Constance Sew Along – Back to Basics
Are you ready for another sew along?! I know I am. With 2020 out of the way, I’m so ready to get some good things going! So why not start off the new year by going back to the basics with a sew along! This sew along is going to be a little different than the others. The Sew A Little Seam Constance is a pretty basic pattern, so we are going to focus more on sewing basics and hacks rather than the actual construction (it’s the same construction as the Movie Night Pajama top, so if you need to see construction videos, you are more than welcome to take a look at those. You can find the MNPJ sew-along HERE and all the sew-along videos HERE.)
The Constance is probably my most sewn pattern for myself and my son. It’s a perfect basic and I come back to it time and time again, so I’m excited for you to join me! See all the details for the sew along below.
Sew Along Dates
February 8th-12th
Sew Along Outline
Intro to the Sew Along
Prizes/Giveaway
This sew along is sponsored by Sew A Little Seam and Mily Mae Fabrics! There are 4 prizes at the end so make sure you play along!
- 1 Sew A Little Seam pattern of your choice
- 2 Sew A Little Seam patterns of your choice
- 3 Sew A Little Seam patterns of your choice
- 1 Sew A Little Seam pattern of your choice and a $25 gift card to Mily Mae Fabrics
How to Enter
Each day of the sew along I will post in the Sew A Little Seam FB Group, which will have all the information for that specific day. I’ll pin each post as an ANNOUNCEMENT in the group so they will be easy to find. In addition to sewing up a Constance or two, in order to be eligible for prizes, make sure you are an active sew along participant by commenting on each daily post in the FB group by asking questions, sharing your progress, etc. On the last day of the sew along, I will have a spot to comment with a picture of the Constance tops you made during the sew along. These will be your official entries in the giveaway. If you make more than one, please post as separate comments and not replies. At the end of the sew along, I will randomly draw 4 separate winners.
Pattern
Between my kids and me, the Sew A Little Seam Constance is definitely my most sewn pattern to date. I can’t help it though…it is such a perfect basic! So I am really excited to share my favorite pattern with you. You can find the Women’s version HERE and the kids version HERE.
The patterns are both $4 each and will never go on sale because 100% of proceeds are donated to Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.
On the women’s version, I prefer to size down one for a slightly more fitted tee and I use my current measurements for hoodies and sweaters. For the kids version, I use the measured size for regular shirts and size up for hoodies to get longer wear. I also prefer the short-sleeve banded cut line for a hemmed short-sleeve shirt for girls, as the regular cut line is on the longer side. It’s not necessary, but it’s my preference. I also love the gathered sleeve option for my little lady for a little bit of flair!
Women's Constance
Children's Constance
Converting Children’s version to A0 for projector use
PDF STITCHER
The PDF Stitcher is a pretty sweet tool to convert your print at home patterns to a large format file to use with a projector. The best part about this is that layers will still be intact!
- Start by going to the website SEJDA to edit your PDF; like removing unwanted pages or adding blank pages as place holders. If your PDF pattern layout has blank areas but no blank pages on the actual file for that spot, you will want to add those here. The stitcher will need a place holder for the blank pages for it to work properly.
- The site is free with a max of 3 tasks per hour. Make sure you use the ORGANIZE tool so you can add/delete/reorder pages all on the same task.
- I don’t suggest using this tool to crop. It’s best to just use it to add/remove pages from the file. You will want to crop using the Stitcher tool if needed.
- Download the latest version of the PDF Stitcher tool HERE.
- I have a MAC and it won’t let me just open it. I have to open it in a FINDER window and press control+Click icon, select open from the pop-up. You will have to do a similar sort of thing on Windows.
- Once you have the stitcher open, select your file, add page range, the number of columns/rows and if you need any of the margins trimmed/overlapped (if your print at home pattern is “no-trim” and has pages that overlap.)
- Click to Generate the PDF
- You will get a pop-up to save your new file
- Open the file and double check that everything looks good and that you didn’t accidentally forget to add any blank pages.
Boom! That’s about it! You should now have a pattern that you can use with your projector! And the best part is, all the layers should still be in tact. If the pattern has any tiling layers, don’t forget to turn those off if they aren’t locked.
I recently did this with the Children’s Constance pattern and it worked beautifully! The Women’s version has the A0 pages at the end of the print at home file. You can also use SEJDA to remove all the pages except the A0 sheets if it makes it easier to have it completely separate and doing it this way won’t compromise the layers.
Fabric
Mily Mae Fabric is the fabric sponsor for this sew along and they have SO many great fabric options to choose from! The Constance requires 40% stretch, which means you have a wide variety of knit fabrics that will work perfectly for the Constance!
I love to size down the constance 1 size all around for my perfect slightly fitted tee. I find that fabric with a lot of vertical stretch or 4 way stretch works best for the sized down version, like brushed poly, rib knits, and rayon blends.
For the regular, measured size of the Constance (what I like to use more for sweaters and hoodies), again, you need fabric with at least 40% horizontal stretch. Fabric like sweater knits (alpaca, hacci, cashmere, etc.), french terry, and waffle knit.
Notions
- Grommets (hoodie version but is optional)
- Drawstring, unless you plan to make your own
- Twin Needle (for hemming on a sewing machine)
- Wash away wonder tape or hem tape
- SF101 (interfacing) if doing the placket hack
- Buttons, also for the placket
If you have any questions, feel free to ask below!
Happy Sewing!
Cheers!
3 Comments
Mary Lynn
What time of day are the sew alongside going to be?? Hope I’m able to join in!:)
Trissa Marie
I usually set the blog posts to go live around 4am MST and then I’ll share the post in the Sew A Little Seam FB group closer to 8am MST on each day. All the videos are prerecorded so you can participate during the day when you are able! You are also more than welcome to back post if you miss a day <3 I hope that helps!
Kendra
Yay! Can’t wait.