Sleeveless Sandrine Sewalong - Part 1 - Prep

Summer time is officially here and it is a HOT one here. I suppose that is true every year, but the heat always seems to catch me totally off guard and I never seem to have enough outdoor garments that might keep me cool.

So this year, I decided to finally bring back the Sandrine Tank and Tee from my former bespoke RTW days. This is a design I've had around since I think 2016 and I was so excited to transform it into an actual pattern for others to sew. I hope you enjoy creating your own Sandrine to combat the summer heat. Or perhaps you can make a fleece version (Like I did with my sleeved sample!) if it is colder where you live!

For this sewalong, I'll be doing the following:

1) Each day I will release a new sewalong step! In the past, this has been a bit sporadic, but I am now scheduling my posts to be released every day for the next four days at 12 PM EST. Hopefully this helps to know that each day something will be here waiting for you to dive in to!

2) I will be following my instruction booklet as closely as I can so that you can flit back and forth between this sewalong and the drawings in the booklet with as much ease as possible!

3) I will continue developing supplemental material for this pattern as I can! I have already finished a few of the posts directly linked in your instruction booklet. But if you wish to find ALL of the posts associated with the Sandrine, simply type in Sandrine into the search bar at the top of the web page.

4) I am doing both the Sleeveless and Sleeved versions simultaneously! I will include various techniques across all of the sewalongs, so feel free to skip around through each of them, picking up the pieces that are most beneficial to you in this process :)

Today, we are going to take on some prep work! And what does any good prep work start with? Supplies!

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

Check page 28 of your instruction booklet for my handy Materials Checklist

Before You Start!

There are a few things I'd like to note before we jump in to your project!

1) If you haven't already, I highly suggest washing your fabric! Nothing is worse than finishing a project and then having it ruined come laundry day. I can't tell you how much I've regretted not taking the time to wash my fabric before sewing it up. So many cute items are now basically child-sized because they have carelessly been tossed into the dryer and they were never pre-shrunk.

2) While you are waiting for your pretty fabric to wash & dry, I highly highly suggest sewing up a toile. That way, you can be 100% certain that the pinafore/ skirt will fit you EXACTLY how you envisioned before you cut out all the pieces in your pretty fabric.

Plus, you can work on some techniques throughout the process that may be tricky and find your favorite way of putting everything together! And since we all are shaped differently, any part of this garment might lay on us imperfectly. Might as well work out those kinks while the fabric is tumbling away in the dryer!

3) The seam allowance for this pattern is 1/2"  (1.3 cm) unless otherwise noted!

4) Remember to be easy on yourself and take lots of breaks! Sewing is supposed to be fun, so if you feel yourself getting frustrated, take a deep breath, tell yourself nice things, and grab a sweet treat! That could mean taking a TV break, walking around outside, grabbing a special cup of coffee, or opting for a quick nap.

Let's Get Started!

I always like to get all the little prep bits out of the way first. That way, when the major sewing begins, I don’t have to stop to change a bunch of settings on my machine- I can just dive right in!

Before I sew my darts, I have recently gotten into the habit of marking them in chalk. It makes the entire process of sewing a straight line on a angle sooooo much easier than eyeballing it.

Now  you can sew your front bodice darts by pinching the right sides of your fabric together, matching up the dart legs and sewing to a tapered point, creating a triangle using a straight stitch. Do not backstitch at the end points.

Tie off the ends of your threads at the dart points.

Press them down towards the waist.I like using my ham to achieve a super smooth finish!

Baste in place.

Grab your back bodice and, with Right Sides Together (RST), attach your front bodice to your back bodice at the shoulder seams using a zig-zag stitch.

Optional: If you want to add more structure to your shoulder seams (or you simply have a really stretchy fabric you’d like to stabilize) you can add a strip of twill tape or clear elastic to your shoulder seam right along the seam allowance!

If you add this tape to your back pattern piece, it will be hidden when you press your seams back, but those seams may be a bit bulky. If you add it to your front pattern piece, your seams will lie nice and flat, however, you will see the tape/ elastic. Either option is fine to take and it comes down to personal preference.

Trim your seams and press them to the back.

And that is it for today! You are done- awesome, right? Whenever you are ready to continue on to the next steps -- whether that is right now or in a week from today!-- meet me at  Part 2 - Assembling the Neckband.