For some reason, learning how to set sleeves into blouses or dresses can cause some sewists to break out in hives. Part of the reason for this struggle can be poor pattern-drafting. Hear that! Not.Your.Fault! đ But with a properly drafted pattern you can often set the sleeve in without adding an easing stitch to your sleeve. What I mean by a properly drafted sleeve is one with a high sleeve cap that only has about 1 inch or less… read more
Category Archives: Tutorials
Tutorial: How to add a vented sleeve band
Have you ever made a blouse or top and the sleeves ended up being shorted than you would have liked? Câmon, you know you have; it has happened to all of us who sew. I like to view these situations as âdesign opportunitiesâ rather than disasters, and one of my favorite ways to add a little snap to an outfit with too-short sleeves is to add a vented cuff. It looks all designer-y-and-fancy, but it really is super simple. You… read more
Tutorial: How to Ruche a Sleeve
A really fun (and cute!) way to shorten a sleeve or pant leg without re-hemming is to add a bit of ruching. You can do this to RTW clothes as easily as clothing you have made for yourself, and best of allâit is fast and easy! The only slightly tricky part is deciding what length you want to be gathered. This is definitely a case where less is more, because the finished ruching section will be approximately half the length… read more
Tutorial: How to Stay Knit Neck Edges
A common way of finishing simple knit T-shirts is to just turn under the raw edge around the neckline and topstitch or coverstitch the edge. Fast and easy! I have done it plenty of times, and my normal method of preventing gaping around the neckline was to stabilize right up against the cut edge of the neckline with knit stay tape. Worked reasonably well, but I did occasionally need to clip into the neckline so that it would lay smoothly… read more
Tutorial: How to tame your gathers
Now that you know how to gather successfully, the next challenge is making sure that your gathers are straight and even when you are sewing big onto little. Easier said than done, right? How often have you ended up with a full skirt stitched to a bodice and the gathers look like Indiana Jone’s snake pit ? Donât sweat it; I got a couple of tricks for you to tame that fabric fullness. As a matter of fact, you donât… read more
Tutorial: Gather successfully!
Let’s face it, gathering fabric can be a pain. Especially if the fabric you are using is a heavier weight than say, quilting cotton, or if you have yards and yards of it to be gathered for a home dec project. Even on small projects, I have found that young sewists struggle to gather without breaking threads halfway through. This common sewing frustration led to the creation of this video. I hope you enjoy it! Happy sewing! Maris
Tutorial: Sew a Button FAST & Easy
Everyone should know how to sew a button onto a shirt or coat, right? It is a life skill! And like many life skills, it can be a total pain the buttrather tedious. But I bet by the time you try this method you are going to be singing a different tune, and you may even search out opportunities to sew buttons on your clothes, as well as those belonging to friends! Here’s what you will need: Thread Beeswax or… read more
Tutorial: Use a coverstitch to hem knit garments
If you sew with lots of knit fabrics, you have probably run into difficulties creating a nice hem on at least some of these fabrics. The more slippery and light-weight the knit the more challenging it is. My favorite method of hemming knits is to use the coverstitch function on my Bernina 1300 MDC serger. Here is what you need to get started: Garment to be hemmed (duh) Coverstitch machine, or serger set to coverstitch function Steam iron Narrow (1/2… read more
Tutorial: Easy 1-Hour Skirt
I am not kidding, you can make totally this skirt in an hour. And is it not SUPER-cute? Scale up or down to make the size you need, and have fun making loads of these easy, reversible skirts for all the little ladies in your life. Let’s get started so you can see how easy this project really is. Supplies: Two pieces of coordinating fabric (see “math” too figure out how much) 1 pkg of Dritz 1″ fold-over elastic in… read more
Tutorial: Turn out belts and more with your Fasturn
Thanks to the lovely Carol in Denver and several of my ASG sewing sisters, I have exciting news to report about the Fasturn tube turners. You absolutely do NOT have to have both ends of the tube open to turn it. This is a major revelation to me, although it appears to be common knowledge for many of you! Next time, keep me in the loop, peeps! đ So just in case you were also in the dark about this… read more