Happiness Through Sewing
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…
I haven’t posted in a while. I had a sewing set back followed by a few days away from home. I’ve been back home for a while now. Still, the cause of the setback, a simple one, is haunting me. I made a mistake. I’ve never been known as a perfectionist – fearing failure is […] 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…
There is a fine line between stylishly baggy pants and sloppy, frumpy, baggy pants. And I think the line has a lot to do with, not the pattern, but your body. The younger and fitter someone is the more they can look cute, perhaps even fashionable, in loose fitting clothing. Well, I’m no longer young […] 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…
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…
My daughter needed a skirt but it’s never that simple, is it? She needed a skirt that covered her knees, was lightweight enough for humid summer weather and, of course, it had to be a style she would wear. I thought if I took her to the mall that finding the skirt would just […] Read more…