Monday, April 11, 2011

sewing saturday.. a little girl's floral jumper

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Sewing Saturday! It's time again for regular sewing updates every weekend.. and man alive, finally. This past week mostly served as a break from sewing, but I honestly missed it. Funny how you create habits and addictions where you least expect them.

This week, I started working on a floral jumper for my good friend back in Illinois.. she recently had a baby, a little girl named Jocelyn, and I thought sewing a floral dress for her would be a good way to welcome her into the world.

The sewing pattern I'm using comes from the 1970s and offers four size options (I went with extra small - Jocelyn's just a couple of months old). What you need for this project.. about 3/4 of a yard of fabric, a small amount of matching double fold bias tape and fusible interfacing - interfacing for the collar and bias tape for arm hole reinforcing, and two 3/4 inch buttons. Using a serger is completely optional. Don't forget, you can always use pinking shears or a zigzag stitch in place of a serger.

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I recently bought a fabric covered button kit from a craft store in town, so I decided to use it for the jumper.. more below!

To begin, I ironed out the fabric and pattern pieces, laid them out, pinned, and cut. I then serged the ends of the pockets and pressed them inwards by their seam allowance (5/8 inch). I pinned them to their designated spots on the front ends of the jumper and sewed them in place, keeping the tops open. I followed this by sewing the two jumper pieces together at the front center seam, then reinforcing the stitch using a serger.

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Once I had made progress with the jumper, I decided to cover the buttons with fabric. The two buttons will be used at the collar to attach the straps to the front of the jumper. I followed the instructions on the back of button package.. super simple! The entire process took just a couple of minutes, if that.

First, I cut out the circle guide that matched the button measurement (30). I then used the circle as a tracing wheel, cutting two matching circles of fabric. I pressed the fabric circle face down into the white rubber cap, layering the face of the button on top of it. I pressed them into the cap. Once the fabric was in, I gathered it into the back of the button face and put the back of the button on top, hook facing upwards. I made sure the fabric was tucked away into the button, then I used the small blue cap to press the button back to the button front. The button pieces clicked into place, I snapped the button out of the rubber cap, and done! I'll definitely be buying more button kits.. they're inexpensive and adorable.

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That's all for this week! I've got to finish the jumper soon because Neil and I are taking a trip to Illinois on Thursday, where we'll be meeting little Jocelyn for the first time! We'll be visiting friends and family and I can't wait.

Shop update in the morning!

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