Ankara Bound Luxe Cuddle Lamb Blanket

My son is obsessed with soft fabrics.  I have had the pleasure of working with Shannon Fabrics for several articles for Sew News Magazine and recently, I joined their brand ambassador team. They are a very generous company and I received several welcome packages with their yummy fabrics. With every delivery, my son wraps himself in the cuddly fabrics to enjoy the softness. Every attempt for me to disentangle him, has been met with reluctance because he constantly wants to be enrobed in them. On more than one occasion, I've had to unravel him from 6 yards of fabric.

When Shannon Fabrics heard that he routinely wears the single-sided fleece garments inside out, to feel the softness, they told me about the double-sided options. They sent him several yards to celebrate his recent birthday.

Top of his list of projects for me to make was a blanket. I decided to make a bound option using Ankara fabric that he selected from my stash. This is a quick and easy project that gives a lot of comfort and character with a little bit of effort.

Here's a quick tutorial

Supplies:

2.5 yards Double-sided Lamb Cuddle Luxe (54/56" x 90")

1.5 yards Ankara fabric or 45" fabric of your choice

Walking foot

A heap of pins 

A sharp rotary cutter

A rotary mat

6" quilting ruler

Iron and board

All purpose thread

If you are buying yardage, the 2.5 yards of Cuddle Luxe is ready to go. If you have more than that you will need to cut it down. I like to lay the fabric on carpet because the fibers keep everything from shifting. Measure 90" down the length of the fabric and cut across the width.

Use a quilting ruler to cut 8 strips of binding the length of your fabric (45") x 6" wide. If you are using wider fabric, you will require fewer strips.

With right sides together and raw edges even, stitch/serge the short ends together, Repeat on all strips, press open if stitched, to one side if serged.

Press .5" on both long sides of the binding. Fold long edges in to meet and press to create a long center crease.

Slide binding under one edge of the fleece so the edge meets the center crease.

Pin through layers of binding and fleece to secure in place. Allow the binding to extend beyond the fleece.

Tuck the binding under so the center seam meets the edge of the fleece. Adjust the corner to smooth the fabric and form a point.

View from backside.

Fold the binding to the front and adjust your corner to create a mitered corner. Pin in place. 

Continue to pin the binding  around the perimeter of the blanket. When you get to the beginning overlap and tuck the fabric ends in place. I pinned the entire perimeter before I began sewing. If your blanket feels too bulky and heavy this way, I suggest you pin then stitch each edge before continuing to the next.

Clear the area to the left of your sewing machine so there is room for the blanket to rest on the table. It can be unwieldy if the blanket hangs in front of the machine. Install the walking foot on your machine. Adjust the stitch length to the longest length. Align the edge of the binding to the edge of the foot and use it as your seam allowance guide. Stitch binding in place. Backstitch at the beginning and end, pivot at the corners. 

Press binding and enjoy!

Happy sewing,

Bianca

New Work From Home Fabric!

When I feel like wearing sweats or yoga pants but I must wear a dress, this is the dress for me! I love when I make something and it surprises me. This dress did just that! My go-to outfits most of this homebound year have had casual comfort as the paramount feature. Few of them have been dresses. With this make that is going to change. When I chose this bullet knit from Nature's Fabrics I knew it would be comfortable. When I paired it with this pattern, I didn't know I would want to wear it all the time.

I love this faux wrap dress with ruched details. I chose to make view D with the the gathers at the shoulders. The construction was easy and I sewed it mainly on my serger. The bullet knit is a stable knit, so it can be sewn on a standard machine if you don't own a serger. 

I have used bullet knit  to make dresses, tops and cardigans. I love all of them. When I was planning this project, I started to feel you might get bored with more of this fabric from me. In the end, I went ahead because I want you get into this fabric! 

This is the dress you wear when you have to look like you care, but you want to feel like you're lounging. It's the perfect dress when you want to be comfy, but need to pop on a Teams meeting or a Zoom call.

This is the dress I wish I had when I was pregnant and nursing my babies. The stretch of the fabric would have easily accommodated my growing belly and the neckline would have made it perfect for breastfeeding. I am not going down that road anymore. I will however, make this dress again and possibly modify it for tops.

In terms of sizing, I cut my regular size and could have gone down by one because of the stretch of this knit. I have seen other versions that have zero ease, but that is not my style. Because of the folds, tucks and gathers I am happy with the fit. 

I don't remember when I bought this pattern, but it is now out of print. There are a few available for sale if you want this exact pattern. If you are open to a suggestion Burda 6211 is a good match.

I am planning my Fall and Winter projects and it will be all about comfort. Do you have a secret pajamas pattern that you love?

Happy Sewing,

Bianca

Pandemic Sewing Gets Twisted!

For as long as I have been sewing, I thought I had sewn with just about every type of fabric. I'm so grateful that my collaborations with Nature's Fabrics that introduces me to fabrics I had not considered before. Recently, they have released some beautiful printed bullet knit fabrics that caught my eye. Bullet knit is lightweight knit fabric with a small pique texture. It is denser than ITY, but not as thick as a scuba knit. This knit is 95% Polyester and 5% Spandex.  It is 62” wide and weighs 260 GSM.  It stretches 50% in the width and 50% in the length.  It is a soft flowing, does not fray or ravel. The print is only on the top   

I was drawn to Artist Palette

        

and Glitter Stripe

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I love my Willow Overalls by Pipe Dream Patterns. I have made several pairs and they are heavy in my rotation! When the Eilidh Twist Dress was released, I added it to my must make list. I love both versions of this dress, but decided version 1 would get more wear than the more provocative back twist version. 

