Hemming a Tulle Skirt

It’s prom time and one of my dear nieces asked me to hem and alter her dress and to sew a really puffy petticoat for under the dress.    Absolutely beautiful and a skirt of yards of tulle.

The first and most time consuming step was to remove and replace about half of the lace applique and bead-sequin trim.  While this took time, it was straight forward.  On the other hand, I knew that hemming the tulle was a once and done affair.  If not done correctly the first time, removing stitches would result in damaged tulle.  Here’s what the hem looked like originally – a narrow turned over hem.

As you can see, it wasn’t sewed all that well when the garment was manufactured.  It was turned over twice and sewed close to the edge.  Originally my plan was to repeat that process after the dress was cut to the desired length.  Fate changed that plan.

On the day that I was finishing the dress alterations, one of my sewing friends came to my house to see how a serger works.  One of the finishes I showed her was a rolled hem. Immediately I realized that’s what I should use for the hem.  Why hadn’t I previously thought of this?  The result was a beautifully finished rolled hem.

How to Serge a Rolled Hem

While this process will vary slightly by serger, the general process is the same.

1. Remove the left needle.

2. Thread the right needle and the upper and lower looper with thread that matches the fabric.

Note: Because of the limited serger thread color selection, I used one spool of regular sewing thread and wound 2 bobbins in the same color. 

3. Set to a very narrow stitch width.

4. Set stitch length to a very short stitch – some sergers have rolled hem settings.

5.  Disengage the cutting blade.

6.  Place cut edge ~1/16″ to the right of the right needle.  This part will turn under and will disappear into the rolled hem

7.  Sew a sample one the fabric you’re hemming.

Note: The fabric should not pull or ruffle the edge. 

8.  Adjust tension as needed.

Note: This is the part that varies by machine so it’s difficult to provide specific directions.

The result is an amazingly beautiful hem and it takes only minutes to complete.  I was so thankful that I remembered to use this finishing method, which would work equally well for chiffon, crepe or many other fabrics.

Settings for a Baby Lock Evolve (or similar serger)

• Remove left or Overlock 1 needle
• Disengage cutting knife
• Stitch width 3.5
• Stitch Length 1.5R (Rolled hem setting)
• Stitch Selector  - D
• Upper Looper Selector – Up position
• Tension – no settings as this is automatic on an Evolve

Fashion Designers in the Making

My DGD both love sewing American Girl doll clothes.  Doesn’t every American Girl doll need a fine-looking wardrobe?  Besides, with a fabric stash at hand, Mira and Cate don’t need to save their hard-earned dollars only to have them evaporate with a single purchase of doll clothing.

Sewing Together

Writing this reminds me of my incentive to sew when I was a teen, my parents paid for fabric to make clothes however if I wanted ready-to-wear, I bought it with my hard-earned money.

Back to the story.

Cate’s Creation

Recently, both Mira (age 10) and Caitlin (age 7) had dreams of a “beautiful” American Girl doll dress.  My conversation with Cate went something like this:

Cate:  Grandma, I want to make a REALLY beautiful dress for Kit and McKenna.

Me:  What type of REALLY beautiful dress?

Cate:  One that’s REALLY beautiful and made from your fabric, not from Mira’s and my box of fabric.

Me:  Well, let’s see what we can find.

We made a trip to my sewing room and dug through the bin of “silk and pretties” (Cate knew exactly where that bin was located) and she quickly selected an Asian print, followed by a quick rummage through my lace drawer to make her trim selections.  Most important of all, I asked her to draw a picture of what she wanted.  I wanted Cate to be successful but secretly feared that she wished for something very complex).  Here is “Cate’s Creation”:

Cate’s Creation

I found the simplest possible 18″ doll dress pattern and soon we were cutting and sewing.  With an amazing command of the sewing machine, Cate zig-zagged all of the edges, sewed the seams, ran the gathering stitches and gathered the skirt.  Here is the REALLY beautiful result:

So Pretty in Pink

Proud Cate with McKenna

Mira’s Couture

Mira has loved creating fashion for both Kit and McKenna, though she is not the owner of either doll.  This however was the most elaborate to date.  Prior to designing this dress she made an adorable white top hat with black trim for Kit (maybe I can get a photo and add later) and then envisioned the black and white dress to be worn with the top hat.   More experienced with a drawing pencil, Mira provided sufficient detail to challenge both of us.  What a gorgeous design but where would I find this pattern?

