Tutorial

Cut your sleeve out, then cut it down the middle. You'll be sewing it back together at some point. Get rid of that little scrappy square-ish upper right section, you won't be needing it. I'm going to be calling the remaining two pieces the front sleeve and the back sleeve! Just remember that you have not added any seam allowance to that centre seam and at the top of the front piece (you can add it now but i just add it when i'm cutting out the fabric). The seam allowance on the rest of the pieces is fine because it's included in the original pattern.


Cut out a pair of each. These fabrics came from the bowels of my scrap bins so please excuse their scrunchiness! don't forget to ADD YOUR SEAM ALLOWANCE - to the straight centre seam (of each piece) and to the top of the front sleeve. I added one cm.


Stitch the sleeve backs to the back shirt like you normally would!


Fold over the top of the front sleeves and stitch along that (do this for both front pieces)


Attach the front sleeve to the back sleeve along the centre seam you created. Match them up at the bottom (where the sleeve hem will be) and stitch just to the top of the front sleeve.


Flip your sleeve over and top stitch that seam, pushing the seam allowance toward the back sleeve. As you sew up past the front sleeve, fold the raw edge of the back sleeve under until you've given it a nice tiny little hem.

the stitching is SO dodgy i am so sorry, both my machines were throwing tantrums ಥ‿ಥ

Do the same for the other sleeve.

Attach the front of the sleeve to the front shirt piece. You'll do the same as you did for the front/back seam and do some top stitching to hem the front of the armscye.

Find the centre back and centre front of your shirt, pinning the centre back and centre front of your neckband to them. Distribute the neckband around the shirt evenly, remembering that you're going to have a gap in the front shoulders. I began with the inside, stitching the right side of the neckband to the wrong side of the shirt. Use a zig zag stitch!

Fold the neckband over to the outside of the shirt and fold it under, pinning and stitching to enclose the seam allowances.

hem your sleeves and bottom of the shirt (unlike me, haha)!


VOILA you are done! This would be so great for t-shirt surgeries and upcycling bits of knit fabric!

It literally did not occur to me until right now that my last SMS20 make was also sailor moon ಥ‿ಥ

When life gives you lemons, make a pink lemonade sailor moon tee! There’s so much going on in the world right now, and i don’t like to complain because everyone is going through their own things as well as living through a freaking pandemic. Sewing-wise, this was a MISSION but i’m pleased to say that despite no ink (i ordered some nearly two months ago to be prepared, but it still hasnt arrived), no fabric (ordered some last week but i guess the easter break has delayed shipping even more, even though the shop is in town LOL), and entertaining three kids who need to interrupt me every ten minutes so focus is an ISSUE - i have DONE IT. The pattern itself is easy peasy and I absolutely adore it! Calling this one a TNT already!

The Nova Sweatshirt pattern is by Sinclair Patterns, and despite having a minor freakout that the main plan i had for it was not going to work out since my fabric hadn't arrived (i have a great stash, but the basic colours are not there. all i needed was white knit!) i realised that this was NOT who i am. I am resourceful, i rarely buy anything new so i scrounged around some more and found something that was going to WORK and wow, does it work!



JayJays recently sold a bunch of sailor moon tees, and i broke my Buy Nothing New/Fast Fashion rule last year to buy two for myself. Then my dad showed up a week later with every other shirt in their series for me! I have like 6 sailor moon shirts now!! I had a double up of this pink one so it was already in my t-shirt surgery stash. The yellow knit was an amazing find at the op shop pre-corona, metres and metres of this butter-soft mystery knit that def has some sort of spandex percentage in it. They just worked so great together it was super exciting pulling this all together.



The ties are just the leftovers of the shirt after I cut the front & back pieces from it, I joined the strips together like bias binding but left them raw on all the edges so they kind of curl a little. i like the look (even though I am heavily opposed to raw edges as a design feature!)


