Nettie Sewalong Archives

Off the Shoulder Nettie Dress Tutorial

21 May 2015 by Heather Lou 7 Comments

Thank you for all the great comments on my off the shoulder dress hack from earlier this week! I wanted to share a little tutorial for those of you interested in doing the same, and as promised, it's easy as pie to accomplish. This pattern hack could be applied to other knit dress patterns in your stash, but keep in mind that in order for it to work, the dress must fit snugly across the shoulders and bust in order for it to stay up and not create boob panic whenever you bend over.

MODIFYING THE PATTERN

First things first, get your pattern pieces together. We will be modifying the front and back bodice, along with the sleeve. Starting on the front bodice, draw a point approximately 4" below the top of the shoulder. Now draw a line across the bodice at this point, perpendicular to center front. Repeat for the back piece as well. To ensure that the line on the back will line up with the front, walk the seam along the armscye to make sure they meet up correctly. If you line up the corner of the sleeve with the corner of the front armscye, you should be able to draw a line at more or less the same height across the sleeve cap, perpendicular to the grainline. Your pieces should look something like this:

You'll want to double check that the sleeve line is being cut off at the right spot, so draw in your seam allowance and measure between the notch and cut line to ensure the distance is the same on bodice and sleeve.

Dropping the shoulder 4" is fairly conservative. You may find you want to go down even lower, but just keep in mind the height of the band at the top. Once it's sewn together you can try it on and decide if you'd like to take a little more off.

ATTACHING THE KNIT BAND

The process for sewing the band is the same that it would be for the regular neckline, so I didn't take pictures of that step. To get the length of your band, use a measuring tape to measure the opening of your dress. Cut a band that is 80% of that length, plus 3/8" on each end for the seam allowance. You'll want something a little wider than the reglar Nettie band since you want it to help hold the dress up and tight against your body. I wanted a nice thick 3/4" band, so I cut a strip of fabric that was 2 1/4" wide (3/4" doubled plus seam allowance). You'll sew the short ends together and press in half along the long edge to create a circular band. With a chalk pen, divide the neckline into even fourths along the CF, CB and sleeves. Divide your band in even fourths, and match the band to the dress opening, with the seam of the band centered on CB. Sew it together, stretching the band as you go to match the opening of the dress. If you need more help on this step, see my post from the Nettie sewalong on attaching a knit band.

Once the band is sewn in, press the seam allowance down and topstitch with a zig zag or double needle stitch.

And that's it! Told ya it was an easy mod! Anyone else want to give this hack a whirl this summer? SHOULDER LIBERATION TODAY!

Nettie Sewalong Pt 9 - Finishing The Bodysuit

7 June 2014 by Heather Lou 12 Comments

Alright! Back to work! Today all you bodysuit baberonis will actually be COMPLETING your Netties. Bust out the firecrackers.

This will be an image/text heavy post. I was thinking about breaking it up into two but I'm sure y'all are impatient to finish up so let's just power through, shall we? Today's agenda:

Marking our leg openings
Pinning our leg bindings
Sewing the bindings and topstitching
Attaching the optional snap crotch

MARKING LEG OPENINGS

We are basically following the same method we used to mark our necklines. Measure the leg opening and divide the number by 4, making a mark at every quarter.

PINNING LEG OPENINGS

When we cut and ironed our bindings way back when, we should have marked them as well. Now we will match up the marks of the bodice and bindings and pin, with the binding on the right side of the fabric, all the raw edges aligned.

ATTACHING BINDING

You should feel more comfortable attaching these now that you're on old pro after the Nettie neckline. Keep in mind that these bindings are a bit tighter. You will have to be mindful when you are sewing around the curves to make sure the fabric is stretched evenly without creating ripples at the seams. A heads up - I made one Nettie with a very lightweight rayon knit and the fabric was just not substantial enough to handle the stretch. The seams puckered like crazy. If this is a problem for you, you may have to cut slightly longer bindings.

Start your initial stitch to anchor the binding to the body. Once it's secure, you can gently stretch your binding so that is the same length as your seam, mindful not to stretch the bodice, and careful going around those curves!

If you're serging, be mindful of your pins. I like to slow down as I am approaching them and stop sewing a little bit before the blade so that the binding stays as evenly distributed as possible.

When you've finished both sides, your Nettie will look something like this:

We want to gently press the seams flat with the seam laying against the bodice fabric so that they can be topstitched down later.

TOPSTITCHING BINDINGS

Now it's time to topstitch! While top-stitching your neckline is not strictly necessary, I really recommend it here. Because there is a lot more movement at these seams, you will have more problems with your bindings laying flat against your body if they aren't stabilized. Y'all know how much I love a double needle, but you can also use a zigzag stitch here. A single stitch will be poppin' and lockin' so I do not recommend it!

It may appear a little wavy but rest assured, it will perfectly stretch against your body!

ALTERNATIVE BINDINGS

Now would be a good time to talk about alternative seam finishes. I like fabric binding because it's cheap and clean and doesn't dig into the skin. I find elastic at leg openings can give me pretty bad panty lines, but I have a big ol' booty to think about. You can absolutely use elastic if you wish! Check out this post from the Bombshell Sewalong - it's the same principle. Please keep in mind that you need will need to add width to your leg opening so that your crotch is not too narrow (not a good feeling, or a good look). I recommend adding a centimeter and a half on each side since you will be folding the elastic into the fabric.

You can also use fabric to encase the seams (this is more traditionally referred to as "binding" - technically what I recommend in the pattern is called a "band" but I just got into the habit of calling the band a binding and it stuck!) Rachel just made a gorgeous Liberty Print Nettie using this method and it works a treat. Add a centimeter to your leg openings to keep the crotch a good width.

I haven't had a chance to experiment with fold over elastic yet but that is definitely another option! It will create a very minimal panty line, but again, you'll have to add a centimeter of width at the leg openings.

If you want a truly seamless finish, you can't go wrong with stretch lace elastic. Maddie made a real beauty using this stuff. Just zig zag it around the edges (stretching it ever so slightly around the curves). I think it will be tricky to install the snap crotch with stretch lace though - you'd have to fold the lace in at the crotch edge because your crotch lining will not be secure if sewn to the edges of the lace, if that makes any sense.

Finally, you could be blissfully lazy and use nothing at all. Stretch fabric doesn't unravel so although it will be "unfinished" it also won't give you any grief (although you may have issues with rolling). And zero pantylines, so bonus.

