Mittens - and they're theoretically reversible

Here's something I've wanted to make ever since the end of summer - mittens for the kids. Note that these are not winter mittens - it gets so cold here in January that we wear ski mittens with thinsulate and waterproof nylon or else our fingers die. These are just hand-warmers for early winter/late fall before the first snow, or when sitting in the cold car on the way to school. They are fleece on the outside, lined with flannel on the inside.


A good way to use up fleece and flannel remnants, for one.


And the mittens we now have for the younger kids end just at the wrist and never stay on. It takes me forever to get them on wriggly hands, and about two seconds for them to pop right off. You could say I made them out of desperation because I was tired of putting them back on again and again.

So three pairs of mittens - one for each of the kids. Depending on their age (and thus, their ability to keep said mittens on), I made them to fit at the wrist or over the cuff of their jackets.


It was a simple adaptation - making the mitten cuff wider/narrower/shorter/longer and positioning the elastic higher/lower.


They're so easy to make - I made my patterns by tracing around my kids' hands. Here's my pattern, if you'd like to copy it - just click on it as usual, and it should load at full-size (8.5" x 11"). All three sizes are on it - just follow the key at the bottom of the page for which size to cut out. Don't forget to add your own seam allowances.



Step 1
For each hand, cut one piece of each shape in outer fleece and inner flannel fabrics. Note that the lining pieces and the outer pieces are mirror images of each other. The shorter pieces are the front of the mitten (the palm). The longest of all the pieces are the backs of the mitten, which we will ignore for the first few steps.



Step 2
Place the shorter lining pieces together right side to right side, lining up the sticky-out thumb bits, as shown. Do the same for the fleece pieces.


Step 3
We're going to work with just the short flannel pieces now, to make the front (palm) of the mitten. Sew across the short straight line and around the thumb, ending and backstitching at the same level as the horizontal stitching line. Not very clear instructions, so just look at the photo:


Step 4
Trim the seam allowance around the thumb to about 1/8" to prevent bunching.


Step 5
Snip or notch the web of the thumb:


Step 6
Open out the entire front piece and lay it on the back piece, right sides together. Fold the thumb bit down and sew along the blue line in the photo. Start where the red stitches of the thumb begin, go all around the fingers, down the right side of the mitten, and to the bottom hem.



Step 7
Flip the thumb up and sew from where the white stitches on the thumb begin, and sew down the left side of the mitten to the hem. This is the completed mitten lining.


Step 8
Repeat Steps 3-8 for the outer fleece pieces to make the outer mitten.

Step 9
With the outer mitten still wrong side out, fold down the cuff to where you want the elastic to be (no, it's not marked on the pattern because it's different for every child).


Step 10
Use a fabric marker or tailor's chalk to mark this fold line all around the fold. This will help you sew straight lines later.



Step 11
Turn lining right side out. Leave the outer mitten wrong side out, and insert into the lining. Push the outer mitten all the way in until their hems (bottom edges) line up. Make sure the thumbs are on the same side!


Step 12
Sew on the fleece side, all along the line you marked in Step 10. It will be a tight squeeze under the presser foot, especially if the mitten is for a smaller hand. Sew all around the cuff. Sew a second line about 1/2" down (closer to the bottom hem than the first line) to make an elastic casing, leaving an opening (see black arrow) for inserting elastic later:


Step 13
Fold back the layers to expose the opening and insert about 7" (longer or shorter as preferred) of 1/4" elastic with a safety pin into the elastic casing. Sew the ends of the elastic together, fold back the layers of fabric and sew the opening closed.


Step 14
Tuck in the seam allowances of the hems of the fleece and flannel layers and top stitch around the hem of the mitten:


Step 15
Repeat everything to make a mitten for the other hand.

So in theory, because all the seam allowances are hidden,

mittens like these are reversible.
If you don't like the flannel on the outside,
you could make them in a double layer of fleece.

You could also leave out the thumb altogether, for even littler kids:

Here's Kate, the Mitten Model:

Peek-a-

boo!

