Rhapsody 2.0 - And Homemade Bias Binding

Pattern - Love Notions Rhapsody & Dress
Skill Level - Intermediate
Fabric - Rayon challis from Fabricland
Skills - French seams, bias binding, burrito roll method
Pattern Links - French seams, burrito roll method, bias binding

My favourite pattern just got an upgrade!  The new Rhapsody still has all the bonus features that the original Rhapsody had - the full bust piece and 8 sleeves options but now there's a dress option and the size range is more inclusive as well!  So much in one little package!  And for those who use a projector, there's a file for that, too.

The raw edge of the neckline is finished with bias binding (although you can skip that entirely if you want and just fold the edge under and stitch). You can definitely buy bias binding but if you make your own, you will guarantee a perfect match.  Making your own is surprisingly easy and you can make more than enough from a 12" square.  There are a couple of links in the pattern tutorial to bias binding articles, but I thought I'd go through the procedure I followed to make my 3/8" double-fold tape - step by step.

Making Your Own Bias Tape

First you start with a 12" square

Cut the square in half diagonally and pin the halfway points top and bottom

Lay one triangle on top of the other - right sides together - matching the centre pins

Now stitch them together on the pinned edge with a 1/4" seam

Press the seam open

Now take the fabric back to your cutting mat and lay it out with the top against a horizontal line.  This helps ensure that your fabric doesn't distort.  Draw lines 1.5" apart - you can use a pen or a pencil as you'll be cutting on those lines eventually.  That's the width for 3/8" double fold tape.  If you're making 1/4" double fold, the lines should be 1.25" apart.  Trim off any excess fabric.

This next part is the only tricky part so take your time.  With right sides together, match lines, but offset one strip.  I usually start pinning in the middle and work my way to the edges.  So you will have a one strip width sticking out each end.

Take it to your sewing machine and stitch a seam 1/4" from the edge.  Press the seam open.

Now just start at one end and keep cutting following the line until you have one long strip of fabric cut on the bias.

Now you're ready to make the tape.  If you're making 1/4" double fold you use a 12mm tape maker (or 1/2") and if you're making 3/8" double fold like I did you use an 18mm tape maker (or 3/4").

Insert one pointed edge of the strip in the tape maker with the right side down.  As it feeds through, press with your iron. 

You now have single fold tape.  To get double fold tape, you just fold it over once more and press.

I store my finished tape on empty toilet rolls and store them in one of my sewing drawers.  And once you know how to make your own bias tape from a small square of fabric, you'll never have to buy it again!

Securing the 3/4 Sleeve Cuff

And one more little thing.  To keep the cuff where it's supposed to be I always do a "stitch in the ditch" on the seamline plus about 5 stitches at the opposite. 

If your thread is a good match, no one will ever know it's there, but your cuff will stay folded up.

Now back to the Rhapsody!  I chose a rayon challis border print to make mine.  I cut my pieces to make maximum use of the print and even managed to get the back yoke and sleeve ends on the border print. 

The Rhapsody is the perfect summer top - it's light and loose, just what you need for warm weather.  If you already have the Rhapsody, the updated version is in your account on the Love Notions website.  If you don't have it yet, you can get it through my affiliate link below.

Love Notions Rhapsody Blouse & Dress sizes XS to 5XL

Panels and Borders and Patterns - oh my!

Patterns - multiple Love Notions patterns - links at the bottom of the page
Fabric - l'oiseau fabrics
Skills - working with panels and borders

It will come as a surprise to no one who knows me that I'm a little obsessed with panel and border fabrics!  This is probably an extension of my love of all kinds of puzzles, and hence my "handle" of puzzlnut!  I love a challenge and getting the most out of a beautiful panel or border is an exciting one.

Love Notions has lots of patterns that are tailor made for panels - and l'oiseau fabrics has the panels and border prints to perfectly complement them.  Let's looks at a few patterns first and then we'll talk about making the most of those panels.

Some panels are small enough to get a perfect little shirt and the L'il LDT in size 5 is wonderful for displaying all of the components that this zebra panel had and still leave large scraps for other projects.

Sometimes a panel must be pieced so you can get the whole project out of one panel.  This amazing bear and rabbit panel was picked by my grandson to make him a hoodie.  This particular panel was big - as in about 60" x a yard and a quarter!

The Vanguard Kit has options for colour blocking that allowed me to get a size 7 hoodie by taking advantage of the sleeve options.  I was even able to squeeze lining for the hood from the panel! I'm told it's my grandson's favourite shirt!