ATTACHING THE SNAP CROTCH

This might be the trickiest bit of sewing for this pattern. Some of you may choose to skip it entirely and just sew your crotch seam together permanently (you rebels). Personally I find taking my shirt off to pee very annoying, and would rather take the time and make my life a little easier by making a quick release, as it were. Also, I've been informed by a few folks that romantic partners find the novelty of the snap crotch... entertaining. It's like basketball tearaway pants for your hoo-ha!

If you haven't already cut out your snap crotch lining, do it now. This is why it's good to hang on to your scraps - you never know when they'll come in handy!! You can use any lightweight fabric; voile, quilting cotton, silk, rayon challis. Silks can obviously be trickier to work with but it's a nice touch of luxury near your lady parts.

For this bodysuit, I used some rayon challis I had in the stash. You want to fold the short ends so they match the width of your raw crotch seam (I hope I never have to put the words raw + crotch together again in my life). Press them nice and good. Now fold your long ends in so they almost meet in the middle.

Now you want to fold those rectangles evenly in half and press. This piece will slip over your crotch seam and encase it.

Take a moment to think about where you'll put your snaps. I prefer to have the front crotch piece laying on top of the back crotch piece. It's easier to take on and off. We are only going to sew one side of the lining down for the moment. This way, when we sew our snaps on, we won't see any of the stitching on the visible side of the snap crotch lining.

A note about snaps: you can absolutely use hammer-on snaps or snap tape. The choice is yours, but I chose this method since snap tape can be hard to find and I know a lot of people have sew on snaps in their stash already. If you do use sew-on snaps, try to avoid the plastic ones. I've found they don't hold as securely as metal ones. If you're unsure try pulling them apart - they shouldn't come undone without a little effort.

When we sew our linings to the crotch pieces, we will sew one to the wrong side of the front piece and one to the right side of the back piece. That fabric is where we will be sewing our snaps down. Carefully pin your lining to the crotch piece, aligning the raw edge with the fold. If you have any corners popping out, trim them on a 45 degree angle. Here we are looking at the front crotch piece:

This is what it looks like on the other side:

With the lining facing you, lay the piece on your machine starting with the left hand side; I use a straight, medium stitch. Backstitch the first stitch and slowly start sewing. When you get to the corner, keep your needle down, lift your presser foot and rotate the seam 90 degrees. Lower your presser foot and keep sewing.

Continue sewing all the way around and backstitch at the very end.

Repeat for the back crotch piece, making sure you sew the lining down to the good side.

Now you can sew or hammer on your snaps. I like to put the "male" snap on the front crotch piece and the "female" side on the back crotch piece. I'm sure there is a crass joke to be made here, but I'll leave that to you. I generally sew down 3 pairs for maximum snap crotch strength.

When you're done, you can machine stitch or slip stitch the free crotch flap down. I like slip stitching since it gives a cleaner finish and I find the snaps a pain to sew around with a machine. It would be a little easier to do so with a zipper foot.

Want to see what she looks like all done?

Can you believe it? WE'RE DONE!!!

I hope you've enjoyed this sewalong as much as I have! I've seen some really lovely Netties popping up around the internet; I've been collecting them on this Pinterest board if you care to take a look. I'm loving all the super creative Nettie hacking - I have a few versions I'd like to try myself this summer.

Don't forget to enter your make into the Nettie Contest! You can add yours to the Flickr group here.

I'll be sharing one last Nettie related post in a few days - I hacked her into a super cute high waisted bikini for one of my girlfriends. Until then, enjoy your weekend!

Nettie Sewalong Pt 8 - Attaching Sleeves

3 June 2014 by Heather Lou 1 Comment

I finally took a much needed day off yesterday so I'm sorry if you've been waiting for this post. I've been working like a dog (if a dog could sew and email, that is) and realized belatedly that I am much more productive and creative when I actually walk away from things for a while and go for bike rides, drink pints by the river and wander around the market smelling lilacs and eating South Asian street food. Maybe even doing some headstands in the park, made modest by ol' faithful Nettie.

Speaking of Nettie.... let's attach some sleeves shall we? Today we'll be:

Matching notches on our sleeves and armscyes and sewing them together
Hemming the sleeves
Closing the side seams

MATCHING NOTCHES

Unlike traditional woven patterns, Nettie's sleeves are attached flat. It is MUCH easier to assemble them this way rather than setting them in the round, and is made possible because the length of the sleeve cap is almost the exact same length as the arm opening.

When you cut out your fabric, you should have cut a tiny snip into your bodice pieces and sleeves to indicate where these pieces will be joined together. Lay your bodice piece right side up on your workspace. Lay your sleeve piece on the bodice wrong side up - match the notch at the top of your sleeve cap to the shoulder seam.

Match your side notches and pin. Finally, line up the edges of your sleeve with the side seams on each side. Your Nettie will look something like this:

Starting on one side, sew along the edge, removing the pins before you sew over them. Repeat for both sleeves.

HEMMING SLEEVES

Now that your sleeves are assembled, you have a choice to make. This is one of those sewing debates that seems highly polarized; it appears to fall somewhere in between Palestine vs. Israel and chunky vs. smooth in terms of ideological fervour.

Yes, the old "When to hem your sleeves debate", a tale as old as time. Personally, I find it easier to hem Nettie sleeves flat, especially for the long sleeve variation. It can be very finicky to sew that tiny opening. If you're in my camp (NO SHAME AT ALL LADIES) you will want to press your sleeve in 3/4", and sew it down with a double needle or zig zag stitch.

If you want to sew your side seams first and then hem your sleeve, go right ahead my darlings. Let us not be divided; we can all coexist together, pre-hemmers and post-hemmers alike. Peace, man.

CLOSE SIDE SEAMS

Regardless of your camp in this matter, sewing the side seams is a breeze. Line up your armpit seam first and pin on either side of the seam, folding the seam away from the bodice. Proceed to pin down the side, matching the bottom edges of your dress or bodysuit.

Now sew the seam together. Make sure your armpit seam is aligned on either side, and folded towards the sleeve.

If you hemmed your sleeve before serging your side seam, you will have a serger tail hanging out. It's best not to just trim it as it may unravel. I like to take a large eyed needle and thread the tail through a portion of the seam, comme ca:

Once it's secured in the side seam, you can trim it. If the edge of your sleeves line up, you won't see that seam at all.

If you're making a Nettie Dress, you can finish today. Simply fold your bottom hem up 3/4" (or shorter if you want to go full mini baberoni) and finish with a zigzag or double needle hem. Bodycon realness.

