Customised sobretto top by Colette

A few weeks ago I found, just by chance on my google reader, a link to a free pattern download from Colette for the Sorbretto top. It's quite a simple easy top made up from just two pattern pieces with a pleat down the front and endless opportunities for customising it to your own preferences.

I had a few fabrics that I've been wanting to make into vest type tops for a while but I couldn't find a pattern I wanted....until now.

Last week I completed my first top with a Liberty print fabric. I ended up only using about 60cm of the fabric (and the whole width of that) and made my own bias tape for the edging too from this tutorial (I would recommend that you made the tape a bit wider than it suggests though).

The modifications I made were:

• added an extra two darts at the front to make it more fitted
• brought the side seams in a bit to make it more fitted
• created a button opening down the back (so I could get it on and off, now that it was more fitted)
• lowered the neck line slightly
• lowered the seam under the arm (I think it was digging in a bit because I made the top more fitted)

Below is how much I took the side seam in

And these are the extra darts I added to the front either side of the pleat. 

 The front dart again, showing what size I made it. 

I you want to practise pattern manipulation to really make a top fit you well, I would recommend this one as  its pretty straight forward. I just kept trying the top on as I went along to make sure it was sitting the way I wanted. Also, always make sure that any changes you do make are symmetrical on each side or else the top won't sit right. Remember the download is free...so if you have any spare fabric around..which I'm sure a lot of you will...then there is no reason not to get started on one!

Heart screen printed tote bag - step by step pictures too!

Despite being just over a week of the month of love left I thought I'd share this post from the past about this hand screen printed bag I made last year. It has a 3 colour heart design and you can see how I got there with these step by step pictures. 

First of all I cut out the stencils - 3 for each colour.  

Getting all three stencils to line up was the tricky bit so I used this special fabric pen to draw round where I wanted each set of hearts to be. 

Then I ended up with purple hearts on my design. The ink fades when exposed to sunlight so I needn't worry about marker being all over my fabric! This picture shows the last stage of stencil so it was crucial for this one to line up so that the hearts didn't touch each other. 

I then looked through the screen to see where the hearts were. Using the squeegee the paint was forced through the screen - only to the areas exposed by the stencil. 

This is the completed print. I takes about 24 hours to dry then needs a good hot iron to seal the paint onto the fabric. 

I had pre cut my fabric to the size and shape to make a tote bag. 

The handles were reinforced with this 'cross in a box' stitching to make it extra strong for carrying heavy shopping. 

I also used this patterned bias binging to hide my raw seam edges inside to give it a neater finish. 

Its really handy for all sort of things and folds away easily in my hand bag too. I made 6 prints in total so have extra ones spare. I'm thinking of joining the 'giveaway gang' so if you would like to win this hand screen printed bag full of goodies then leave me a comment and keep an eye on the blog for further details!

Heart screen printed tote bag - step by step pictures too!

Despite being just over a week of the month of love left I thought I'd share this post from the past about this hand screen printed bag I made last year. It has a 3 colour heart design and you can see how I got there with these step by step pictures. 

First of all I cut out the stencils - 3 for each colour.  

Getting all three stencils to line up was the tricky bit so I used this special fabric pen to draw round where I wanted each set of hearts to be. 

Then I ended up with purple hearts on my design. The ink fades when exposed to sunlight so I needn't worry about marker being all over my fabric! This picture shows the last stage of stencil so it was crucial for this one to line up so that the hearts didn't touch each other. 

I then looked through the screen to see where the hearts were. Using the squeegee the paint was forced through the screen - only to the areas exposed by the stencil. 

This is the completed print. I takes about 24 hours to dry then needs a good hot iron to seal the paint onto the fabric. 

I had pre cut my fabric to the size and shape to make a tote bag. 

The handles were reinforced with this 'cross in a box' stitching to make it extra strong for carrying heavy shopping. 

I also used this patterned bias binging to hide my raw seam edges inside to give it a neater finish. 

Its really handy for all sort of things and folds away easily in my hand bag too. I made 6 prints in total so have extra ones spare. I'm thinking of joining the 'giveaway gang' so if you would like to win this hand screen printed bag full of goodies then leave me a comment and keep an eye on the blog for further details!