Hello Everyone!

Today is Day 1 of the GreenStyle Creations Sundance Jacket Sew Along!

On our sewing table today is the amazing Sundance Jacket. This is a beautiful jacket with great options that really give it a high end look.

So let's get started! On today's schedule is to prep fabric, print and assemble the pattern, and cut out the pieces.

The first thing you will want to do is prep your fabric. I always wash my fabric to reduce the shrinkage after it's assembled and to get the chemicals and store grime out of my fabrics. I typically wash in warm water and and dry it on medium heat, which is a hotter than I normally do for my wash water. I figure that will get more of the shrink out of the way, but it is totally a personal preference.

After the fabric is ready to go, you will need to print and assemble the pattern. This pattern comes with optional layers so you can print only your desired size or all of the sizes! In Adobe, just click on the little box that looks like pages or paper to see the layers.

Click the "+" to expand the layers and click on the "eye" to turn size layers on and off. Make sure your paper is stacked straight in the printer and the paper guides are snug against the stack of paper.

There is a great diagram in the pattern to show you how to lay out and assemble the pattern. Just line up Page 32 on top of Page 31 with the edge of 32 just touching the grey line on page 31 so it is still visible. Lining up and taping the pattern is important. If you start to get off a little it can grow and be a big difference two or three rows down.

Now, you can trace and label your pattern pieces onto wax paper, tracing paper, tissue paper, or even thin sew-in interfacing OR simply cut out your size.

Before you start to cut the fabric, decide which options you want:

1) plain back or the pleated back

2) long sleeves or sleevless

3) thumbs cuffs or plain hem on sleeves

4) hood or stand up collar

Now that you have your options chosen, lay the fabric out on your cutting surface. Fold it so the salvage edges are together. Position the pattern pieces in the most efficient way. There is a suggestion in the pattern instructions but some people find ways to tuck in a pattern piece here and there, just watch the stretch lines and grainlines.

Cut the pieces out and transfer any pattern markings to the fabric with chalk or a shallow clip of the edge. When I am doing a new pattern, I like to keep at least one pin in the pattern piece to make sure the pattern and the fabric piece stay together so I don't loose track of which piece is which.