As for the rest of you Nettie betties, I'll be back later this week with a post explaining how to fasten your leg bindings and assemble the snap crotch, along with some ideas for alternate seam finishes. I also cranked out a Nettie swimsuit hack this weekend in about 3 hours flat, and will share a post about how to do the same. Until then!

Nettie Sewalong Pt 7: Adding A Shelf Bra And Foam Cups

29 May 2014 by Heather Lou 11 Comments

This is the stage of construction where we will be:

Basting side seams to test fit
Finding the best spot for your cups
Sewing cups into place
Inserting elastic

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I think it's easier to insert the cups if we take a little time to insert them now rather than waiting till the end as I direct in the instructions.

If you are making the low back variation, you have no choice but to secure your shelf bra in the side seam. This means you will have a little tugging where the elastic is inserted. You can minimize this by using lightweight elastic or by not adding much stretch, but you may sacrifice a teeny bit of support (not that a piece of fabric and elastic really buoy up the lassies all that much, but still). I haven't been able to McGyver a solution to prevent this. If any of you have any suggestions for keeping that side seam secure while it's being pulled in by a piece of under-bust elastic, please chime in.

If you would like to add a shelf bra to the high or medium back variations, you can avoid this seam pullage by making your shelf bra two-sided. Simply trace off or fold your back bodice piece to match the length of the side seam of your front lining piece. Insert the elastic all the way around the edge of the bra/lining so the elastic is not attached to the side seams at all. Similar to what I did for my Fehr Trade XYT dress:

I also came across this interesting tutorial for inserting a sort of makeshift bra with straps into tight fighting tops by Daughter Fish on Burdastyle. I haven't had a chance to try this method, but it seems like it would give a little more support than just zigzagging cups to your lining. If anyone has any success with this method, please let me know!!

BASTING SEAMS TO TEST FIT

Now that your neckline is finished, we can baste the side and crotch seams closed. Use a long basting stitch so it's easier to remove later. Now we can try on our Nettie and find the best place for the cups.

PINNING CUPS INTO PLACE

I put my suit on inside out since my cups can flip in on themselves, but if you are using thickly padded cups this may not be an option for you. Now that you've got it on, mark the lining where you would like to attach the elastic. I left the bra lining on the long side to be careful (or to be used as a guide for a bikini or crop top) so chances are you'll want to take a little off the length.

Tuck the cups in between the bra lining and the bodice and pin them into place once you've found the right location.

Carefully take your Nettie off and unpick your basting stitches on the side and crotch seams. If you are going to remove some length from the lining, draw a horizontal line where you would like your elastic to go. You want to cut off about a half inch below that line so you have room to flip the elastic up once it's sewn down.

We want to sew the cups down on the wrong side of the lining, so you will have to move your pins over to the other side of the fabric. Carefully hold your cup in place and move the pins. You also want to make sure the fabric is slightly scooping into the cup. You can do this by flattening the cup down and repinning as necessary. Below is a picture of before and after I moved my pins to the other side of the lining.

SEWING CUPS TO THE LINING

Once you've got your cups pinned well, go to your sewing machine and start sewing with a wide zigzag stitch around the circumference of the cup. When you get to a corner, put your needle down, raise your pressure foot up, and pivot the cup. Move the pressure foot down again and continue sewing.

You will have to gently stretch the fabric as you go to make sure you don't get any weird folds. Take your time and stay close to the edge. Once you're done you will have something that looks like this on the wrong side of your lining:

INSERTING SHELF BRA ELASTIC

Now that our cups are sewn down, we can insert our elastic. The tightness of your elastic is really up to you. Hold a piece under your ribcage and try stretching it to find something that feels comfortable. I like a ratio of 85-90% of the length of the shelf bra seam but it really depends on the weight and stretchiness of your elastic. The one I am using here is quite stiff, so I used a little less stretch than usual.

Once you've cut your elastic, stretch it to match the length of the shelf bra and pin it into place. At your sewing machine, sew a few stitches using a wide zigzag stitch to anchor the elastic to the wrong side of the fabric. Gently stretch your elastic to match the length of your lining and continue to sew till you get to the end.

Turn your elastic under and zigzag again, taking time to gently stretch your fabric so you don't sew over any ripples.

When you're all done, it will look something like this:

And that's it for the shelf bra. This weekend I'll be back with a post on inserting your sleeves and closing your side seams. Until then, my friends!

Nettie Sewalong Pt 6: Attaching Neck Binding

28 May 2014 by Heather Lou 2 Comments

Today is the day. Pop a fresh stretch needle in that machine, do a couple of deep knee bends and Rocky style air punches and LET'S INSERT SOME NECKBANDS.

Today's agenda:

Basting shelf bra to neck and arm openings
Stabilizing shoulder seams
Marking neckline and matching notches with prepared binding
Inserting neckline binding

Before I get today's lesson rolling with some kind of 80's arena rock anthem, I must address the shelf bra-lettes among you. In the instructions I suggest waiting until your Nettie is all made up before we insert our cups. For the sewalong, since we have the time to take our time, I would like to walk you through inserting cups before we sew the seams. There are a few extra steps, but I think it will be easier for you to sew those cups down if your side seams haven't been sewn together. I will cover this in more detail tomorrow.

BASTING THE SHELF BRA

If you are adding a shelf bra, now is the time to baste it into place. Carefully line up your front bodice and bra lining, wrong sides together, and baste as close to the edge as possible within your 3/8" seam allowance. Use a narrow stitch - I like it 2.5mm wide and 5mm long. Only baste along the arm and neck openings. We are going to leave the side seams free for the time being.

STABILIZING SHOULDER SEAMS

Now that we've got that out of the way, the rest of us can start assembling our bodice. First off, we gotta stabilize those shoulder seams. I suppose you could skip this step if you are feeling rebellious (put down that wine cooler you delinquent) but if you want those seams to stand the test of time, you want something sewn in to keep them from stretching out. A lot of things can be used to stabilize shoulder seams: clear elastic, stay tape, bias tape, even ribbon or a piece of selvedge. I am a huge fan of clear elastic because it looks neat and makes a nice thin seam.

(Unfortunately when I started to assemble the cobalt beauty I'll be working with for the rest of the sewalong, I realized I ran out of clear elastic. The following photos are from an earlier Nettie.)

Match your bodice pieces at the shoulders, right sides together. Lay one of your shoulder seams on your sewing machine with your clear elastic (or other stabilizer) on top. We want to sew the elastic so the edge butts right against our seam allowance. That way, when the seam is sewn together and pressed down the elastic won't push the seam out. Let a little bit of elastic hang past your fabric so it doesn't get pushed down into the feeder dogs when you start sewing.

