Make a Circle Skirt // Sew the Waistband and Hem

Today is the final part of sewing up a circle skirt. Just need to make a waistband and sew it on, then hem your skirt. You can find the previous sections here and here. Let's start with the waistband.

Measure the size of the un-stretched waistband of the skirt you have made so far and add 5cm to this length. Out of your fabric cut yourself a rectangle that measures 10cm (4 inches) by this length you just calculated. This will be your waistband. Start by sewing the shorter ends right sides together and then pressing open your seam.

You'll now have a big loop of fabric that should be the same size as the waist of the skirt. With the good side of the waistband touching the inside of the skirt, line up your waistband seam with one of your side seams. Pin this in place and then zig zag stitch the waistband to the skirt, as above.

When they are attached together, turn your skirt the right was out. Fold and press the waistband up (as above). Now fold the raw edge of the waistband down over the raw edge of the skirt and then under itself pinning it in place. Now, starting at the side seam, top stitch this down...

 … so that your zigzag stitch goes back and forth over the edge of the waistband. That is it, your waistband is done.

Now to sew the hem. Because the bottom of your skirt is a curved edge you will need to do a really narrow hem. Luckily, since the stretchy fabric won't fray, you don't need to turn the bottom over twice like you normally do on a hem, once will be plenty.

So try on your skirt and check its the right length. If you'd like it a little shorted then carefully trim off however much you need to to make it the right length, keeping it even all the way around. Then take your iron and press the bottom seam up and into the skirt (so wrong sides together) by 1/4inch or half a centimetre. Pin it in place, then sew zigzag topstitching back and forth over the raw edge of the fabric. Start on side seam and sew all the way around until you have hemmed the whole skirt.

And then you have made yourself a skirt! Wowee! This is such a great feeling right there that you will want to go and show it off to every one. Plus circle skirts are, without a doubt, the best for twirling so don't forget to do a big twirl to show off your skills. Happy twirling. Zoe xx

Make a Circle Skirt // Cut Your Fabric and Sew Your Side Seams

Have you got your fabric? Good, It's time to make it into a skirt! So I hope you wrote down your waist radius from the Circle Skirt App and the length of your skirt? Well in case you didn't I have added the link again, it can be handy to have this open too while you cut so you can see what cutting layout they recommend. If you are making a half circle skirt or a quarter circle skirt you will only need to draw your circles once, but if you are making a full circle you will need to do it twice. Either way the idea is exactly the same.

So fold your fabric according to the apps instructions. To help you understand how to cut your fabric my waist radius is 12cm.

In the correct corner of your fabric (mine is folded at this corner but yours won't be if you're doing a quarter circle). Then take your tape measure and your dressmaking pen (or chalk if thats your thing) and measure your radius from the corner. You can see I have made a mark at the point that is 12cm away. I have then made other marks that also measure 12cm away in different directions. Do this to yours too.

When you have enough marks, join them up to make a curve:

Then repeat this step for the bottom of the skirt. This time the measurement will be your waist radius (i.e 12cm) PLUS the length you want your finished skirt to be (61cm) PLUS seam allowances (1.5cm) to give a total radius (64.5cm).

Use this measurement to draw the curve for the bottom of the skirt. Now cutting stretchy fabric is a little tricker than cutting wovens because it stretches as you cut. So if you have a rotary cutter then you can use that to avoid this problem. For those of you that don't have a rotary cutter (probably most of you) you can just use your normal dressmaking scissors. Since you have drawn the cut line on the fabric you don't need to worry too much about stretching it because you can just cut along the line. Just try to keep your scissors as close to the cutting surface as possible rather than lifting it up as your cut.

Now is a good time to remind yourself of what to do when sewing with stretchy fabrics.

If you're making a full circle skirt sew up one side seam, if you are making a quarter or half circle skirt you can skip this step because there is only one side seam. Once you only have one side seam left to sew, hold the skirt up around your waist. You'll find it stretches quite a bit and overlaps some. You will need to trim down one of the edges to allow for this overlap, other wise your skirt will fall down when you wear it! (Sadly photographing this step proved too tricky so I can't show you :( ) Make sure you account for your seam allowance to leave about 3cm of overlap.

Finally sew up the other side seam. And…. um….. wow! It's starting to look like an actual piece of clothing! I love that step, every clothing project has one, the moment that it changes from some random pieces of fabric to something that actually resembles an item you might wear.