I sewed up the M size, which is a US 8 and despite the size i still had 40 pages to print. It kinda freaked me out a little bit since I knew my ink was running extremely low (like the black ink was coming out this weird dark red that eventually faded to an orange until it ran out completely! I really milked that cartridge within an inch of its life ahah!) Still, i wanted to have all the options included with the necklines. I wasn't originally even going to do a hood so i'm glad I did print it out anyway! This pattern is TRIMLESS which means you don't need to be cutting any edges, it's brilliant, just glue them together. Small things like this make me very happy.



i cropped it by measuring from my clavicle down to where I wanted the shirt to sit. It was 36cm so i just measured that down the centre front of the pattern piece and added an extra centimetre for seam allowance! Instead of cuffs on the sleeves or a band for the hem i opted just for a zigzag stitched hem (which is a little lol since I love adding bands to the bottom of everything!). I'm really excited to make more of this pattern in a billion different ways!



This top would go so cute with these air maxes i’ve had my eye on, maybe a little treat to myself after the pandemic?! You can see all my Sew My Style posts here. I'll also be linking other leaders' posts on that page as well!

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New to Sew My Style? Learn more and join in here.

Sew My Style 2020 includes these talented sewists, catch up on their #SMS20 posts:

Aaronica @ The Needle & The Bell | Leanne @ Thready For It | Ari @ Max California | Minna @ The Shapes of Fabric | Carol @ Chatterstitch | Michele @ WinMichele | Julian @ Julian Creates | Florence @ FTMom3 | Kelsey @ Seam Lined Living | Kris @ Sew Notes | Laura @ The Specky Seamstress | Samantha @ The Rural Sewist | Sarah @ Haraz Handmade | Shelby @ Handmade Shelby | Simone @ Intensely Distracted | and SMS20 Coordinator Paulette @ Petite Font

To stay up-to-date with all the #SMS20 news, pattern discounts and inspiration, be sure to subscribe to the newsletter at Sew My Style 2020.



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hello friends! I am back with some more Sew My Style goodness! I still haven’t finished my summit pack (I was waiting for a specific zip to come back into stock but priorities have definitely shifted since then) and while I had good intentions in sewing the Willa Jacket and the Gelato last month those didn’t happen either. Who could predict what 2020 has thrown at us, huh? I still do intend to sew all the patterns for #SMS20, though, so don’t give up on me yet! this months patterns are the Nova Sweatshirt and the Redwood Vest and guess which one I’ve got!

 Not a hard guess if you know me at all, but I chose the Nova since I have my very own little space boy named Nova! I may be a little partial to the name.

 The Nova sweatshirt is a fantastic basic pattern that everyone really needs in their pattern libraries, not only bc it’s a great pattern but because it’s a raglan sleeve top with a handful of different variations and is very easy to hack! Today I’m going to run through some really fun inspiration on how to make this pattern more (if you want to!)

 Pattern Features 

•  sizes XS-XL/US0-US22 / UK8-UK26 
• Also features regular/petite/tall sizing 
•  crew neck, cowl or hoodie options 
•  pockets: kangaroo or chest 
•  optional drawstring around hem 

 Inspiration

 lengths! from cropped to maxi, you can easily play around with the nova sweatshirt and transform it instantly from a shirt/hoodie into a cropped top or a dress. If you’re going for a dress you can also play with having a drawstring around the waist or these super cute ties. I feel it’s a style that’s been around for a while but I’m only just noticing it now? I like the idea of cutting the tee in the middle of the body, too, and adding a gathered ruffled there for some sort of peplum style.

maxi dress // crop // regular // dress

drawstring // ties

 sleeves! this is a big one since the raglan cut sleeves already feel like such a statement to me, they’re iconic! make a bigger impact by playing around with them. contrast sleeves are an easy go to, not just by having them a different colour than your main fabric but doing them in a mesh or a lace for a pretty, sheer detail. Other ideas pictured are layered sleeves, pleating or fringing or elbow patches. I love the idea of a flutter sleeve which can be done with some slashing-and-spreading of the sleeve pattern. ultimate procraftinator has a tutorial on how to make it sleeveless. I’m so in love with the idea of reconstructing an existing shirt and adding the sleeves to the end of 3/4 nova sleeves. There’s also lace-up sleeves and I swear I have seen shirts with zippers on that front armscye seam but I cannot find a reference pic at all, unfortunately!

sheer sporty // mesh contrast // sheer // peekaboo // contrast & fringe

reconstruction // flutter sleeve

double sleeve // cut outs // peplum

 you could added some printed elastic/knitted cuffs as neckbands and/or sleeve and hem bands for a fun contrast. tessuti has a tutorial on how to add a ruffle around the body although it is for woven fabrics (remember the way the fabrics needs to stretch around your body if doing this up in the recommended knits!)


