Happiness Through Sewing
Love can tear us apart and wear us thin and leak out our stuffing. This is what happened to my son’s girlfriend and Dotty, her knitted, stuffed cat from her childhood. However, love can fix us too and with the desire to make Dotty’s owner happy, my son suggested to her to let me fix Dotty’s six […] Read more…
The recently sewn Rachel Comey Vogue pattern 1247, used French seams in the construction of the top. Upon reading this on the instruction sheet my first thought was actually three thoughts; What? Why? and How? What is a French seam? It’s a construction method used where the seam allowance is enclosed as the seam is […] Read more…
I’ve been sewing for 25 years, not counting my childhood when I made numerous hand stitched bean bags which always leak their contents. (My stitches were the same size as the beans. Who knew? Where was the Girl Scout leader in charge of this activity? But I guess I could count this as […] Read more…
Back tack or knot? Both secure your machine stitching at the beginning and end of a chain of stitches. Back tacking is quickly done with the sewing machine and knotting is hand tying the threads together much like hand stitching is secured. To back tack simply sew over the first couple of stitches twice. This […] Read more…
Look what I found; two holes in my cotton skirt. Holes too big to ignore or stitch up with a little thread. And this skirt, a Boden skirt, is too dear to me to throw away or use for parts. I wasn’t sure how to patch it in a subtle manner without having any matching […] Read more…
Does this drive anybody else crazy? The welts on a double welt pocket should lay flat against the garment. Welt pockets that gap open permanently in a twisted way look sloppy. Having two twisted, gaping, horizontal lines across one’s backside isn’t stylish or flattering. What really drives me crazy though is that more and more […] Read more…
Why underline a garment? While lining is sewn as a separate garment and then attached to the fashion garment underlining is basted to the fashion fabric before construction. This method adds body and durability to the garment when the style demands more structure or the fabric needs support due to a loose weave. Underlining can […] Read more…
The Hong Kong finish is a classic seam allowance finish used on garments which have underlining instead of lining. The seam allowance edges are encased in bias tape strips made from the underlining or any lining fabric. You could add a designer touch by using strips in a contrasting color to the garment or […] Read more…
A favorite pair of jeans is hard to get rid of even when they are ripped or frayed. My daughter had such a dilemma and asked if I could patch her jeans. Much of the area where her book bag rubbed against her left hip was threadbare. I knew the fraying would spread if left […] Read more…
Button placement is very important on a garment. When a garment is closed with an ill placed button it can show puckers, leave gaps, and will never let a garment hang as it was meant to. And here is where I use my Mary Poppins’ voice, “Taking time to place a button in the correct […] Read more…