In a box of scrap fabric, we found some white poly crepe and black velvet, and she selected a small embroidery design.  Mira cut out the dress and sewed most of the it except the sleeves and cuff – much of it was independent sewing.  She selected the appropriate sized snaps (no velcro here) and we shared sewing them onto the dress back and cuffs.

Kit’s Black and White gown

Mira and Kit – so lovely

Cruise Wardrobe in a Bag

No excuses for not posting sooner – blogging mojo has been low.  Just like when I was a kid going to confession, “I’ll try to do better”.

In the next several days we are leaving for a 2 week European vacation followed by a 2 week cruise, followed by Thanksgiving and a wedding in Philly before finding our way back home.  Here’s the dilemma:  We’re budget travelers (within reason that is), not only in how we spend our travel dollars but also in how we pack.  That means my 2600 cc. backpack will be my trusted friend for the next month.  Being a one suitcase kind of person, you can’t imagine the shock-waves that went through my body upon learning that the cruise has 3 formal dinners and 5 semi-formal dinners.  That just doesn’t fit with backpacking.  I’ll tell you more about the plan in a minute, but here, in a 2 gallon ziplock bag, is my dress-clothes cruise wardrobe.

Cruise Wardrobe:

• A LBD and a long black skirt (LBS) that I can wear with tights or leggings while traveling.
• 3 sleeveless tops – a black ruffled tank, silk tank left over from my work wardrobe and a lightweight royal Thai silk top from my closet.
• 3 shawls – 2 silk (one print, one black) and a Pashmina (will be my warm and stylish scarf in cool countries).
• Wool top with scarf trim (will also wear this while traveling)
• Chiffon trim that I’ll baste to the LBD neckline for one wearing.
• Rhinestone brooch.
• Black sparkly flats (not in the bag).

Here are the pieces of clothing all laid out and ready to pack.

Seems possible to get 8 outfits out of this mix. What do you think?

Travel Wardrobe:

• Jeans, black pants and a denim skirt.
• 4 wool knit long sleeve tops
• 2 very lightweight sweaters for layering
• Long undies, undies, wool socks, etc
• Tights and leggings, fleece hoodie, jacket, Pashmina, mittens and gloves.
• Clogs and a back-up pair of shoes

Wedding attire:

We are cheating on that one.  When Shaun and Deb visited several weeks ago, we sent our wedding clothes with them.  Sure didn’t want to carry that dress around for a month.

Come to think of it, I sure hope the cruise ship has a pressing service or I’m in trouble.

While I don’t sew all of my clothes, this is the first time I’ve traveled with a wardrobe where I’ve sewed every piece of clothing.  Maybe that’s why I haven’t been blogging?  At any rate, I took lots of photos of lessons learned and will share them in future posts.

Under-shorts: Coverage when wearing a Skirt

One of the trends in children’s clothing is and “all-in-one” skirt and shorts.  The obvious purpose is to assure that there is panty coverage during normal play.  While this no-brainer design element isn’t ubiquitous, there are some children’s clothing manufacturer’s such as Lands’ End and Carters who regularly design play clothes with built-in shorts.  Unfortunately, without the under-shorts, an adorable skirt can hang in the closet unworn.  I understand that at schools, pants are a dress code requirement in order to play on the gym equipment.

Here’s an example from my last blog post. 

If you aren’t fortunate enough to have a skirt with built-in shorts the alternative is to sew under-shorts only so they can be worn with existing skirts.  