If you are sewing this on a regular machine, use a wider zig zag stitch.

You can go straight to the serger if you want, but I find it a little easier to zig zag it into place first.

Trim off the excess elastic and repeat for the other shoulder seam.

INSERTING THE NECKLINE BINDING

If you prefer to insert knit bands using a stretch and feel method, you can leave one shoulder open. Andrea at Four Square Walls just wrote a post about how this is her preferred method and there is some interesting debate in the comments section about inserting flat vs. in the round. I originally chose to assemble the neckline flat in the first draft of my instructions, but I found sewing the binding closed first made a cleaner finish. The choice is yours, amigas.

That bit of sewing pedantry aside, it's time to measure our neckline opening and add notches at every quarter. You can use a measuring tape to do this (divide the number by 4 and then add a mark at every 25%) or you can be lazy like me and fold your bodice in half and then half again. When you fold it the second time just be sure you're lining up your edges properly. Just make a little mark with your tool at every fold.

Once you're done, it should look something like this:

In the last post we had prepared our neckline binding and marked it at every quarter. It's time to pin it to our neckline. I like to center the binding seam on the back center. Starting there, pin the binding to the right side of the neckline at every quarter with the raw edges together.

If you're a little nervous about sewing this together as is, you can stretch the binding (but not your bodice!) and add a few more pins at equal intervals. I prefer to stretch the binding as I'm sewing it down but whatever floats your boat.

A note about seam allowances: When I initially released Nettie I told you to use a 1/4" seam allowance. Once I corrected the sizing, I upped it to 3/8". This is an easier seam allowance for people with regular sewing machines to work with. If you are sewing with a serger, it also means that unless your machine sews a 3/8" wide stitch your binding will be 1/8" wider than one sewn on a regular machine. You can trim this off as you sew if you like. I generally don't just because it can be tricky sewing around curves and an uneven neckline drives me bananas. In knit patterns, an 1/8 of an inch will have almost no impact on your final product so don't stress about it unless you prefer the look of a slimmer binding.

Starting at the center back, make a few stitches to anchor the binding to the neckline.

As you can see, the neckline is slightly shorter than the band. I just gently stretch the binding and line up the edges as I sew. Even though I am using a serger for this tutorial, the same principles apply when using a regular machine.

Carefully sew along the circumference of the neckline, stretching gently as you go. If you want to make sure it's perfect, you can baste it first using a very long machine stitch and go over it with a zig zag or serged stitch after. If it's not a large neckline opening you could probably leave the basting stitch in place. If not, its best to remove it as a popping thread can be hard on the fabric.

Once you've sewn all the way around, your neckline will look something like this:

Its super important to press this baby into shape! I find lycra very prone to showing ironing marks so I like to use a press cloth - you could also just press on medium-low setting. Once your seams are pressed your neckline should look like this:

Now we can topstitch that little seam down. Theoretically, you could skip this step if your prefer the cleaner look without it. I find the seam tends to flip up (specifically on wider openings) and I like to secure it. If you have a large neckline opening that won't be stretched over your head to get on, you can get away with doing a long straight stitch. Just be mindful that it will pop if the neckline is stretched.

Otherwise, I love a double needle. Thread your needle and starting at one of the shoulder seams, carefully sew around the neckline with your needle to the left of the binding.

When you're done, the opening will look a little wavy. Don't worry - it will lay flat when it's stretched on your body.

Hopefully you also have a half-feral wild cat who likes to mess with you when you're sewing. That's the real trick to making pretty Netties.

C'est tout for now. I'll be back tomorrow with more a detailed post about inserting foam cups.

Nettie Sewalong Pt 5: Cutting Your Fabric

25 May 2014 by Heather Lou 17 Comments

Hi gang! Hope you had a lovely weekend! I had the supreme pleasure of meeting Ginger for brunch yesterday; she came down to Montreal with her fella and the poor guy couldn't get a word in edgewise as we squawked about the craft. I don't get too many blog pal visits in these parts (ONE MORE REASON WE NEED A MOOD LOCATION, MONTREAL) so it was especially nice not to have buy a plane ticket to kvetch and catch up.

Today we are going to cut our Netties out. This used to be my least favourite part of making things; all you want to do is get that little needle going but instead you're stuck fiddling around with grainlines. I cannot stress enough how much more pleasant this part is with a rotary cutter - it's insanely satisfying to see how quickly it can go with one of those bad boys.

Today's agenda:

Figuring out binding length
Finding the grainline
Laying out the pieces to decide our cutting strategy
Matching stripes if necessary
Cutting out pieces
Cutting out fabric binding
Ironing and marking binding

BINDING

I include a chart with the pattern that shows the various lengths of binding required for the different neckline variations. Each binding is 90% the length of the neckline opening. Some of you may prefer less or more stretch depending on your fabric. Some of you may have experience inserting knit bands by feel and will ignore the chart all together. I found that 90% was a good overall stretch ratio in the gajillion Netties I've made up. You want a little more stretch than a typical t-shirt for example, since you want the neckline to cling to your body. A slightly tight binding means less shoulder slippage, but it can be a little trickier to install than one with less stretch (don't worry, you can do it!) The leg bindings have a stretch ratio of 85%; you want your bottom to stay put, hence the additional tightness. Some of you may want even more, but you won't know until you make your first Nettie.

Once you've decided what neckline variation you'll be making, check your size for lengths of the neckline and leg bindings. Remember that the width of each piece is 4 cm or 1 1/2". I did not create pattern pieces for them since it would have taken oodles of paper. If you have a quilting ruler, it's a super breeze to cut them. If you don't, you may want to make pattern pieces using scrap paper like so:

These will also help you visualize your cutting layout but if you keep in mind how much fabric you need you can freestyle it as well. Don't cut them out yet but keep in mind where you will place them on your fabric.

FINDING A GRAINLINE

Before we start cutting, we need to fiddle with grainlines. SO-RRRRY. I use a few methods for finding the grainline on stretch fabric - it really depends on how you are laying your pieces out.

It's fairly simple to find your grainline on a woven fabric. It's no more difficult to do so with stretch, but the process is a little differerent. Fold your fabric in half so your selvedges meet and grab two corners in each hand. Chances are, your fabric was not cut perfectly on grain. You'll probably see something like this:

You see all those ripples? That indicates that it's not folded on the grain. What you have to do is move one of the corners over a little and give it a little wiggle until the fold on the bottom settles along the grain. It should look like this:

No ripples! Hallesewyah! Now that you know where the grainline is, you can trim your edges so that they run perpendicular to the selvedge. In the case of Nettie, this is an optional step since you won't be cutting any pieces on the center fold of your fabric. I will explain a few other methods for finding the grain in a moment.

