While visiting my favorite local shop, Fiddlehead Artisan Supply, one of the young women working there had on her version of this blouse. Asked the pattern name–Anthea by Anna Allen–went home and ordered it! The colors I’m wearing are Maine Summer and it is so flattering to many body types and comfortable.
Today’s blogpost takes you through making an entire blouse, which presser feet I use on my Janome (I’m a brand ambassador and compensated, but I’d say all this good stuff anyway…they rock!) m7Continental, why and offer tips and tricks for garment construction. Pretty much all Janome machines have or have available these presser feet with the possible exception of the automatic buttonhole, which many but not all of the Janome models have. Comment and let me know what more you’d like to know and what you’d like me to feature on the blog! I’m scaling back travel teaching and hope to have more time for this sort of thing.
Here is the sleeve with the seam sewn and gathers gathered. I was a tad leery that the shoulders would be too narrow, but I did the right thing and made a toile (practice garment) out of cheap cheap cheap white fabric, and the sleeve seam is indeed set in from the shoulder point–this helps the gathers get that nice rounded puff! For the hem, at the top of the next photo, I sewed a linen bias strip to the right side, turned to the inside, and hand-sewed it into place. LOOKIT that perfect match! On the first try no less! Once the sleeves are sewn to the bodice, you’ll need to finish the raw edges. The gathers in the sleeves make it too thick for a French Seam, so I chose to use I used a bias edge finish similar to a single-fold bias binding on a quilt. On the neck, the bias was entirely folded to the inside of the garment. Here, you stitch the bias strip of fabric–a lightweight cotton lawn in lime green–to the seam, wrap it around the raw edges, then stitch in the ditch to secure it. I also managed a perfect join on the bias for the “cuff.” Note that the pattern has a wide opening for the bottom of the sleeve–way too wide for the size of my arms. I gathered it up more, making sure it still moved smoothly over/around the elbow, and just made mine narrower.Covering up the raw edges where the sleeve joins the body. Again I’m using the zipper foot. For the way my eyes and brain work, I get the needle closest to the edge of the bias using the zipper foot and moving the needle as far right as it goes. Keep a hawk eye on your stitching because it is all too easy to wander and veer onto the bias.Janome’s automatic buttonhole foot (available on select models including the 9450 and M7) is amazing. You set the button into the back and it picks the perfect size. You can fine tune it if the button is thick or thin. ALWAYS to a test-stitch on a scrap (using the same interfacing and number of layers). You can see I have carefully marked the center of the button holes plus the start and stop lines. The Janome foot has a metal base plate that keeps everything flat and feeding perfectly. Here’s a video of it in action!
You can subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking on the YouTube link (bottom left) and then following the subscribe button on that site, I don’t post often, but there are some useful videos there. Or just click here to go to my YouTube home page. This is the setting I used.Worn tucked in with a linen skirt in gray. Blouse fabric is the IL-19 5.3 oz linen from Fabrics-store.com. Skirt linen is the Driftwood Linen from Fiddlehead Artisan Supply near me in Belfast, Maine; I bought the Brumby skirt pattern there, too. Yes, they do online / mail order!I had some leftover linen, so I made a scarf, too. I sewed a narrow zigzag on all four sides, then carefully frayed the edges. Here’s the link to the pattern again: Anthea by Anna Allen.You can also wear the blouse out–it has a narrow 1/2″ hem. You can even wear it to Broomstick Riding Lessons (at Alnwick Castle this summer)! Funnest photo and time ever! And you can also wear it after you have walked from Scotland to England—all the way across a 100 foot long bridge! With my oldest son and DIL on a trip of a lifetime.
Well I can’t believe it has been half a year since I blogged… that tells you how crazy busy this summer has been. All good stuff, but all at once. I am looking forward to being HOME for three straight months once I return from Houston / International Quilt Festival where I’ll be teaching again. I will try my best to be back before the end of the year…like maybe even in a month?
It’s a delightful feeling when your young adult son asks you to make a shirt for him. Since he lives about 5 hours away, going to a fabric store together wasn’t a good option, so I sent him to Spoonflower. LOVE it when his sense of humor prevails: he selected Mer-Pugs! Here’s the link to the fabric; I chose to print on cotton poplin as I’m not fond of their Signature Petal cotton. Needing to order 3 yards, it was a splurge, but it turned out great and he loves it!
Eli’s shirt fits perfectly!
The pattern is Liesl & Co.’s All Day Shirt Pattern. I used this earlier when I made Joshua’s donuts shirt (yes, they both have the same sense of humor!). Since Eli is a bit bigger, I was able to use what I learned making Joshua’s shirt in 2019 (blogpost here). I still had some issues getting the collar to be the size I wanted on the collar stand–I was careful to follow the instructions, but think the collar should be about 1/8″ longer on each side. Eli did not want any pleats on the back but did want short sleeves. He lent me a shirt that fits just the way he wanted so I kept that in the studio to compare as I made the merpugs shirt …much easier to adjust that way!
