Happiness Through Sewing
Invisible zippers, also known as Concealed zippers, are just that: so concealed once they are sewn into a garment that they appear to be invisible. Unlike other zippers, there is no outside stitching around the zipper, no obvious lapped fabric or fly. Nothing but a slim zipper pull gives it away. This makes invisible zippers […] Read more…
Topstitching by its very nature is suppose to be seen. Whether for construction or decoration, wobbly or straight it’s on display. And you would think it’s easy to sew a straight line of stitches, I mean, there’s a guide on the machine right there, but it simply isn’t that simple. However, there are quite a […] Read more…
There are many, many times when you will need to fold over and press up a certain width of fabric. You may be pressing up a hem, pressing over fabric for a casing or pressing in the raw edges of a patch pocket. Your directions will simply state to fold over X inch(s) and press. (or […] 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…
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…
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…