The Hermione Pattern Tutorial

by Andrea | Aug 1, 2019 | Uncategorized

The Hermione Pattern is a shirt/tunic/dress pattern for women. It has a boat neckline, cuffed dolman sleeve, and an empire waist.  Hermione is a good pattern to get you started sewing with knit fabrics.

PRINT:  If you are new to pdf patterns, make sure to print off your pattern at 100% scale. This is important! 

 You shoud have 18 pattern pieces print out total. The cuff will have two pieces, the bodice will have six pieces, and the skirt will have ten total pieces. 

After printing them out you will need to cut on the thin black line and tape them together using the hexagons to line the pieces up perfectly. 

SIZE and TRACE:

So, for most people, one size DOES NOT FIT ALL. That’s part of the reason I designed this the way I did. I have a size 6-8 on top and a 10-12 on bottom…and that could keep changing! You can feel free to add a larger sized bodice to a smaller skirt or vice versa. Seriously, measure and fit to your own beautiful form. 

Use a flexible tape to measure yourself and decide what size to cut or trace. This pattern was designed for a B sewing cup to fit just right across the bust so if you need a smaller size you should be ok, but if you need a full bust adjustment (FBA) use this tutorial to adjust your pattern: https://www.heyjunehand-made.com/dolman-full-bust-adjustment-tutorial/

Once you have decided on your size, trace or cut your pattern. You can simply cut or to preserve all sizes and the work of reassembing the pattern, use either medical exam table paper or swedish pattern tracing paper.

Cut out your fabric using a rotary cutter to speed the process along. If you are nervous, please be sure to pin or weight your pattern onto the fabric and cut with a nice sharp pair of fabric scissors.

A few tips to read on cutting out the neckband: 

-There is no pattern piece for the neckband, just use the measurements.

-USE A CLEAR RULER, this is an epic game changer. 

-IF you are using stiff and unstretchy knit jersey, add 1 inch to the neck band.  

-IF you are using thin and super stretchy knit, try subtracting 1 inch.

NEXT SEW THE BODICE and notch the centers of the neck as well as the center of the top of the skirt pieces.  

-Wonderclips are the bomb. These are the best for serging ot not making holes in knits. you can use pins too. I don’t want any of my sewing friends feeling like they need a serger to sew this shirt. A regular zig zag stitch on your machine will do just fine. However, once you fall in love with sewing knits, you will get serger fever, coupled with serger fear. Just call me, I will hug you, and I will take that serger out of the box and thread that serger for you until feel all better.

 

SEW THE CUFFS NEXT. Take the two rectangles and set them in front of you so that they are widest when horizontal to you. then fold right sides together so match up the short ends. Wonderclip or pin. Sew with zig zag or serge. Turn them right side out. Next fold that half and once you get it just right, clip it.  

Pin the cuff to the bodice sleeve opening. Match the raw edges and be sure your cuff seam is matched up in the underarm seam of the bodice. Serge and press toward the bodice.  Fold up the cuff toward the neckline and sew a tack by hand or machine to hold it in place at the top and bottom. TADA!

NEXT SEW THE SKIRT. Begin by pinning or wonderclipping the sides of the skirt piece, right sides together. Serge or zigzag. Now you can gather the skirt along the top raw edge.

-a nifty little gathering trick is to turn your stitch length up as long as it will go and adjust your tension to the highest setting. This configuration will gather the fabric slightly for you. Another nifty trick is to turn your stitich and tension back to normal settings after you are done gathering. I seldom remember the second one.

HEM your skirt. I like to serge or sew a zig zag along the raw edge and then press under. Next, sew a double hem line to secure and press again. 

The best way to attach the skirt to the bodice is to turn the skirt inside out. Put the bodice inside the skirt piece. Right sides together and raw edges lined up. Pin at the side seams and adjust the gathering to fit the size of the bodice. Pin in the middle. (or wonderclip) 

Stretch your bodice ever so slightly as you sew. If your fabric has poor stretch recovery or is delicate, try using clear elastic serger tape in the seam to reinforce this area. It will stretch a bit as it goes over your bust.