CUTTING LAYOUT

Before we cut anything, it's important to lay your pieces out to visualize your cutting strategy. I hate wasting fabric and like an efficient cutting layout. That means you'll be cutting your pieces one by one.

Here is a Nettie dress. As you can see, the fabric has been folded on each end, rather than in the middle:

Here is a Nettie bodysuit. I obviously need to cut that sleeve twice. This is around a yard of fabric; I wouldn't have enough fabric to do the shelf bra or long sleeves in this case:

CUTTING FABRIC

Now that you know where your pieces will go, it's time to cut out your front and back bodice. We need to fold the fabric once on each side in order to do this. When you are not folding your fabric down the middle, there is a different technique to find the grainline. Lay one of your bodice pieces down on the far side of the fabric so you can see where your fold will go. Place a yardstick or grid ruler next to the straight edge of your pattern piece and align it with one of the tiny ribs of the grain.

Its hard to capture in a photo since the ribs are so tiny, but you should be able align your ruler parallel to the grain.

Once you have your grain aligned, carefully fold the fabric over the ruler. Gently slide the ruler or yardstick out. You now have an on-grain fold to lay your pattern piece on.

Lay your pattern weights down (or carefully pin around the edges) and cut out your your piece.

Don't forget to mark your notches! I prefer to make a tiny snip (less than 1/4") into both layers of fabric.

Cutting Nettie pattern-12 — Don't mind my RADIOACTIVE HANDS!

Repeat the same grainline routine for the other side of your fabric and cut out your other bodice piece (and shelf bra if necessary). Speaking of the shelf bra - this is not a separate pattern piece in the interest of conserving paper. If you haven't traced your pieces, you'll just need to fold your pattern at the indicated line when it's time to cut it out.

Depending on how much fabric you have, you may be able to cut both sleeves out on a double layer of fabric. If that's the case, use the same method as above to find your grainline when you fold the fabric.

Otherwise, through trial and error I've found a good way to stay on grain when you don't have a flat edge to align. See that long arrow on the sleeve piece that indicates grainline? With a pen, extend that line to the top and bottom edge of the sleeve. With the wrong side of the fabric facing up, lay your sleeve piece down to identify its approximate location. Then with a ruler or yardstick, use a piece of chalk or other impermanent marking tool and mark a long straight line to highlight your grain. Now put your pattern piece back on the fabric and match grainlines, like so:

Cut out both sleeves, making sure you mark your notches!

MATCHING STRIPES

If you are using a striped fabric for your Nettie, you will definitely want to be mindful about stripe placement. Your garment will look super profesh if all your stripes line up on the seams.With stripes, grainline takes a second seat, especially if your pattern is printed as opposed to woven into the fabric. It is more important that your stripes match (in my humble opinion) then having your grainline be spot on. You can't always have both.

When you fold your fabric, line up your stripes and place a pin every few inches to keep them in place. This will ensure your stripe runs horizontally across your pattern piece. When you cut your second bodice piece, use your first as a guide to make sure you have the stripe starting at the same point of the underarm seam.

For those of you who would like more information on stripe matching, I would like to direct you to Tilly's entry on this topic for her (lovely) Coco pattern. She explains this super well if you need more clarification.

CUTTING BINDINGS

As I said before, you can make binding templates out of scrap paper. I personally find it easier and faster to cut them by drawing directly on the fabric with a quilting ruler or yardstick. I draw 4 parallel lines 4 cm or 1.5" apart and then draw perpendicular lines to indicate overall length.

Super easy to cut out!

PREPARING BINDINGS

The last step today is to get these bindings ready to be attached to your garment. Unless you are freestyling your neckline binding by stretching by feel, you have to sew your neckline binding together at the shorts ends (right sides together). Now its time to press them. Since your fabric has lycra, we want to use a low to medium setting so we don't melt the fibers! I also like to use a silk organza press cloth with a slightly higher setting.

Fold the neckline binding in half, wrong sides together and press all the way around.

Fold your leg bindings in half and give them a good press as well.

Finally, we need to mark our bindings at every quarter; this will help us evenly distribute them to our leg and neck openings later on. You can measure them and divide by 4, or fold them in half and then half again. Make sure you use a marking tool that can be washed away.

And that's it for today! I'll be back in a couple of days to walk you through attaching your neckline binding.

Nettie Sewalong Pt 4: Prepping Your Pattern Pieces

22 May 2014 by Heather Lou 12 Comments

Hi Nettie Betties! Today we are getting started on the actual nitty-gritty making of this baby. Just a reminder about the Nettie flickr group - please contribute your finished makes! I'm working on a few fun prize packs for the Nettie Contest; you can vote for your favourite at the end of the Sewalong.

Hopefully you've had time to gather your fabric and supplies. Here's what we will be covering in this post:

Printing and assembling the pattern
Measuring yourself and selecting your size
Making adjustments to the pattern if necessary

PRINTING & ASSEMBLING THE PATTERN

The Nettie package includes two printing options. You can print at home and assemble the pattern yourself, or you can take it to any copy shop that has a large format printer; they will print it on one large sheet. That used to be my preferred method for PDF patterns, but I've been making indie designs almost exclusively for the last year, and I've gotten quite speedy at assembling patterns at home. The trick is to only trim off the left and bottom edge of each page; I like using an exacto knife and a self healing mat. I then use a glue stick to put them together. It goes surprisingly quickly. Marie just wrote a great post for Craftsy explaining how to do this efficiently; check it out!

I hate recommending extra steps but I highly suggest you trace off your Nettie once you've printed it for a couple of reasons:

1. There are so many darned options for this pattern, and I combined them as efficiently as possible so you could avoid printing a bazillion pages. If you want to make a high necked version later but cut out the scoop part, you'll have to hang on to that scrap and tape it back on (or worse, if you're like me and would lose your nose if it wasn't attached to your face). Better to trace and save the uncut pattern for reference later should you choose a different sleeve, neck or back option.

2. The sleeves on Nettie are high cut and the fit is supposed to be snug. If you decide you want a looser fit down the road, tracing off your pieces will ensure you don't have to print the whole caboodle out again.

