Mama Chloe Skirt and Sweet Tee with HeatnBond Soft Stretch and Girl Charlee Knit Fabrics

We’re excited today to kick off two things…first Fashion Friday! That’s right starting today through the next few months we’re going to bring you fashion ideas using our products. Everything from women’s apparel to kids and more. These projects will show you just how easy it IS to make some fashionable items! To kick things off…we’re thrilled to welcome designer Katrina Hunt officially to the dark side!LOL

You see she’s long been a paper crafter and when she joined our team and saw all the amazing things our fabric designers were making …before you know it..she signed up for a sewing class. Fast forward to today..and she’s sharing you guessed it…a fun knit outfit! So kudos to Katrina and a big thanks to our fabric sponsor, Girl Charlee for their generous donation of their amazing BOLT knit fabrics!

Hey there Therm O Web fans!  It’s Katrina on the blog today to share with you my first sewing project for the TOW blog!!  I decided I wanted to learn how to sew a year ago and jumped right in.  I am here to share with you how easy it is to work with knits using the new HeatnBond® Soft Stretch products.  And using some cute and fun fabric from the Girl Charlee Bolt collection!  (Sorry, I wasn’t about to model!!!)

Mama Chloe Skirt and Sweet Tee with HeatnBond Soft Stretch and Girl Charlee

Therm O Web Products:

HeatnBond® Soft Stretch Lite 5/8th x 10 yards

HeatnBond® Soft Stretch Lite 17in x 2 yards

Other Products Used:  Bolt by Girl Charlee Pure Vintage Chartreuse Dot Fabric, Bolt by Girl Charlee Pure Vintage Lotus Floral 
Mama Chloe Skirt Pattern by Made for Mermaids
Sweet Tee Pattern by Patterns for Pirates

Skirt and Tee Instructions:

I used  a PDF pattern that I printed out and taped together for each piece.  The Mama Chloe skirt pattern is free with a code from the Made for Mermaids Facebook group.  It’s a great beginner knit pattern.  Both companies patterns are drafted for 5 ft. 5 in. height and I am just about 5 ft 10 in!  So, I added about 2 inches just by cutting straight across my pattern and then adding a strip of paper equal to the amount I wanted to add in that area.  I did this in 2 areas on the pattern.  If you look closely below, you can see where I added in one of the strips.  It’s right under the 1/2 ” seam allowance wording and goes the entire width of the pattern.

Once my skirt was cut out and put together on my serger, I needed to hem.  The HeatnBond® Soft Stretch tape is AMAZING for hemming knits!  The main thing is it’s SOFT!  And even better, you don’t get a wavy hem!!

 I used it to put around the bottom of my skirt.  I started by putting strips down, placing a cloth over the strip and then using the iron to adhere it to the fabric.  Then just pull off the paper once it cools and you are ready to start creating your hem!

In the picture below, I used clips to hold my hem.  Honestly, I didn’t need to.  Once you apply the Soft Stretch and then iron your seam allowance, it stays!  I only use the clips on the skirt, my shirt I didn’t even bother with!

I knew I wanted stripes out of the skirt material on my shirt sleeves.  The finished size of the stripes are 2 inches for the biggest and 1.50 inches for the smaller one.  I cut 2.50 inches and 2 inches, to include a 1/4 inch seam allowance.  I also cut pieces of the HeatnBond® Soft Stretch interfacing to adhere to the back of the stripes.  This also would help them to be stabilized on the shirt sleeves.  To make sure the stripes were the same distance on both sides, I measured from the neckline down and pinned the bigger stripe into place.  Repeat on the other side.

Then, I used the grid on the cutting mat to make sure the smaller stripe was the same on both sides, just making sure I had the same number of “squares” between the two stripes!

Once I had them placed I ironed them down to adhere the interfacing and then used a twin needle to top stitch in a contrasting color.  The HeatnBond® Soft Stretch is amazing with a twin needle.  No tunneling and the stitches are amazing!!!  Just make sure to use the longest stitch your machine will allow and to go slowly. Also, make sure you have the correct needle.  The twin needles do come in stretch.  I used the 2.5 mm twin needle for my topstitching.  One of the keys to getting a straight twin needle stitch is watch where the edge of your fabric is in relation to the sewing foot.  Not watching the needle.  I kept my fabric just right on the inside of the opening of the foot on the right side. You can kind of see below.

Then, after trying it on, I decided it needed a pocket!  So, I winged a pattern for one and added it.  Pattern placement, watch pattern placement for things like this.  I am just going to say it!!!

So, take it from a newbie to sewing, Therm O Web products make it SO EASY to sew.  I am in love with the HeatnBond® Soft Stretch products and see lots of them in my future!!

Before we go our friends at Girl Charlee are offering a 15% off code for signing up for their emails! Simply visit their site, enter your email for a 15% off code to use!