Author: Jessica

What I Sewed in April | Sewing Vlog

What I Sewed in April | Sewing Vlog

Welcome to my first sewing vlog! I am now recording weekly tutorial videos and doing more live video teaching. Watch my videos live on YouTube every Thursday at 2pm eastern standard time. In my first video, I recap my April sewing projects! Topics discussed in 

Collection Review | Project: Leopard Print

Collection Review | Project: Leopard Print

Back in August, I decided that it would be fun to sew a collection of leopard print projects. Leopard print is all the trend lately. Many people are even considering it a “neutral color”. I affectionately named this venture Project: Leopard.  Project: Leopard Print Although 

Easy Julianne Fleece Jacket, Cozy and Fun to Sew

Easy Julianne Fleece Jacket, Cozy and Fun to Sew

Fleece is one of my favorite fabrics to sew, cozy to wear and so much fun! Here’s how you can make your own Julianne fleece jacket even if you are a beginner sewist.

Julianne Fleece Jacket | Chambray Blues Sewing | chambrayblues.com

This post contains affiliate links. By making a purchase I will receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. Thank you for your support!

Introducing the Julianne Fleece Jacket

This easy sewing project will make you the talk of the town! You will find plenty of occasions to wear this practical yet beautiful Julianne Fleece Jacket! The Julianne Jacket is unlined, cardigan style and has no button or zipper closures making it a good choice for beginner sewists. The nature of the heavy fleece or other suitable non-raveling fabrics means that you don’t even have to finish any seams. Simply sew a few seams and you are ready to wear! You may even want to make one for a friend!

Supplies:

Click here to see the full size chart and download the free Chambray Blues Sewing Pattern fitting guide. As always, this pattern is available in sizes XS-5XL.

The Julianne Fleece Jacket Downloadable PDF Pattern is available instantly after your confirmed purchase. Paper copies of the Julianne Jacket are available upon request.

(I haven’t had a lot of requests for a paper pattern so I am not printing them unless there is a demand. Contact me with the information below if you would like to purchase a paper pattern or if you are interested in a wholesale order.

email: [email protected].

5 Benefits of Sewing with Fleece

Fabrics for this style include fleece, polar fleece, Sherpa, boiled wool, wool melton (coating) or blanket weight wool. Extra fabric may be needed for fabrics with a nap such as velvet or corduroy. I chose a fleece for this project because it’s inexpensive and readily available in most fabric stores.

Fleece is a wide fabric at 60″ width, which is a plus. Sewing for large sizes makes using wide fabric almost a necessity because the large pattern pieces fit easier on the fabric for cutting. The pieces for this pattern are wide, but you could piece them on narrower fabrics if you had to. Here are some other benefits to sewing fleece:

  1. Wide width: Fleece is available in 60″ widths.
  2. Fleece is a recycled fabric product:  Did you know this? Fleece is made from recycled soda bottles and is a great way to keep sustainable sewing alive. I am always looking for ways to sew more sustainably, and this is one of them! I found this video with the entire process, it’s very interesting!

3. Multiple colors and patterns are available: Fleece is polyester, so it doesn’t fade with washing. This is a big plus!

4. Lightweight and waterproof: You will notice in the video that they test fleece for water resistance and pilling. This makes it ideal for outerwear sewing applications. I often wear fleece while skiing as it is warm and dry all day long. It even breathes and wicks moisture away from the body similar to what wool does. As much as I love wool, fleece is lighter and doesn’t cause me to have the allergic skin irritations that wool does.

5. Forgiving to sew: Fleece is knitted, so it has a bit of stretch to it. This makes it easy to sew, you can pull seams together even if they aren’t exactly a perfect match. This makes it a good choice for beginner sewers who may struggle getting seams lined up perfectly every time.

Julianne Fleece Jacket | Chambray Blues

Designer Notes

I chose to match the pattern of this leopard print at the arms and front band. I wanted the darker color to be on the cuffs and front for a contrast look, so I deliberately cut the fabric to use the darker part of the print. This is not really necessary, but I am pleased how it turned out! You can make one of these jackets in about an hour!

If you want a different look, you could cut the neckband and cuffs out of contrasting fabric. This would also be a lovely look in a print/solid combination or two beautiful solid colors together! I plan to wear my jacket over a turtle neck with jeans and boots, but it works well over a blouse camisole or t-shirt too.

The pocket detail was a last-minute addition but I love having a place to stash my tissues and cell phone when I am out and about and I can’t imagine making a jacket without pockets! So much to love about this simple style.

BUY the Julianne Fleece Jacket PDF Sewing Pattern Here

Show me your make by using the #JulianneFleeceJacket and #chambrayblues hashtags on social media for a chance to be featured!