Earlier this year I showed on Facebook and Instagram how perfectly I was able to align and topstitch the pocket:
First, prepare the pocket. Turn under seam allowances; pattern instructions have you sew 1/2″ from edge, then iron under concealing the stitching. I did that, but having done perfect edges before without the bother of stitching, I’ll go back to my easier way next time. I love my zipper feet for all sorts of things especially perfect edge stitching. I just get better results than using the edge-stitching foot–try several ways and use what gives YOU your best results. I align the edge of the foot with the fold of the fabric, move the needle in the distance I wish, then keep my left thumbnail on the edge of the fold and foot to keep it straight. Next tip: GLUE STICK! Be sure to use a WASHASBLE glue stick, not permanent! Run a bit of glue along the sides and bottom.Glue stick the pocket so you have ABSOLUTELY positively PERFECT alignment. For me, this works better than pins and you get no ripples/distortion from the pins. As with the pocket hem, use the zipper foot, adjust the needle drop to the perfect spot, and sew in place. LOOKIT how those merpugs just swim from the shirt onto the pocket!Side and back views. Perfectly aligned the pugs from collar to yoke to shirt back! Having a machine with precision feed like the Janome M7 makes it easy!
My voice sounds funny because I am getting over a cold! Anyway, here’s a quick demo of how FAST it is to do an automatic buttonhole! Next photo shows a side view of the automatic buttonhole foot
From top left, clockwise: Automatic buttonhole foot with stabilizing plate, buttonhole options on the Janome M7 Continental, pulling down the “stop” level on the buttonholer, measure and mark the start point and center line carefully
The tip of my awl is pointing to the small button in the back of the automatic buttonhole foot. This is how the foot knows exactly how large to make the buttonhole. It even worked with the teeny tiny buttons (about 3/8″) on the collar!What does a 20-something do as soon as one puts on a new shirt? Check the phone!
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These just-perfect sized pattern weights, 3″ on a side, are not only just the thing for YOUR sewing room, but they make quick and easy gifts for anyone you know who sews!
Can you tell how much FUN I had? Lookit the doggie as a Halloween Ghost (top row) and the goofy Space Alien (center right) and those fantastic Garden Pindots (middle and lower rows)! See free PDF for pattern and Michael Miller Fabrics fabric details.
Early in my year as a Michael Miller Fabrics Brand Ambassador for 2020, I decided to use some Marbles (MMF Basic collection) for a much-wished-for set of pattern weights. Most patterns on the internet were way too big–at least 4″ on a side. I wanted mine smaller, to fit into smaller areas. As I made them I thought what fun it would be to remember this year by using fabrics from each collection and project that I made in more weights. It’s now December, and here’s what I have….FUN! Even better, Here is a FREE Printable PDF so you can make your own. The printable version duplicates what comes next:
And some new info: My cousin said the rice filled ones can be popped into the microwave (briefly!) and make nice handwarmer’s, and a friend said she uses a combination of fiberfill for soft outside and buckshot for the center to add the heft that you need for a pattern weight.
ENJOY and stay safe–here’s to hoping next year at this time we’ll be like to something approaching normalcy with COVID controlled, almost everyone vaccinated, and holidays celebrated with a LOT OF HUGS!
In my last post I shared the Clam Up bag from byAnnie.com, and earlier I shared my AWESOME Running With Scissors bag made for her patterns. I love bags and baskets and boxes and things to organize. One of my favorite classes to teach is my Easy-Peasy Inside-Out Bag, which makes a great 3 hours quickie class for a bag (or two if you are fast) or full day class where you can learn more details and extras. I decided to try Annie’s Soft ‘n Stable stabilizer instead of batting to see how it would work in MY bags, which are quick quick quick and FUN! (Like potato chips, you can’t make just one!)
Here it is: the Easy Peasy process using Soft ‘n Stable and accenting the zipper with “binding” the way Annie Unrein teaches in her patterns at byAnnie.com The fabric used is courtesy of Michael Miller Fabrics–the main fabric is from the Lost in Paradise collection (shipped May 2020) and the other fabrics are the Garden Pindot collection on the outside and the inside (and that’s Hash Dots on the backing of the quilt you see awaiting quilting on the back of the table). This is a sampling of the fun bags I teach inthe Easy-Peasy Inside-Out Class…. if you think you’d like me to teach this for your guild–including LIVE ONLINE workshops, leave me a comment! They are fast and fun and can be customized so many ways.This shows the Clam Up bag and my Easy-Peasy next to it. I made this bag long enough to hold my large Fiskars flat on the bottom. Frankly, it is large enough it could hold a small knitting project or paper piecing supplies! One thing I will do differently next time is FUSE the lining to the back side of the Soft ‘n Stable. I didn’t use the walking foot and it shows. Oh well…lesson learned!Before installing the zipper and sewing the seams, I pinned it together to check size and how I wanted to finish it. Most of my Easy Peasy bags leave the boxed corner triangles on the outside (see that photo above with the many colorful bags made with batting). Leaving the triangles outside acts to stabilize the bag and keep it upright. With the Soft ‘n Stable doing that job, I chose to tuck the “corners” inside for this bag.Next, before boxing the bag into shape, I used the 3-stitch zigzag to secure and tidy up the edges. The narrow accufeed foot on my Janome M7 makes it a breeze to sew zippers to a quilted, puffy base without distortion. Here I’m adding a decorative element to the zippers. Gotta love wonder clips!On my Janome M7, I the three-stitch zigzag looks like this, but it is available on all but the most basic machines as a standard utility stitch. The M7 allows me great flexibility in both stitch width and length–not all machines do!
