OUICK TO MAKE BY LORI HILL

love designing accessories that have what I call "easy elegance," and one of my sellers is a one-seam . It is a statement piece One-seam Ithat can adorn any outfitand is an especially pretty cover-up for evening attire. It's also one-size-fits-all, so it makes a wonderful gift. poncho Your friends will think you spent a week slaving over it, but only you will know the truth: This For instant style, fo ld a sophisticated poncho can be cut and sewn in fa bric rectangle in half, less than an hour.

then sew a shoulder seam IT'S EASY TO MIX IT UP I manage an independent fabric store, so I fold and unfold many beautiful designer fabrics every day. I've experimented with many different in this poncho design, and the best choices are slinky, soft knits or wo­ vens that have plenty of inherent drape. My favorites, by far, are vibrant, lush burnout velvets in a variety of prints. You can also easily transform a wide, already­ hemmed or shawl into a poncho. The one-seam poncho lends itself to differentdesign options, so I encourage you to experiment once you have the basic construction down pat. Instead of sewing the shoulder seam completely, fo r example, you can tack the seam every couple of inches for sexy peekaboo slits. Or gather the � unsewn shoulder section to make the garment os;� even more asymmetrical; you can also add trims, � ci. fringe, or charms to the edges or corners. Once ] you make one of these easy, elegant , This simple, you'll be itching to whip out more in a medley i asymmetrical of fabrics and style variations. poncho lets the!abric �':J shine. The large peacock o'" print of this burnout Lori Hill designs unique accessories and manages � velvet is shown off to Banksville Designer Fabrics (BanksvilleDesigner the best advantage. Fabrics.com) in Norwalk, Connecticut.

36 THREADS Cut to Size To make this poncho, you'll need a fa bric rectangle 22 inches wide by 72 inches long. Yo u can cut it wider, but 22 inches is comfortable for most sizes. Two yards of 4s-inch-wide fa bric yields two ponchos. Just trim off the selvages (tightly woven edges), then cut the fa bric down the center, lengthwise.

16 inches

Then Sew It Up Choose between two construction techniques: an enclosed seam or an exposed, serged seam. Both are fast and easy. Burnout velvet fo r casual styles? FOR AN EN CLOSED SEAM FOR AN EXPOSED SEAM You bet. This slinky ja bric looks great with Fold right sides together, Serge-hem all four sides of and a tank. and sew a }i-inch seam. the rectangle. Apply Fray Pin the two layers together Check to secure the thread along one long edge. Starting ends at the corners. 16 inches from the fo ld, as 2 Fold wrong sides together, marked above, straight-stitch to the end. and zigzag-stitch. Pin the two layers together along one long 2 Roll under all raw edges to edge. Starting 16 inches from the wrong side. Hand-tack. the fo ld, zigzag-stitch to the Or press the raw edges under, end, or use a straight stitch for and machine-topstitch. an even flatter result.

Enclosed seam Exposed seam

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