So Jess Sew - Love Notions Vanguard Hoodie

Love Notions Vanguard Hoodie

The Vanguard Hoodie is really cute. This pattern is actually a set with a hoodie and pants. It has a number of options including this color blocked version of the hoodie. It even has options for either a crew neck or v-neck with all the pattern pieces and instructions included. Cool huh? See it on the Love Notions website HERE.

*This post contains affiliate links. This just means that if you buy a pattern through my link, I get a few cents to help bring you more awesome posts!

Oh, you thought I just made one of these?

Oh, you thought I just made two?

Oh, you thought I just made three?

Okay, mine is technically the George and Ginger Monna Hoodie (you can check out that post HERE).

This was so fun matching with my boys! They had a blast running around our street while me and my husband chased after them taking pictures. I definitely recommend the Vanguard Hoodie and Monna Hoodie. Both designers did a great job drafting and with the instructions.

Have any questions or comments? Let me know below. 

Happy Sewing!

So Jess Sew - George and Ginger Monna Hoodie. Plus, How to Sew Welt Pockets

G&G Monna Hoodie

George and Ginger just released a new pattern called the Monna Hoodie. It's super cute and unique. Have you ever seen a hoodie like this? It has a an overlapping criss-cross hood, a piping style trim piece at the bust with gathers on each side, and welt pockets. How fancy is that?! It's also on sale until Friday (3/1/19) for only $6.75 which is 25% off. No code needed! Click HERE to see it on the GG website.

*This post contains affiliate links, which just means that if you buy something after clicking the link, I get a few cents to help bring you great blog posts!

Never done welt pockets before? Don't be intimidated, they are actually not that bad, scroll down for a step by step tutorial including how to finish the seams as you go. 

I made this one out of thin sweater knits. (Blue is from Sincerely Rylee and the striped grey was in a sweater knit scrap pack from Knitpop.) I actually helped test this pattern. For a previous test, I used a ribbed cotton spandex and for the trim, a thick doodles half knit/half woven fabric. You might have seen that one on my Instagram @sojesssew. It's purple and had a thicker trim piece, and I liked that with the more stable material, the hood sits up a bit. But it's cute either way.

I sewed a few hoodies for the minis as well. For the kids, I used the Love Notions Vanguard if you're interested. It comes with pants too, which I haven't made yet. This is the hoodie color blocked version A in 2t and 4t.

Welt Pockets 

Step-by-Step Instructions including how to finish the seams as you go.

Just a quick note before I start the tutorial. The instructions provided from George and Ginger are actually awesome. I did not need any further guidance the first time I made the pockets using Kristi's instructions directly from the PDF file. However, it might be helpful to see more pictures and I wanted to show you how to add interfacing and how to finish the pockets as you go, since its hard to get in there after the fact on some parts. Since it's knit, you don't have to finish the seams, but if it were woven you would need to (the instructions don't change for woven pockets) and it just makes it look nicer inside.

1. Mark the placement of the welt pockets from the pattern pieces. You can do this with tailors chalk or or another similar fabric marker. I like to use pins and stick them through the pattern piece into the fabric in several places to make sure I'm drawing the lines in the correct place. It's easiest to mark this right after you have the piece cut out so that your fold is aligned perfectly. *I learned a super neat trick on Facebook that I wish I had thought of. If you cut the pocket out, you can just mark it directly through the hole you made. How smart is that?!

2. Cut out the pocket pieces, as well as 4 interfacing pieces, 2 for each the pocket binding and facing pieces. Iron the interfacing onto the binding and facing fabric pieces. I used Pellon Interfacing for thin fabrics. You can pick this up at any fabric store or online. If you are using a very stable or thick knit like cotton spandex, then you may not need to add the interfacing. However, if you are using a thinner or less stable fabric like sweater knit or rayon spandex, the interfacing will help the pocket stay the right shape and make the whole process easier.

Be sure to have the bubble side down facing the wrong side of the fabric. This is important so that you don't end up with the interfacing stuck to your iron instead! (Ask me how I know). 