Sewing All-in-one Skirt and Shorts

The method for sewing shorts into a skirt is fairly simple – when sewing the waistband onto the skirt, sew a third layer which is the shorts.  In other words, you are sewing the waistband, the skirt and the shorts together.  What’s not so simple is that the circumference of a skirt is often wider than the circumference of a pair of shorts, so you may need to stretch the under-shorts a bit while sewing.  

Here’s and inside photo of Catie’s new skirt with under-shorts.  In this case I did need to stretch the under-shorts. however the fabric has a good amount of lycra.

Inside photo of skirt with under-shorts

Tips for success when sewing skirts with attached under-shorts.

1. Take a good look at ready-to-wear with built-in shorts – this is the best way to learn how they are constructed.
2. Use a knit with lycra for the shorts (~30%) so they can stretch when attaching the waistband.
3. To reduce bulk at the waist, choose a pattern with a yoke or a wide waistband and
4. Reduce the rise on the shorts by the height of the waistband (or else the crotch will be at your young-un’s knees)
5. For a pattern, copy an existing pair of knit shorts or use this leggings pattern.  Add width so the shorts aren’t skin-tight and shorten it to the desired length.  This is a pattern where the exact fit isn’t so important.
6. Avoid side seams in the shorts – they add bulk (and a few minutes of your precious time to the project).

 

Sewing Under-shorts:

If your favorite girl loves to do cartwheels and has a closet full of unworn skirts without built-in shorts, this tutorial is the answer.  Now as standard attire, Mira and Cate have many colors to choose from.  How convenient that both Mira and Cate enjoy skirts and I often have knit scraps.  Sometimes I sew the undershorts to match a top or skirt such as in this photo.

And sometimes the under-shorts are a good way to use up left-over fabric.  A pair requires little more than a quarter yard of knit fabric or some random scraps.  Here’s an example from several years ago.  Seems to me that I’ve still seen them in action recently.

Made from the fabric scraps from on of my black summer dresses, this fabric isn’t a typical children’s wear choice however it is very stretchy and thus works for intended purpose.

Tips on sewing under-shorts.

1. As with attached under-shorts, avoid a side seam.
2. Shorten the front and back rise so the waist elastic falls slightly below the natural waist.  This reduces bulk and improves comfort.
3. Hem with a zig-zag, cover stitch, decorative elastic or a rolled hem.  Some knits can be left un-hemmed as is common in ready to wear.
4. When applying the elastic (I prefer 3/8″ lingerie or knit elastic), stretch slightly so the elastic is slightly smaller than the circumference of the under-shorts.
5. Use a zig-zag or cover-stitch to apply elastic (click on above photo to see detail).
6. Place a small piece of ribbon at the back seam to make it easy for the wearer to know which is the back.

Now give it a try.  You can whip up a few of these wardrobe expanders in no time at all.

Full Bust Adjustment (FBA): Adding a Horizontal Dart

In my last post I showed you the Edwardian dress I sewed for my SIL.  Despite using reference books and websites with directions on FBA, I wasn’t able to put my finger on the  directions for adding a horizontal dart while narrowing the shoulder.  Since I’m not sure I can describe what I did for the narrow shoulder adjustment, I can show you how I made the full bust adjustment (FBA).

This Past Patterns #903 pattern was the starting point.   Given that the bodice only has vertical darts, my options were to slash the pattern, eliminate the darts and make it into a princess line dress or to add a horizontal dart.  While I chose the latter, I now wonder if it would have been easier to convert one of the vertical darts into a princess line and forget the second dart, especially because of the narrow shoulder adjustment.  Maybe the next time?

Tutorial:

1.  Copy the pattern piece onto a separate piece of pattern paper, leaving several inches around all of the edges so you have space to make adjustments.  Out of the envelope, the front pattern piece looked like this.

