitch line is for this section. Press your side seam to the back.
STEP 6.
Gather the top of your front and back skirt pieces accordingly (to fit your front and back bodice pieces), leaving the pocket bag loose at the top. Finally stitch the top of your pocket bag down, making sure that it is sitting flat against the gathers and that the side seams match up. I would recommend stitching on the gathered side of your garment so that you can make sure you keep this neat and don't create any tucks or folds. Last image shows the inside (wrong side) of the garment.
And thats it for inserting your pocket, now the top of your skirt is ready to attach to your bodice!
I hope this is helpful! And a little side note here for anyone that has purchased a copy of the ZW Gather Dress previous to it being updated we are happy to send through a complimentary copy of the updated version if you email us with your order number at info@birgittahelmersson.com
Birgitta x
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This is a very easy make, except the neck which is the trickiest part, especially for a beginner. This tutorial shows the steps of attaching the neck bind and hopefully will make it a lot easier for anyone struggling with this part.
The pattern includes a template to cut your binding, as well as measurements to make your own template if you are unable to print, but I would strongly recommend using the template, for both the neck cut out and binding, as it makes this whole process so much easier as you bind should fit perfectly into your neck.
This is a 'back bind', and when sewn it is visible on the inside of the garment only. This type of bind uses a bias strip which is folded in half lengthways and is sewn on as a double strip, then turned to the inside of the garment and top stitched down. It is a super nice finish, especially on light weight fabrics like silk or viscose and when it is done properly it looks really nice.
Below I will outline the steps of attaching the back bind as well as finishing the back split with loop. This should be the very first step you do when sewing together your garment as it is a lot easier to do this while you can keep the whole front/back body flat.
Cut out your neck using your template, and your neck bind using your template, making sure you mark all of your notches. This binding must be cut on the bias.
Join your ends together, with right sides together and sew with 1cm / 3/8 inch seam allowance and press open. Press this bind in half lengthways all the way around and trim away the points at the join.
Pin your bind strip to your neck on the right side, matching your centre front and centre back notches, and your SH notches to shoulder point of your body. Sew on the strip with a 5mm / 1/4 inch seam allowance taking particular care at the shoulder points, where the body part needs to be angled out slightly (see images for more)
Now turn down your bind away from the body and edge stitch, you can press this first if it easier. If you have any threads or raw fabric edges showing under make sure you trim them away carefully.
Now attach your centre back loop (this is a small turned out loop) by folding it in half and attaching in right up against your shoulder edge, turn your back facing onto the back body, folding along the shoulder line, right sides together, and sew your loop in as you sew your split. Sew your split a little down past the cut line and trim into this point as far as you can after sewing. Turn out your back facing and edge stitch each side as much as you can onto the the facing/seam part to hold back the seam. From the inside of you garment press everything down neatly and pin in place.
Top stitch you facing and binding down all at once. Once sewn down press with steam more as required, the neck should sit nice and flat when done. And thats it!
]]>Below is a simple step by step tutorial showing this process. Sewn with a mini size sample, cross hatched side shows wrong side of the fabric...
Start by pinning your sleeve into your armhole, matching the shoulder notch and underarm seams, right sides together.
Make sure you have snipped into the underarm notch 1cm / 1/2 inch so that you can keep the bodice side seam out of the way. The best way to describe this is to to keep your side seam at a right angle to your armhole when you are sewing across this section.
Stitch and overlock your sleeve into the armhole making sure you sew right into this underarm point so that you don't end up with a small hole here.
Now you should have a nice underarm finish here where the sleeve moves freely and the side seam sits nicely, pressed towards the back.
I hope this is helpful!
Bx
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I have made up 2 alternative layouts below depending on which pattern you are using. Instead of cutting the section that has sleeves, cut as per the below.
You cut 2 armhole facings and the remainder is used for pockets. The pockets are cut in the other direction on the grain from the original and your fold is at the bottom instead.
With this layout your armhole opening size is determined by the width of your fabric, if you have quite a wide fabric you are working with then you can reduce the size of your facings by folding in more on each end when attaching into your garment. If this becomes too thick you may need to cut a little extra away here OR think about using a contrast fabric using remnants you already have lying around, a little pop of a contrast colour or printed fabric would look super cute in here!
Attaching your armhole facing
I have used a half scale sample to show this process, if anyone is wondering why the bodice is so small! (which could be whole other tutorial for anyone wanting to make a mini version for a little person)
Sew your shoulders and side seams together, make sure your underarm notch is cut the the finished size you want your armhole opening to be. You can mark this by measuring down from the shoulder seam half the width of your facing piece.