2. Fold the welt pocket binding piece (the fatter pocket piece) hot dog style, wrong sides together. Sew a basting stitch (longest length stitch your machine has - a 4 or 5) on the long side with a 1/2" seam allowance from the raw edges. Then optionally, finish the raw edges with a sewing machine or serger.

3. Sew a basting stitch all the way around the welt pocket placement lines you made in step one. You should have a long skinny rectangle of stitches on your fabric.

Now put the binding piece over top the pocket placement stitches you made, with the folded edge facing in toward the center of the bodice. Align the basting stitches on the binding piece with the inner side of the placement stitches. The binding piece will stick out past your basted placement lines by 1/2 inch on top and bottom.

Sew the binding piece along the inner basted placement lines, starting a 1/2 inch below the top of the binding piece and ending 1/2 inch before the end of the binding piece (so you start sewing at the top of the rectangle and stop a the bottom of the rectangle).

4. With right sides together, sew the welt pocket facing to one of the large pocket pieces with an 1/2" seam allowance.

If you want to finish the seams here, separate the facing's raw edge from the pocket's raw edge. Then zigzag or serge the edges separately as shown in the photo below.

5. Flip the facing up and sew basting stitches a 1/2" from the raw edge at the top of the facing. Optionally, you can zigzag or serge the raw edge.

6.  Sew the pocket/facing piece to the outer side of the pocket placement line. Align the basted lines you sewed on the top of the facing piece with the outer basted pocket placement lines. Stitch starting 1/2" from the top and stop sewing 1/2" from the bottom of the facing/pocket piece.

7. Now here's the scary part...pull the stitched seams away from the center of the pocket placement rectangle and cut a tiny hole directly in the center of the rectangle. Now make a cut vertically in the center of long rectangle stopping about an inch before the top and bottom edges. Here you will cut diagonally out to the corners on both ends forming two triangles, don't snip through your stitches! See picture below.

8. Pull both the facing and binding pieces through the hole to the wrong side of the garment. Make sure your triangles pressed out of the way of the hole.

9. Allow the pocket binding piece (the fatter one without the big piece attached to it) to lay down flat and using a 1/2" seam allowance, sew the second large pocket piece to the top of the binding piece matching the raw edges. Be sure to only sew the facing and pocket pieces together, and NOT the flap from the bodice.

Optionally, you can zigzag or serge the raw edges.

10. Line up the pocket piece tops and make sure all the pieces are laying flat. The best way to check if you have this part correct is to align the pieces and then flip the garment over to see if the welt pocket looks good before you sew anything. If you you don't have the pieces aligned well, you will get puckering in the corner or a gap between the facing and binding.

Once you have everything looking correct, you will flip the garment back to the wrong side and sew at the base of the triangles, attaching them to the pocket facing and binding pieces on both sides.

11. Now serge or sew all the way around the bottom and sides of the large pocket pieces to close the pockets.

And you are done. 

Congratulations, you made super fancy pockets! 

Have any questions or comments? Leave them below! 

Happy Sewing.

All You Need to Know to Winter Sow

Did you think I misspelled sew? Actually, I'm not talking about sewing, but rather sowing! Because, guys...IT'S ALMOST HERE! Gardening season that is. I started winter sowing today. I'll show you how to do it.

First of all, what is winter sowing? This is sowing seeds when it's still winter time and too cold to plant seeds in the garden. You could also plant seeds under a cold frame or a big glass bowl if you wanted, but the method I'm referring to uses plastic containers like milk jugs and big plastic containers to create a miniature greenhouse.  Here's a picture of my mini greenhouses:

The idea is that keeping the soil warmer inside the containers allows the seeds to germinate earlier. I just have broccoli and kale planted in these three. You can do warmer weather vegetables in these too like tomatoes, but it's only February 17th, so they can wait since the soil temperature wouldn't get high enough for a while anyway. In general, these types of greenhouses will give you a month head start on the weather. If you put it out sooner, it won't hurt the seeds as long as you don't have a warm spell where the seeds are allowed to germinate, followed by a cold spell that dips below the seedlings temperature tolerance. This isn't likely to happen since at low temperatures, it takes a long time for the seeds to germinate.

