Hi Everyone! In Part 4, we wrap up the topic with a look at ways to complete the summertime look with the perfect accessories! There are a variety of things you can pair with your swimsuit to create a super cute ensemble set - A cover-up, sandals or slip-ons, a floppy sun hat, shorts, and, of course, the perfect tiny tote!

One of the trends I've seen popping up all over the place is the circular straw totes and purses - they're everywhere! I've seen them made with both straw or rope. 

Many are done in a natural color but I've also seen some really cute colored styles, all one color or a swirl of combined colors - there are so many design ideas for this project! There are also a variety of sizes - large beach totes with short handles or tiny handbags with longer shoulder straps - really the possibilities are endless!

I immediately went to work to figure out how to make one scaled down in miniature and am excited to share this super easy pattern hack with you! It's a simple version creating a larger bag similar to a beach or market tote. The handles are short and made using the rope cording. 

Follow along in the video posted below to see how to make this darling little tote! Are you ready? Let's go...

Watch The Straw Tote Pattern Hack video below:

This pattern hack is done using the LJ Halloween Treat Bag Pattern pattern pieces and a few simple modifications to the design.

• Instead of using felt to construct the body of the bag, I've used a twisted rope cording and a circular sewing technique to create a look that mimics a woven straw tote! I recommend 1/4" width (or narrower) cording and a lightweight stabilizer (tissue paper or a coffee filter work perfectly!)
• For the sides of the bag, I used 2" width Crocheted Cluny Trim, cut to the size of the Side Bag pattern piece.
• The assembly of the bag is the same as the original pattern - a hand-sewn blanket stitch, sewn with embroidery floss, that connects the side to the front and back.
• The only change in the bag design is that the strap itself is combined into the front and back pieces by leaving a 6-inch extension of the rope cording to create the handle.

Don't worry if this doesn't make sense as you read it! All of it is shown in the video below :)

Patterns Used For this Topic: 

• LJ Free Swimsuit
• LJ Rashguard & Swim Shorts
• 123 Mulberry Street Gotchies (will be used for the part 2 sew-along demonstration) 18" size is being updated and 14.5" size will be published prior to the sew along.
• Patterns found in the larougetdelisle Swim Shop Collection
• LJ Halloween Treat Bag (hmmm, maybe I should change the title to "The Cutest Tiny Handbag Ever!")

Week Four Task:

• Watch the tutorial video, follow along, and try it out! You could do this circular sewing technique with any type of cording - colored bags would be super cute!
• Check out the Ultimate Resource Guide for fabric and supply sources. (Find this in the SWC Bonuses section)
• Jump over the SWC Facebook Group for conversation and project sharing.

If you'd like a bit more instruction on how to sew the original treat bag design, and a closer look at sewing a blanket stitch, watch this video below (start at 1:28):

Looking for a super cute swimsuit cover-up?

Follow along in the free tutorial to see how we made this one using this clever pattern hack of the Free Liberty Jane T-Shirt pattern!

Today's tutorial is a super cute swimsuit cover-up! It features fun racer-back styling, a single tie at the front, and two tiny pockets. And the best part? All you need is an old t-shirt and the (free!) Liberty Jane Trendy T-Shirt pattern.

Cut a 2 1/2" wide strip off the bottom of your t-shirt, including the original hem, then cut out the fronts and backs as the pattern directs (you don't need the sleeves). The finished cover-up will open in the front, so for our purposes, we'll pretend the back is the front, and the front is the back. Got it? Let's go!

Next, we'll do some fancy trimming. Open up the shirt, and then refold it along the original front's fold line. Lay the two 'backs' (what will become our fronts) on top of each other, being careful to line everything up. You'll make three sets of cuts; refer to the picture below to see how big and where to make them.

Then, re-open the top, and hem both armholes and the neckline. Once that's done, sew the side seams!

Next, take the 2 1/2" strip you cut off the bottom of the shirt. If you used the shirt's hemline, you can save yourself a step, as I did here; otherwise, take a minute and run a narrow hem along one long edge. Cut the strip so that it's 25" long -- or as close to that as you can get with your tee.

Finally, hem the front edges and add the ties and pockets.

Then, put it on your doll and let her have a blast!

Hi Everyone! Welcome to part 2 - the 123 Mulberry Street Gotchies Sew Along! This is a great way to practice the techniques demonstrated in the prior section as well as learning a few new things. This design has a few hemmed edges, so we will take a look at sewing them with a twin needle to allow for a clean finish and stretch in the seamline. This design also uses flat fold over elastic in a little bit different way than the Free LJ Swimsuit. We will be using the twin needle here as well and the result is fantastic! 

The 18" Gotchies pattern has been revised with a fresh clean look, new instructions, same great pattern. The 14.5" Gotchies is now available as well! You can use this pattern to make swimsuits or cute cotton knit undies! Mix and match fabrics and elastics to create a variety of looks!  

Are you ready to start the sew along? Let's go...

Watch the Gotchies sew along video below:

Patterns Used For this Topic: 

• LJ Free Swimsuit
• LJ Rashguard & Swim Shorts
• 123 Mulberry Street Gotchies (will be used for the part 2 sew-along demonstration) Available for 18" AG, 14.5" WW, and KNC dolls.
• Patterns found in the larougetdelisle Swim Shop Collection 

Week two task:

• Get your pattern.
• Choose your fabric, elastic, and notions.
• Watch the Sew Along Video. Follow along as we make some super cute Gotchies together!
• Jump over the SWC Facebook Group for conversation and project sharing.