Unrelated to mittens: I am pleased to report that, uncharacteristically early, I have gotten started on Halloween costumes! The sewing room, however, looks like a bomb went off - there's satin and fleece and crushed panne and a particularly hideous olive-green paisley-type home dec fabric (it was cheap) and sharp cutting instruments everywhere, along with patterns made from all variety of paper, including newspaper. And large plastic bags of more fabric that I kick to the side to get to the pedals of the sewing machine/serger. Elegance - 0; Manic Efficiency - 1.

Call For Pattern Testers Closed

After updating the previous post on pattern testers, I realized that readers who get my posts on their aggregators or email inboxes may not get to see it. So am doing this short post to say thank you for the response to be pattern testers - I am grateful to all who wrote in! There was a nice spread of different experience levels among the folks that wrote to me, and I'll be contacting some of you by Monday by email, with more information on how to proceed.

Thank you again, everyone!

Test a Pattern, Anyone?

*************Update!***************

Thank you everyone, for writing in!

Am still dumbfounded by the incredible (and quick)

response, and I think I have enough respondees of

various experience levels from which to pick.

So I'll be closing the responses now and contacting

some of you by email with the pattern and further instructions.

Thank you again, not just for helping me out but

also for kicking me in the backside to get working on

this pattern so the rest of you could have it in time for Christmas!

*********************************

A teeny bit of interesting news:

The Fairies/Toadstool House pattern is finished. At least the beta version is - it's been spellchecked and proofread and given the once-over for theoretical feasibility i.e. yes, the instructions work on paper. It's almost ready to go!

Now I don't have a fixed method of pattern-testing - every pattern is different, depending on how easy it is, or how many prototypes I'd already made, or even how much time has lapsed between the inventing stage and the pattern-writing stage. Different people vet my patterns, and again, it never follows the same system. I actually like that it is different every time.

With the Toadstool House/Fairies project, I made two Toadstool Houses using two completely different methods/sequences, just to see if one was simpler than the other. I did the same thing for the Fairies. Obviously the simpler method made it into the pattern instructions, but I want to be sure it wasn't simpler only for me.

My sewing friends - they who test-read my patterns - are usually far too busy with tiny children to also test-sew the same patterns, so that becomes my job. The sewing test run usually refines the process further, but it is still me, myself and I following my own instructions, meaning I can completely miss the forest for all the scrutiny of the trees.

So I thought I'd throw open open the doors to you, lovely readers - anyone want to test-sew the Toadstool/Fairy pattern? It's a tight deadline - you'll have one week to do it. In return for your trouble, your fabric and your feedback, I'll send you a free copy of the final pattern when it goes on sale.

Also, I'm splitting the projects: you can request to test-sew the fairies, or test-sew the toadstool house. This way you can pick whichever project you think you have the materials, time or desire for, and not have to finish both.

Here are the details:

Who qualifies to be a tester?

I don't like to label people as "intermediate" or "beginning" or "advanced" seamstresses, so I'll just say that if you are comfortable with your sewing machine, sewing curves, and have worked with bias tape and thicker fabrics like canvas, duckcloth and fusible interfacing, you're good to write in. I'll also be asking you to define your own level of sewing skill/experience so that I'll have an idea of how easily/not-easily the pattern can be handled by different sorts of sewing folks.

And also, obviously, anyone who has the time to get this done in one week.

Do I have to live in the US?

Not unless you want to. All correspondence will be by email, so it doesn't matter where you live. Nothing need be posted by snail mail.

What will I need to do?

1 Print out (if you prefer a paper medium) and read the instructions in the pattern.

2 Procure the materials (fabric, thread, stuffing etc) needed.

3 Print and cut out the templates, cut out the fabric pieces, and sew them together to make the project.

4 Take a couple of clear photos (no need for fancy photoediting or SLR cameras) of the finished project from different angles - more if you want to show me certain bits that were fiddly.

5 Fill out a simple feedback form.

6 Email me the photos and the feedback.

How long do I have?

One week from the date you receive the pattern in the email.

Will you reimburse me for the cost of materials?

No. I will recompense you with my gratitude, the chance to try out the pattern before it goes on sale, and a free copy of the finished pattern.

Do I have to use the exact materials called for in the pattern?

