Fix a Shirt Cuff

This delicate fabric began to fray where the sleeve met the cuff.  It's a very simple fix which doesn't require much time...

The fabric was fraying and tore away from the cuff seam.

Cut enough of the stitching around the cuff area to be repaired.

Open the cuff pieces and place the material inside enough to wear it won't fray again.  (Approximately 1/4")

Add the top layer of the cuff in place and pin it. Make sure that the transition is gradual and there aren't any unflattering gathers.

Topstitch in place where the previous stitching was. Make sure that you catch both layers (front and back) of the cuff.

Easy Flared Skirt

Here is a quick and satisfying project to complete on a serger.   Choosing the material for the skirt is likely the most difficult aspect of this project.  There are so many types of stretch material (and they are not all desirable for this project).  For this skirt, look for fabric that is not too heavy, drapes well, and is resilient.  By resilient, I mean you can pull the material and it recovers to it's original form when released.  You will want a highly elastic material because we aren't using any closures for the skirt.  We are relying on the material to stretch over the hips and recover it's elasticity enough to hold the skirt in place around your abdomen.  The amount of fabric you will need will depend on the length of the skirt you want, the width of the fabric, and the amount of flare added.(My skirt pattern required 1 & 1/4 yards.)
To begin, you'll need to take the measurement around the area where the skirt will sit and the length of the finished skirt.
(EX: The skirt I am making will sit at the lower abdomen (34"), and the length will be to the knee (16")). 
With these two measurements the pattern will be made.  The circumference measurement will be divided by four (EX: 34/4 = 8.25").  Draw a rectangle with the quarter of the circumference measurement by the length (8.25 X 16). After your rectangle is drawn, divide the width measurement again into four parts (EX: 8.25/4= 2-ish).  Use this measurement to draw lines as a guide to cut to (not through) the top edge.
Here is where you get to decide how much flare you want in your skirt.  The pattern here will open 180 degrees total, or a half circle. It's important to remember you are working with 1/4th the measurement, so only add 1/4 the degree of flare you are wanting.  If you have a mat that has the angles marked, you can use it as a guide. Here, the mat I am using has the 45 degree angle marked. So I lined up the center front with the straight edge and flared the remaining "legs" until they lined up with the line of the angle for 45 degrees. Tape the pieces down when you get the angle you want and each leg is evenly spaced.  Next, lay your pattern paper over this and trace around it.  Be sure to draw a vertical line and mark it Center Front.  You could use the pattern as a half piece which you would need to cut on the fold, but I prefer to have the whole pattern piece so that I can line it up better.  After tracing the new pattern, I fold it along the center front line and trace the other half.  This way, I don't have to line up the pattern on the fold. I will cut two pieces of fabric from this pattern.
For the seam allowance, (assuming you are using a serger) I added 1/4 inch around the top and both sides.  What you will add to the hem will vary depending on the method you will use to hem the fabric.  I added a 3/4" hem. The next pattern piece will be the waistband.  This will be the structure of the skirt since it will hold it in place.  Although it's just a simple rectangle which will be folded, this waistband requires more thinking.  You will need to remove inches from the circumference measurement to make sure that the fit is snug and stable.  However, how much to remover depends on the elasticity of the fabric.  I removed 4" from my measurement, but I also added an elastic strip to secure the fabric (because it didn't seem to rebound as well as I'd like). The less the fabric stretches, the less you should remove; the more the fabric stretches, the more you should remove.
The height of the waistband I used is 8".  The waistband is worn folded over.  You can definitely make the waistband taller if you plan to scrunch it up.  (My sister-in-law prefers a 16" waistband which she folds over and gathers). 
Once your measurement is decided upon, divide the circumference in half, and use this as the measurement for the width (which will be cut on the fold).  My finished waistband pattern was 15" X 8".  Add 1/4" seam allowance around the rectangle, except the center front. 
Now you are ready to cut out the pattern pieces (One waistband on the fold, and two skirt portions, if you traced out the other half of the pattern). After all three pieces are cut you will:

1. Sew the front and back sides of the skirt together.
2. Sew the waistband at the center back.
3. *if* you decide to add elastic to hold the stretch better, sandwich it between the waistband raw edges as you fold it horizontally and pin it in place.
4. Line up the raw edges of the waistband with the top edge of the skirt and serge (catching elastic if you are using it).
5. Fold up the hem and sew. 

 

Amazing Sewing Room

I recently visited a sewing room which was truly amazing.  All the tables, cabinets, and closet door are custom made by this woman's husband.  It was like a puzzle in there because every table had at least a few secrets to figure out whether it be adding a leaf, folding out, etc. 

In this picture, you can see the closet which is also a thread organizer.  It folds open so you can reach the fabric.  On the left is one of her tables for cutting.  The front panel can fold down out of her way when she's not using it.  If she needs extra room for cutting, there are an extra two leafs that can be added.  You can see under the table, there are little compartments or shelves which can also be used to store all of her rulers and cutting tools and mat.