All there is left to do is to sew a waistband and hem your skirt (come back next week for this). No need to finished your edges because they won't fray on stretchy fabrics! Winner. See you soon. Zoe xx

Patchwork Cushion // Let's Make a Cushion!

The final step of these cushion is definitely the easiest, and also probably the most useful because you can use it to make any simple cushion (you can find all the other parts here). In fact all the cushions in the above photo are made in this way. So you can make some to match (or not match like mine) to go with your fancy patchwork, ooh la la.

To finish off the cushions I used more white fabric but you can go with anything you like, more patchwork, the same fabric as the front, or go crazy (well within reason) and use something totally different.

Cut yourself two rectangles of your backing fabric, they need to be the same width as your cushion top and several inches longer than half the length. This will mean when you put them on the back of your cushion top they will over lap to make your opening for the cushion pad without showing off the pad when you use them.

You need to 'hem' one of the longer edges of each rectangle. Hemming is a seriously useful technique and you will use it again and again. To hem the long edge, turn your iron on to the hottest heat your fabric can handle, test it first on a bit you won't be using. Then fold over about 1cm, towards the wrong side of your fabric, of this long edge and press it down with you hot iron, then fold it over again 1cm and press again. Pin this down and then sew along the edge of the folds on both backing rectangles:

Then you can put the 'right side' of your backing fabric rectangles onto the right side of your cushion top. You'll need them to overlap with the hemmed edges in the middle like this:

Then you can pit it in place. Now sew a straight seam all the way around the edge, use a 1/2" seam allowance this time, make sure you put you needles down in the corner to turn around and remember to sew a few 'back stitches' at the beginning and end to make it extra strong. Now 'finish' the edges of your fabric with either zig zag stitching or pinking sheers.

Finally turn your cushion cover out the right way through the hole and press the edges. Stuff it with your cushion par and Tada! You make a cushion!

Wow you actually made something with your sewing machine and it looks amazing! Well thanks for sticking with me for this step-by-step sewing project. I hope you have found it helpful. Over the next couple of weeks I will show you a few other things I have been up to and then I am going to go through another step-by-step beginner project to make a skirt. Yipee. Looking forward to it. Zoe xx

Patchwork Cushion // Sew The Lining To Your Patch Work Cushion Tops

A little later than scheduled (I know you are probably all weeping over the extra wait so sorry about that ;) ) but for today's tutorial we are going to be lining our cushions tops (that we made here and here). We need to line them so that the seams, which are unfinished, will be protected from fraying. You'll need to get your lining fabric ready for this. You should have one metre of fabric, it won't be quite a metre square as the width will either be 115cm or 150cm. You need to cut this length of fabric in half, make sure you cut starting on the shorter side, so you end up with 2 rectangles of lining fabric 50cm by either 115cm or 150cm.

Each of these rectangles will provide enough fabric to line the cushion cover and make the cushion back (this part will be next week). Let's start with lining the checkerboard cushion cover. You can put this cover onto your lining fabric, lining up one side of the checkerboard with one short end of your rectangle, and cut yourself a square of lining fabric the same size as the checkerboard.

When you have two squares, one your patchwork checkerboard and one your lining, put them together with the 'wrong side' of your lining fabric and the back of the patchwork with all the seams on the inside. Pin them in place.

Take them over to your sewing machine and stitch a line down the centre seams, in between the patches. We call stitching along the seams 'stitching in the ditch'. It take a little bit of practice to get it nice and straight but it doesn't matter too much of you stray over. When you have done the centre seam, work out towards the edge of the cushion 'stitching in the ditch' along every other seam until you get to the edge.

Then turn your cushion top around and again starting in the centre seam, stitch in the ditch along all the seams in the other direction. When you are down the lining side will show all your stitching but from the front you won't be able to see much of it at all.

Repeat these steps with your 'half square triangle' cushion top. Stitch in the ditch along all the seams, you don't need to sew the diagonals on this one. Start in the centre and work
your way out towards the edge.