Original pattern piece – front bodice

2. Start by adding width to the side of the bodice front (and back if needed), making sure that the dress pattern is equal to the wearer’s full bust measurement plus wearing ease.  I did this by adding to the side of the front and back of the dress top.  On the photo below, if you look to the right side (arrow #1), you can see that my pattern is much wider than the largest size of the printed pattern.  Note: By taking this step you have accommodated for the wearer’s circumference, however in order to avoid having the dress pull up in front, you will also need to add length to the dress front.  That’s where we’re going now.

3. Slash the pattern horizontally at the wearer’s bustline.  Note:  If you slash the pattern at the full bust line, the dart should fall in the correct position.

4.  Physically separate the top and bottom pieces of the pattern and add an amount that is consistent with the wearer’s fullness.  For me is was guesswork to start and then I made further adjustments with each muslin.  There’s probably a formula to calculate this but I couldn’t find it.  In the final muslin I added nearly 4″ to the bodice front.

5. Fill the slashed area with a piece of pattern paper and tape in place (not visible on my photo).

6.  Draw a dart at the center of the area you added to the pattern. (Arrow #3).  Note the bottom of the pattern – the revised pattern is much longer than the original.  (Arrow #4)

While this will likely not be your final alteration, it’s a great place to start, and you can make changes based on how the muslin fits.  In the end you should end up with something like this:

Narrow Shoulder Adjustment:

Unfortunately I don’t feel that I mastered this technique or could even offer advice on what I did to narrow the shoulders while adding several inches to the side seam.  Essentially this was so the armhole wasn’t oversized for the sleeve.   All I can say is that I followed Nancy Ziemen’s Pivot and Slide technique .

Readers, if you have suggestions on how to make this alteration differently, please leave a comment.

Long Distance Sewing: Margie’s Edwardian Dress

So lovely in her new dress

This dress took sooo much longer to make than I anticipated, mostly because it’s really difficult to fit a dress when you’re not in the same state (excuse #1, I know).  Interestingly, when we got to the point of having a good muslin, it only took a week or two to sew the dress.

Nearly a year ago, my SIL Margie asked if I would sew a replica of a historic dress for her.  For their volunteer work at a 1900′s historic home in their community, my BIL John and SIL Margie needed a dress from that era.  Delighted by the request however unfamiliar with sewing historical garments, I searched for patterns online and thankfully found PastPatterns.com.  Specifically, their 1890′s Day Dress pattern was the pattern of choice.

Here’s a chronicle of the events leading up to the dress completion:

Summer, 2011 – request to sew the dress

Aug/Sept 2011 – Once again, Jomar’s in Philadelphia rose to the occasion.  We planned for our long distance fabric selection and one evening I spent an hour or two digging through the fabric options at Jomar.  After photographing candidate fabrics, I emailed the photo to Margie and John from my iPhone.  ”Yes, I like that one; I don’t care for that color; no that’s too blue; that green is nice”  They settled on a lovely light green cotton brocade.

November 2011 – In my possession was a pattern and some fabric but we hadn’t been together so I could take measurements.  Margie and I (with others) traveled to Spain together, so like a diligent sewist, I had my tape measure in my backpack.  This preliminary set of measurements allowed me to alter the pattern and make a muslin.  

Christmas 2011 – Margie and I saw each other for only an hour but had enough time to fit muslin #1.

January 2012 – Muslin #2 completed and mailed to her as then we lived a thousand miles from each other (now ~60 miles).  John kindly took photos of the muslin and pinned some of the areas requiring alteration and returned the muslin to Philadelphia.  His eye for detail was crucial for me to make the needed changes.

February – March - Now things really slowed down as the project was packed away in a moving box while I secretly hoped Margie wouldn’t need the dress.

April – Finally we had an in-person fitting of muslin #3.  I was ready to cut the fashion fabric and start sewing the dress. 

May - Margie stopped by our house for a fitting.  I made a few sizing tweaks and pinned the hem.  A week later my niece picked up the dress and delivered it.  Whew!

