Finding a well-tailored dress that is ready to wear is getting rarer by the minute! When I stumbled upon this denim-inspired look that fit well, I ended up buying it twice. The catch? It only came in one color! It is a great dress with a lot of wear potential. In order to alternate wearing them, I decided to customize one using fun fussy cutting. This project took me less than two hours to complete and the result is stunning; more importantly, I feel comfortable and beautiful wearing it each time and it’s a super cute outfit to wear for Mother’s Day brunch!
Supplies:
- Plain dress or garment
- Coordinating 50wt cotton threads
- Janome purple/red tip needle
- Steam a seam 2 lite
- Fabric panel or fabric to fussy cut shapes
- iron
- ironing board
- scissors
- pins
- Machine:
- Janome Skyline 7 (or any Janome with applique stitches) sewing machine with zig zag plate and applique foot F with guide (not open toe).
Applique continues to be at the top of my favorite sewing techniques. It’s whimsical, practical and plain fun. With a little bit of practice, you too can master it. Just start where you are!
1 – Choose a garment you would like to transform and select a panel to fussy cut from.
2 – Cut around the fabric shapes (butterflies) with scissors. Peel one of the papers from the Steam a Seam 2 lite interfacing and place shapes on it. I pressed the fabric shapes gently onto the steam-a-seam, no need to press with iron yet. Steam a seam lite offers enough support to applique but doesn’t gum up the needle as much as regular steam a seam.
3 – Cut through all three layers to create your fusible sticker (fabric, interfacing and paper) and pin to the garment as desired.
4 – Once you are satisfied with the placement, remove paper backing and fuse with iron set on the cotton setting (this should take a few seconds), being careful not to damage the garment. Applique shape will be hot, please use caution.
5 – Setting your Skyline 7 machine for applique is a breeze. You have a great variety of applique stitches to choose from, plenty of space and built-in light!
6 – I chose stitch #4 as the needle is positioned directly behind the guide of the foot, to the right of the red triangle; this great visual aid helps to align the edge of the applique with the opening of the foot (see picture below). Secondly, I activated the automatic presser foot lifter that appears on the upper left hand side of the screen, in yellow. This feature allows you to sew around the applique shape with ease, as the foot lifts with needle down when you stop stitching. Hint: I matched my thread color to the applique shape for greater blending results.
7 – As you stitch around corners or sharp points, press the B button (begin again) to restart the stitching pattern and maintain uniformity. Slowing down your machine speed also helps to make a smooth transition and stay on the edge of the applique.
8 – Continue stitching around all of the shapes, matching your threads to the applique shape as you go. It’s not about perfection. Enjoy the process and your machine. Practice builds confidence and originality!
Our wardrobe can always use some stitching love and whimsy.
I hope you enjoy customizing yours and giving applique a fun try on your Janome!
Please share your progress with me on IG https://www.instagram.com/sustainabletextiledesign/
Have sew-much-fun! (Maday)