I found a really neat chart that explains what soil temperature different vegetables will germinate at, and another chart that explains how long it will take to germinate certain seeds at various temperatures. This is from the University of California's Agricultural Extension. So, as you can see on the chart below, broccoli will germinate at 40 degrees (and since Kale and Broccoli are cousins, kale is the same). So, according to the second chart (and using cauliflower as a similar vegetable). Once the soil temperature in the jugs reaches 50 degrees, it should take about 20 days to see green inside!

Source

Source

Okay, enough nerdy scientific data, you want to know how to winter sow right?  So here are the steps:

1. Collect Containers

Milk jugs are great because they are readily available. Even if your family doesn't drink milk, chances are your neighbor or co-worker does. If they really like you, they might even agree to wash the milk jugs out and leave the lid off to let them dry before they give them to you! You can use other types of containers too though. A big plastic tub with a lid or I've even used a large baby green salad container (this I actually used to grow salad greens in). Or something like a large juice container would work too. You could use 2 liter soda bottles, but since they are tall in skinny, you would need to put them in something so they don't get knocked over.

2. Prepare the Containers

Firstly, no matter what type of container you are using, it will need drainage. You can use a box cutter, x-acto knife, or even a drill with a small bit to make the holes. There's not an exact right amount of holes to make, just make sure the water can drain out. For the milk jugs, I usually make 7-10 small holes in the bottom. 

Now, if you are using milk jugs or similar containers, you will need to cut them open somewhere near the middle in order to get the soil and seeds inside.I like to cut from the base of the handle all the way around back to the base of the handle on the other side like the picture shows below. That way it's easy to open it, but will also be easy to secure it closed in the later step. 

Next you need to fill the container with soil. You can use seedling starter soil, but from my research, it's better to use a potting soil that has more nutrients in it since the plants will be growing in these for a few months without much, or any amendments. The picture shows a cheap potting soil from Wal-Mart, thus the rocks and stones you see in here, but I think it will work fine.

If you are using a different type of container, just be sure to put enough soil in it so that it doesn't dry out too fast. These usually don't need to be watered much in the winter, but if you have a small amount of soil, you will be out with them more than you probably want to be. Also, they won't be as heavy, and might move around.

4. Plant the Seeds

For most milk jugs, I will plant 6-9 seeds depending on the type of plant. If you were doing very small flowers, then it would probably be better to broadcast the seeds across the top of the soil. But for most vegetables, you are just going to evenly space the seeds holes, and put a few seeds in each hole at the depth noted on the seed packet. 

Make sure to label each container as you go. It's okay to plant two different types of seeds into one container, just make sure to label it so that you know later.

5. Close up the Containers 

If your container has a built in lid, just put it on! You may need to leave it slightly off or add holes in the top so that water and air can get in, depending on what you are using. If you are using the milk jugs like me, then you just need to secure the cut portion with tape. Don't put the lid back on the top! That's where the snow and rain will come in. 

Then put them outside in a sunny spot. These are on the deck, they won't stay as warm because it's a deck, but it's really the best non-windy-close-to-the-door-spot I have. And they have worked fine there in the past!

That's really all there is too it! When it comes time to transplant them, take the lids off for a few days before you move them to let them harden off (if you are worried they will get shocked, you can still tape them up part of the day while you harden them off). Then just grab the chunk of the dirt that the plant is rooted in, and put that in the earth.

There's a really great winter sowing Facebook group if you want more information. Click HERE to go to the Facebook group page, it's a closed group, so you'll have to join to see posts.

As always, let me know if you have any questions or comments below! And happy gardening.

Altering Garment Sewing Patterns to Fit YOU - Lengthening and Shortening

Most sewing patterns for women are made for an average height of around 5'5"-5'6" depending on the pattern company. So what should you do if you are 5'1" or 6'? Well, you could just leave the pattern as is...but, then you would be wearing clothes that don't fit quite right, just like most of the clothes you get from retail stores. It's actually not too difficult to add or subtract length to a garment.

Some pattern makers will include a "lengthen or shorten here" line (or add/subtract line) on the actual pattern. This is convenient, since you don't have to worry about where to add or subtract the length anymore. However, it isn't always this simple. And actually, adding or subtracting all your height in one spot might not always work out well.