 ALTERNATIVELY you could literally just sew yourself a straight up nova tee with no extra bells and whistles!

 also check out the #novaraglan tag on Instagram for more makes and inspiration (don’t forget to add you own, with the #sms20 tag too!) and don’t forget to make sure you’ve joined the Sew My Style 2020 VIPS Facebook group too! I’ve added the above inspiration pics to my #sms20 nova sweatshirt Pinterest board, as well as SO MANY OTHERS. you’re going to wind up wanting to sew fifty of these I swear.

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New to Sew My Style? Learn more and join in here.

Sew My Style 2020 includes these talented sewists, catch up on their #SMS20 posts:

Aaronica @ The Needle & The Bell | Leanne @ Thready For It | Ari @ Max California | Minna @ The Shapes of Fabric | Carol @ Chatterstitch | Michele @ WinMichele | Julian @ Julian Creates | Florence @ FTMom3 | Kelsey @ Seam Lined Living | Kris @ Sew Notes | Laura @ The Specky Seamstress | Samantha @ The Rural Sewist | Sarah @ Haraz Handmade | Shelby @ Handmade Shelby | Simone @ Intensely Distracted | and SMS20 Coordinator Paulette @ Petite Font

To stay up-to-date with all the #SMS20 news, pattern discounts and inspiration, be sure to subscribe to the newsletter at Sew My Style 2020.




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Hi friends! I cannot wait until i have a new laptop that actually works, maybe i will be able to post more often! This month's Sew My Style patterns were the Ilford Jacket by Friday Pattern Company and the Summit Pack by Cloudsplitter Bags & Designs. I have my pack cut out and half assembled, i Just need to order the hardware for it because I found some super cute d-rings and swivel clips that I wanted for this pack!



I did, however, finish my ilford jacket and let me tell you - i am impressed! A few years ago, it was my first ever Sew My Style, and the first pattern was a shirt from Fridays. I absolutely hated it. I was so unimpressed because i was literally a t-shirt pattern and it was just so so unlike any other tshirt pattern I have ever sewed up. I do wear that particular shirt a whole lot, but you can read my post about it that i wan't really that happy with it. A few other patterns I saw from the same company I just didn't think were as great as everyone who was raving about them said they were. As you can tell, my experience was pretty jaded!

So i was really anticipating problems with this jacket. Literally, every step of the way I was like, waiting for something to turn out badly so i could be like SEE?



I'm really happy to say that nothing like that happened! I absolutely adore this pattern. I'm pretty sure it's the first adult button-up i've made in over ten years and it is just BEAUTIFUL. Every instruction was holding my hand helping me through it and I came out with two beautiful sleeve plackets i didn't think i would be able to pull off. Even the collar is super cute! There's legit a note in my notebook that says at the end "Amazing!" (i have a little sewing notebook with all my projects and fabric swatches in it so i can always go back and refer to them for current projects I'm working on - and also blog posts!)


This pattern is for a very over-sized fit, so what you see on me is actually the XS size. I wanted to make a shirt instead of a jacket! Normally I am about an M for shirts. I went by the finished measurements chart and chose the one that was closest to my own measurements! I did do the M sleeve length instead of the XS, I just wanted to make sure they would be long enough and it worked out!

The pattern pieces are no trim, meaning you can print them out and just glue/tape them together without having to cut margins - i love that so much which is why i'm noting it!

I was wearing these bike shorts under the culttes but i wanted to show the length of the shirt!