Take your armhole facings and press in the long edge without the SH notch 1cm / 1/2 inch, and the 2 ends in 1cm / 1/2 inch (or more if you are working on the cropped shirt and need to reduce the size). Then pin your facing into the bodice, right sides together. Make sure you have snipped into your underarm notch the full 1cm / 1/2 inch and match up each end of the facing right into that underarm point.
Next stitch your facing in to the armhole with 1cm 1/2 inch S/A, making sure you get right into the underarm point and keep the bodice side seam out of the way so that it doesn't catch here.
Then turn your seam down and away from your bodice and edge stitch your facing down onto the seam and press and turn to the inside of your bodice.
OUTSIDE VIEW
INSIDE VIEW
Pin your facing in place and top stitch down and your done!
Bx
]]>I had a piece of patchwork fabric I had been working on for some time and as winter was setting in I thought it would be nice to make a tutorial with it. Considering many of us will be spending a lot of time at home this winter, thanks to the shitstorm that is 2020. So I hope this will be a fun project for anyone that wants to have a go.
I will focus mainly on the garment hack part of this tutorial, which you will need the ZW Coat pattern for, however you can certainly take parts of it to use for other projects, such as the patch-working/quilting aspect of it. Now I am no expert quilter so I have kept the quilting part quite brief as I don’t think this is my area of expertise to teach. I have simply put together a quilted piece of fabric in as simplified way as possible to use for the application of a garment, so I hope it will be fairly straightforward even for a beginner to follow.
For each section I will go through the steps written first and then have all the photos beneath in order, perhaps this will make it easier for anyone that wants to be able to glance through the steps visually without getting overwhelmed by all the text..
To start you will need:
- ZW COAT templates. Short coat collar and neck (optional) template.
- A 120cm length of fabric. The width should be somewhere between 140-155cm. I would choose something fairly heavy with a bit of structure, such as a quilted fabric which I have used (more below on this).
- Scissors
- Long right angle ruler ( If you don’t have this you can just find something with a straight edge, such as a book or large piece of paper)
- Chalk or dissolvable pen.
- Bias binding, enough to cover all the seams, which would be 8-9 metres (optional, you can overlock instead and do the kimono style front, this just means you wont have a reversible garment)
-30mm elastic (optional)
-Buttons, 25-30mm (optional)
I will simply run over the basics here as I am no expert quilter, it is totally up to you wether you want to patchwork your outer fabric. You could also simply just get 2 lengths of fabric, ideally a light-mid weight cotton or linen, and quilt them together with wadding in the middle.
Also if you can I would recommend pre-washed fabrics. You can also wash the whole piece after patch working if this is easer, just make sure it is a little bigger than you need, by around 10%, as it may shrink.
- I like to patch work with straight lines, so squares and rectangles.
-I find it is easiest to put together smaller sections and then sew them together to make a larger piece at the end.
- I like to plan out my patchwork on a large surface, table if you have it, or the floor. You can use a right angle ruler to straighten your offcuts, making sure you follow the grain the best you can.
-Make your final piece a little bigger than what you need as you may loose some width here and there once it has been washed and quilted together. For this hack you will need a finished piece that is 120cm x 150cm. Make this at least a few cm’s bigger on all ends and then you can straighten and trim away later on.
- Iron your seams as you go. Do in sections and keep and eye on how flat and even everything is looking before building up a giant piece.
-If you have a 4 thread or 5 thread overlocker I would recommend using this instead of just a straight stitch to sew your seams together. It will make the seams a little bulky so be careful when sewing a lot of panels together to keep everything pressed and smooth and flat, but by doing this you will have far less to secure once you have cut out your garment. For anyone that has done patch-working you will know what I’m talking about. As soon as you cut through anything you have patchworked your stitching will start to unravel and it can be a bit of a pain to secure everything. That being said if you are using a single stitch its not the end of the world, just make sure you secure anywhere that needs it after cutting out your garment pieces. Do this before you start sewing your jacket together as otherwise you will be kicking yourself when all your seams start unravelling after one wear.
This was super fun actually and you can stitch together all of your layers using any pattern you want, just make a template and draw on your stitch lines using a dissolvable pen, I highly recommend a FriXion pen as this comes straight off once you iron or wash your fabric.
-Cut a backing (this will become the inside of your jacket, and as it will be reversible choose something you would want to see on the outside too). Make your backing a little bigger than your finished size.
-Cut a wadding the same as above. I used Sew Simple Eco wadding (70% recycled cotton / 30% recycled Poly).
-Find a large surface to lay everything out on, such as a large table or on the floor. Make sure all your fabrics are not creased and are nicely ironed.
- You will now want to pin together all your layers, don’t go too overboard yet as you still need to mark out your stitch lines, so perhaps have a pin every 20-30 cm. Try to gently smooth out all your layers as you go so everything looks like it is sitting nice and flat. I would also work from the patchwork fabric side.