All of my sewing friends know that the above outlined events were underscored by showing photos of Margie in the muslin followed by requests for fitting assistance. Thank you to my sewing colleagues who helped me along the journey.  

I was so excited to be finished with the dress that I failed to take inside or construction photos however I can share a few details with you:

Fabric – cotton brocade was pre-washed twice to assure that it wouldn’t shrink in the future.

Lining - lightweight cotton-linen blend for the top only.  The lining and fashion fabric were sewn as one.  This was also pre-washed.

Seam finish - Hong Kong finish with silk organza to reduce bulk.

Buttons - vintage shank buttons purchased on Ebay.  They even smelled vintage, or musty.  The smell passed quickly.  The 22 buttons forced me to learn an easy 2-minute buttonhole technique.

Pattern alterations - added a horizontal dart for bodice fitting.  More about that on another post.

Details - a watch pocket on one of the side front seams.  Margie has since purchased a pocket watch and chain.

Summary:

This was a great project as it really stretched my skills at fitting.  Margie said she got lots of compliments on her first wearing and I am very pleased with the outcome.

 

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses…………

Seems like it’s been forever since I’ve blogged.  Unfortunately life’s events stole all of my emotional energy plus.  Briefly, here’s a rundown of what we’ve been up to since late Feb.

• Sold our Philly home and most of our furniture
• Packed everything into a truck and drove it to Wisconsin
• Purchased a new-to-us home
• Moved in
• Refurbished our home to make it livable

Moving is stressful enough.  In our case we added to the stress by purchasing a beautiful home that was the unfortunate victim of a bank foreclosure.  Worse than that, the home was missing many of life’s essentials such as a kitchen faucet, shower heads, cabinet hardware, towel/TP holders, light fixtures and appliances.  There’s more but you get the idea.  Kevin and I have been shopping and installing all that was missing from the home. We are on a first-name basis with nearly every employee at Home Depot.

Now that the worst part is over, I’ve been able to spend time renovating my sewing cave which also was a victim but nothing that a little paint couldn’t fix.  Appropriately, you, my sewing friends are the first to see it nearly completed.

Features:

First of all, I am so excited to have a sewing such as this – maybe even a little guilty to think about this type of indulgence.  Now that I’ve said it, I’m over the guilt.

Because the previous owner used this as a “craft” room, it is perfect for a sewing room.  Two walls of counter height and wall cabinets were removed before we purchased the home but the following remained intact:

• Counter height electrical outlets – just perfect for sewing machines, lights, etc.
• Sufficient natural light
• Track lighting
• Closet of sufficient size

In addition I was able to add:

• Paint
• IKEA adjustable height tables around 2 sides of the room
• Magnetic paint
• A cutting table
• Bookshelf

There’s more to do such as unpacking the stash, organizing and some items to add:  base boards, wall decorations and closet shelving.  In the several days that the room has been operational, I’ve loved it.  Here are the other views:

A Sewing Cave in the Making

Since we left Philadelphia via moving truck several weeks ago, we have been homeless.  Thanks to our very kind family members we’ve had places to stay however last week we checked into a hotel.  It was time to stop living like kids and to have some personal space.

Simultaneously we purchased a lovely home near Madison, Wisconsin.    I am excited to tell you that it met the criteria for a sewing space.  

Past Sewing Spaces

Whine with me while I tell you that in my 50 (ugh) years of sewing, I’ve never had a dedicated sewing space.   When you’re my age, there’s a lot of history:

• A Guest Bedroom was the best I could do for about 25 years –  in several apartments and in our previous Wisconsin home.   Oh what a mess had to be cleaned up before the arrival of guests.

• Rating:  Better than the kitchen table.

• A Dark Space in the Basement was my sewing location for the last 6 or 8 years in our past Wisconsin home.  The space was huge but really, it was in the furnace room and the windows were tiny.   My family will attest to the fact that it only required  received an annual cleaning.  There are no photos to document this era and if there were, I’d be too embarrassed to show them.
  • Rating:  An upgrade from the kitchen table or a guest room.

