This post was first published in November 2017. With all the crazy happenings of 2020 and 2021 within our community I thought it good to take a look at this topic again. Being perfect. What does that mean? When you strive for “perfect” you nearly always fall short of it. As one of my mentors Read More...
Tag: Basics
How to Grade Seam Allowances
Do you make the grade? It’s super important to get into the habit of grading your seams, and I highly recommend it! The process of grading your seam allowances (aka trimming to various widths) is fairly easy to understand. However, this sewing technique can be time consuming. But don’t let that stop you! Making the Read More...
Fabric Piecing
So you only bought seven yards. You need eight. Of course. Because you didn’t check the yardage listing before you went shopping or the store only had the seven. But you’re determined to make the dress anyway…. When you’re a bit short on fabric, the [historically accurate] method of Making It Work is to piece the Read More...
Tips for Working with Fabric Grainlines
We all want our garments to look marvelous. A lot of how they turn out is based on how we cut out the pieces. Their layout needs to work as a team with the weave of the fabric. Cutting patterns on the straight of grain is crucial for the garment to hang correctly on Read More...
Finishing Your Victorian Skirts with a Hidden Placket Opening
Ever make a skirt where you sew up all the side seams – easy, right? – then you have to figure out what to do with the opening? (Hopefully you left an opening in one of the side seams. 🙂 ) It’s not always as simple as folding the raw edges to the inside and Read More...
Waist Tape Wrangling, or the Unseen Bodice Support
The inside of antique bodices. If you sew historical costumes you know THAT is what you want when you research. How did they do it? Where and how is the boning put in? What is that underlining fabric? Any chance we get we study existing bodices from our favorite era. If we want to produce Read More...
Tips for Easier Seam Ripping
If you sew you rip. Period. No “Oh, I won’t make any mistakes” or “If I sew a seam wrong I simply cut out a new piece.” Yeah… that’s a bit ridiculous. Everyone knows you use a handy-dandy seam ripper (or tiny scissors) to pull out each little stitch. But do you know the easier Read More...