Beach countdown has begun

So, it is getting closer and closer to beach time (YAY!!) and I have not accomplished much from my beach sewing list, though if I finish my sailboat skirt this evening, I could have enough me made clothes to last the entire week (minus a bathing suit). I am going to try to keep going and get some great outfits ready to wear. I hope to have a summary post on what I am packing (and then what I wear at the beach).

But, until then...

I did get a few photos of was the making an Afternoon tea top out of fashion fabric.  Actually I was documenting my adventures in a new technique I saw on Pinterest and I wasn't certain if it would work, but it was a success.

The new technique I was trying as to trace the pattern onto Freezer paper then iron the freezer paper onto the fabric so there would be no pins or paper weights needed.

Freezer paper - Step 1: Getting the freezer paper, laying it out over the pattern. It was really easy to see the pattern through the paper, so that was really nice. I taped the pattern pieces with scotch tape to the back of the paper before I traced, just to make sure nothing moved around on me.

Freezer paper - Step 2: Tracing the pattern. I am not good at free handing so I made sure to use a straight edge, which oddly is a thermometer so that is why that made it into the shots LOL.

 Make sure to write on all the pieces the pattern name, piece number, and any important markings (such as grain line, seam allowance, which direction is up :)

Freezer paper - Step 3: Iron the fabric (well you should really prewash the fabric first, but I didn't do this because I am having washer problems right now and didn't want to slow progress).

Freezer paper - Step 4: Cut out freezer paper pattern and iron freezer paper pattern onto fabric.. It looks a little bubbled when you iron it, but it didn't have really big bubbles or anything in it, so I don' think the pattern size/shape was distorted.

If you are cutting through multiple layers of fabric, you may still want a pin to two if you will be moving the fabric around much so that you don't mess up the side the piece isn't ironed onto. I just picked up the piece a little bit as I cut it so I didn't need to do this. You also wouldn't need to do this if you use a rotary cutter (which I still haven't gotten the hang of yet).

That is all I have for the freezer paper. It worked fine and it peeled off without any marks on my fabric (though that doesn't mean it will work on all fabrics so test it out for yourself and use your best judgment).


I did continue to take photos while I was making the top, so I will go ahead and show you those..

Freezer paper -Step 5 (well not really a freezer paper step, but, just a note to go with): Interfacing: cut this out with the regular pattern piece and not the freezer paper pattern if using iron on interfacing.

I also decided to keep on taking pictures, because I think that I forgot why I was taking the photos. Anyway, I took some pictures of how I do darts. I honestly do not remember which lovely ladies blog I learned this from and I am sorry for that. This method works well for me, but if you have a better way let me know. I am always interested in experimenting.

Darts- step 1: trace the darts (I cut on one length of the dart and fold it over, which I didn't get a picture of).

darts - step 2: I pin the bottom of the dart and fold the fabric in half to split the dart (by holding the other end of the dart together and trying to match the lines by eyeballing it). This is only an approximate at this point

 darts step 3: I stick a pin through at several places on the dart line and make sure it matches the dart line on the other side, adjusting as needed. Once I have everything pinned, it is time to sew.

darts step 4: I sew from the large side down to the dart point where I sew all the way to the edge and over a little bit. I cut the strings with a little left long. I then take the seam ripper (or a pin) and undo any stitching that went over the edge, so that I just have two straight strings. I then tie a knot right up against the fabric. I do this the way I double knot shoes after tying them. Then I trim the strings.

 darts step 5: ironing. This pattern did not specify which direction the darts should be ironed, so I guessed.

So that is where most of the pictures stopped. The rest was pretty boring, just sewing all of the pieces together, then adding a visible contrasting zipper (yeah I know Project Runway says they are "out", but when have I ever listened to what is in fashion).

There was one more interesting thing that happened, after putting in the zipper I was trimming the ends under it. That is when a big uh-oh happened...

I ended up just moving the seam over a bit, but that made the top a bit snugger than I had hoped for (actually it was a bit snug before this, but this added to the problem). I still found it wearable though. I am going to be wearing it with high waisted skirts so I don't think it will look too bad. 

One thing I am considering doing is adding some embroidery detail to the zipper, like this image that I posted 

on Pinterest. 

What do you think, Yay or Nay?