I like using a roll of tracing paper I get from an arts supply store, but you can also use parchment paper from the dollar or grocery store. A trace in time saves, errrm.... wasting a bunch of ink and paper?

CHOOSING YOUR SIZE

If you're not sure of your measurements, pull out that measuring tape. Mark down your measurements at your fullest bust, natural waist and widest hip. Take a look at the size chart and see if you fit more or less into one of the standard sizes (just a reminder: if you purchased your pattern before May 10th, 2015, you will be going up a size - read this post for more information. If your purchased your pattern after May 10th, the size chart is accurate as is!)

I know I should always suggest grading between sizes if you don't perfectly fall into one size but.... you may not have to for this pattern if your waist or hips are off by around an inch. Technically, I am a size 10 at the bust and a 12 on the bottom, but I made all my samples using a straight size 10 and the fit was great every time (primarily because I used fabrics with at least 55% stretch percentage). The most critical measurement is the bust; use your bust measurement as the base size. I would suggest grading between sizes if your lower half differs from the suggested waist/hip measurements by more than an inch.

PATTERN ADJUSTMENTS

If you do need to grade between sizes, it's easy to do with a marker and a french curve (or free hand for you free spirits). Simple draw a softly curving line that connects the two sizes at the waist. Make sure you make the same adjustment to the front and back bodice pieces.

You may need to shorten or lengthen the pattern. I use myself as a fit model since I'm an average height of 5'-6" and have an average length torso. If you are more than a few inches taller or shorter than 5'-6" or have an especially long or short torso, you should extend or shorten your Nettie. This pattern is should put you in the wedgie-free zone if it's the right length for your body.

To lengthen, cut along one of the indicated lines on the bodice pieces and pull it apart your desired length. Tape a piece of paper in between your two pattern pieces and extend your side pattern lines.

To shorten your Nettie, cut along one of the dashed lines at the waist and overlap the other pattern piece your desired amount. You may need to smooth out the curve.

By now you've probably seen some Netties cropping up in the wild (I've been collecting them here). Some folks have commented that their bra straps show when they have the scoop front AND scoop back. The scoop was drafted to show maximum skin and as a result is quite wide, but I find my bra straps are concealed if I wear them a little further apart on my shoulders. I don't think this is an issue if you only have the scoop on the front OR the back since the fabric has more to cling to. If you do the double scoop and think this will be a problem for you, it's a pretty simple fix. Just move the neckline curve over and extend the shoulder seam the desired amount. You'll have to do the same to the front and back pieces.

That's it for today! I'll be back in a few days to help you cut into your fabric. In the meantime, I suggest you throw it into the wash. It will protect against shrinking, and you'll remove all the chemicals most fabrics are treated with. You do not have to press your fabric unless it is crazy wrinkled.

Additionally, although I am very confident sewing with knits, I picked up a few good tips from the Colette Guide to Sewing Knits this weekend. One of them was the suggestion to let knits "relax" for 24 hours or so before you cut into them. The fabric can get distorted or stretched from being folded or rolled for long periods of time. Letting it lie flat for a while apparently relaxes the fibers. Cool, huh? If you have the space, let your fabric chill out and we'll cut out our pieces in a few days.

Nettie Sewalong Pt 3: Outfit Inspiration & Pattern Hacking

19 May 2014 by Heather Lou 40 Comments

How to wear a bodysuit? Children of the 90's will remember pairing them with overalls (one strap undone, natch) or with a pair of Guess mom jeans. Probably with a Blossom hat and/or a scrunchie. But that was then. This is now.

(Sources above: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 )

Why not pair one with a full circle skirt for a flirty French vibe? Baguette optional. The braver among us may reach for something slightly sheer (I still pine for a skirt Elisalex made years ago). Paired with a maxi it's covered up and sexy simultaneously, and it's a sleeker alternative to a t-shirt when paired with jeans. I've been wearing mine with high-waisted, wide legged Katherine Hepburn pants to the office.

bodysuit inspiration, how to wear a bodysuit — *Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6*

I'm really excited to see how people modify and hack this pattern. Why not mix a solid body with lace sleeves? Or line the lace and blow minds like Maddie in her cream beauty. Cut a clean line off the top and show off your shoulders. Play with seam lines and add a sheer mesh panel. Combine several fabrics for colour blocking fun. Embellish with applique or beading. Divide the Nettie in half for a fun swimsuit, something By Hand London showed in their Sewing Indie hack last week. The option to make a marijuana print 2 piece is completely up to you (ask Oona to tell you the story about accidentally buying 2 yards of the aforementioned fabric, thinking its was just pretty leaves).

I'm loving these back hack variations. Add cutouts, a sliver of mesh, sweet bows or buttons, or drop the back even lower for some drama-rama.

And then there were crop tops. I seriously can't get enough of these right now. Cut Nettie off at the waist and you have the perfect summer top to pair with high waisted skirts or pants. That little sliver of exposed skin is surprisingly flattering on a wide range of figures; seductive without trying too hard.

ed: Deepika from Pattern Review just mentioned to me that the Nettie would make a great sari top! I really hope I get to see Nettie paired with some extravagant Indian textiles....

The Nettie dress will be fun to play with too. If you're a little shy in a bodycon silhouette, use a thicker ponte or double knit - they're surprisingly forgiving. Clingier knits glide over the body if you're wearing a slip. Go from Sunday casual to bombshell by playing with length, fabric and styling. I love the idea of using swimsuit lyrca or sequins for something evening approriate; striped cotton is perfect for day.

I hope this gives you some ideas for making Nettie your own. I'll be back in a few days with some instructions on choosing your size and making pattern adjustments. Have a great week!

Nettie Sewalong Pt 2 - Supplies

7 May 2014 by Heather Lou 13 Comments

Hi everyone! I hope Sunday’s post on the best fabric for your Nettie was helpful. Sewing with knits is a breeze when you have the right choice for your project!

Today I want to talk about the various bits and bobs you may need to gather. Many of these are totally optional – it would be entirely possible to make a Nettie dress or bodysuit with nothing but your fabric and some thread, but sometimes the extra details make your garments extra special.

BALL POINT NEEDLES

If you are sewing a Nettie on a regular machine, you absolutely (no ifs ands or buts!) need a needle designed for knits. Sharp needles are designed to pierce woven fabric; ball point needles slide in between the knit fibers and help your machine catch the bobbin thread.

You may see ballpoint needles called "Stretch" or "Jersey" needles. If you are using ballpoint needles and still having issues with skipped stitches, it may be the kind of ball-point needle. I remember having issues sewing my first Bombshells with "jersey" needles. I switched to a different brand "stretch" needle, and bingo, problem solved.