Still to come:

Hi Everyone! Let's talk about sewing swimsuits! Does the idea make you cringe? Hopefully not, but if so, this course is designed to take the fear out of sewing with this oh-so-stretchy fabric! Over this four-part topic, we will take a look at different types of swim fabrics, the stitch types that work best, the recommended needles and machine settings, stress-saving tips like the use of fold-over elastic, sewing swimsuits with woven fabrics, and of course teeny tiny accessories to complete the look! 

The topic will be divided into four sessions:

• Part 1: Topic Overview, Getting Started - Supplies, fabrics, basics 
• Part 2: Techniques In Action - 123 Mulberry Street Gotchies Sew Along (Revised 18" pattern and new 14.5" WW size will be published next week).
• Part 3: Swimsuits made with woven fabrics
• Part 4: Complete the looks with cover-ups and accessories using a few pattern hack ideas!

I'll be demonstrating these methods using several different Liberty Jane designs, as well as some others from the larougetdelisle swimsuit pattern collection, to help illustrate how the basic techniques and methods are used at a smaller scale. Follow along to understand my thought process, hopefully watching me in action will clarify any concerns or issues you may have with these types of techniques.

It's going to be a fun course! Are you ready? Let's go...

Watch the overview video for this months topic:

Patterns Used For this Topic: 

• LJ Free Swimsuit
• LJ Rashguard & Swim Shorts
• 123 Mulberry Street Gotchies (will be used for the part 2 sew-along demonstration) 18" size is being updated and 14.5" size will be published prior to the sew along.
• Patterns found in the larougetdelisle Swim Shop Collection 

Week One task:

• Watch the Topic Overview, Getting Started, and Needles & Stitches videos. Take some notes, get things prepped and organized.
• Check out the Ultimate Resource Guide for fabric and supply sources. (Find this in the SWC Bonuses section)
• Take some time to practice sewing on some small scrap pieces of swim knit fabrics. Try out different needles, stitch lengths, and stitch selections.
• Jump over the SWC Facebook Group for conversation and project sharing.

Hi Everyone! In Part 3 we are going to take a closer look at sewing with fold over elastic. This is a super easy way to finish off the hemlines of both cotton knits and swim knits. It may take a little practice to get the hang of it, but once you do, it will open up a new set of possibilities for your sewing projects! Fold Over Elastic, referred to as FOE, can be used as a hemline edge finish, a skirt waistband (flat or folded in half), and to create straps sewn around the entire armscye. 

The videos posted below show a few different ways to sew with the FOE. You can sew it in stages, one side at a time. Using both a standard single needle and a zigzag stitch or with a twin needle and a double row straight stitch. You can also sew it folded over the edge and zigzag through both layers at the same time (shown in the LJ Swimsuit sew along). My best advice is to practice the techniques and figure out which method works best for you and your machine.

One tip that I think is important and super helpful, is to cut the elastic strips about an inch or two longer than what you need, mark the exact measurement on the elastic. The added length gives you a small piece to hold onto as you sew to the end of the fabric and continue to stretch it to fit. You just line up your marked line with the edge of the fabric.

I'll be demonstrating these methods using several different Liberty Jane designs, as well as some others from the larougetdelisle swimsuit pattern collection, to help illustrate how the basic techniques and methods are used at a smaller scale. Follow along to understand my thought process, hopefully watching me in action will clarify any concerns or issues you may have with these types of techniques.

I will add, I prefer sewing with knit fabrics. I love the forgiveness the fabric provides and the ability to stretch to fit a variety of "stuffed" doll bodies. If you are not in agreement with me here and still prefer to sew with woven fabrics - or if you are just looking for something different to sew - there are a variety of swimsuit patterns available on larougetdelisle that are designed to be sewn with woven cotton fabric (like quilting cotton). Although you wouldn't generally find swimsuits for people made in woven cotton fabrics, the scale and use of the items makes this a workable design idea and the end result is a super cute swimsuit that is very easy to sew! Be sure to check out the ones we have available in the Swim Shop collection, they are down at the bottom of the page (Sun Bathing Cutie, Spring Bikini, Aloha VIntage Swimsuit, Sophie's "Just For Wovens" Swimsuit AG and WW, and the One-Piece Bathing Suit).

Watch the tutorial video for sewing with FOE below:

It is demonstrated on the LJ Slip Dress, which is cut from a two-way stretch crushed velvet. It is the same basic design as the free Swimsuit pattern, along the top and armscyes, so the techniques would be interchangeable. 

Watch the sew-along video for the Free LJ Swimsuit pattern below:

Libby and I recorded this together back in 2011! She had not been sewing that much up to this point and was able to jump in and sew many parts of this design. As a side note - she just graduated high school last week and is on her way to college in the fall! Time flies - haha!

Patterns Used For this Topic: 

• LJ Free Swimsuit
• LJ Rashguard & Swim Shorts
• 123 Mulberry Street Gotchies (will be used for the part 2 sew-along demonstration) 18" size is being updated and 14.5" size will be published prior to the sew along.
• Patterns found in the larougetdelisle Swim Shop Collection 

Week Three task:

• Watch the tutorial videos and practice the different methods for sewing with fold over elastic.
• Check out the Ultimate Resource Guide for fabric and supply sources. (Find this in the SWC Bonuses section)
• Jump over the SWC Facebook Group for conversation and project sharing.