- Make a template using paper, for mine I hand drew a wave like shape on a piece of paper and cut this out, I then used this as a template to trace on where I want my stitch lines to be all the way down the fabric. I also measured between each so that they are more or less even. You could also do straight lines by just ruling lines.
-If you are making the ZW coat hack here, your garment runs along the fabric selvage to selvage, ie your garment lies across the opposite grain line to usual, meaning your length is determined by your fabric width. Just keep this in mind when planning out where you want to sew your quilting lines.
-Finally add more pins, and adjust any necessary now that you have your stitch pattern drawn on. Concentrate on pinning along all the stitch lines as this will help when you are sewing.
-Sew using your machine, I like to use as wide a stitch as possible here, because I like how it looks and also it is easier to sew over all the layers. I found it easiest to roll up one end of my fabric and slowly work through it in sections as I went.
- Finally do one last press, lay your fabric again on a flat surface and cut exactly to size, 120cm x 150cm.
-Fold your fabric in half, selvage to selvage, or the 150cm quilted length in half.
-You will be dong a similar cutting layout to the ZW Short Coat. Place your ZW Short coat collar template on the fabric, approx 26cm down from the shoulder/folded edge. This will give you the curve under your arm. Use a ruler to extend the straight line all the way to the bottom. Do this on both sides of your folded fabric.
- Cut away a rectangle from the bottom of each shape you have drawn. These will be your pockets. Make one pair of pockets approx 25cm high, and the other approx 18. I used the 18cm pockets going the other direction, so your pockets are 18cm wide including seam allowance, and the height is determined by your collar template width.
- The remaining curved pieces will become your sleeve bands. You will use one long and one short one for each sleeve.
- Now fold your fabric in half the other way, end to end, or the 120cm quilted length in half. Measure your halfway point, this is your shoulder point. Trace out your neckline here, as you would with the original short coat cutting plan. There are 2 options here. You can use your Short ZW Coat neck template here and create more of a kimono type front, This is like the pink duster I made a few weeks ago. Your CF edges are folded inside to create your facings, as per the original pattern but its just without the collar. This looks lovely if you want to make a belt/sash to tie at the waist. OR draw your own new neck shape, I drew a simple crew neck shape, I made it 7.5cm wide (from the folded edge) and 10cm deep.
- Cut away your neckline, ONLY cut the front part away (curve or triangular type shape depending on which neck you use) . The uncut part will be your fold line, you fold you front neck cut out back to create your back neck facing.
-Finally cut down the CF line on the fold.
Now you have all the pieces you need to start sewing.
And here is what I mean by the ‘kimono’ type front if this is what you choose….
First secure stitch any quilted areas you need to as these can unravel very easily once they have been cut. All seams will be bound, I have cut my own binding here using a lightweight white organic cotton, approx 30mm wide.
- Fold down the tops of all of your pockets approx 4-5cm and single stitch. I also overlocked all of my pocket edges so that they don’t fray, but this is totally optional.
- Pin on your pockets to where you would like them on the front bodies. I would suggest draping the garment over yourself and deciding where they look best. I used 3 on the outside and 1 on the inside. Stitch on your pockets.
-Bind all of your side seams separately, sew your side seams together and press open.
-Bind your neck/back facing edge all in one.
-Turn back the front neck and pin in place and stitch down. I wanted the whole inside of my garment to be the natural cotton so I turned my facing to the ‘outside’ patchwork side of my jacket.
- Bind your body hem edge.
- Bind your Cf edges, leaving some extra on top and bottom so you can fold in and neaten here as this will be your finished centre front edge. (if you are using the ‘kimono’ style front using the short coat neck template, here you can simply fold back and turn under 1cm seam allowance to neaten the raw edge. I would either hand stitch in place or single stitch, but this will be very thick if you are using a quilted fabric and using a machine to stitch down)
- Bind the straight seams of your sleeve hem bands and sew together.
-Bind the curved edge of your sleeve hem band.
-Fold and join and overlap the edges, making sure your finished width fits the finished width of your sleeve hem of your body. Here I also angled the panel so that it came in more at the hem of the sleeve band, I then cut away the small amount of excess along the top. Pin in place and sew together from both sides.
- Bind the other side of the sleeve hem band and also the sleeve hem of the body.
- Sew the sleeve band to the sleeve of the body.
- Add buttons and button holes (optional). I did buttons on both sides and sewed with a shank, this way it’s fully reversible and you can do up both ways. If you are doing a kimono type front you can simply make a matching belt from a length of fabric and close with a tie.
-I added an elastic casing into the back hem. To do this I cut a piece of 30mm elastic to the width I wanted to bring in the back. I then cut a casing out of a lightweight cotton fabric, I made this the same width as the back hem
Now the rest is in pictures, I hope it clear enough to follow! And I hope this has been helpful, good luck!