When I ordered the two colorways of this bullet knit fabric, the plan was to use the Artist Palette for Little Miss, and Glitter Stripe for myself. When the fabrics arrived however, I fell in love with the colorful one and claimed it for myself. I promise I made it up to her and she loves what I made.

I guess I had this fabric in mind when I came up with these pattern weights.

The one and a half yards of this was enough for the body of the dress but was slightly short for the longer of the sleeve options. I did not want a cap sleeve, so I made made do with what I had.

The dress came together very quickly with no complications. The only change I made was to stabilize the back scoop with basted clear elastic. 

I finished it on my coverstitch with variegated rainbow threads.

I think this fabric, with this front twist, makes quite the statement.

        

         

The back scoop falls right above my bra line so no special underwear is required to wear it.

            

I made the size medium (after trying the large), omitted the side slit and made no other alterations.

I would not have shortened the sleeves if my fabric was long enough. Now that I've done it, I think the scale of the sleeves with the length, balances very well.

                         

Like with the Willow Overalls, I'm sure I will be adding more makes of this pattern to my wardrobe. I think this would look great in mixed prints or color-blocking. 

ICYMI:
1. I joined the Sew and Tell Podcast to talk about fabric dyeing, painting and manipulation.  We discussed inspiration, failure and played what would you make. I hope you will tune in.

2. I have new pattern weight designs listed in my Etsy store.

Happy Sewing,

Bianca

Space dye Activewear: Mama and Me.

They say the body you want in June begins in January. With another round of knee surgery, I was immobile in January and February. A healthy healed body was a priority over any real or imagined summer beach body. With a good doctor, rest and physical therapy, I can begin to think about rebuilding strength in my body with workouts. When I work out, I am usually that person in the gym or park wearing mismatched t-shirts, a shorts bra and uninspired shorts. My logic has been, "they are going to get gross and sweaty, so why does it matter?".

                           

Little Miss is old enough to workout with me at the gym or alongside me at the park. She has awesome fitness clothes that I bought her when a local store went out of business. The times I have taken her to workout with me, she has looked great, me, not so much. She doesn't care what I wear and is not embarrassed by me; she is just happy we are there together. Seeing how cute she looks however, made me want to make more of an effort.

 

I took advantage of Nature's Fabrics sale last month and bought Midnight Blue Space dye and Ocean Space Dye Knit with the goal of making activewear for myself. When the fabric arrived, I loved it so much, I didn't want to make workout clothes anymore! I don't enjoy working out and didn't want to "waste" such yummy fabric on a dreaded activity. I hemmed and hawed for most of the month vacillating between day wear and workout gear. In the end, I decided I should go ahead with the original plan because the wonderful feel of the fabric could only improve the workout experience.

A sale at the fabric store lead me to a Simplicity sale and their new patterns.I went with Simplicity 8634 for the top 

and Simplicity 8212 for the leggings

The line art of the patterns made me think they would be a good candidate for color-blocking. It was a fun way to tie the two fabrics together. In a happy coincidence, my fabrics match my swing arm weights and ankle weights. They help me get more bang for my buck on my walks.

     

The patterns were easy to sew straight from the package. I only tweaked them slightly. I added two inches to the front an back of the shirt to give a bit more coverage. 

                          

 The crossover back is secured only at the neckline and shoulders. The overlap covers the back area over the bra, but I wanted more security. I stitched the overlap together along the edge ending where it begins to open. This with the high waist of the leggings, provides the necessary back coverage.

                           

I don't own a coverstitch machine so I sewed this on my domestic machine and serger. 

                 

I used a twin needle with contrasting thread for all the hemming and topstitch details.

  

After planning my outfit, saw I had enough fabric to make a set for my daughter. I considered identical outfits, but I opted for coordinating pieces to allow me to play with a little embellishment.

                      

I don't have a  pattern specific for athleisure patterns for girls in my stash. I found Simplicity 8184 with its tank top and leggings knew it would work.

                    

I colorblocked the leggings and added a stripe embellishment to the top. I cut 1-inch stripes of fabric, folded the edges under and secured them to the shirt front using the twin needle.

She too loves the soft hand of this fabric and wants me to make pajamas and everyday clothes with it. This knit has a lot of stretch. For a close to body fit, I suggest going down a pattern size when sewing with it. She loves that she can do handstands and flips without having to tuck her top in first. 

I am so glad I went ahead and made these outfits. It feels good to get moving again. As I was getting ready for my third knee surgery, Little Miss asked, "Will you ever be able to run with me again?". It was heartbreaking! I am still months away from running, but we can go out together and break a sweat!

  

Happy Sewing,

Bianca  
P.s. Thanks to those who voted for my quilt from the previous post! I won the Pattern Review Quilt Contest!