 The illustrations in the pattern are clear and not difficult to work out which is which fabric. There's a great contrast between the sleeve and the placket pieces in the illustrations which i noticed as well - most patterns it's really confusing for me to work out which is which (especially when some designers swap fabric half way through). Another thing that is probably not a big deal to others but really impressed me (especially when i was trying to be really skeptical ahha). My review might seem harsh but I really just try to be honest and transparent!


This shirt was inspired by an outfit Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon when she's not saving the world) wears and I really wanted to replicate it for no other reason than it would be fun! Especially being able to use two of the patterns we've got already during Sew My Style this year. I'm definitely going to try and do this more, so if you see an outfit you think would be fun to replicate please send it to me! (you can message me on instagram or email me at maxATmax-californiaDOTcom).



I paired my ilford shirt with a new pair of tania culottes (last month's pattern from Megan Nielsen Patterns!). I made them shorter, messed up the hem majorly, but where i did a size 16 last time I used the same size again but made it a size 14 waistband. The most beautiful fit!

I really enjoyed sewing this entire outfit, watching it come together and fit me well, making two pieces that I really will wear again and again (not necessarily together) is such a great feeling. The best part was using two op-shopped bed sheets for the shirt (my wonderful sister found me the red one!) and some op shopped aqua poly/cotton blend (I did a burn test but still cant identify it properly) for the culottes. All the buttons and zip were from my stash too ^_^

Don't forget to check out the leaders for this month's patterns, Julian's gorgeous ilford jacket and Carol's amazing summit pack (she also did a two part sew a long)! Hopefully I'll be back before the end of the month with my finished pack too (hint: it's also sailor moon themed hehehe) but if i don't make it i will definitely post it up in the beginning of march!

You can see all my Sew My Style posts here. I'll also be linking other leaders' posts on that page as well!

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New to Sew My Style? Learn more and join in here.

Sew My Style 2020 includes these talented sewists, catch up on their #SMS20 posts:

Aaronica @ The Needle & The Bell | Leanne @ Thready For It | Ari @ Max California | Minna @ The Shapes of Fabric | Carol @ Chatterstitch | Michele @ WinMichele | Julian @ Julian Creates | Florence @ FTMom3 | Kelsey @ Seam Lined Living | Kris @ Sew Notes | Laura @ The Specky Seamstress | Samantha @ The Rural Sewist | Sarah @ Haraz Handmade | Shelby @ Handmade Shelby | Simone @ Intensely Distracted | and SMS20 Coordinator Paulette @ Petite Font

To stay up-to-date with all the #SMS20 news, pattern discounts and inspiration, be sure to subscribe to the newsletter at Sew My Style 2020.



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Morning friends!

It's the last day of the month and that means REVEAL day for our Sew My Style 2020 garments! I already posted some snaps of these on my instagram account earlier this month, but i thought i should take real photos for my blog post about it!

I sewed up both patterns, because i knew that they would work well together!

Kortney Bodysuit

This was a really nice sew. The pattern is by Rad Patterns, a new-to-me sewing company that has so many incredible patterns on offer! The designer (stephanie) is extremely talented, and i know it's been mentioned before but as I'm a huge fan of streetwear I thought i'd mention it again -  she used to pattern make for Adidas! Literally the latest Ivy Park (beyonce)  x Adidas collab was something she worked on!

ANYWAY. I didn't know any of this when i made up this body suit late last year. I just really wanted a bodysuit in my wardrobe and it seemed pretty cute! One of the criteria for selecting companies for this year's Sew My Style was their extended sizes, and Rad Patterns really offers patterns for all people.

• Size M
• 3/4 sleeve, narrow 
• trunk 60"
• the straight size M was a perfect fit for me and my short torso
• Binding: 4.5cm x 47 cm (x2 legs) and 4.5cm x 69cm (neck)
• the pattern is no trim, so you can print it out and you just overlap the edges of the pattern to form it. I love that so much!

The Kortney Bodysuit is a snug fit, not just on me but i read a similar comment on many of the other people who have sewn it up in the SMS20 VIP group. It's not uncomfortable, and i feel you need the perfect fabric for it to be not so snug. I'm not sure if I would suggest sizing up next time for myself, or just doing a smaller seam allowance?


