Sewing Tip 61: Pressing
Before pressing on the right side of garment, try a sample piece of fabric. If pressing directly on the right side of a garment causes a shine or flattening effect, cover garment with presscloth and use steam for a good…
Sewing Tip 60: Bedsheet Tableclothes
Sheets now come in such a variety of patterns that it is likely you can find one that will make a good tablecloth. King-size sheets are usually large enough to make a cloth without piecing. Unfortunately, if the fabric combination…
Sewing Tip 59
Create the wow factor in an outfit by mixing prints. To do this successfully, try one of three approaches: (1) Repeat one color from the print of the first piece in the second piece. (2) Coordinate prints such as a…
Sewing Tip 58
On long-pile furs, cut the seam allowances off. Loosen the top tension and sew with a 4.0 mm width and 2.5 mm length zigzag, letting the stitch fall on and off the fabric. Once sewn, pull the pieces slightly and…
Sewing Tip 57
Don’t let that tracing wheel destroy your pattern tissue. Cover the pattern tissue with a clear plastic bag before marking. The plastic will prevent perforation of the pattern tissue pieces.
Store your tracing wheel and tracing paper in the plastic bag…
Sewing Tip 56
To preserve the integrity of a pants or skirt style, make length adjustments both above and below the knee, not at the bottom. Smooth out the jogs in the cutting line.
Sewing Tip 55
Some patterns are dogs: the pieces don’t fit together, the results don’t remotely resemble the pattern picture, and the garment isn’t flattering. Experienced sewers tell me that one out of two things they make are dogs.
If you routinely pretest new…
Sewing Tip 54
To maintain the integrity of a style, shorten or lengthen the pattern before you cut it out of fabric. This eliminates chopping off extra length from the hemline, which compromises the style.
Look to your own wardrobe for flattering lengths for…
Sewing Tip 52
Sewing exact 5/8 inch seam allowances is mandatory on the shoulders of the bodice and the facings.
If this is not done, the collar and neckline simply do not fit right.
Happy Sewing!
Sewing Tip 51
Using sharp scissors saves time because I’m not struggling to cut through my fabric.
If you don’t own a good, sharp pair of scissors, you probably get very frustrated every time that you cut patterns from fashion fabric.
You should treat yourself…
Sewing Tip 50
Some sergers have “cover hem” capability. This is a great hem for knits because it is so flexible.
Use it in place of double-needle topstitching. A cover stitch hem eliminates the need for a fusible web and twin needle stitching.
Want to learn how…
Sewing Tip 49
Sew your seams with a tiny zigzag stitch rather than a straight stitch if your fabric is a knit or another material that you think will relax after it’s sewn (like wool jersey or rayon crepe).
This will put a slight…
