Category: Londa’s Patterns & Books
How To Morph Your Basic T Sewing Pattern
Changing your basic T pattern is truly LOTS of FUN! As with this project, that may mean some 'morphing' and RE-DOING, but in the end, it's really worth it. I let my students see the process as I work on it to encourage them to PERSIST (talking to myself as well!). Walk with me through the process to see how I got to this flippy Tunic. FABRICS USED What IRead More
Knit Fabric and Woven Fabric Defined
I'm starting my 'advanced' sewing students on sewing knit fabrics this week. Wanting to make the 'shopping' clear for the Moms, AND in working with other sewers, it has become clear to me that many simply don't realize the difference between knitted and woven fabrics - so here are some 'basics' for your understanding. Note: click on the images below and they will enlarge for easier reading! Woven Fabrics -Read More
Tunic Top with a Twist – Creative Sewing FUN
[caption id="attachment_4606" align="aligncenter" width="137"] Final top version[/caption] To create this 'Tunic Top with a Twist' took some creative sewing and PERSISTENCE! Meaning....if it doesn't work, find your favorite 'Un-Sewing Tool' and try, try, try AGAIN! That's the story of the neckline and the sleeves on this top. FRONT & BACK PATTERN CHANGES I set out to simply make an interesting tunic top combining this great geometric ITYRead More
Embellishment Favorites: Couching with Monofilament Thread
Couching with monofilament thread is something I do over and over as I create with sweatshirts, sweaters, up-cycling and other sewing. I find there are certain embellishment techniques and tools that I developed in my design work that I use over and over. My next few blog posts will share my favorites, starting with 'Couching'..... COUCHING YARN OR TRIM To make an embellishment yarn look like it is 'floating', justRead More
EZ Tiered Skirt To Sew
Tiered skirts will never go out of style. At least that's my opinion. Here is one I made long ago: L-O-N-G, but with these directions you can configure your skirt exactly as you desire! Number of Tiers - Depth of each Tier... Quite 'Bohemian' in current fashion lingo. Print off the directions and give it a whirl! [caption id="attachment_4481" align="aligncenter" width="165"] 5 Tiers - each progressively deeper[/caption] 1. Determine theRead More
Double Kerchief SUPER Simple Skirt Sewing Tutorial
BOLD - update 12/23/16 after gift received by my grand niece, Alyssa and her doll: Mary Ellen. OK - I'm never gonna get these gifs finished if I keep snapping photos and blogging ..... but I just couldn't resist sharing as these are so durned cute and EZ beyond belief. It finally dawned on me that really these are 'full circle' skirts, just without the circle at the hemline cutRead More
Team ‘PJ Pants’ Transformed into Jacket Collar
Combining 2 of my pattern designs, Devoted for the collar design and Twin Set Tweaks for the cascade hemline helped me transform a pair of 'team' PJ Pants (in my case the Tennessee Vols) into a great jacket. For the base pattern, these days I always find myself using my Terrific T pattern. Follow along for a brief peek into the process..... FIRST, I needed to cut the PJ pantsRead More
Flounced Long Dress I Wanna Make!
Found tacked to my Bulletin Board as I was packing my sewing area to move: this Calvin Klein flounced knit dress is now ON MY LIST TO MAKE!!! It would be such a fun day's sewing. I'm lucky enough to have a hubby who loves to go dancing (ballroom REAL) dancing - and that means even as we travel on business - AND with what I teach in my FlirtyRead More
How To: Underline a Lace Knit Top
Recently, my daughter needed a pretty lace top for her small, casual wedding. After looking EVERYWHERE, even online and ordering only to be hugely disappointed in the quality, I started looking online for fabric, but then she found this pretty lace with a bit of lengthwise 'give' at her local JoAnn's Fabric Store. A 'dive' into my Cream/White Box of knit fabric scraps yielded the perfect creamy knit for aRead More
Cold Shoulder Tops: Thoughts on the Fashion Look