Laguna Sew Along

[Laura22]

Okay, first off, let me say, I am no expert I am self taught when it comes to sewing so my way may not always be the right way, it's just what works for me. I finished my first Laguna by Studio Tantrum last month and have made two more since then. They are really easy once you figure out how they go together but they can be a bit puzzling without visual aids. I had a really hard time finding enough info when I was trying to figure this pattern out so I'm adding this sew along to hopefully help others in the same boat.

Before I start, let me say, if you click on the pics they will take you to my Flickr where you can see them bigger

OK, let's get going, bear with me as I've never done one of these sew alongs before

1.

Unfold your fabric and lay it out flat (not folded at all) Fabric A on top of Fabric B with both right sides up. You will cut both layers of fabric at the same time so your spirals will be uniform in size and shape

2.

Here is my spiral pattern in size 98/104 laid out and ready to cut the first set of spirals. Note that the edge of the spiral is close to the cut edge of the fabric and the tail of the spiral (the skinny pointed end) is close to the selvedge. The layout may not look exactly the same if you are working on a different size pattern or if your fabric is wider or narrower than mine.

3.

Here's what you should be seeing after cutting the first spiral out

4.

Here is how the pattern piece should be positioned to cut the second spiral out. You can see that half of the edges will already be cut for you if you place it correctly.

OK, going to start a reply for sewing next now that cutting is done

[Misty589]

lol i coulda used this LAST week, when i botched one up !

[Laura22]

OK, now on to the sewing of the Laguna

You should have two spirals from each fabric at this point. If you want a single color skirt where fabric B only shows when your little one twirls, leave the fabrics in the same order as they were cut. If you would like a two tone skirt, which is what I will be making, take one set of spirals and reverse the order so that fabric B is on top of Fabric A.

1.

Here is an image showing how the fabrics are laid out.

2.

Next clip a 3-4 cm angled cut off of the end of the bottom layer of each set of spirals. It's to make things line up better when hemming and finishing the skirt.

3.

The next step is to stitch both layers of each spiral together on their inner edge. You do so with both right sides facing up. This joins the two layers together in preparation for joining the two spirals together. After this step you will have two spirals which are double layered.

5. From here on out, the set of layered spirals with Fabric A on top is Fabric A Spiral and the other is Fabric B Spiral. Starting from the center of the circle, you are going to spread apart the two layers of Fabric Spiral A so that you can sew the bottom layer outer edge to both layers of Fabric Spiral B along it's inner edge. It seems a bit awkward at first as the outer edge of one spiral is going against the inner edge of the other so the edges seem like they don't fit together very well. This is the part that is most confusing so hopefully I'm making some sense.







I'm serging the first spiral seam here. I'm going slowly, removing the pins as I go and keeping the extra layers from getting caught in the stitches or anywhere near the knife. Once this seam has been stitched, I'll have something like this



The image is showing the wrong side of the skirt so that the seam is visible.

OK, I'm going to split the rest into another reply so hang on

[Laura22]

So, the next step is to pin the second spiral seam to prepare for serging (or stitching then zig zagging) it.







This seam is just like the last one, start at the center and work outwards towards the tail end of the spiral. Your second spiral beginning will be across from your first spiral's beginning point and your tails of your spirals will wind up opposite one another on the hem of the skirt. Once you have pinned the second seam, it will look like this





Serging the second spiral seam, I am, once again, cautious about keeping my fabric from bunching up.



Once this seam is completed here is what you will see



This is the wrong side so you can see both seams

Here is the right side, looking like a skirt at last




Now we're into the home stretch and just going to add the finish and waistband. I'm not going to go into tons of detail on this part, but I'll share a bit in the next reply.

[Laura22]

As the pattern for this skirt says, there are a lot of ways to finish the skirt. You can finish the edges with a serger, bias tape, hems, whatever. I chose to serge the edges. This is a four thread overlock with the stitches close together like a rolled hem but the width is still the full width of a four thread overlock. It gives a look like bias tape and I like it. That said, I'm a total newbie to my serger so others can probably give better advice on this part.

Here are my finished edges





I've also topstitched the spiral seams to make the skirt hang nicely





The last step is to attach the elastic waist, once again, there are plenty of ways to do this and most everyone has done an elastic waistband at some point so I won't go into any detail here but I'll show a pic of the finished skirt to end this little sew along, hope it helped someone at least a little bit

[cinnamama]

Wow - that is wonderful! thank you!

[Aiti]

Fantastic sew-along! theclap Thank you so much.

[ktlady]

Thanks for the tip on the 4-thread overlock - it really looks great. Better than the rolled hem.

[Cobblestone]

I would never have been able to figure out this skirt without this. Thank you so much!

[tammey]

I may just got out and muy this pattern now, you make it look so easy!!! Thank you very much!

[cinnamama]

Thanks for the tip on the 4-thread overlock - it really looks great. Better than the rolled hem.

Yep - I love that look and have to try it~

[pinkebody]

Thanks for sharing this I've been putting off trying this pattern, but think I will be pulling it out tomorrow now.

[jbaskc]

Thanks for sharing this I've been putting off trying this pattern, but think I will be pulling it out tomorrow now.

That's just what I was going to say! lol
theclap

[SoCaliMommy]

Thanks for sharing , that makes it look so easy.

[skalafut]

Wow! Thank you so much. I was a little confused (it's me, not your tutorial - LOL) with Fabric A and Fabric B, which one is which (e.g., floral and geometric print)?

[Laura22]

The floral is Fabric A the geometric print is Fabric B

[Tonya]

That's terrific! I'm even more green with envy over that serger! What an amazing edge!

When I was doing the Redondo (much like the Laguna, it looks like, with the opposite curves going together) I found the tip from a fellow mama to not pin, just to stretch the fabrics and sew along MUCH more helpful to not get nicks and notches sewn in. But, hey, I'm a total newbie next to all of you.

[shellyhouse]

OMG! What an amazing idea!! I love love love this pattern and have wasted a bunch of fabric cutting the other way. Thanks a ton!!

[Kathy_818]

I came here especially to find this tutorial, having seen it about the time I purchased the pattern a couple of months ago.

I'm ready to cut out the size 3-4T for my youngest GD Laynie -- she's gonna love twirling in this one!
I'm still confused, however, to whether I'll be able to cut both spirals from the 1 yd. of fabric the pattern calls for. Will I be able to get a second spiral by placing the pattern right against the cut edge of the first?

At the moment I don't quite "get it", but as usually happens, I'll grasp it -- I'm one who learns by doing.

Thanks so much for the tutorial and the time it took. You've given me a good sense of it.

[Island~mom]

Awesome!! Thank you!