You will need to use the same types of fabrics. If the pattern calls for duckcloth, you'll need to use duckcloth; if fleece, fleece. You do NOT have to use the same color or print. So go crazy with funky stripes or calico or Amy Butler or whoever. Or make fairy dolls with blue arms and purple faces. I don't mind if your finished projects look a bit untraditional.

Here's a list of materials that are needed for each of the projects - the actual amounts/yardage will be emailed to you in the pattern itself. Please be sure you have them or can buy them before emailing me to be a tester.

Materials for Fairy Doll

• Felt (wool or wool blend; no acrylic or craft felt, please there are small pieces in the pattern)
• Stuffing e.g. polyfill
• Regular polyester sewing thread
• Embroidery floss (or just use sewing thread)
• Poly beads or small beans/rice.

Materials for Toadstool House

• Canvas/Duckcloth/Home Decor-weight fabric
• Regular cotton/ quilting cotton
• Fusible interfacing (craft weight; aka Craft Fuse)
• Plastic canvas (12" x 18") - buy from Michaels/JoAnn/craft store
• Bias tape
• Stuffing e.g. polyfill
• Button
• Elastic cord
• Regular polyester sewing thread

Do I need a fancy sewing machine?

No. You'll need to use a regular presser foot and a zipper foot (but there are no zippers involved). You'll be sewing only the straight stitch, not those fancy embroidery stitches that even I don't have on my machine. And a needle for hand-sewing. And no, you don't need a serger.

Pick me! How do I sign up?

You email me at

lier.koh(at)gmail(dot)com and say

(i) which pattern (the fairy or the toadstool house) you'd like to test out.

(ii) what skill and/or experience level you consider yourself at. Use whichever criteria you think gives a good picture e.g. how long you've been sewing, or what kinds of projects you've sewn, what sort of techniques you know, what kind of fabric you've worked with etc.

I'm planning to do this on a first-come-first-served basis, but I'd also like to have testers of different skill/experience levels, so I might wait a few days before picking, especially if everyone who writes in seems to have the same sort of skill/experience.

What if I get picked and then I have a family emergency and I can't work on it after all?

Pshffft. Well, then obviously you stick with your family, silly! Just let me know so I can pick someone else. Nobody can predict these things. I'm depending on your integrity, not your superwoman-ness (or superman-ness).

Thank you in advance for your interest and help!

Drafting Part XIII - Using Slopers With Commercial Patterns

We're close to wrapping up our series on drafting! We took a nice break to do a lot of actual sewing and now we're back! Today Jen will guide you into the world of commercial patterns, and teach you how to customize them to better fit you or the child for whom you're sewing. Neither Jen nor I use commercial patterns much, if at all, but we know how they work (or don't): the mystifying symbols, the seam allowances (why? why?), the ostensibly "standard" fit, the undecipherable tables of measurements, the unknown (until you've turned them into a garment) ease...... oh wait, that's my inner whiner bleating.

With a little bit of the right kind of information, though, commercial patterns are a very good starting point for garment-making. If you are lucky, you might have found a manufacturer or pattern company whose patterns fit you better than most with hardly any adjustment. If you have an especially unusual body shape, you might have given up on commercial patterns altogether. However, if you're like most of us, you've probably got a collection of working patterns from different sources, some of which need more work than others to fit. Want some help?

In this comprehensive deconstruction of commercial patterns, Jen will take you through:

• determining which pattern size to use
• determining and adjusting the amount of ease
• working with seam allowances
• adjusting different kinds of patterns - dresses, skirts, sleeves
• adjusting different elements of the pattern design - necklines, hems, shoulder slopes and design fullness (like gathers).

Here's Jen!



Now that you have a ready and wearable sloper / bodice block, you can adapt it to make any style of dresses, blouses and skirts, limited only by your imagination. If that task seems daunting to you, then use it to make commercial patterns fit your child as though you've drafted them yourself. Hey you took the time and effort to create a good-fit sloper, so you may as well make the MOST of it.

For the sake of clarity, all slopers are shown in RED in this post.


Getting Started

The first thing to do after purchasing your commercial pattern is to look at the back of the envelope or packet and study the sizing given there.

