Happiness Through Sewing
Why does it matter if the fabric you’re about to cut is lined up or trued or squared? And wait, what does that even mean? Fabric is made of threads and woven fabric (as opposed to knit fabric) is woven from threads. The looms are set up with lengthwise threads (the warp) and thread is […] Read more…
My button fell off, again. Not the same button, but a button from a dearly loved garment. Luckily it fell off in my presence and I was able to catch it. Buttons fall off store bought garments because they are sewn on by machines and machines can’t knot a thread properly. Sorry, robots, that’s just […] Read more…
My husband has always worn flat front pegged pants. Even though currently this style is easier to find in the stores, sometimes ready to wear pants are just shy of being how he likes them. So was the case with a recent pair of suit pants. Banana Republic makes a great, trim fitting, men’s suit. […] Read more…
I have a girlfriend who ordered some pants that were just too long. She asked me if I knew a good alterations place. “Uh, no, but I know me.” Here’s how I go about hemming ready to wear pants, no double stick tape necessary. Have the pants owner put them on. Fold up the extra […] Read more…
Shortening a skirt is pretty straight forward. Fold up the appropriate amount of excess skirt at the hem. Trim off any fabric that is more than you need for turning under a new hem and hem it. My skirt, too long as it was, could not be taking up at the bottom for it had […] Read more…
I made the orange skirt without a commercial pattern. I based it off the brown skirt which I had bought years ago. I like the way the brown skirt fits and thought how hard would it be to copy it? It’s simply constructed with ten identical panels, a side zipper and a 2″ facing at […] Read more…
Did you know that when you hand baste anything, any stitch (tailor baste stitch shown in picture) that you do not need to tie a knot in your thread? Just leave a long enough tail (3″) so you don’t accidentally pull out the first stitch when making subsequent stitches. By leaving off the knot you […] Read more…
Darts are magical. They make a flat piece of fabric take shape. They can blend in to the garment or stand out as a design feature. I admire a well placed dart. I do not like a pointy dart, or one with a pucker and those boo – boos can easily happen to your darts […] Read more…
I’ve started a new project; a summer top. It has four darts in the front and two in the back. Tailor tacks are what you’re supposed to use to transfer dart markings from the pattern to the fabric. However, I think Tailor Tack Lite* (TM 😉 work just as great Tailor tacks are more secure […] Read more…
If you’ve sewn more than a dozen patterns I bet this has happened to you. It’s completely frustrating and this time it’s not your sewing skills or lack of attention that caused it. It’s your commercial pattern. It wasn’t trued. A true pattern is a pattern that all seams fit perfectly together as you would […] Read more…