Hello!
I’m so excited to be writing my first post here in the Ellie and Mac blog!
Let me start off by introducing myself…
My name is Livia, I’m Brazilian and live in the Netherlands with my little Dutch tribe, aka husband, our 11yo twins and 3 tigers cats. I’ve started sewing almost 2 years ago and it was love at first stitch. I’m completely addicted to it and by now, my kids and I wear, practically, only made by me clothes. A HUGE chunk of our wardrobes is, of course, Ellie and Mac.
Ok, that’s enough about me… Let’s get down to business! ;)
Stripes are one of my favorite fabric patterns to use, and one of the things I love doing is cutting it on the bias and to create a chevron. It’s flattering to the figure and a nice change from the straight across (or up and down) look.
One of the trickiest things about the process is cutting the pattern pieces so the perfect align when assembling your project. Today I’m going to share with you how I tackle it.
For this step by step, I used the Every Day Tee but scaled it down so it would be easier to photograph.
1 - Extra Seam Allowance
In order to create the chevron, you need to have a seam running down the middle of your panel.
If the pattern you're using needs to be cut on the fold, you'll need to add an extra seam allowance because you'll be cutting 2 mirror images instead of one on the fold. Just cut a 1/4" strip and tape it to the "fold" side of the pattern piece.
2 - Choosing the angle
Now is the time to choose how angled you want your chevron to be, I usually go for 45°, that's what's pictured here on the tutorial.
Please note that on these pictures I hadn't added the extra SA yet (I'm a dodo and messed up the photo order!).
3 - Placing and Cutting
Now for the fun part!
Align that mark you just made to one of the stripes on the fabric.
It's important to memorize what color stripe you're aligning it to, so it's consistent throughout the process.
Check, check, triple check!!! Make sure that everything is aligned and straight.
Looking good? Trace it to the fabric!
No need to fuss with every single stripe. If you get that one perfectly aligned and make sure that your fabric is neat and straight under the pattern piece, it will work out beautifully!
Repeat for the mirror image, and other panels.
I know it sounds a bit weird when I say make sure to align to the same color when there are only two colors on the fabric. But it's important to be consistent on what color is under the line and what color is above the line.
This is how it looks when they are all traced and ready to cut:
*Important note: You'll need more fabric for this than it’s stated on the pattern. *
4 - Assembling
Place your panel pieces RST and pin in place making sure to match every single stripe.
Sew it together. You might want to go slowly, making sure the fabric doesn't move.
Now open it up and admire what your awesome pattern-matching superpower has created! :D
Repeat for the other panel and assemble accordingly to the pattern instructions, making sure those stripes match.
side seams
The result is an awesome Chevron Every Day Tee.
As I mentioned before, this one is scaled down. And as my daughter doesn't play with dolls and my idea of putting this shirt on one of my cats goes against my will to keep living (they would NOT be amused lol), I have no modeled shots of this one.
This method can be used with pretty much any pattern you want.
Here's a Be Trendy Halter Top I made for my daughter:
So perfect for the Summer!
*Note that this fabric has more colors and in order to be able to stripe match it needs to be seen as a directional pattern. ;)
For myself, I made a Half Pipe Crop Top. The beauty of this one is that there's no need to add extra seam allowance since it's not cut on the fold.
That's it!
I hope I managed to be clear enough and was able to comprehensively share with you my process. :)
If you'd like to see more of my makes, I'd love for you to visit me at my blog: www.liviality.com! You can also find me on Instagram: @livia.jy ;)
xxx
Livia.