More Inspiration

If you like this style, take a look at some of my other sewing patterns. Purchase the pattern or take a course and learn a new skill!

Embroidered Tulle Capelet Sheath Dress Pattern (PDF Pattern)

Krickie Ruffled Camisole Top Pattern (PDF Pattern)

Embroidered Nightshirt Video Course

Shibori Print Shoulder Bag Pattern

Northern Territory Ragged Baby Quilt Pattern

 

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Julianne Fleece Jacket | Chambray Blues

Sewing Leopard Pajamas with McCalls 6659

Sewing Leopard Pajamas with McCalls 6659

Sewing pajamas is fun and so rewarding! These leopard pajamas will keep you cozy on those cool fall evenings! This post contains affiliate links. By making a purchase I will receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. Thank you for your support! 

Sewing Sleepwear, Make an Embroidered Nightshirt

Sewing Sleepwear, Make an Embroidered Nightshirt

Sleepwear is fun to sew and even more fun to wear. This tailored embroidered nightshirt gets a fresh look with contrast trim and stunning leopard machine embroidery. This post contains affiliate links. By making a purchase I will receive a small commission at no additional 

Sew Your Own Japanese Inspired Peony DIY Kimono

Sew Your Own Japanese Inspired Peony DIY Kimono

This beautiful DIY kimono is both comfortable and fashionable! I just love the embroidered detail that I added to the back. Make one for yourself today! 

DIY Japanese Peony Kimono | Chambray Blues | www.chambrayblues.com

This post contains affiliate links. By making a purchase I will receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. Thank you for your support!

Embroidered DIY Kimono

In Japan, the peony flower is known as the King of Flowers. Peonies represent good fortune, bravery and honor. Oriental garments often have beautiful embroidery on them, especially on the back of the robes. Here’s how you can make your own embroidered DIY peony kimono!

Kimonos are one of my favorite things to sew. They are unfitted and have very few seams which make them easy to construct. The trickiest part of sewing an embroidered kimono is the finishing of the underarm seam. But have no fear, I have tips on how to handle that with ease! For this sewing project, I decided to add some color to the robe with both machine embroidery and a patterned piece fabric on the back of the robe.

DIY Kimono | Chambray Blues

The machine embroidery on this DIY kimono is rather time-consuming. It has a lot of color changes as well as lots of stitches. I switched out one of the light pink colors in the floral design that I found on Etsy for the darker red color in my final embroidery. This step added more color and depth.

The process of adding fabric on top of the main fabric before embroidering is known as tattoo embroidery. Having just learned this technique I was eager to try it. I love the results! Embroidering directly on satin can leave puckers in the fabric even when you use tear-away embroidery backing. By adding a layer of cotton fabric between the two, the puckers don’t show and the embroidery takes on a 3-dimensional look. The result is a fun and unique embroidery design. I will most certainly be using this technique again!

Kimono with Embroidery | Chambray Blues

Machine Embroidery Tips | Chambray Blues

First, I experimented with the embroidery on scrap fabric. Next, I used the trial embroidered pieces to decide where to add the embroidery to the robe.

The embroidery was done on the DIY kimono robe after the robe pattern was cut out of the satin fabric. The back robe piece was large enough to fit it in the big 350mm x 180mm embroidery hoop. I added both tulle and cotton gingham fabric on top of the jacquard satin to create the embroidery. Here’s a video tutorial of the embroidery process:

Supplies:

 

Tips for Machine Embroidery “Tattoos”

  1. Use a patterned fabric in the same color scheme to create both depth and interest.
  2. First, test the embroidery on scraps before putting it on your garment.
  3. Be sure to use a good quality embroidery stabilizer. I use Tear-Away Lite. Be sure to secure the stabilizer tightly in the hoop along with the fabric for the best results.
  4. Cut away excess fabric in layers, leaving the raw edges of the fabric showing behind the embroidery design for interest.
  5. Add fun embellishments such as buttons, glitter or shiny beads to really make your design POP!

I’ve been wearing this DIY kimono around the house constantly since I made it! It is incredibly comfortable and I feel so elegant when I have it on. I can’t wait to try more machine embroidery tattoos on my future projects!

More Inspiration

Still looking for more sewing inspiration? Check out these other posts you will also love:

DIY Ruffled Camisole Top

Make Your Own Zippered Fleece Robe

11 Tips for Sewing Knits Like a Pro

Sew a Stunning Colorblock Caftan

Upcycled Statement Sleeve Top

 

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Embroidered DIY Kimono | Chambray Blues | www.chambrayblues.com