Clear as mud? Okay, let's expound on it. Look at this basic camisole from my previous post. Let's say the designer put the add/subtract line just above the natural waist. And I should mention, the rule is, for every inch you are taller or shorter than the pattern's intended height, you will add/subtract a half an inch. Now, if you are only 2 inches taller than the intended height, you will add 1 inch of space on the pattern at that add/subtract line. That should work out great. But, let's say you are 6 inches taller than the pattern height, and you add 3 inches at that add/subtract line. Now you have dropped the part of the pattern that is supposed to hit at your natural waist down three inches. The possible issue here, is that a person's height isn't carried only in one spot. What about the extra height above the bust line and below the natural waist line? On a fitted garment, if you drop the natural waist down 3 inches, but your natural waist is actually only 1.5 inches lower, then now you have a slimmer part of the garment hitting the top of your hips where it should be starting to ease out. And if you carry more height above your bust, now the straps on your cami would be too short because you wouldn't have added any length there (in a shirt, this would cause the bottom of the armscye to rise up into your armpits where it doesn't belong).

So what's the fix? If you are substantially taller or shorter than the pattern height, it's really best to break up inches you need to add or subtract into different parts of the garment. So if you need to subtract say, 3 inches from a shirt pattern. You could take an inch out above the bust, an inch near the waist area, and the third inch could be taken off the bottom. 

Below is a picture of a basic dolman shirt front traced onto parchment paper. Let's say the pattern maker drafted this shirt for a woman who is 5'5", but you are 5'1". 5'5"- 5'1" = 4". Half of 4" is 2". So we need to remove 2 inches from this shirt. Let's take one inch from the waist area and one at the hem. So lets grab a ruler and draw a line straight across the width of the pattern perpendicular to the grainline. Then we will cut on that line. Now you can either:

• Cut another line 1" above that and then tape it together with that 1".
• Or, you can slide the bottom and top  papers of your pattern together so that they overlap each other by .5 inches. 

Either method achieves the same result. Then we would also shorten the shirt by 1" at the hem line.

On the flip side, if were adding length to this pattern. We, would still cut on the same line, but instead of removing length, you would just spread the two pieces apart as far as you needed, and then just tape a little strip of paper into the gap that you've made from the separation.

Here's how you add extra length in. There was no lengthen/shorten line on this bodice in testing, so I added the length just above the narrowest part of the bodice.

Draw a line connecting the top and bottom cut bodice pieces.

Then cut it off.

For pants and skirts, it's really the same concept. If there is a lengthen/shorten line, use that as your base. But, you can add/subtract length from a few different sections of the garment for best fit, especially if the garment is doesn't have much ease.

One more thing that I want to mention is that even though 2 people can be the same height, they may carry that height in different ways. For example, I'm lucky because I'm 5'5", so I don't have to do a ton of altering for height on patterns for me. However, I have a longer torso than most patterns are drafted for. My side waist measurement is 10," whereas most patterns are designed with around an 8" side waist. So I do have to add length to patterns that need to hit below my bust or at my natural waist specifically. Another person the same height, may carry their height opposite than how I do. So, perhaps they always have to add length for their pants patterns even though they are the same height as the pattern intended.

Well, that's all I have for this post. I hope it helps!

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments in the comment section below.

Happy Sewing!

Common Sewing Acronyms

• CL - Cotton Lycra, also known as Cotton Spandex fabric
• DBP - Double Brushed Polyester fabric 
• FBA - Full Bust Adjustment or Alteration
• FH - Fat Half yard 
• FQ - Fat Quarter yard
• FOE - Fold Over Elastic
• FT - French Terry fabric
• ITY - Interlocking Twist Yarn fabric
• LP - Liverpool fabric
• PPD - Postage Paid Domestic (used in fabric buying groups)
• RS - Rayon Spandex fabric
• RST - Right Sides Together (right sides of the fabric)
• RTW - Ready To Wear (clothing from a store)
• SA - Seam Allowance
• SAL - Sew Along
• SBP - Single Brushed Polyester fabric
• UFO - Unfinished Object
• WIP - Work In Progress
• WOF - Width of Fabric
• WS - Wrong Side (might also see WST - Wrong Sides Together)

You will notice if you join the indie pattern Facebook Groups, that there are acronyms within each designer's circle. For example, Patterns for Pirates shirts are called LMU, SFR, ET, FST, etc. (btw, that's Layer Me Up, Slim Fit Raglan, Essential Tank, and Free Spirit Tank). So, some of the acronyms, you might have to learn as you go!