The neckline is really beautiful and sits well. It doesn't fall off my shoulders and I can wear a bra underneath (not that I wear bras a lot HA) without it showing (except for in this one photo LOL).

I used this fabric from Spotlight called All In The Eye which is a cotton spandex. It stretched a beautiful amount for me even if it is a tiny bit see-through!

I adore this bodsuit, it's a great layering piece and I know I can wear it with my high waisted shorts in summer and my jeans in winter or with my ....

Tania Culottes

I think my favourite part about sewing these was the pleats in the front and back, because I had no idea why i was sewing where indicated but then it started coming together and WOW, I was so impressed at such a clever design! I have loved seeing people in these culottes because of the poses to show that they are culottes, it's my favourite thing ever. We need a hashtag.


I should have ironed this before I took photos. The truth is i have been wearing it! It's been in my actual wardrobe being worn which is exciting haha. One thing to note, which I have also noticed other people mentioning it as well (and this is the beauty of sewing within a community, you find things out about patterns so you know it's not just you), the waistband is a bit large. I thought it was alright, but after seeing these photos I definitely will be taking it in a little to make it fit a bit more snug.


My culottes: 

• size 16
• view A - short with a full 'skirt'
• print pages 1-44
• instead of a regular zipper I tried out the Lapped Zipper (the tutorial is on the Megan Nielsen blog). I loved doing this, it's not dissimilar to the way I usually do zips (I taught myself how to insert them and I don't think it's 100% correct but they've been looking good and functioning for 18 years so...). I didn't give it enough space so it's not perfect, but it was definitely in the right direction and I will do lapped zippers more in the future!
• however the instructions in the tutorial talk about a "circle". I suspect this is from the former version of this pattern as there was no circle this time! 
• Let the culottes hang for 48 hours before hemming!
• I was going to shorten them but i like the length of this particular pair. Next ones I plan on making them mini!
• the fabric is from a sheet set I bought from the op shop! this is where I source the majority of my fabrics!

 Overall, I am really happy with the first two patterns for this year's Sew My Style! My first one a few years ago really disappointed me, but there is nothing but happiness and excitement here for this year! I have a few more of these planned. Paulette cropped it into a shirt (and had plans for matching shorties with the bottom of the pattern) and i really love the versatility of that. I love that the culottes look like a full skirt, without me sewing a million circle skirts, so I'll be adding a few of these in different colourways to my wardrobe (there's a solid aqua one planned and also a rainbow one).



And just to show you my high fashion pose in case you thought I couldn't:




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New to Sew My Style? Learn more and join in here.

Sew My Style 2020 includes these talented sewists, catch up on their #SMS20 posts:

Aaronica @ The Needle & The Bell | Leanne @ Thready For It | Ari @ Max California | Minna @ The Shapes of Fabric | Carol @ Chatterstitch | Michele @ WinMichele | Julian @ Julian Creates | Florence @ FTMom3 | Kelsey @ Seam Lined Living | Kris @ Sew Notes | Laura @ The Specky Seamstress | Samantha @ The Rural Sewist | Sarah @ Haraz Handmade | Shelby @ Handmade Shelby | Simone @ Intensely Distracted | and SMS20 Coordinator Paulette @ Petite Font

To stay up-to-date with all the #SMS20 news, pattern discounts and inspiration, be sure to subscribe to the newsletter at Sew My Style 2020.

Right off the bat we have two amazing patterns for Sew My Style 2020, the Kortney Bodysuit and the Tania Culottes. The Kortney bodysuit is by Rad Patterns, a new-to-me company. It's a basic pattern really, don't be put off the bodysuit part because it is just a t-shirt that wraps around your crotch 😄 There are three different necklines and depending on the style you choose you may not even need to worry about snaps at the crotch.

Pattern Features:

• five sleeve lengths (cap, short, elbow, 3/4 and long)
• a narrow front or a wide neck neckline
• high/mid/low scoop back
• sizes XXS - 6X 
• the pages are no-trim - when you print them out you can just glue them all together no worries (this is exciting for me as i can't stand trimming and i do not use the a0 print option yet!)