• In a Bay Window of the Family Room.  For the past 6 years in our Philly condo, the sewing area was tiny but in a  4′ x 9″  north-facing box window bay, which made it fabulous.  I used an IKEA make-it-yourself table.  It was away from the living space while being a part of the Family Room.  The downside was that most supplies were, you guessed it, in the guest bedroom and my stash was in the basement which required a trip outside the building. Despite the fact that this wasn’t a “private” space, it was a sewist’s dream.  When we were selling the condo our realtor suggested that I put the sewing machines away to not “put off” potential buyers.  Offended, I ignored her comment and made sure the table was neat and the machines were pushed toward the wall when we had a showing.
  • Rating:  A solid “9″ out of “10″.  This was a dream to sew in.

Overlooking a lovely tree-lined Philadelphia street

The Future Sewing Cave

Can I tell you how exciting it is that I’ll have a dedicated sewing space.  Until we move in and are settled, I won’t be able to sew but dreaming about this room is a great substitute.  The future “Sewing Cave” is a finished 13′ x 18′  basement bedroom with great windows and a closet.  In its past life it was a Craft Room with walls of cabinets and an island.  Now it has ripped up walls and carpeting from cabinets that were removed by the previous owners (that’s a story for another time).  A little paint and new flooring will do wonders for this room.

Future Sewing Cave with 2 large windows

There’s even a “Stash Closet” in this cave.  Secretly I wonder if it will be large enough, but that’s a different problem.

Stash Closet

I’d love to hear your ideas on how to develop this creative space.  More to come……

Sewing Jeans: A Riveting Experience

Several months ago I sewed my first ever pair of jeans from the very popular Jalie 2908 pattern.  Made from a remnant of Ralph Lauren stretch denim from London Textiles, this was my first foray into the world of jeans.  Surprisingly the project took only a week – for the sewing part, that is.  The rivets were another story.

The thrill was in getting a pair of jeans that didn’t bag at the back of the leg as well as being perfectly rounded for my perfectly round belly.  They were not too big, not too tight, but just right.  Most gratifying was the look of the pockets.  A huge thank you to Quixotic Pixels for the design idea.  It worked beautifully.

Melt-away stabilizer was used for embroidering the pocket

For top-stitching and pocket embroidery using several of the few design stitches on my sewing machine, I used upholstery thread which is available in many more colors than “jeans” thread.

Cut away the excess stabilizer and then soaked in water for a few minutes

Ever since I saw this “Mom Jeans” post, I’ve hoped that I got the pockets in the right place so I’m not the butt of anyone’s “Mom Jeans” joke.

As for the Rivets

As I wrote above, I finished sewing the jeans in about a week.  The rivets were far more complicated than constructing the jeans.  Naively I purchased 12 rivets (Pacific Trims in NYC), which would give me 2 to spare if setting them didn’t go well.  Let me tell you, setting the rivets didn’t go well at all.  Out of the first dozen, 2 looked pretty good, 2 fell out on the first wearing and the remainder looked something like this.

Despite the partially riveted jeans I proudly wore them during the holiday season and got lots of compliments.  My family and friends were kind enough to not mention that I only had one front and one back pocket rivet.

Since Kevin and I had a NYC trip planned, I returned to Pacific Trims and purchased more rivets only to get the same result.  It was time for a new plan so I purchased the minimum order of 100 similar rivets from an unnamed mail order source.  They lost my order for a few weeks.  Meanwhile I proudly wore my jeans, which now had 4 or 5 rivets.  Still, no one seemed to notice or if they did, kindness prevailed and there was no mention of the incomplete jeans.

I tried……

• Reading the “Brian Sews” blog and watching  his YouTube video on applying rivets
• Using a rivet die I purchased from an Ebay seller – the result was marginal.
• A heavy hammer, a medium weight hammer and a lightweight hammer, none of which made no difference
• Using both a wood block and the basement cement floor as a hard surface
• Adding extra fabric to adjust for the shank length.