You can even make alterations to a pattern to get the most out of your panel.  I extended the Hazelwood Hoodie to a dress length to get the most out of the panel my granddaughter picked out.  Don't be fooled by her serious expression - she loves the hooded dress!

The picture at the top of the page is a beautiful border print which is no longer carried.  The Terra Tunic, with the mini alteration of making the front and back pieces the same length, worked perfectly to display the panel and give me a unique garment that always gets me compliments.

I used the Terra Tunic recently to make a shirt for my daughter who loves fantasy fiction.  I did cheat a bit as I had scraps left from making a shirt for an order which allowed me to get 3/4 sleeves.  I could have gotten short sleeves without it and still make the XXL shirt from the Terra Tunic pattern.

Here's the front.

And the back.

And then there's the La Bella Donna - with a few alterations it was perfect for this border print.  I evened the hem and put in a scoop neck - just because I like a scoop neck.  I also cut the sleeve cuffs from the border print.  This shirt is definitely one of my favourites to wear!

If there's not quite enough fabric to complete the garment, you have to find something that will echo colours in the panel  I used the Rockford Raglan to make this shirt for my daughter-in-law.

My original thought was red sleeves and neckband to echo the red in the umbrella, but my daughter-in-law preferred grey and I must say I agree with her choice as it doesn't detract from the panel.

Another pattern that is perfect for border prints and panels is the Prisma and it's what I used for this size 10 dress for a customer.  I'll use it to demonstrate how to get the most out of your panel.

The Prisma was perfect for this particular panel as it allowed me to get the front and back of the dress from the long tree/donkey pieces.

The first thing you need to do is to find the visual centre of the piece you're going to cut.

For me, the visual centre was right at the edge of the donkey's hat.

Now fold the fabric evenly along that line and see if your pattern piece will fit.

And the narrow a-line profile of the Prisma fit perfectly!

I've shown you a few patterns and how they worked with panels and I list them below, but there are more  You can click on any of my affiliate links below to get these patterns if you don't already have them.  And if you're looking for amazing panels, check out l'oiseau fabrics as they have a wonderful selection! A great pattern paired with a great panel, add a little imagination and you've got a unique one-of-a-kind garment.  Give it a try!

Love Notions Terra Tunic
Love Notions Rockford Raglan for Ladies
Love Notions La Bella Donna Top & Tunic
Love Notions Vanguard Kit
Love Notions L'il LDT for Girls
Love Notions Prisma Dress
Love Notions Hazelwood Hoodie

Love Notions Allegro Maxi Skirt

Patterns - Love Notions Allegro Pants & Shorts and Rhapsody Blouse
Fabric - Fabricland
Skills - Border prints, serging inside and outside corners

With summer heat finally here, it was time to take stock of my wardrobe and I was definitely lacking in clothes that allowed me to be cool when the temperature gets hot!  Fortunately for me, Love Notions has just come out with the Allegro pattern for pants and shorts as well as short and ankle-length skirts.  As usual with a Love Notions pattern - you get options!

Anyone who knows me can testify that I'm totally in love with border and panel prints!  And when I saw the maxi skirt made by Tiffany Brusacorum Hering in a border print, I knew I had to make one as well.  My days of wearing shorts in public are past me now, but long skirts are so comfortable in the heat - the Allegro was perfect!

I found a nice light cotton denim with white embroidery down one side that looked perfect and I already had a light embroidered cotton Rhapsody that I'd made in testing - the two together could work out very well indeed!

Since I'm just shy of 5'8" and the pattern is made to hit below the navel, I knew I was going to need extra length so that it would fit my taller than normal height and so that the skirt would sit comfortably.  I added 2" to the bottom of the pattern right away.

The next decision was which way to have the fabric - both sides were attractive, but I decided to go with the darker side.  The pattern was quick to cut out and I was ready to sew.  Since there is a slit up each side, the side seams would have to be sewn on my sewing machine.  That meant that I needed to serge the edges of the front and back pieces so that they didn't fray.

There is a jog on each side to allow for the slit and this meant serging around corners which actually isn't that hard.  I serged down from the waist to the first corner - an inside one - and when I reached it, lifted the foot, straightened the fabric, dropped the foot again and serged to the next corner which was an outside one.

I serged to the very end of the outside corner, stopped and lifted the foot to release the tension on the needles.

I gently pulled the needle threads to create a little slack.

Then I re-positioned the fabric so that the needles would start at the top of the corner, lowered the foot again and serged to the end.  I also serged the bottom edge to get it ready for hemming.