Styling

Bodysuits are a really fun way to wear something that looks like a tucked-in tee, without it actually being a tee (and without it coming untucked!). They're easy to layer, and the styling options are endless! You can dress your bodysuit up or down, depending on what you need it to do.

fashion hayley / lucy & yak 1 + 2

I for one love this look, layering bodysuits under overalls, although i feel maybe the whole double-undressing to go to the toilet would get old fast, or weird, or hilarious?

source unknown // nooworks // the curvy fashionista

Throw on a skirt or a pair of jeans and you're literally put together (throw on a pair of Tania Culottes if you're tricky). It's a cute look whether you use solid fabrics or fun patterns!

lace bodysuit (source unknown) // colleeen heidemann // source unknown

Sleeves!  There's five length options. Why not opt for sheer sleeves for something a little different? Or if you're up to it, hack your sleeves! Sleeves with volume are huge right now, something i did not think i would get on board with but lately i've seeing people's makes and it's changing my mind! Pictured is a long bell sleeve on the left and a bishop sleeve on the right. Divine.

colourful houses // mokuyobi // lulus // urban outfitters

Make the neckband contrast and turn your bodysuit into a cute ringer-tee style. Add a pocket for an extra feature.


You can also find more inspiration for bodysuits with the Kortney bodysuits already being sewed! Have a peek at the #kortneybodysuit tag on instagram (which i have been following with excitement as when i first had a look there was only one photo tagged! help me populate it?) or join the Sew My Style 2020 VIPS facebook group (note: you need to be signed up to the mailing list to be approved). There's some great sews happening there already, especially one hacked with the most gorgeous voluminous sleeves!


Bodysuits, jumpsuits and swimsuits always remind me of this problem (which isn't really a problem and more of a hilarious thing we can all relate to):

sad girl pop

I have a Pinterest board here with the above-mentioned styling options (plus whatever else I find and will add in the future!)

Snaps

KAM (or other plastic snaps) can be used with success, but as I've had my own adventures with them and really despise them unless they work well (which is hit and miss) i would really recommend attaching them as firmly as you can! There's a tutorial here that i really liked about how to attach snaps, of course their 'scrap fabric' is a piece of cardboard, but if you're in need of guidance give this video a watch. I found that the bulk of the crotch placket really helped with keeping my snaps secure.

One of our other leaders for SMS20, Michele of WinMichele, did a quick video of how to remove plastic snaps if you need to. You can also use the pliers and crack the plastic by squeezing them together (it's my favourite passive aggressive thing to do when I miss up my snaps)

Fabric

The pattern recommends fabrics with four-way stretch (50% stretch vertically an 50% stretch across the grain of the fabric too). I picked mine up from Spotlight (an australian fabric store) but anything with a little lycra in it will be putting you on the right track!

 Rad Patterns has a great post about what stitches to use for sewing knits - this is a great resource for anyone that may not be familiar with sewing with stretchy fabrics just yet and need some guidance.



I'll update this post when i think of other things that may help you with makig your Kortney Bodysuits and i'll be posting later this month with my finished ones! I hacked one into a swimsuit and i'm excited to share that with you too (although, if you're in the FB group you've already seen it by now 😉)

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New to Sew My Style? Learn more and join in here.

Sew My Style 2020 includes these talented sewists, catch up on their #SMS20 posts:

Aaronica @ The Needle & The Bell | Leanne @ Thready For It | Ari @ Max California | Minna @ The Shapes of Fabric | Carol @ Chatterstitch | Michele @ WinMichele | Julian @ Julian Creates | Florence @ FTMom3 | Kelsey @ Seam Lined Living | Kris @ Sew Notes | Laura @ The Specky Seamstress | Samantha @ The Rural Sewist | Sarah @ Haraz Handmade | Shelby @ Handmade Shelby | Simone @ Intensely Distracted | and SMS20 Coordinator Paulette @ Petite Font

To stay up-to-date with all the #SMS20 news, pattern discounts and inspiration, be sure to subscribe to the newsletter at Sew My Style 2020.

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