Sunday Sews. 20 Inspired Weekend Projects

188 Pages·2016·41.98 MB·English

by  Theresa Gonzalez

Sunday Sews
20 INSPIRED WEEKEND PROJECTS
THERESA GONZALEZ
Photographs by NICOLE HILL GERULAT
CHRONICLE BOOKS
SAN FRANCISCO
Text copyright © 2016 by Theresa Gonzalez
Photographs copyright © 2016 by Nicole Hill Gerulat
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form without written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.
ISBN 978-1-4521-3868-8 (pb)
ISBN 978-1-4521-4390-3 (epub, mobi)
Design by Jennifer Tolo Pierce
Wonder Tape is a registered trademark of Ranger Industries, Inc.
Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com
To Matilda

CONTENTS
Introduction 6
PART I: SEWING TECHNIQUES
THE BASICS BEYOND THE BASICS
About Fabric 10 Adding Shape 26
Your Sewing Kit 13 Curves & Corners 28
Pattern Play 19 Closures 33
Finishing 37
PART II: PROJECTS
DRESSES Sorbet Skirt 111
Lawn Party Skirt 116
Pixie Dress 42
Weekend Wrap Dress 49
ACCESSORIES
Matchpoint Dress 56
Errands Bag 125
Matilda Dress 65
Spring Clean Tote 130
TOPS Getaway Case 137
Maker’s Apron 143
Picnic Tee 71
Dandelion Blouse 79
BABY & KIDS
Poppy Tank 85
Birdie Dress 149
Tessa Tank 93
Baby Gift Set 156
SKIRTS Little Helper Apron 163
Sleeping Bunny 168
Lazy Day Skirt 98
Monday Skirt 105
Acknowledgments 177
Resources 178
About the Author 182
Index 183
I NTRODUCT ION
IS IT SUNDAY YET?
You may have picked up this book for many reasons: you were drawn to the cover
project and needed the instructions to make it. You are learning to sew and seeking
out simple, modern patterns for the season. You were inspired by the clean design
and photography. Whatever your reason, welcome! I’m happy to have you here.
Inside, you’ll find twenty sewing patterns that you can make, modify, embellish, and
share in a day or two, depending on your skill level. For beginners, I provide plenty
of guidance and instruction to lead you through every project. For intermediate to
advanced sewers, you may find these patterns on the easy side but definitely not
boring to sew. The timeless silhouettes lend themselves to a wearable collection
you’ll want to keep for years to come—just freshen up the patterns with new fabrics
as you go.
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Why Sunday? Well, it’s that day of leisure when you do what you will, whether your
routine involves a city brunch with friends, services with family, a lazy day with your
love, or time for yourself to be creative. You’re well rested from a busy workweek by
now and have more time to focus on your craft. After all, no matter how basic the
project, sewing requires patience and precision—a tired sewer likely won’t produce
the best results (as I’ve learned . . . ). I also prefer to sew in daylight—with pins and
stitching in clear view—and blocking time on a Sunday in a clean house (or at least
tidy craft room) sets you up in ideal surroundings to construct a project that you
absolutely love.
SUNDAY SEWS
Inspired by the day of the week, I designed the garments and accessories by the
activities in which you may be involved on your weekend, from an easy-to-wear
Weekend Wrap Dress (page 49) that you simply slip over and tie at the waist to an
Errands Bag (page 125) to tote along to your local farmers’ market or favorite shop-
ping district. While many of the designs are fashion projects, you’ll also find gift items
to give at baby showers and birthdays. Along the way, pick up lessons like machine-
stitching buttonholes, installing lapped and exposed zippers, working with rivets and
leather straps, as well as shaping your garments with darts and pleats.
To get more mileage from the patterns, including making them for yourself and for
someone else in a different size, check out page 19 for instructions on tracing pat-
terns. The project patterns in this book can be downloaded from www.chronicle-
books.com/sundaysews.
Lastly, please share your work-in-progress as well as your completed projects on
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Instagram and Twitter using #sundaysewsbook so we can all share successes and
roadblocks along the way. Thanks to the wonders of social media, sewing no longer
has to be a solitary craft, as I suggest in my acknowledgments. To that end, I look
forward to catching up with all of you in the virtual craft space—every Sunday.
Enjoy,
Theresa
INTRODUCTION