NECKBAND PARTY! Ok, deep breaths….make sure you notched the shirt bodice at the middle points of the neckline.  If your fabric is curling, starch it. Fold it lengthwise and starch it again! Press it real good. (If starching neckbands is wrong, I don’t want to be right.)

Sew/serge the short ends, right sides together. Fold it in half and put a pin at the half way point. Fold in half the other way and add two more pins. So you should have 4 equal points…The seam, and the three pins marking the quarter sections of the band.  Pin the seam at the middle back of the neck.  Then pin the front, then the sides about 1 inch away from the shoulder seam on the front bodice. Stretch the band as you sew to fit and ease into the neckline.

PRESS the neckband seam toward the bodice. For a professsional look and a band that lays flat, top stitch the neckline on the bodice a 1/4″ below the neckband and catch the seam allowance underneath. Press again.

Tada! Your done. If you have further questions or need something clarified just leave me a comment or send me an email and I would be happy to help!

Tag your photos on social with #thehermionepattern #andrealoydesign 

Find me and my sewing projects on IG @handfulofarrows

That Buffalo Check Quilt Trend

by Andrea | Apr 11, 2019 | Uncategorized

Are you pro buffalo check? All the buffalo check, all the time. Are you in that camp!? I’ve loved it for a long time, and I’m thrilled it is so widely available in home decor fabrics. It’s a classic look. Buffalo check quilts popped up on Pinterest last summer and I thought it was both an amazing and yet totally rediculous idea all at the same time.

But if by rediculous, I define the process as cutting out little pieces of fabric from larger pieces and sewing them back together again, then all quilts are rediculous. I guess I’ve just proved myself wrong, Becuase for me and great deal of others, quilting is life. It’s about organizing the creative process in a supremely satisfying way. This process involves a deeper level of emotion and pleasure than watching tv or organizing a sock drawer or even painting a masterpiece. Quilting is the marriage of art, love, and functionality for me. It’s perfect for a type A creative who can’t stand the thought of making something for no other reason than to look at it.

Now, back to the Buffalo check quilt trend. I began to get the itch for this quilt not more than a few seconds after the Pinterest image flashed before my eyes. I filed it under “must do” in the sewing section of my brain.

Once I found out I was going to be an auntie again I decided that my sister in law (who already had a buffalo check chair in her nursery ) was going to be the fitting recipient of my buffalo check quilt. Little boy was going to need to know my love in quilt form.

Then I waited for the fabric to come to me. I watched my stash for inspiration out of the corner of my eye when daily passing my fabric shelves. I browsed online fabric stores, but one day I was walking down the aisle of my local Walmart looking for a button and I saw the little precut packages of Waverly solids. They were perched in a little row along the bottom. I immediately reached out to touch them and test for quality. They were well made. The store had all the right shades to compose the three values needed for a buffalo check.

I took those little guys home with me and waited for Spring Break so I could have some uninterrupted sewing time.

Here is what I learned: Do not get sooo excited to start a project that you forget to think through the best process.

I could have cut strips and been very clever to piece this quilt in half the time I did. But I got excited, pulled out my accucut square die and chopped the yards up all into squares. About three rows into laying out the pattern on the floor I realized what I had done but it was too late.

I should have cut long strips out of my colors. Then sewed together Fabric A and B alternating and Fabric A and C alternating, so that I could strip piece.

But alas, I was just too excited.

Consequently, these squares are what I began my quilt with.

The top piecing was fairly easy after laying out the pattern. I bought one yard of each fabric. I ended up using the full yard of the medium value and only half or less of the dark and light values. I ended up with a perfect crib size quilt.