My Easy-Peasy Inside-Out process is fun, fast, and infinitely adaptable. I’ll be making a new version of my notebook cover–I’ve also got an iPad case, a business card case, and a few other goodies up my sleeve. Maybe I’ll self-publish a book of patterns and variations on the theme…what do you think?
Next up, I’ll share a basket pattern that again modifies what I’ve learned from the byAnnie.com patterns! Stay tuned!
OK, that’s a bit punny…. I’ve used some of the fun Michael Miller Fabrics Lost in Paradise fabric to make a byAnnie.com pattern called Clam Up. Before COVID hit, I was thinking about my travel teaching, and I made the Running With Scissors tote and blogged about it, here. I wanted a companion bag for bulky stuff I needs to schlep with me. Both of these bags are good for use in your sewing space, retreats or a whole bunch of other things!
The Clam Up bag pattern allows you to select various sizes. I chose a Large to use for travel teaching. I used the Lost in Paradise print as well as the Garden Pindots (the magenta) and Hash Dot in an aqua color way. A quick google showed lots of the Lost in Paradise prints available on Etsy–the collection came out in May 2020.
I really like bags that open up wide, where I don’t have to root around–I can just open ‘er up and SEE what I need to grab. The large was big enough to set my mug inside…at least unzipped.
The Large bag is large enough to fit a 45mm rotary cutter on the bottom (flat) and in this photo shows my MUG inside! The gussets on the side allow the bag to open up (like a clam, get it?!) wide so you can see what is in the bag, but prevents stuff from falling out.
Annie Unrein and her staff suggest quilting up your fabrics, using her Soft n Stable instead of batting. The Soft n Stable is a foam with a soft, grippy fabric on the outsides. I love that it stands up and holds it shape, the cotton doesn’t slip ‘n slide around, and doesn’t require a ton of quilting to look good in the finished project.
Here I have quilted the sandwich of inside and outside fabrics. I chose to piece the outside so it would have the magenta on the bottom, feature the print, and use a coordinating magenta/fuchsia bag zipper (wider zipper tape) from byAnnie. You can see I’ve used the walking foot for simple outlining for the feature fabric and a simple grid on the base.Here, I’ve used paper from the recycling bin to create a full-size pattern. Son had asked me to print the video game he was giving his brother as a gift…definitely not my game LOL! Now it is time to cut out the bag.Annie has some great tips about sewing zippers, and has started doing “add-on” videos to help teach you how to make her bags to perfection. I’ve been sewing 50 years and am pretty adept, and I’m picking up great tips. I am also developing a great fondness for the Garden Pindot (the magenta) and the Hash Dot fabrics…they are really great blenders. Have been adding to my stash!LOOK at all that can fit inside here: rotary cutter, roll of package tape (for when I need to ship a box home from a venue), and large spools of thread. I often let students borrow tools to try them out (sometimes I sell them, too, but always tell them to try mine out to see if they like the tool before purchasing it). Now I can set this bag out as a “ok for students to use stuff” and keep my things that I need at the teacher table to use in the Running with Scissors bag.Originally this was designed as a travel-teacher duo. Don’t know when I will be able to travel teach again, but these are great in the studio and for guild sewing days and retreats, too. And a whole lot of other things. Here’s the link to the blogpost again for the Running With Scissors bag. I have quite honestly kept that bag out as what now appears to be a permanent addition to my cutting workspace!And here’s a closer look at the pattern, the blender fabrics (always available from Michael Miller), and the zipper from byAnnie.com . I LOVE being able to get coordinated components from byAnnie–the mesh, elastic, zippers, all the colors match or coordinate for tons of fun! I must have about a dozen (or more) of her zippers and a stash of bag-making components now!
Next up: inspired by Annie’s construction techniques and materials, I made one of my Easy-Peasy-Inside-Out bags merging my process and her materials. Check back soon!
Note: for this post, the fabric, pattern and zipper are courtesy of Michael Miller Fabrics and byAnnie.com–THANK YOU! But I love the stuff so much I have spent a goodly chunk of my own hard-earned money buying more of the fabrics and notions.
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