Lottie Sewalong: Gathering Tools
I designed the Lottie Dress, Top, & Tunic Pattern quite a few years ago, in direct response to workshop spaces requesting I come and teach new sewers how to make garments. The patterns I had designed outside of my books at that point were rather specific in their style, or pretty challenging for a beginner to do in a short class. So with the Lottie, I wanted to design a garment that met the following specifications:
Easy for beginners to sew successfully
Customizable for all personal tastes
Offer many options for a wide range of different garments
I have been teaching sewing, mainly brand new through intermediate sewers, for a really long time. One thing I see that is critical for a new sewer to keep sewing, is to feel a level of success with each project. If they struggle through the process, and end up with something that doesn’t suit their tastes, doesn’t look good on them, or looks really homemade, it tends to discourage them from trying more garments. Because of this, I really wanted the Lottie to be achievable for brand new sewers to sew successfully, while also learning some construction basics, like bust darts and understitching, to help propel them to the next garment.
Since the Lottie is a very straightforward pattern, there are only the most basic tools required to sew it. If you’ve been sewing for a while, you probably have all of these tools already. But if you don’t, know that each tool is really there to help you sew and construct better and easier, with more professional results. Okay, let’s get to know our tools!
CLEAR RULER - To put your pattern pieces on grain, you need to have a ruler that is see through. Ideally this ruler is in the 2” x 18” ballpark with a grid printed on it. I love these Omnigrid rulers, because they are thick and sturdy. They’re usually seen in quilting, but this 3.5” x 24” ruler is my main ruler that I use for all things, including both quilt and garment projects. You will also need a ruler like this if you are planning to alter your pattern at all (lengthen/shorten/etc), and for drawing bust darts.
GLASS HEAD PINS & PINCUSHION - I was turned onto glass head pins while teaching at Sew L.A. and I’ve never looked back. I often pin something in place, then press it with my iron, and having the glass heads on the top instead of plastic ensure that I won’t accidentally melt the top of my pins! As for the pincushion, there are 1,000’s of styles out there, but I love the magnetic variety so I can toss my pins at the cushion and it grabs them every dang time.
5” SCISSORS - Pretty much every project has some internal trimming, and I much prefer to do that with my smaller scissors, as there’s less chance of cutting something you don’t mean to cut! I also use these for cutting threads as I sew, and notches as well.
ROTARY CUTTER - I prefer to cut my patterns out with a rotary cutter instead of scissors, but if you prefer scissors, this can be omitted from your list!
8” BENT HANDLED SCISSORS - Imagine a chef having crappy knives from the dollar store. Yeah, that’s not going to cut anything very well. The same goes with sewing! Think of your scissors like chefs think of their knives- you want something sharp, used only for the task of cutting fabric, and they should be resharpened to keep them cutting well for years to come. If you take care of them, you can keep the pair you buy for life. A very worthwhile investment.
TAPE - If you are assembling the print-at-home version, you will absolutely need tape. But even if you choose the printed or the copy shop version, you might still want to have tape near by so you can use it to make any alterations necessary to your pattern.
MECHANICAL PENCIL - Just like with tape, if any alterations are needed, having a fine point mechanical pencil will help you draw the lines you need for lengthening/shortening etc.
SEAM RIPPER - Obviously we all make mistakes, so it’s nice to have a seam ripper on hand for when that happens! If you try to take out your stitches with your scissors, there’s a chance you might cut your fabric accidentally, so grab your seam ripper instead!
SEAM GAUGE - By far my favorite tool, the seam gauge (or sometimes called a sewing gauge) is perfect for all those small measuring situations. I love my big Omnigrid ruler, but there are a lot of moments in garment sewing when you want something smaller, for example, marking pivots, marking buttonholes, and folding up a hem. I use it constantly when I’m sewing, which is evident by the worn state of my seam gauge!
POINT TURNER - Used for exactly the thing it’s called- turning out points! If you are adding the patch pockets, or sewing up the sash belt for the Lottie, you will want something with a pointed end that isn’t sharp, so you can put it into the corners and push them out. You can also use a knitting needle if you have one of those on hand.
SEWING NEEDLE - For your machine, it’s best to put a brand new needle on for each project. Make sure it suits the fabric type and weight that you are about to sew. For medium weight woven fabrics I would suggest a Microtex 80/12, and for lightweight fabrics, a 70/10.
MEASURING TAPE - It’s key to take your body measurements before every single project, as our bodies change and shift with time and life conditions. Use a flexible fiberglass tape measure, as plastic, paper, and fabric tape measures can stretch and/or shrink with time, making the measurements no longer correct!
THREAD - I prefer to sew with 100% polyester thread for my garments, as I think it’s the strongest choice, but 100% cotton is also great for the Lottie.
SWEDISH TRACING PAPER - If you want to trace off your pattern instead of cutting into the paper, Swedish Tracing Paper is your friend for this step! It’s strong and flexible, but also easy to manipulate like fabric, yet it tears like paper. Pretty much a dream product!
WATER SOLUBLE MARKING TOOLS - Because we need to mark our pocket placement on the right side of the garment, you want to make 100% sure that your marking tool will come out of your fabric. These pencils from Clover, and this Mark-B-Gone pen, are both water soluble and come out of every fabric I’ve ever used them on. It’s always good to test on a scrap first however. And remember: if the pencil or chalk doesn’t say that it’s water soluble, it’s probably not!
PRESSING HAM - Lastly, you will need some pressing tools. Obviously you will need an iron, and some sort of ironing board. That can be a table top or back-of-the-door version, or a full-sized ironing board. It’s also really helpful to have a sleeve board for pressing the sleeves on the Lottie. The one pressing tool I think everyone should have is a pressing ham. When you fold and sew the fabric, taking it from a flat shape to a 3D shape, it can no longer be pressed flat, because it is no longer flat! So the pressing ham can substitute your body in all the spots around the garment- your neck for pressing the neckline, your shoulder for pressing sleeves, your bust for pressing darts, etc… This is the kind of tool that takes your sewing from okay to amazing!
That’s it! If you have any questions about the tools above, or a tool I didn’t mention and have a question about, let me know in the comments below! Thanks and I will see you back here for the next installment soon!