Black Friday offers from handmade shops!

Here are a few reasons why you should buy handmade this holiday season:

• Instead of a massive, greedy corporate crapbag that uses a sweatshop workforce, you’re directly supporting a skilled artisan/craftsperson.
• Handmade craftspeople understand the concept of quality over quantity. Handmade is made to last.
• Handmade is unique. Who doesn’t want to be able to brag to their friends that they’re the only one with that bag/top/necklace?

Okay, enough preaching. Check out the comments for some fantastic deals from handmade shops!

keyhole opening – photo tutorial

This tutorial shows a keyhole in the front neckline of a top, but you can use the same technique for the front or back of a top or dress. You can also use it on bags, pockets, and more!

Difficulty:

Step 1

I’m starting with a top that is almost completed. I’ve sewn the front and back together, and added the sleeves.

As you can see, I’ve cut a hole where I want the keyhole to be. You can add a keyhole to the front or the back, like I said, in this case I’m putting it in front. You can do a pretty large keyhole in the back of a top, but keep in mind how much skin will be showing if you’re putting it in front. A more modest hole for the front is probably best.

As always, start the hole small if you’re not sure. You can always cut it bigger, but you can’t make it smaller.

 

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surplice / cross-over bust tank top tutorial

This little twist on a tube top is the perfect way to revamp a big t-shirt.

Difficulty:

Step 1

Start out with your large-ish tee.

Mark like so.

The larger piece should have a top measurement to match under your bust. Grab a tape measure and measure right under your boobs.

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contour bust or ruffle bust top or dress tutorial

This is a tube top style top with a contoured bust section that makes a little more form fitting than a plain old tube top.

At the end of the tutorial, there’s a variation for a ruffle bust, which looks like this:

Difficulty:

 

Step 1

You will need 4 pieces for this one.

The back is pretty much a standard tube top back.

The front is 3 pieces: 2 contoured bust pieces (they kind of look like sunglasses), and the bottom. It’s kind of like a tube top, too, but with the boobs cut out.

 

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circle skirt variations tutorials – pixie skirt and more!

If you don’t know how to make a circle skirt yet, check out the Circle Skirt tutorial first, because all of these skirts build on the basic premise of a circle skirt.

 

Difficulty:

Variation 1 – double full circle skirt

Instead of cutting 1 donut with a center cirumference of 36″ (the number we used in our examples), cut 2 donuts with a center circumference that is half your desired waistband measurement. In this example, each hole should measure 18″. The desired length (16″ from our example) should stay the same.

Cut the donuts open (red line).

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circle skirt tutorial – version 2.0 – new and improved!

The awesome thing about circle skirts is that once you get the idea, you can use the same premise to make a variety of different styles all based on a simple circle skirt.

 

This tutorial is for a classic circle skirt (think 50′s style poodle skirt). The other variations of the circle skirt can be found here.

If your circle skirt turned out ginormous and you’re left scratching your head, check this out.

Difficulty:

Step 1

Cut a waistband out of stretchy fabric or stretch lace. It should be large enough to stretch over your hips, but small enough that it stays put on your waist. For shiggles, let’s say our example waistband is 40″ wide.

 

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raglan sleeve / baseball style top – photo tutorial

Grab an old tee, some chalk, and a pair of scissors!

Difficulty:

Step 1

Pick a shirt. You can do this with the shirt you want to reconstruct, but if you’re new to making patterns, I’d recommend getting an old junk shirt and cutting it apart to make the pattern.

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attaching set-in sleeves (the harder way) – photo tutorial

Set-in sleeves are kind of tricky, and there is an easier method.

This method is still good to know, because you might find yourself in a situation where you want to modify/add sleeves to a top that already has the side seams sewn up, or doesn’t have side seams.

Difficulty:

Step 1

Here we go. We’re starting with the side and shoulders seams already sewn, so we have a basic sleeveless top. The sleeves have also been sewn up and cuffed.

You can ignore the hood in the bottom right hand corner. That’s for later.

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easy sleeves – photo tutorial

 

Attaching set-in sleeves (the easy, cheater way).

Okay, so it’s not really cheating. It’s a perfectly legitimate way of attaching a sleeve, and it is way easier.

However, a set-in sleeve is a set-in sleeve because you’re supposed to be setting it in, and with this method, you don’t.

Anyway, I’m splitting hairs.

Keep in mind, though, that this will only work if you haven’t already sewn up your side seams. If your side seams are sewn, you’ll either have to cut them open, or use the other method.

And if your garment doesn’t have side seams that line up with the sleeve seams, you’ll also have to use the other method.

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how to attach a hood – photo tutorial

You can use this method for making a hooded shirt from scratch or for reconstructing an existing shirt.

If you are making your own pattern on the fly, I’d suggest finding a hoodie and tracing the hood, making sure to add a seam allowance. You may need to alter the hood to fit the top you want to sew it to- just remember that the bottom edge of the hood should be the same length as the measurement around the neck hole.

Difficulty:

Step 1

Your hood pieces should be sewn together before you start, and the edges finished. You can hem the edge or trim it with contrasting fabric or lace.

You can also line your hood. Cut two pieces of lining fabric the same shape as your hood. Sew the lining together. Then sew the lining to the hood, right sides together. Don’t sew the “neckline” edge of the hood and lining together. Leave that edge open so you can turn the pieces right side out, and then baste along the neckline before sewing the hood to your shirt.

 

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