Category: Londa’s Patterns & Books
Quick & EZ Top from a Sweatshirt + T-Shirt…$5 eclass from Londa
First eClass from Londa: Quick & Easy Top from a Sweatshirt & T-Shirt Give me my sewing machine ANY day over computers, BUT BUT BUT, I DID IT! This is the first of hopefully many more 'e-classes'. WHAT is an e-class? A series of photographs of the design and construction process, accompanied with my personal audio explanations for each photograph. Ultimately, easier for me to produce and without the needRead More
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
Twirly Double Skirt Sewing Tutorial
These 'Twirly Skirts' are an absolute FAVORITE I've made with many girls now here at my Sunroom Sewing Studio. They start to teach the girls how to handle knit fabric. Learning to sew on knits is all-important, as they WEAR almost exclusively knits and just don't seem happy in cotton woven clothing. The 2" wide soft elastic can be found in many colors at JoAnn's. I first posted this inRead 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
Cold Shoulder Tops: Thoughts on the Fashion Look