Here is basically the same view, but with the closet door closed.  I didn't get a picture of all the cabinets above. She has an amazing amount of storage space.










Here are her sewing desks.  The sewing machines are hidden away in the desks and can pop up with a simple push. There is one on the right under the cabinets.  There is a light under the cabinet to illuminate her work space (it's off at the moment).  The one she likes the most though, is the one with the drop down lighting.  This table is ideal for sewing quilts or large projects, because the front flap of that table folds up to keep the fabric from sliding off. 

The drawers of the desks are all custom made to fit things like her bobbins or marking tools, etc. just perfectly. 

Also, on the wall to the left (not pictured) is a huge felt board.  It's designed to lay out your color pattern for quilts or clothing so you can stand back and get a better idea of the fit.  It covers a good space of the wall. 

Walking into this room really inspires you to sew. 

Halloween costumes

I just recently came across some of the Halloween costumes that I made for last year.  For some reason, I appreciate them more after a year than I did when I first finished.

On the left is the Samurai Power Ranger. On the right is the Roman Soldier.

This is Harley Quinn from the Batman movie.  There were six individual pieces she had to put on for this costume.

Copy a Shirt

If you have a shirt that you love the way it fits, and you wish you had more than one....you can.  Here is how I duplicated one of my old shirts from high school. 

 

First, decide which pattern pieces you will need to make.  My shirt only requires three pieces (front, back and sleeve). I didn't have to make a facing for the neckline because it is bound with a bias strip. If there are any facings, those will need to be traced as well.

 

 

Iron the shirt, and try creasing the seams so they will hold better while you are tracing. 

After the shirt is ironed, pin it onto a cardboard cutting mat.  Make sure that you don't stretch the fabric, just pull it taut.





Gradually, roll the pattern paper over shirt (remove pins and re-pin through the pattern paper and fabric.  If your fabric is stiff enough, you probably don't need to pin it down.)  This picture is the sleeve.  The sleeve is special because you can only work one side at a time.  Iron the sleeve seam down and work with half at a time. Draw a line to split the paper in half. This will be the center sleeve line.  Line up the line you just drew with the fold of the sleeve (not the seam) and trace one half.  Then flip the sleeve around, line up the center line again for the opposite half, and trace.

As you make the pattern pieces, be sure to mark any details such as a slit (where it starts), buttons, etc.  Label all pieces as you finish, i.e. center back, front sleeve, back neck facing, etc.  Also, mark where the shoulder seam hits the sleeve and similar details.

Once all the pieces have been traced, take any pattern piece which is symmetrical (front and back shirt in my case) and fold it in the center the best you can.  It won't line up perfect. There will be a little variance between the left and right.  Using a different colored pen for this, mark the line between (averaging) the two lines.  You will only need to do this for one side. After you have the new line, cut the pattern on the folded line and work with the half piece.



You can barely see the line of the armhole under the sleeve pattern.

The next step is to make sure everything lines up.  The front shoulder seam is the same size as the back shoulder seam, the front side seam is the same length as the back, etc.  When you arrive to the sleeve, walk the sleeve around the front armhole, and mark where the shoulder seam hits. Then walk the back half of the sleeve with the back armhole and mark where the back shoulder seam hits.  Ideally, the sleeve should be a little larger than the armhole measurement and this would be the ease. But if your sleeve is smaller than your armhole, you will have to make adjustments either to the sleeve or the armhole.

Measuring hem.

Once all pieces have been lined up, start measuring seam allowances used by the manufacture.  Also measure the hem.  Add these to your pattern.



Finished pattern pieces.



 

Jean's hem

The jeans purchased at the store have that distinctive worn hem finished, so a lot of people are hesitant to hem jeans with just the regular technique of folding up the allowance.

Before you start, just make sure that you are removing enough to add an extra 5/8'' allowance to the original hem.

Here is a way to hem jeans without losing the original look.

After you mark the new length you want, cut right on that line. (*Make sure to keep each respective piece cut off with the right leg. Also, measure that the width of the hem is the same as the new hem line, or you'll have to take in the difference from the old hem.)

Simply measure an additional 5/8'' from where the original turn up is, and that will be the seam allowance to be sewn to the new length. Make sure to match up the inner and outer seam lines.

Sew all the way around with matching thread to the jean color.

Serge the edge of the allowance, and iron it upward. Use a hammer to flatten the inner and outer seams. Then top stitch the seam in place 1/8'' above the horizontal seam line.

The end result.

Fair

I didn't get time to make the blog I was planning to do yesterday, because I have been working on some outfits to show at a small business fair with one of my friends. Here is a peek at some of the things that I have been working on the past week.