TWIN NEEDLES (OPTIONAL)

I recently started working a lot with twin needles. I had it in my head that they were a pain in the butt to thread and was finishing all my seams with a zigzag stitch out of pure laziness. And then I actually looked at my instruction manual and realized threading a twin needle was easy as pie. And the result is SO much more professional looking! When you sew with a twin needle, the top side will look like two parallel rows of neat straight stitches - the underside will be zigzagged. It mimics a coverstitch and takes your knit garments from the homemade zone to the "YOU MADE THAT?" stratosphere.

Again, it's important to get a twin needle designed for stretch fabrics. They come in different widths, but for Nettie, I prefer a very narrow stitch. A distance of 2-3mm between the needles makes a nice, small stitch detail. Marie at A Stitching Odyssey wrote a great post explaining how double needles work. There are also some gems of advice in the comments section if you are having trouble getting a nice stitch on your machine. Don't be intimidated by the double needle! It is your friend!

MARKING TOOL AND MEASURING TAPE

A nice chalk marking tool is indispensable for marking notches! I'm in love with these Clover ones. A flexible measuring tape is also great for measuring your curved seams.

SNAPS FOR THE BODYSUIT (OPTIONAL)

If you’re like me with baskets of random sewing equipment everywhere, chances are you already have some snaps somewhere in your stash. You want metal snaps, not plastic. They grip much better – plastic ones are a little flimsy and tend to pop open which is not ideal (unless that is the effect you’re going for!) I’ve used a variety of sizes, although I would avoid anything too tiny. The size is less important than the strength of the snap – you’ll be sewing 3 down which is surprisingly strong.

You may also choose to use hammer-on snaps. This is totally up to you! They can be a pain in the caboose to install sometimes, but if you're not down with watching Downton Abbey while hand sewing 6 individual snaps down, you can choose your own adventure.

LINING FOR THE SNAP CROTCH (OPTIONAL)

You really only need a few small scraps for the snap crotch lining. It can be any material, as long as it’s lightweight (your crotch area is not really the place you want a lot of bulk!) I like using crepe de chine, rayon bemberg, or lightweight cotton. Whatever you have laying around will work.

WOOLY NYLON THREAD

If you'll be making Nettie with your serger, you may want to pick up some wooly nylon thread. You can use it in both loopers, although I use it just in the upper looper since I don't have more than one in any colour. It makes a much softer, stretchier seam. I definitely notice a difference in seam stretchiness if I just use poly serger thread. It's a little pricey but a great investment!

SHOULDER STABILIZER

You want to stabilize those shoulder seams! The Nettie needs the structure – it’s such a stretchy design, your shoulder seams will look terrible in the long run without something helping them to stay put.

Almost anything can be used for stabilizer. Twill tape, bias tape, clear elastic, heavy ribbon, a piece of selvedge, stay tape. My preferred stabilizer is clear elastic – it’s nice and thin and doesn’t bulk up your seams.

ELASTIC FOR THE SHELF BRA (OPTIONAL)

If you're going to be adding a shelf bra, I recommend 1/2" wide elastic. However, I recently used 3/8" swimwear elastic (the beige cotton stuff) and it had GREAT support, so that works too if you've got some in the stash.

ELASTICS FOR HACKING YOUR NETTIE! (OPTIONAL)

The Nettie's neck and leg openings are bound using the same fabric you're making it with. It's a clean finish (and cheap)! Some of you mavericks may want to play around with different finishes though.

You can substitute your Nettie fabric binding with lace elastic, lingerie elastic or fold over elastic - all have different effects. Lace is soft and romantic (and will look completely invisible under clothing). Lingerie elastic will let you make the bottom a little tighter and maybe add a little detail if you have one with pretty trim. Fold over elastic is super clean and let's you play with contrasting colour effects. PLEASE keep in mind that if you use FOE or lingerie elastic you will have to add a little to the seam allowances at your leg openings since you won't be adding a binding. Your crotch panel will be too narrow as is.

HEATHER'S BONUS LIST OF SUPER AWESOME KNIT MIRACLE-MAKERS

If you like sewing with knits, I have a few tools I would like to recommend. We all know sewing can be an expensive hobby once you get going (SO MANY BERNINA FEET, SO LITTLE TIME) but the following tools will make your life so much easier. And your knit garments so much prettier.

WALKING FOOT

Depending in your machine, this may be a bit of an investment. My Bernina one was quite pricey, but worth every penny. Fear not though; you can get generic walking feet for your Singer or Janome or what-have-you on the internet or at any good sewing machine service centre. I picked one up for my old machine for around $25.

Why the hard sell? These little marvels of engineering feed the top and bottom fabric through your machine at an even speed, preventing rippled or stretched seams. They make matching stripes a joy. A JOY I SAY. There is a great post here that shows how these work. A walking foot is not a requirement for making Nettie, but it certainly helps!

QUILTING RULER, ROTARY CUTTER, CUTTING MAT & PATTERN WEIGHTS

I used to despise cutting patterns out. The pins and the scissors and the slippery fabric and the tediousness of it... oy vey. And then I discovered rotary cutters. And life was forever changed.

Now, it takes me mere minutes to cut out a Nettie (or anything for that matter). I picked up a box of heavy flat washers from Home Depot for around $10 and use those to weigh my patterns down on top of a large self-healing cutting mat (I paid approximately $30 for mine - I like one that is at least 24" x 36"). With a good quality rotary cutter, it takes hardly anytime at all to cut out your pieces! Your edges are much cleaner and your back hurts less. I have a few rotary cutters in different sizes because I am a gadget monster but you can get a small 28mm Olfa (the best brand I've found) for under $20. Like this one here. The smaller blade makes it easy to get around the tight corners of the Nettie neckline.

I recently picked up a quilting ruler and they, ahem, rule. If you are using fabric binding, a nice strong grid ruler is a big help to cut them out.

Ooookay. I think that about covers anything you might want to gather before we start the sewalong! Again, a lot of this stuff is optional (but will make your life just a little easier).

Mark your calenders for May 19th. We'll start the official Nettie sewalong then. I am hoping to include some hacking tutorials as well. I have an idea for a Nettie swimsuit that could be killer.

I have started a flickr group where folks can upload their finished makes. I would like to host a giveaway at the end for a Girl Charlee gift certificate (hence why I've been asking you to make first time purchases through this link - someone is going to get a big ol' bag of internet loot in June!)

