Happiness Through Sewing
My dog is a messy eater and sloppy drinker. He will put his head up, open his mouth wide and let whatever food or water that was in his mouth just fall out. Did he forget he was eating? Did something distract him? “Quick,” he thinks, “dump this stuff, maybe she’ll think she hasn’t feed me yet and […] Read more…
Pressing as you sew is the key to a good-looking final project. How many times did our professors tell us this? Any time they could. After sewing any seam go to your iron and press that seam in the opposite direction from which it was sewn and then press the seam allowances open if possible. […] Read more…
You’re excited to sew. You know it’s going to be great when you’re done. People are going to stop you and ask where you got it. You smile and reply “I made it”. You carve out some sewing time and do your best. When you’re done you try it on and…deflate. It doesn’t look so […] Read more…
I have a basic shirt that I bought it in a department store. I really like the fabric it is made up in, a soft navy chambray. I don’t like that the chest pockets screamed “look at my breast” so I only wear it under sweaters. I put it on a couple of weeks ago and noticed […] Read more…
Bias bound edges are popping up on all sort of designs lately; necklines of dresses, hems of sleeves, the tops of pockets. On some designs they add a cute factor, on others they give a nice polished look to the garment. I’m getting over my past prejudices that bias binding made garments look homemade, in […] Read more…
Bias binding is used to bind or cover the raw edge of fabric. Bias binding can be made in self or contrasting fabric as a decorative edge of a neckline, sleeve, collar or other feature. It can replace a full facing as with sheer or bulky fabrics or it can bind and finish seam allowances inside […] Read more…
It’s been five months since I started my No-New-Fabric-Purchases-For-A-Year challenge. The rule is simple; use as much of the 256 pieces of fabric in my stash. To make all those things I intended to make when I bought the fabric or make something else. It’s time to stop consuming and start creating. So far, I […] Read more…
Gathers are small soft folds made by drawing fabric up on a line of hand or machine stitching. Gathers give a softness and fullness to garments and is a way to release a lot of fabric from a tighter area to a fuller area; for example a full skirt on a fitted waistband or yoke, a […] Read more…
It’s easy to love an A-line skirt: It flatters almost every body It’s easy to sew It takes a mere two yards of fabric It’s simple silhouette can be made up in wilder prints and will still look classy. It’s a work horse; errands, date nights, work, gatherings. It always looks like you made an effort even when worn with a […] Read more…
We don’t have to sew our clothes by hand anymore but there are are times and construction details that call for hand stitching. Here are five hand stitches that will prove useful to know. Watch the video for detailed instructions and a couple hand sewing tips. I have posted pictures below for those just needing […] Read more…