Can you think of any I missed? Comment below and I'll add it!

Happy Sewing!

So Jess Sew - George and Ginger Drama Dress

George and Ginger 

Drama Dress

I made the George and Ginger Drama Dress! It has a ton of options. There are four different necklines available as well as a slim or swing dress option. The necklines include a peter pan collar, basic neck band, bow neckband, and a keyhole front (which is what I did). Sleeves include every length, and the dress also has optional inseam pockets, which I did add!

*This post contains affiliate links. This just means, if someone buys a pattern from my link, I get a few cents to help bring more awesome posts to you (fabric cost money)!

I picked up some purple cotton spandex ribbed knit from Knitpop and thought it would be perfect for this dress. The keyhole and neck binding were done with a matching purple DBP because when I pulled hard on the ribbed knit, it stretched out and did not recover (go back to the original size). For the pockets, I used some purple scraps made of rayon spandex. This is the slim skirt version, and you can probably see from the pictures, that while it's not a swing dress, it's still has some positive ease in the hips (i.e., it's not a wiggle!). I did add one inch to the length of the dress since it's for winter and I wanted to make sure it covered down to the top of my knee. I am 5'5", which is really close to the drafted height of 5'6", so without alterations, the hem would sit an inch or 2 higher.

The dress is really comfortable and I like that while the neckband is very modest for me, it still looks a little bit fancy.

My 4 year old took this picture, and while my head is slightly decapitated, I think it shows the dress well, so here it stays.

Want to make one yourself? 

Check it out on the George and Ginger Website HERE.

What do you think? Do you have any questions? Let me know in the comments.

Happy Sewing!

So Jess Sew - George and Ginger Posh Top

GG Posh Top

I made the George and Ginger Posh Top with a few modifications. This shirt is originally a turtleneck, but I just don't love the feeling of a turtleneck, like I'm being choked! I know I'm not the only one. Don't get me wrong, the shirt is super cute with the full collar, I just wouldn't wear it. So lowering the neckline hack to the rescue (but keep the other cute details!). I also shortened the sleeves to 3/4 length to keep this top on one yard. Yay fabric savings. The pink floral is French Terry and the white is DBP.

*This post contains affiliate links. Which just means if you end up liking the pattern and buy it, I get a few cents to help bring you more great posts!

I really like that this shirt looks like a raglan, but gives you the more tailored look of  inset sleeves. Plus the trim pieces are so fun, and matching fabric pieces together in different ways can make the shirt look completely different.

For this shirt, I cut both trim pieces the same as the original shorter trim pattern piece. Then assembled the front bodice pieces per the pattern instructions, except mirroring the instructions for the first shorter trim piece.

Neckband widths are usually 1.5" - 2", so I cut mine at 1.75 for this shirt. Cut the band and attach it when the instructions say to attach the turtleneck (after constructing the rest of the shirt).

Need instructions for lowering a neckline? I wrote a post for that HERE. 

The sleeves are cut with a bell shape on the bottom to give them some drape before the cuffs. Since I wanted to keep this shirt on one yard, I had to shorten the sleeves, but I wanted to keep the bell shape. To do this, I used my french curve ruler to find out the angle of the bell curve. I then held the the paper sleeve up to my arm to get an idea of how short to cut it. I then used the french curve to draw the same bell at the 3/4 length point. If you didn't have a french curve, I think you could cut the sleeve bell off at the end, put it up higher on the sleeve pattern piece and trace around the curve. Can you see the fullness in the picture below?

Well, there you have it, my modified Posh Top!

As always, let me know if you have any questions in the comments section below. 

Happy Sewing!