Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Scalloped Top Tutorial- Jess of Craftiness Is Not Optional

As we go into the LAST week of Project Run&Play, I have lots of fun guest designers lined up for us. Our first isn't a guest, but a friend. Welcome back Jess of Craftiness Is Not Optional!





Hey there! It's Jess from Craftiness is not Optional!
I'm so excited to be here on Project Run and Play with a tutorial for this cute little shirt. I call it the Scallop shirt. Can you guess why? ;) It's fairly simple to construct, but looks uber cute. 

You'll need:

main fabric (amount needed depends on your child's size-I used probably 3/4 yard for my 2 yr old)
scallop fabric (a fat quarter would be plenty!)
thread
1/8" elastic or ribbon for closure
button
1/4" elastic for sleeves



First off you'll need to make a pattern-trace an existing shirt (folded in half) making sure to mark the back neckline, then trace a v-neck on the same pattern. I also made mine flare out a little on the sides for an a-line shape. For sleeves, you can use this post to help you make a pattern.

Then, cut out two pieces on the fold, and then cut the v-neck shape on one piece. Sew together at shoulder seams, right sides together, serge or zig zag stitch. Follow these instructions for a button closure on your back piece.


 Next: your scallops!

I used some bleached muslin for mine. I used a CD for a template and cut out 7 pieces. I then:

1. Cut them in half
2. Sewed around the round edge with 5/8" seam
3. Trimmed away extra with my pinking shears
4. Turned right side out and pressed with my iron.


I then sewed a gathering stitch along the tops of the scallops, and gathered them a little bit. I laid them out like so on my shirt piece, and pinned them down, gathering more, or less, to make them fit around the neckline...one side as you can see extends a little bit, to add some interest!


On the back, place the scallops about 1/4-1/2" from the edge of your button closure. Baste into place along your gathering stitch and remove pins.


Next: the bias tape!

Cut 2 pieces of fabric, on the bias 2.5" wide by long enough to go from the front of your v-neck to the back of your shirt+a couple of inches. Very scientific. ;)

Then:

1. Iron in half lengthwise, then fold in each side and iron them in as well.
2. On one end, fold it right sides together, and stitch like so, back stitch across the whole thing.
3. Turn right side out.
4. Place like so on the edge of the button closure and pin.


Continue pinning along, enclosing your basting/gathering stitches, until you get to your v-neck.


 Trim it to fit, then fold the tape under like so, and pin it down.


Do the same on the other side of your shirt, only it gets a wee bit tricky when you do this side.

1. Pin along the neckline until you get to the v.
2. Cut a tiny slit in the bias tape on the inside side. Do not cut all the way to the middle!
3. Zig zag stitch around this cut.
4. Fold the bias tape around the v-neck...when it continues past the v, the entire piece of bias tape will now be on the front. Hope this makes sense!



Then I sewed the tape on, starting here:

then sewing up the edge, about 1/8" from the edge...just make sure to catch both sides of the tape, back stitching at the beginning and end.


Repeat on the other side, pinning the flap down of course. I tacked it together with some hand stitches around the v-neck also.

From here, I cut out my sleeve pieces, gathered them...


pinned them into my arm holes, sewed them in.


I didn't take pictures of the rest because it's pretty basic, but let me know if you have any questions!

Then I sewed the sides and sleeves right sides together, finished my seams, hemmed the bottom, and made a casing in the sleeves for my elastic, put that in using a safety pin, sewed the ends together,  sewed a button on the back, and was done.


Thanks to Micalah for putting this whole thing together, and for inviting me to create a tutorial for you!

Happy Sewing, and good luck to the finalists!

Related Posts

9 comments :

  1. Great Tutorial Jess!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a pretty little top!!! The scallops remind me of flower petals - perfect for spring! I linked to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
    http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-scalloped-top-for-little-girls/2011/02/20/

    --Anne

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's a really cute top, and such a neat idea for the scallops around the neckline!

    I really really don't want to be rude, but I did want to mention that you talk about the neckline strip being cut on the bias, but in your photos it is cut along the grain. A strip cut on the bias (45 degree angle to the grainline) has a lot more give and will curve around the neckline even more easily! Hope I'm not stepping on toes, the top is just adorable. Thanks for the tute :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ficou linda parabéns vou tentar fazer para minha filha. da uma pasadinha no meu blog bjos

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.