Happiness Through Sewing
The princess seam is perhaps ubiquitous and therefore not as appreciated as it should be. Or maybe it’s the name that turns us off. This is a great seam for fit and fitting. It runs over the bust in the front, separating the center of the garment from the sides. It allows for a […] Read more…
When a zipper is too long it’s nothing to run a few stitches over the teeth to form a new bottom zipper stop which automatically shortens the length of your zipper. However this doesn’t work for metal zippers and certainly not for exposed metal zippers. To shorten a metal zipper you need a few supplies and […] Read more…
Drawing curves freehand, as with sewing curves with out a pattern, turn out, more than not, to be lop sided. I don’t know why the human hand cannot draw or sew a perfect curve over and over again and I do not have an answer how to do such a feat but I have a […] Read more…
Downloadable patterns are pretty common. They’re convenient and easy, if not impulsive, to purchase. Just pay and click. However when you go to use the pattern there are a few steps or tricks to remember. We all know how one little inaccuracy at the beginning of a project can snowball into a big frustrating mess. […] Read more…
When I was in school I had a professor who always said that after you cut your fabric it’s all down hill, meaning the hard part is over. At first, I thought he was kidding but as the years went by I agreed with this bold statement until today that is when I had a […] Read more…
After the last washing of my favorite knit shirt I noticed a hole in the back armhole seam. Luckily this is a quick and easy fix. How easy? Two steps. How fast? Faster than exchanging the shirt at the store. This isn’t the first time I’ve come across a knit shirt where one part of […] 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…
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…
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…