Hampton Sew Along – Day 1
Happy 2021! I’m so excited to kick off this new year with the Hampton sew along. When Katie asked me which pattern I would like to feature this month I quickly decided on Hampton; then I begged her to release it in baby sizes too because EVERYBODY needs this pattern. Well, dreams do come true. Baby Hampton released last week! Whether you are sewing for babies or girls, grab a copy and join me for some sewing fun.
Pattern Options
The first thing we need to do is decide which pattern options to sew. Hampton is jam packed with options for the bodice, sleeves, and skirt. For the bodice you have two options. Choose between a closed back or the cut out version. The sleeves offer two choices as well: long or short.
The skirt may be a little bit harder to choose. For the gathered skirt version there are three lengths: top, dress and maxi. Once you’ve decided on a length then you need to decide on a style: high-low-high, high-low, or simple straight hem. If you prefer more twirl factor then the circle skirt option is for you. Choose between high-low-high, high low, or simple circle skirt styles.
If you need help deciding between the options, be sure to check out the tester photos on page 18 of the pattern for a good look at the options. Once you’ve decided which options to sew, you need to print your pattern pieces. There is a handy chart on page 5 that shows which pages to print for the options you chose. If you are new to printing pdf patterns check out this tutorial on how to print specific size layers.
Fabric
Hampton is drafted for knit fabrics. When selecting your fabrics try to find a quality fabric that has between a 50-75% stretch. Cotton lycra or cotton jersey make for great fabric bases for this pattern. Once you’ve chosen your fabrics be sure to pre-wash any fabrics you intend to use before cutting. Fabric can shrink during the first wash and affect final fit.
All fabrics used in this sew along are from Art Gallery Fabrics. AGF knits are incredibly soft and consist of 95% cotton and 5% spandex. They also have a great weight of about 7 ounces. The pink heart print fabric used in this sew along is from the Daydream collection by Patti Basemi. The coordinating solid is from the Knit Solids collection.
Cutting Your Fabric
For day one we are going to cut out our fabric pieces. I like to use a 24″ x 36″ cutting mat and 28mm rotary cutter. The smaller rotary blade makes it easier to get around the curves of the bodice with accuracy. Be sure to pay attention to the direction of stretch of your knit fabrics when cutting your fabric. Make sure it matches the direction of the stretch arrows located on your pattern pieces. Cut out your bodice front/back, optional back strap, sleeves, sleeve bands, and skirt pieces.
Day 1 Progress
That’s it for day 1! Make sure you upload a photo of your day 1 progress into the sew-along album in the Facebook fan group. At the end of the sew along I will draw 5 winners that partcipated each day throughout the sew along. I’ll see you back here tomorrow when we’ll work on our bodices. Have fun picking out your fabrics and cutting your pieces!
Happy sewing,
Chauncey