When you have done both you are all ready to start making your patchwork cushion tops into a cushion cover. The final part of these tutorials will cover how to make it into a simple envelope cushion so come back and have a look. Zoe x

Patchwork Cushion // Cut and Sew Your Fabric For the Half Square Triangle Cushion

On Friday I went through the steps to make yourself a 'checkerboard' cushion top and today we will go through making a half square triangle cushion top. The cutting and sewing technique I am going to go through is one that is used very often in patch working and quilt making. Just as with the checkerboard, you sew some, then you cut some and then you sew some more to help make your work quicker and easier.

You should have a 'half fat quarter' left of both your fabrics from making your checkerboard top. You will need both of these for this part. Cut each of these 'half fat quarters' into 8 squares that measure 5" by 5". You can make yourself a paper template again if you like and draw around it onto the fabric, or you can just draw your line straight onto the fabric and then cut them out.

 When you have 8 squares of each colour draw a line down the diagonal centre of all the lighter coloured fabric squares on the 'wrong side'. Then put each of these right sides together with a square of the other colour. You might want to pin these in place but you can probably manage without on this occasion.

Then sew a line of straight stitching on either side of this drawn line. The sewn lines should be 1/4 inch away from row drawn line. You might want to draw these lines on first but you can also use the edge of your presser foot as a guide.

Do this with all 8 pairs of squares. Then cut along the drawn line:

When you then open these out you will get your half square triangles:

 You can then press the seam 'to the dark side'. Give them a good press on both sides to make the seam lie nice and flat. You can use these half square triangles in any way you like, try out different arrangements for them, until you are happy with the layout. (You could also make lot's more using this method to make yourself a union flag quilt if you are feeling brave.)

But when you are happy with your arrangement, sew one row at a time together, with right sides together. Then press all these seams. Try and alternate the seam pressing and if you can also press towards the dark side. Then sew all your rows together to make your finished cushion top.

And you have finished another cushion top! Woop! If you have any questions about the steps so far, then just leave a comment and I will try to get back to you. On Friday I will go through how to line these cushion tops so don't forget to come back for that, Zoe xx

Sewing School // Ideas For Beginner Sewing Projects

If you have been following along with Sewing School you are probably desperate by now to actually make something. Finally here is a list of ideas of things that you could make with the skills you have learnt over the last few weeks. At the time of writing most of these projects I didn't have Sewing School in mind so there may be gaps in the explanation, if there is anything you don't understand then feel free to ask your questions in the comments section below and I'll get back to you. But all these projects are suitable for a learner sewer so just choose the one you'd like to make the most and start sewing!

I'll start with the smallest and simplest projects and work up to a few bigger more ambitious ones. Even the bigger ones though will be suitable for a beginner so feel free to jump in at the deep end.

My first suggestion is to make yourself a simple infinity scarf. This is made from only 1 metre of fabric so isn't too expensive, but also it is incredibly easy. As long as you can sew in a straight line, you can make one of these.

Next week I will be going through a set of step-by-step tutorials for making some patchwork cushions, if you can wait just 7 more days then this will be a very easy place to start too.

If you are mad into coffee and can only tolerate the proper stuff then maybe you could make yourself a bunch of coffee bags. 

If you feel up to sewing a curve then you could try making one of these peg bags. Again it's very simple and only uses a small amount of fabric. Plus there is plenty of summer left to use it when you hang out your washing.

Or you could try sewing a tote bag. Its a little more fiddly than a peg bag but gives you more practice on your machine. There are lots of straight lines and corners to sew but no curves.

If you'd like to make a quilt then this star pin wheel baby quilt is really easy for beginners plus it makes a really lovely gift to someone who is expecting (yours doesn't have to be pink or course!). This project is mostly straight lines, it's just a little bigger than the others so far so will take a bit longer for you to finish it.

Or you could go all out and make yourself a double quilt like this octagons quilt. My first project was a double quilt so I know it's possible even for a beginner.

I am also going to be making a simple circle skirt soon with step-by-step instructions, but I have no picture yet to show you (it is finished but not photographed). It will be easy enough for a beginner and you'll have something you can actually wear afterwards. (There won't be a zip or buttons so I am sure you can do it!)

If you can't wait for my circle skirt walk through then maybe you could make a picnic blanket skirt following Tilly and the Buttons instructions. You'll learn to gather fabric and sew on buttons and button holes so if you are hoping to keep learning then this is a great project.

I hope you have been learning lots so far. Don't forget to come back to learn to make patchwork cushions and then a circle skirt. Zoe xx