Birgitta x
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I had a request for some tips on bringing in the Zero Waste Coat and I ended up getting quite carried away with lots of other little fitting notes and ideas so I thought I would share them here! Please excuse my scribbly writing and drawings, I hope it makes enough sense!
Being an oversized shape, as many of my patterns are, and I do love anything oversized, it is off-course nice to add something little to bring it in slightly here or there, we all have such different (and wonderful) bodies the same thing won’t always suit everyone. So below Ive attached some of my tips on simple changes that can make a big difference. And another little note on oversized shapes, I often have customers in the store who are uncertain the oversized shapes will suit them, particularly the more petite ones, then they try it on and it literally can take a shortening of an arm or body length, or a little dart here or there, and all of a sudden it doesn’t look too big (because an oversized shape is not the same thing as a garment being too big for you!) and all of a sudden it actually looks totally proportioned and amazing.
So with that being said here are a few ideas based on the ZW Short Coat shape.
1. This might be the most common sense change, but TAKE IN THE SIDES! Although this will mean it is not a completely ZW pattern, but sometimes it can be worth sacrificing a little fabric, you want to feel comfortable in your clothes and actually wear them, not much point making a ZW garment if you wont wear it because it doesn’t feel quite right! When you take it in I would suggest starting with 0 somewhere under the arm and then bring it out and shape it further under the arm and down through the hem. Keep in mind with a batwing style the top part will still remain quite big, as this is the the style of it, but you can take away extra fabric through the waist and hip, just make sure you don’t make it too fitted around the hip and hem area.
2. Add a section of elastic into the centre back body. This is a great way to add a little shape into your back waist. I would recommend only bringing it in a little, around 10-15cm, you want this to simply hug into the small of your back slightly and create a nice silhouette here at the back of the jacket to give yourself a little more shape.
3. Darts into the underarm of the sleeve. This will not make a huge difference overall but can help to remove a little bulk under the arm, it also creates a more curved shape across the shoulder by pulling it down. Do darts on both front and back sleeves at exactly the same point and press the darts opposite directions before sewing your side seam together in order to reduce the bulk here.
4. Belt through the front only. This is a great way to add some shaping in the waist without it being too bulky. Personally this is the only way I can ever belt a coat, or any garment for that matter, as I have quite a short torso and a larger bust so anytime I tie around my waist it shortens me way too much, but If I tie only to the front the back hangs loose and only the front comes in which creates much more flattering shape for me. This is what I did with the Blush Duster, pictured below, and the body of this is a really similar shape to the ZW Short Coat. To do this make a belt from one length of fabric, you may need to add a panel if you need a longer tie than this, and make an opening in the side seams to thread the belt through. I would also recommend securing the belt to the centre back inside of the coat somehow, either stitch it in place, or add a belt loop to the inside of the back to hold in place. This just helps it to not flap around everywhere and stay where it should and also pulls the back in slightly when tied too. You can also tie to the back only if you prefer, this is a nice look when the coat is open.
5. Cross over with no buttons. Due to the shape of this coat it does actually want to naturally overlap across the front. This works great if you are using a waist belt but you can also add a small ribbon tie to the front too if you want the option to secure it without a belt as well.
I hope this has been helpful! You can use one of these, or try a combination to suit your preferences. This is mainly just to get you thinking about simple fit and design changes to make yourself so I hope this inspires some more ideas too!
Birgitta x
]]>I started working on this during the week using this same dark wool check fabric as the bias tape tutorial but it was impossible to see what was going on! So I have made up a toile using a lighter cotton drill fabric.
This tutorial shows you how to attach the collar to the short coat, on the long coat you have an extra step here where the cf facing extends out to create a double collar, but in essence the way it is attached is the same.
Start by sewing together the CB seams of your collar pieces, press open and then sew together to top curved edge. Sew here with only 5mm S/A. I always do a 5mm seam allowance on curved pieces as this means you don’t need to do an extra step of trimming back the seam to get a nice curve when you turn the piece out.
Turn your collar out and press the curve nicely.
Attach your collar to the front and back neck. Mark your centre point of the back neck and then place right sides together attaching to the front first, make sure you line up the edge of your collar with the very front edge of your front neckline, where the facing starts, and match your shoulder notches and centre back seam to centre back point. Stitch your collar in place, you will need to take slightly less seam allowance on the neck part at the CF and at the shoulder points so that the you don’t create any puckers when sewing.
Now press this seam to the inside of your collar and press the underside of your collar in place, turning in 1cm S/A on this end. Pin across the whole collar making sure it is sitting neatly, especially at the CF point. Hand tack this in place all the way along.
And thats it collar done!
I hope this was helpful!
Birgitta x
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