Sweetheart Beret - A tutorial

Hi everyone!

Today I want to share another how-to with you!
I was browsing through Pinterest, looking for inspiration for something to make.
Then I came across a pattern for a suuuuper cute beret with the cutest bow!
My experience is that there is a tutorial for allmost everything out there, so I wasnt completely ready to buy a pattern before I had looked into my alternatives.
So..... after a lot of picture-looking, blogbrowsing and some sketching, I came up with a great tutorial.
I sewes it up twice, just so I could try out the differences when it comes to wether you`d want layering around the hat or not. If so, you make the top-hat pattern piece big/ger.
Here goes:


First, find youre fabric. It should be semi stiff, and quite stirdy. Wool, fleece and such is great.
I used a typical suit wool.
Now, fold youre fabric double. Find something big and round, like a lid or a casserole. Depending on how big the lid/casserole is, youre beret will be big and poofy or small and suttle. Its all up to you!

Now find something with a smaller radius then the first round thingy you used, and center it untop the one cirkle. REMEMBER to put away one cirkle for later!  Allso be shure that the radius you use for the "donut" is not smaller then the head intended for youre beret! This is where your math skills from elementary school comes in. FIY: if I told my math teacher back then that I would not need it for anything else then sewing and pattern making, well.... I think he would give me extra homework.....

Now you should have these three. The inner cirkle you can just through away.

Next up you pin the "donut" to the top hat piece. Sew down all the way around.

Now, more math... Measure the head circumference and cut a square with just that lenght + seam allowance.

When the piece is laying like this, you fold it on half, iron, and then fold in each end again (just like a bias tape) and iron again.

Like this! Then you fold it over and sew down the short ends.

Now, you almost cant see it on this picture, but here I have placed the "bias tape" on the inside of the hat, and pinned it down. All you have to do now is stich, fold over to the front/right side of the hat, fold and stitch again. 

And voila! You now have a beret for youre little sweetheart! Hey! How about making matching mother and daughter beretes?  

And for the bow, there are hundreds of DIY`s on net!

My own designed Pussy Bow Blouse. And a tutorial!

(Furthest down the post you`ll find pictures of my blouse.)

What is you`re first thought when you think of a pussy bow?

After giving it a litte thought, this is what popped up in my head:

But obviously, thats not what we want in a pussy bow blouse...

I decided pretty acutely that I wanted, no, infact needed a pussy bow blouse. 

I had seen them around for quite som time, but whit just like my new Laurel Dress, it did`nt feel right to me.

But our minds works in mysterious ways, `cause suddenly I was convinced!

So I startet to trace pictures on Pinterest, and the options are allmost countless. I knew I had to find some great inspirational pictures, because I did`nt have any patterns available. 

These pictures from Salme Patterns here and Tilly And The Buttons here are the pictures closest to what I wanted. 

Since I`ve recently made Colette Patterns Laurel Dress, and I was familiar to the arm-pattern there, I used The Laurel patterns as a start for the bodice and arms.

My inspirational board.

Now, in my search for "How to make a pussy bow blouse-tutorial", the results were poor. I mostly used the pictures I have over my sewing machine. It was very forward really, but at the same time I felt like I needed a little assistens. But mostly I was on my own. I sort of figured it out my self, but for the interest of others in the search of a "How to make a pussy bow blouse-tutorial", I decided to take pictures of the process as I went.

A good start is to find a pattern that you know works as a bodice and arms. The only differens really, is that instead of a collor, you make a long tie to attatch to the neck.

I desided to open the bodice right at the front. If you take a look at Salmes Pussy bow blouse, you se what I mean. Allso I took the idea from Tilly, to ruche the bodice in the front. Like she did here.

Now, to my tutorial (a simple one...):

First I cut two pieces for the "tie". I started measuring from the middle of the neck. Measure all the way to the front. Make shure that you measure close along the neck opening. Then you add the length of the tie (as long as you want it. All in all, mine was about 70 cm long (make two) and about 8 cm wide. Remember to make it long enouch to make a bow, if that is what you want! Mine was just to short...)

Then stitch the two pieces together at their ends, so that you have 2 x 70 cm = 140 cm tie. Match the center of the tie to the center of the neckline, and pin it down. The (terrible lined) red in the picture is were I tried to show you where I pinned mine down. Pin the tie right side facing the right side of the blouse.

Then you stitch it down whit you`re machine.

(But dont stitch all the way to the end of the tie, only around the neclkline!)

When you are done whit the stitching, fold the tie over (double it), and tuck it under once more so that the raw edge is hidden. Pin it down neatly. 

Thats right!

Now, turn you`re work and place it under you`re needle. It is time for some "stitchin` in the ditch". But this time, start out at one end of the tie, while you tuck the raw edges inside, (see picture below)  hiding them. Stitch at the outer edge of the tie, following all the way up to where the neckline starts. Here starts the "stitchin`in the ditch". Make shure you sew down the fold on the backside of the blouse as well. 

Follow the neckline all the way around, and to the other end of the tie.

When you`re finnished, press everything whit you`r iron. 

Thats is! 

And now for my end results:

I must admit, I had a little problem whit the neckline there. It sort of falls back.

Have to adjust that the next time...

See the ruches at the bodice?

The split opening at the neckline.

I really like how it turned out! I must say, this thing whit making my own patterns is fun!