Choosing the thread and how to quilt it was the hardest decision. I landed on pearl cotton in two colors. After various texts to friends for their opinion and a few trial stitches I decided on dark brown for all the light and medium tone squares and off white thread for the brown.

The backing is tan and off white double gauze stripes! It’s so soft! I have no idea who made it.

Here’s how it ended up! I started out hating my color choices once I sewed the top together. I was actually wondering if I needed to start over, but after I hand quilted it with the pearl cotton, I fell in love with it.

And look at this amazing walnut quilt rack my dad made me while I was sewing!! Love it so much and am so thankful for his amazing woodworking skills. He always brings my designs to life.

The stitching is wonky. I chose not to be a perfectionist and love how it looks. Kind of primitive and loose…

The best part of Little Boy’s gift, however, is this adorable wool teddy bear my twelve year old daughter designed and hand stitched, all by herself!

I wrapped it using some vintage ribbon I found at an estate sale 15 years ago!

Welcome little one, and thanks for giving me an excuse to quilt!

Magnolia Wreath Tutorial

by Andrea | Jan 1, 2018 | Uncategorized

Hey friends! I’ve got a lovely Magnolia Wreath Tutorial up on the blog today for you. I first came up with this several months ago for my Makers Cottage Night. I really wanted to make a tutorial for all the friends who requested it that live far away but I struggled with finding a good backdrop large enough for a wreath.

I’ll be throwing caution to the wind and using a much too small poster board for this while awaiting my newly ordered one to arrive. 

Shall we get started? It’s really pretty easy and Hobby Lobby has everything you need! Make sure you use the weekly 40% off coupon in their app! If you time it right, you can buy the leaves when the greenery is on sale and use your coupon for the wreath part. That makes this project cost roughly $15… 

Supplies:

1. One large bunch of Magnolia leaves from Hobby Lobby 
2. One 18” grapevine wreath
3. Wire clippers or pliers
4. Glue gun
5. Glue sticks

Directions:

1. Cut each stem off your bush. Each stem has three leaves. Each of these bushes should have 10 stems.
2. Next, take each stem and turn all the leaves facing up. Spread them apart by slightly bending the wires inside the stems. They should lay flat.
3. Now get your wreath! It’s go time! Carefully find a spot to slide in your flattened 3 leaf stem horizontally. The goal is to make sure these puppies are as flat against the wreath as humanly possible. 
4. This process will get trickier as you begin adding your next stems and spacing them evenly around your wreath. So keep sticking them in HORIZONTALLY. Don’t be afraid to get a little harsh with your stems if needed. They are pretty sturdy. In the picture below, I’m showing you that to get even spacing on your stems, you’ll want to go about 2.5-3” apart for point of entry. 
5. Once you have all your stems placed, try to make sure the overall outside shape of your wreath is a circle. This may involve bending some wires to tame a wild leaf here and there. Scrunching and pulling are acceptable techniques! Avoid oval shapes or one leaf noticeably farther apart from another. Keep ‘em flat!
6. Flip it over! Arrange leaves to be evenly spaced once more. No gaps or “ovally-ness.”
7. At this point you are likely to discover that some leaves just will not stay in the perfect place. Here is where you grab your glue gun. Don’t use a mini cool temp one. Use a big momma. It’s like $3 extra and sooo much more efficient when it comes to wrangling a wreath. In this step your likely to need a little patience or Netflix. Hot glue takes a minute or two to cool and set. You’ll want to press down and hold each leaf until set because if you don’t, the finish will get ripped off the leaves and damage them.   Make sure to secure each stem entry point as well. 
8. Last step but most important! To get that “simple” look you want to press your wreath. Leave it facedown and put something on top of it. Like a textbook or a big pot. Leave it for an hour-ish. Go paint some shiplap or something. 

TaDa! Your done! Easy Magnolia Wreath Tutorial. So easy, right? Thanks for reading! Comments or questions? Leave them below in the comments box and I’ll get answers for you.