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Month: August 2010

The Perfect Turned Hem

Yes, I said perfect. I’ve made a lot of turned hems over the years. The official Right Way To Do It(tm) involves ironing. While that’s a great habit in sewing, it takes time and it’s a little risky when you have two cats in the room. I forget where I stumbled upon this technique, but it works like a charm even for those of us who suffer from advanced iron-itis.

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Pulling a Thread

Sometimes, fabrics don’t play nice.  Like, you have a wonderfully soft, light weight, breathable, utterly perfect fabric you want to use for a chemise, or you found the perfect silk chiffon for a veil, and it’s all wonderful-roses-happy-puppies-GLORIOUS… Until you try to cut it, and shifts all over the blasted place and you can’t get a straight line. Oh, bother… Time to pull a thread.  I find this the most tediously annoying process in the entire history of ever*, but there are times when it is the only way you’re going to cut a straight line.

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Stay Stitching

“Stay Stitch inside the seam allowance” is a fairly common instruction in patterns.  Generally, stay stitching is used to make certain that the fabric of a garment will not stretch out during the sewing process.  It’s also a dandy cheater hem, which will fray (but only so far – it’s a controlled fray).  Sometimes, that’s exactly the look you want.

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Printer Friendly Version of the Basic Conic Draft

I realize that instructions are far more helpful when you can print them out and put them on the worktable while you’re using them.  I also realize that pages upon pages of full color photos do not a happy printer make.  I’ve made a not-so-chatty (yes, I actually can edit) PDF version of the Basic Conical Draft directions, redone with black&white line art.

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