I learned tailoring in early 1990s, and although this was close-fitting pattern construction (by M. Müller & Sohn, a.k.a. Rundschau after their journal), my teachers repeatedly said that it was no where nearly as detailed or close-fitting as, say, back in 1950s. The lines became straighter, the fit roomier, but most of all – the female figures became more…… Continue reading 487 vintage patterns – where do I begin?
Snap… snap-snap-snap! There go your stitches if you’ve sewn your jersey top with a regular straight stitch on your sewing machine. 😦 Surely, there must be a better way! Yes, there are in fact several. In this post I’m investigating which stitches stretch with the jersey and which don’t, using regular sewing thread, not lycra…… Continue reading Stitches that stretch with your jersey
One yard is not enough to make a long sleeved top that comfortably tucks into low rise trousers. But I was not going to give her the satisfaction of saying “I told you so!”. It was early Autumn of 2001 and I was on holiday in San Francisco. And as you do on holidays, I…… Continue reading One yard is not enough!
Why do we need so many different plug types for sewing machine motors and their pedals? Why not to have one standard for all so that any pedal would fit any machine? Because that would be useful, and it would not force you to have half a dozen pedals and yards of spaghettified cables under…… Continue reading Free hand monogramming with zig-zag
It’s the latest thing in textiles – the nanotex, or fabrics made of extremely fine fibres, finer than microfibre, hence the “nano” bit. The fabrics themselves can have a substantial body to them, the theory being that using multi-stranded extra fine fibres is closer to nature since this is what fine wool and silk are…… Continue reading Sewing nanotex jersey, or the vibrating shuttle supremacy
I know you are all dying to see what that jersey and chiffon dress looks like. So here you go!
This is a brilliant project to give your sewing machine some exercise making a striking quited square with any type of material, not just prime cotton poplin. This is my problem with paper piecing: patchwork was invented as a way to use up fabric scraps, left-overs from other projects and decently preserved bits from discarded…… Continue reading Flip ‘n Stitch spiral quilt square