Have a great week friends! I'm super excited to share a By Hand London tutorial this Thursday for Sewing Indie Month!

Nettie Sewalong Pt 1 - Fabric

5 May 2014 by Heather Lou 23 Comments

Hi folks! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Today I want to talk in depth about fabric choices for the Nettie Bodysuit & Dress. Since it's a lot of ground to cover, I will post tomorrow about additional materials you may want to gather. I won't be starting the sewalong for a few weeks so everyone has time to gather their materials.

Some of you may be unfamiliar with sewing with knits. They can seem intimidating at first, especially given the misconception that you need a serger. You don't! Knit garments can be easily made on a regular machine as long as you can do a zig zag stitch. Since knits make up so much of our daily wardrobe, its worthwhile to embrace sewing with them, a highly manageable goal once you understand a few basics.

The Nettie pattern is probably unique from a pattern making perspective if you haven't sewn with a lot of close-fitting knits before. It has negative ease, which means the final garment will be smaller than your body measurements. In order for this pattern to work, it has to cling to your body. If it is not tight enough, your shoulders will be constantly falling down, especially with the scoop neck, low back variation. The downside of this is if you don't choose a fabric with enough stretch, it will be too tight. This isn't often an issue with most patterns, since generous ease is usually included. I think it is important to mention now that if you are in-between sizes or are concerned that your fabric may not be stretchy enough, go up a size or 2! Technically I'm a size 10 on top and a 12 on bottom, but most of my samples were made with a straight 12 and fit fine. The forgiving nature of knits makes grading between sizes often irrelevant - it's better to err on the side of caution and take it in later if you need to!

There are five elements that you will need to consider when choosing your Nettie fabric: fabric composition & recovery, fabric weight, direction of stretch, and stretch percentage. This may seem a little overwhelming but I will break down what all this information means. Any decent online purveyer will include most of this information in the fabric description so it should not be difficult to find the perfect fabric for your Nettie!

FABRIC COMPOSITION

Knit fabric differs from traditional fabric in that is actually "knitted" together as opposed to woven. Knit fabrics get their stretch from the physical construction of the fibers, and can be made from any material, such as silk, wool or cotton. That said, not all knit fabrics are created equal. For Nettie, you need a knit that has an elastic component blended with the base fiber.

My ideal fabric for the Nettie Bodysuit, and what I used as a basis to draft it, is a cotton-lycra blend (lycra and spandex are used interchangeably in fabric descriptions). The critical component is the lycra; my pattern testers and I had success with rayon-lycra, bamboo-lycra, and straight up lycra (otherwise known as swimsuit fabric).

The ratio of lycra to cotton/bamboo etc. will determine how well it stretches and "recovers". The more lyrca, the more it will want to return to its original size after being stretched. An ideal ratio is 5-10% lycra, although it can be made with less (my blue floral Nettie had 2% lycra - I let out the seams a little to compensate for any lack of stretch). You want a fabric that recovers from being stretched - if it doesn't, it will get stretched out and baggy over time.

For the Nettie dress, lycra is not a requirement since vertical stretch is not required. Ponte and other 2-way stretch fabrics work well, provided the stretch percentage is adequate (more on that below!)

FABRIC WEIGHT

The weight of your fabric will determine the way Nettie fits and clings. Medium to heavy weight knits will act almost like spanx, sucking everything in and molding to your curves. Lighter weight fabrics work as well, but if your fabric is very drapey, you will be more likely to see to see bra straps through the thinness of the material.

2-WAY vs. 4-WAY STRETCH

Of critical importance when choosing a fabric for Nettie, is determining whether or not it is a 2-way or 4-way stretch. 4-way stretches both horizontally and vertically, which is muy importante for the bodysuit. If your fabric doesn't stretch along both axis, your bodysuit may be uncomfortable or too short in the torso.

2-way stretch fabric, such as ponte or cotton jersey (what is traditionally used to make t-shirts) can be used for the dress, provided they stretch enough on the horizontal axis.

This is easy to determine when you are shopping in real life, as you can stretch the fabric in both directions. When shopping online, do not buy anything that does not explicitly state that the fabric is 4-way stretch if you are making the bodysuit!

STRETCH PERCENTAGE

Stretch percentage refers to the amount your fabric stretches in proportion to the fabric when laying flat. I specify a fabric with at least 50% horizontal stretch, which means the fabric should stretch by at least half its length.

To illustrate this concept, I cut 6 inch squares of the fabrics I used for some of my sample Netties to show you what kind of stretch percentage they had. Folding the swatch in half, I stretched it as far as it would go and measured it to see what it's percentage was.

Cotton lycra - 55% stretcb — Cotton lycra - 55% stretch

In my experience, super-stretchy fabric (above 70%) tends to be lighter weight and looser fitting. The short sleeved striped Nettie I made is not tight at all - the fabric was almost drapey and very forgiving. The medium weight knits tended to be around 50-60% stretch and fit much tighter.

Not all online stores provide stretch percentage. When in doubt, look at the ratio of lycra. Anything over 5% is going to give you a good stretch percentage!

Now that we've gone over what you need to look for, here's the fun part.

ONLINE SOURCES

My absolute favourite source for Nettie fabrics is Girl Charlee. I looked all around the web and they have the BEST prints out there and the prices are fantastic. If anyone ends up buying from there for the first time, please use this referral link. For every order I get a $5 credit, which I would like to use for giveaways & prizes in the future.

Here are some current finds:

Screen Shot 2014-05-04 at 4.18.36 PM — Nettie looks great in stripes. I like the alternating wide and thin lines here. Girl Charlee has lots of great stripes!

Screen Shot 2014-05-04 at 4.21.14 PM — Floral Netties are feminine and sweet. I love the contrast of the red flowers and black background.

Girl Charlee fabric for Nettie pattern — Make an edgier Nettie with a cool geometric print!

Spandex World has a good range of prints and every solid colour you can imagine. This check print is particularly appealing:

Fabric.com has quite a lot as well. They have some nice stripes which can be hard to find.

Other sources:

Spandex House
Designer Alley Fabrics
Marcy Tilton

In the UK/Europe:

Minerva Crafts
Guthrie & Ghani
Textile express
Tissu Fabrics
Showtime Fabrics
Calico Laine

Australia

Glitter & Dance

Anyone else have any other resources? I'll add them to the list!

Hopefully this helps you understand how to make great fabric choices for your Nettie. It's more specific than you're probably used to, but picking the perfect knit will ensure your dress or bodysuit fits perfectly. I'll be back tomorrow with a post on other notions or tools you may need!