• If the pattern is for a dress in 2 pieces (ie. a bodice attached to a skirt) where the bodice stops at the chest level, then choose the size that is closest to the CHEST measurement of your child (not the sloper). This could be a little bit more or a little bit less than your child's actual chest measurement.
• If the bodice stops at waist level, then choose the size that closest to the WAIST measurement of your child.

Then take note of the given age defined for that size (2T, 3T, etc). Please ignore the possibility that the defined age is not the same as your child's real age.

For this post, I am going to choose size 2 by way of example.

Next, look for the FINISHED measurements given for that size and note the differences between finished measurements and age-given measurements. In the example below, only the chest measurement will be used for horizontal fit.

finished measurement - sized measurement = pattern ease (style and/or fit)
22 - 21 = 1

Write these numbers down somewhere on the back of the envelope so you will always have it on hand. The difference is the amount of ease built into the pattern. If you have included ease (e.g. 0.5") into your sloper (chest, waist, hip), take that much away from the ease calculated for the pattern.

pattern ease - ease included in your sloper
= amount of ease to add back into the pattern after adjusting

1 - 0.5 = 0.5

You must also know how much seam allowance (SA) has been added and built into the pattern. This amount is sometimes given on the back of the pattern envelope. If not, you will have to measure the pattern itself across the chest or waist and get the difference between what you've measured and the finished measurement. The difference is the seam allowance built into the pattern.

Seam allowance = 5/8" (22 5/8" - 22")

To simplify matters for you later, draw in the sewing line based on the SA determined. Sometimes the sewing line is clearly marked out on the commercial pattern. In this case, there is no need to figure out the seam allowance in the pattern.

Adjusting the Commercial Pattern

Take the commercial pattern out of the envelope and spread out all the sheets available. Look for the required size (as determined previously) and put a mark somewhere on that size pattern so you don't make a mistake later and work with the wrong one. Do this for all the required pieces.

Next, look for the printed markings where the chest, waist, hip ought to be. Depending on the design of the garment, these markings may not always be marked. A-line, tent-type dresses tend not to have these markings. I will come back to that later and explain how to adjust accordingly.

Determine the seam allowance in the commercial pattern as explained above.


Dresses
I define a dress as a garment that is made up from 2 pieces - the upper torso and the skirt portion. So the following instructions work for a separate blouse and skirt pattern as well.


1 Upper torso -
Place your sloper on the pattern matching the chest line, or waist line (this is dependent on the design of the dress) of the sloper and the pattern. Trace out your sloper onto the pattern itself. Take the sloper away after tracing. From the traced chest line (or waist line if you've used that) add in the amount of ease given for the chest (or waist) minus the ease from your own sloper (0.5" in the worked example above) and mark this with a point on the pattern. I will call this point (A) for reference later.

To adjust the depth of scye (armhole height), on the commercial pattern, draw a line from the base of the armscye perpendicular to the centre back line. Then adjust the pattern in the following way:

To lengthen: cut the pattern along this line. Place a piece of paper under the cut. Spread the upper portion of the cut pattern until it matches the base of the armscye of the sloper. You will need to place your sloper over the pattern again to match this point. Once you are satisfied, tape the cut pieces onto the paper underneath. Redraw the scye smoothly.

To shorten: crease the pattern along the drawn line and make a pleat according to the amount to decrease. Place the sloper over to check. Tape the pleat down and redraw the scye smoothly.

Now that the depth of scye has been adjusted, draw a line to connect point A to the base of the redrawn armscye.

You are done with the upper torso.


2 Skirt -
the skirt portion of the skirt will start from either the chest or waist line (design dependent). You would already have adjusted the pattern at the upper torso according to either one, as explained previously. Adjust the waist (chest) of the skirt like so: A-line / gathered / pleated skirt - on the upper torso piece, measure from point A to the original chest/waist point of the pattern. Let this amount be X.

You must either add to or subtract X from the chest/waist line of the skirt piece. You

• add if you had to increase the chest/waist line in the upper torso or
• subtract if you had to decrease the chest/waist line in the upper torso.

Redraw the side seam.

You are done with the skirt portion.