The result is a fully finished edge which won't fray.

Now I could stitch up the side seams to the marking for the slit and press them back.  I stitched the corners as instructed by the tutorial and pinned the hem and slit facings in place, pressed them and was now ready for hemming.

Since this is woven, a simple straight stitch takes care of it very quickly. A final pressing and it was time to attach the waistband.

This is a very quick pattern.  I'm sure from start to finish that it took no longer than an hour and the result is a very comfortable, cool skirt that I will be wearing a lot this summer.  Paired with a Rhapsody Blouse, you have the quintessential summer outfit!

You can get the patterns through these links to the Love Notions website:

Allegro Pants & Shorts

Rhapsody Blouse

Border Prints!

Profiled Pattern - Love Notions' La Bella Donna (with a couple of alterations!)
Skill Rating - Beginner
Fabric - l'oiseau fabrics
Skills - matching patterns, scrap busting

I think the thing I love the most about being able to sew clothes is that my finished garment is something unique that no one else has.  Border prints just step this up quite a few notches.

Knit border prints are not that easy to find, but l'oiseau fabrics in Calgary, Alberta stock some amazing ones.  Nearly all of their fabric comes from Europe and I find them irresistible.  Every now and then I'll see a post on their Facebook page in which someone loves a border print but has no idea what to do with it!  Hopefully I can give you a few ideas.

Many patterns can be adapted for a border print.  Basically you need a straight edge and most often the bottom hem is the logical place for a border print to sit.  If the pattern doesn't have that, it might be a simple matter to create the edge you need.  A lot of border prints run up the sides of the fabric.  As most of these fabrics have a 4-way stretch, it's not usually a problem cutting against the grain, but it's something to watch out for.

The fabric I used for the La Bella Donna is a cotton/spandex knit called Tumbler and appears as repeats during the fabric's length, so I had to choose a pattern that wasn't any longer than about 30"

The LBD (as La Bella Donna is affectionately known) is a super simple pattern - dolman sleeves and fairly straight body.  It took me all of an hour and a half from start to finish!  I did make a few changes.  I took the curve out of the hem.  I drew in a straight hem about an inch under the line on the pattern for adding a band.

I also borrowed the neckline from the Laundry Day Tee (which is free if you join the Love Notions Facebook Group).  It was a simple matter to put another piece of paper under the pattern piece, tape it in place and draw in the new neckline.

When it comes to cutting out the pieces, it's important that you pay attention to the lines of the border print - much as you would a plaid or striped fabric.  You want the pattern of the fabric to line up at the seams.  To make sure I get this right, I'll make a mark on the pattern piece and when I cut the piece that corresponds to this one, I'll make sure that the mark hits the border print at exactly the same spot. I also made sure to cut the neckband and sleeve cuffs from the border print to tie the tee together.

There are lots of other Love Notions patterns that will lend themselves to border prints.  The above is Rue des Artistes, which I used when I tested the Terra Tunic.  I made the front and back hems the same level to accommodate the design.  This amazing fabric had stumped purchasers for a while and when I saw a number of potential garments, I snapped up all that remained at l'oiseau fabrics in the colour.

This one is the Girls La Bella Donna - a perfect canvas for the fabric.

The Sun Kissed Tee and Gloria from Peek A Boo Patterns were used in the above 2 dresses.  The second dress used a fabric called Enchanted Forest.

And then there are panels - and I guess the Tumbler I used for my LBD is technically a panel.  They are sold in repeat lengths.  l'oiseau had an amazing one called Rose Dawn.  Two sections made the above one-of-a-kind cardigan for my daughter.

And of course you must never discard any usable pieces of a border print!  Scraps from Rose Dawn made a very striking outfit for my granddaughter.

And all those curly side pieces that cotton/spandex knits produce - I save them, too!  They make wonderful plant ties for the garden and unique ribbons for tying up presents!

So never be intimidated by a border print - there are some amazing ones out there that will make you a unique, one-of-a-kind garment.  And just a tiny bit of imagination will get you there!  Here are some other Love Notions patterns that would lend themselves to a knit border print:

Sybil Illusion Skirt Collection - pencil and pleated skirts
Boyfriend Cardigan for Ladies
Ladies Hip Hop Tank & Tee
Origami Tunic & Cardigan for Ladies
Tabitha Top
Tessa Sheath Dress

Why not take the plunge and give it a try yourself!  And if you're looking for some wonderful border prints, do check out l'oiseau fabrics!