I am VERY excited for our guest today for our Sew For Me Series. We have Grace from Finley and Oliver! Maybe it is becuase Grace has two boys and also spends her day being a lego architect but I just really relate to her and love her blog. It is like fresh air for me!
Her photography is right up my alley (I can’t get me enough flare friends!)
If you don’t already you should absolutely follow her!
Take it away Grace!
When Kelly first contacted me to guest post for Sew for Me, I thought
for sure she must have confused me with someone else. If you’re
familiar with my blog
you know that I primarily blog about and create tutorials for kid
stuff. You’ll also know that my sewing skills are somewhat limited. I
can hand stitch with the best of them but when it comes to my machine,
my skills are somewhat lacking.
for sure she must have confused me with someone else. If you’re
familiar with my blog
you know that I primarily blog about and create tutorials for kid
stuff. You’ll also know that my sewing skills are somewhat limited. I
can hand stitch with the best of them but when it comes to my machine,
my skills are somewhat lacking.
I got a little bit (ok, a lot bit) panicky trying to figure out what
on earth I could create for “me.” I racked my brain and finally
decided that I would take my most
popular tutorial for kiddos and revamp it into something that I
would wear.
on earth I could create for “me.” I racked my brain and finally
decided that I would take my most
popular tutorial for kiddos and revamp it into something that I
would wear.
This tutorial is super easy. For those of you who are intimidated to
try something a bit more advanced, give this one a shot. You’ll be
proud of yourself when you see how fab you look in your new creation
and you might just gain the confidence to move on to something a
little more advanced. For those of you that can rock your machine,
this will be a breeze.
try something a bit more advanced, give this one a shot. You’ll be
proud of yourself when you see how fab you look in your new creation
and you might just gain the confidence to move on to something a
little more advanced. For those of you that can rock your machine,
this will be a breeze.
What you’ll need:
Pre-washed tank or tee
Fabric or felt for the stripes (*see my note on felt recommendations
below)
below)
Heat n Bond Lite (or other fusible webbing)
Scissors
Sewing machine
Chevron template (available here)
* I almost always use felt for my appliques. Although I love the feel
and texture of wool felt, for items that need to be washed, I highly
recommend eco-fi felt by Kunin. It is made of recycled plastic bottles
and holds up very well in the wash (machine wash cold/tumble dry low).
and texture of wool felt, for items that need to be washed, I highly
recommend eco-fi felt by Kunin. It is made of recycled plastic bottles
and holds up very well in the wash (machine wash cold/tumble dry low).
Getting Started:
Print out your template and place it under your fusible webbing. Trace
the pattern with a pencil. You can make the pattern as wide as you like.
I traced the pattern two and a half times for my tank (putting it
side by side). See below:
the pattern with a pencil. You can make the pattern as wide as you like.
I traced the pattern two and a half times for my tank (putting it
side by side). See below:
Next you’ll want to iron your chevron webbing onto your felt or
fabric. For Heat n Bond, set it on the “wool” setting (NO STEAM). Iron
the design onto the felt or fabric for about 3 or so seconds so it looks
like this:
fabric. For Heat n Bond, set it on the “wool” setting (NO STEAM). Iron
the design onto the felt or fabric for about 3 or so seconds so it looks
like this:
Carefully cut out your chevron stripes.
Take the stripes and peel off the wax paper layer from the back. Place
the stripes exactly where you want them on the t-shirt with the
glossy/fusible webbing side face down. Iron the appliques on to the
t-shirt pressing for about 10
seconds. I like to place a scrap piece of fabric over the appliques
while pressing just to be safe. Again be sure to use the wool setting
with no steam. Check to
be sure that the appliques are firmly adhered to the shirt.
the stripes exactly where you want them on the t-shirt with the
glossy/fusible webbing side face down. Iron the appliques on to the
t-shirt pressing for about 10
seconds. I like to place a scrap piece of fabric over the appliques
while pressing just to be safe. Again be sure to use the wool setting
with no steam. Check to
be sure that the appliques are firmly adhered to the shirt.
At this point, you can either hand stitch the stripes using a basic
straight stitch (great tutorial here)
or you can use a sewing machine. I usually prefer to hand stitch but
for this project I used my machine. If you use your machine, you’ll do a
running stitch about 1/8th of an inch inside the border of each chevron
stripe. You’ll need to lower your needle, lift your foot, and turn
for each “peak” and “valley” so it may get a little tedious but it’s
really simple. If I can do this, you can do this.
Once you’ve finished sewing the stripes, you’re finished!
This tank took me under 30 minutes. I plan to whip up several in
some fun color combinations for spring and summer. Looks so cute with
some skinnies, some short, or a cute little skirt.
some fun color combinations for spring and summer. Looks so cute with
some skinnies, some short, or a cute little skirt.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to comment here or message
me at finleyandoliver@gmail.com
me at finleyandoliver@gmail.com
Thanks so much for having me over here for the day! I had a blast!
How cute is THAT! I love that it is blue and white (since nautical is HUGE right now) but is a spice up of the stripe trend. I am TOTALLY going to be making one of these…. though probably in my favorite mustard yellow and grey. I am so sadly addicted to that color combo. Thanks so much Grace!!
Now hop on over to KOJO and see what fun they have in store!
Cheers!
Kelly
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