3 Sleeve -
because sleeves can vary in style, I will only explain how to adjust the depth of scye of the sleeve, which in most cases is sufficient to ensure a nice-fitting sleeve. On the commercial pattern, draw a line to join the 2 points marking the base of the armscye.

Place your sleeve sloper over the sleeve pattern, matching at the centre line at the top of the cap. Please make sure also that they are aligned vertically as well.

If your sloper sleeve has a longer depth of scye than the pattern sleeve, remove the sloper pattern. Then slash and spread the pattern sleeve until the depth of scye is the same as that on the sloper.

You are basically doing the same thing as if you were lengthening for the depth of scye at the upper torso (explained above). Tape down the slashed pattern and redraw the cap at the underarm (red lines).

If the sloper sleeve has a shorter depth of scye than the pattern sleeve, mark on the pattern paper the 2 points of your sloper base of scye. Remove your sloper. Draw a line to join the 2 marked points.

Then crease and fold over along the green line to shorten the depth of scye until it matches the points marked previously.

Redraw the side seams.

You are done with the sleeve.


4 Sheaths -
I define a sheath as a one-piece dress. To adjust a sheath pattern, do as you would for the upper torso of a two-piece dress. However, if it is an A-line dress, there very likely WILL NOT be any marked chest or waist lines. In this case, adjust the pattern for depth of scye only (same method as for adjusting depth of scye on upper torso, described above).


Other Areas to Consider

1 Shoulder slope - some shoulders are slopier or blockier than the 'standard' (whatever that is). Place your sloper over the pattern, matching at the shoulder points*. Make sure the pattern is aligned vertically as well. If there is a significant difference between the slope on your sloper and that of the commercial pattern, then trace your shoulder slope onto the pattern paper. Smooth out the neckline if necessary.

If the difference is negligible, then don't bother adjusting, really. *remember that on a sleeveless pattern, the shoulder point should sit higher on the shoulder line (see here for more explanation). For a sleeveless pattern, mark a point about 3/8" (1 cm) in from the original point. Use this new point as the reference when adjusting the shoulder slope.

2 Neckline - your sloper might have a wider / lower neckline than the one on the pattern. To adjust the neckline, place your sloper onto the pattern , matching along the centre line and the shoulder point as much as possible. Trace the sloper neckline onto the pattern paper. Redraw the pattern neckline to match the shoulder point at the base of the neck.

The neck depth should be adjusted only if the pattern has a jewel (round) neckline like that on your sloper. Keep to your own neck depth.

3 Sheath / Skirt length - this is a no brainer, really. Just lengthen or shorten at the hem.



Design Elements to Consider

If there are gathers, pleating, smocking on the upper torso, I can only advise you to adjust for fit at the depth of scye and then make a mock up to see where else you have to alter. In some cases, finished measurements are given on the envelope back so you have a reference to work with. If so, then adjust chest/waist line of the upper torso by the amount that differs from your child's actual chest/waist measurement and that given for the chosen size. This method will also work for a skirt pattern with pleats/gathers/smocking at the waist.



Last Words

All the adjustments taken above are required for both Front and Back pieces. Adjustments are not necessary for embellishments like sashes, lace trims, binding, because you will only need to increase the amount required by a little bit. Fabric yardage can remain the same as well because the pattern writers tend to state more than is usually required.


I hope this provides you with the verve to go out and alter all the commercial patterns in your collection. If you are anything like me, quite a few were really ill-advised, I bet!


LiEr back again: Told you she was good! Yes, there is hope for all the children of the world who are between sizes, taller than average, huskier than average - which is most of them. Even I want to go out and buy a pattern just to play around with my slopers! The good news about children's patterns is that they are easy to alter and customize to your small person's unique dimensions.

What about adults?
The principles are the same - you match the reference lines of your sloper to those of the pattern. Often, as Jen says, this means you pick the most defining reference line for that kind of garment (e.g. the bust), and adjust the others on the pattern (e.g. the waist, the shoulder point, the hip etc) to match your sloper. There are darts in an adult female pattern, too, so you'll be adjusting those as well. And then, make a muslin and try it out!

Next up: A wrap-up, a summary and a giveaway!