Happiness Through Sewing
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…
This is my new sewing companion. If I’m in the sewing room he is too. If I’m in the kitchen, so is Basso. If I’m in the office, guess who is curled up under my chair? It seems Basso wants to be certain we aren’t going to leave him. (Basso had been living in a […] Read more…
Marking fabric for darts and pocket placements never installed confidence in me. My marks were never clear. It was like a guessing game half the time where that dart point was exactly. Sometimes marks would be worn off by the time I got to the sewing machine. I found thread tacks a bother. Seriously trivial, […] Read more…
I am distractible by nature. Everything seems to get my attention which really means I’m not putting my attention where I need to. This was happening with my sewing too. I never knew what to project to focus on next. Picking a project became a big deliberation usually settled with impulsively starting a project without […] 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…
The most important piece of sewing equipment I own is my sewing machine (I mean, we are talking sewing equipment) but the second most important, most appreciated and maybe the most used sewing tool I own is my cutting/ironing/work surface/table. Yes, it is all of those things and yet it is only a cheap door […] Read more…
Everyone who sews has a pile of mending. The button falls off, something needs a patch, trim needs to be reattached, hems get caught on a heels and need re-hemming. And because sewers know how to fix these problems they put them aside to fix. And they sit aside, and sit aside, and keep to […] 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…
Some of us grew up in a household where sewing happened frequently and so we picked up a lot of sewing knowledge without trying. Some of us first learned how to sew through scouts or a middle school Home Ec class where we may or may not have paid attention to the teacher. And some of […] Read more…