Rivet setter - a metal die with a concave surface at one end

This worked…..

• Using a hammer and nail to put the hole in the fabric as opposed to punching a hole with an awl.
• Buying a lot more rivets than required for a single pair of jeans

Finally with the mail order rivets which are similar but not identical to the original Pacific Trim rivets, I used the Ebay acquired rivet setter and was able to set the remaining rivets.  Only then did I realize that I didn’t center several of the rivets and that in one case, I placed the hole right over the topstitching, thus loosening the top-stitching.

Not too loose, not too tight - just right

In the end I had a great pair of jeans with 10 rivets in  2 different styles, several of which are not in the correct position on the pocket corner.  Despite the rivets, I love these custom-made jeans because they fit well.  As for the rivets, I think this was a matter of not having the right tool for the job however I still don’t know what that tool is.

In the future I’ll give it another try, will try to find the right tool and will then let you know if I learn anything more about how to place these necessary adornments on jeans.

If you’re experienced, please share your knowledge on how to make this easier.

More on Sewing with Fur

One faux fur vest for the big girl and one for the little girls.

Because I just finished a faux fur vest for my DD, Megan and one to be shared by my GD, it seems appropriate to spend a little more time talking about how much fun it is to sew with fur.

When I saw my sister Liz at Christmas, she had just completed a faux fur vest for my niece.  The fabric from fabric.com is a 1-1/2″ long animal look-alike that’s soft as cashmere and it so fashionable on my niece.  Liz was kind enough to give me the left over fur so I could make a vest for Megan.  Always trying to get one more garment from a piece of fabric, I was barely able to squeeze out a vest for my GD.

While faux fur vests are fashionable, very cute and inexpensive compared to RTW, you really need to love someone to sew a garment made from fur.  We were selling our home and preparing for an open house and there were nasty fur fibers everywhere.   Not just for one day but for days after the vests were finished – just like when we had a German Shepherd!  Made me realize that we need a new vacuum too.  Now I’ll stop whining.

Tips for Making a Fur Vest

• Use a pattern with minimal design elements, buttonholes, etc.  Megan’s was made from Burda 7289 which is a fur vest pattern.  It has a front dart however I skipped it.  The little girl’s pattern was self-drafted from a shrug pattern.  For both vests, the back and lining is a mid-weight poly.  Both are fully lined.
• When cutting, use pointed scissors and cut only the fabric backing – the fur will separate easily after the backing is cut.
• To control the effects of shedding, store everything in a plastic bag before and during sewing.
• Just like the fur collar, clip the fur from the backing of the seam allowance to reduce bulk and to make it look professional.  If your seam allowance is 5/8″, clip the fur for 5/8″ of the seam allowance.
• Sew the seams as you would sew any other seam.  Hold of on trimming the seams…..
• Before  trimming and clipping the seams, on the right side of the fabric, use a needle or leather punch to pull the fur fibers out of the seam.

Oops – when I sewed the bottom of Megan’s vest to the lining, I trimmed the seams before pulling out the fur fibers.  Because some of the long fibers had been cut short,  the vest hemline looked like my mother used dull scissors to hack off my bangs.  To fix the problem I sewed a new seam which resulted in a vest that was 1″ shorter than I intended.  The second time I pulled the fibers out of the seam and then trimmed it.  Sorry, I forgot to take photos so you could learn from my error.

• Clip the corners like any other fabric.  Despite this there may be some bulk.
• Use hooks or ribbon to fasten the vest – it’s nearly impossible to make buttonholes, especially when working with long fur.
• When pressing, avoid steam and protect the fur fibers from the iron with a pressing cloth as the heat will melt the fibers or make them curl as if singed.  Yes, I learned this by experience too.
• Step back and enjoy your accomplishment.  You deserve it.