SewLSC

Silk Georgette Gown  Silk is wonderful to wear but it can be tricky to sew. These are my favorite tricks when sewing with silk (based on experience with silk chiffon, silk charmeuse, silk dupioni, wool/silk blends and silk jersey): (1) Be sure to have a very sharp rotary cutter and/or scissors. When I sew with silk I always sharpen and/or change blades. Silk slips. A lot. So sharp tools make precision cutting easier. (2) Use a presser foot designed for a straight stitch. (3) If that is not adequate, use a presser foot designed for slippery fabric. I use a plastic roller foot. I've tried my walking foot but I find the walking foot cumbersome when working with slippery fabrics. (4) Start with a fresh needle. Sharps needles work best. (5) Use a fine needle. I typically use Schmetz universal size 70/10 (6) If the fabric is really fussy when cutting, you can tame the silk by laying a piece of tissue paper over it. (7) Press with LOTS of steam. Finger pressing with a stea...

Linen Jumpsuit I love linen. It is soft and comfortable. But linen wrinkles. Badly. There are ways to prep the fabric prior to sewing so linen will wrinkle a bit less. A tip I learned from Sandra Betzina was to iron linen fabric with a very hot, dry iron BEFORE washing the fabric. After ironing, put the machine wash the linen in very hot water. Tumble in the dryer on the highest heat setting until the linen is completely dry. The linen will shrink during this prep ... but the shrinkage will create small, soft folds in the fabric rather than the typical stiff creases that give linen that badly wrinkled look. After sewing the fabric, machine or hand wash in cold water. Hang dry on a wide hanger immediately after the wash cycle stops. Or tumble dry on very low heat taking care to remove the fabric from the dryer as soon as the machine stops.  The results: less wrinkled linen. Magic. Happy Sewing!

  Everything that is old is new again.   This project was designed for the Pattern Review Modernize Vintage contest but was not completed on time. It was also part of the January 2025 Pop-up Sew-along: Nothing But Stash and a part of my year long commitment to the 2025 Fabric Fast and 2025 50 Yard Dash . I used Vogue 2288, a 1979 pattern that was part of the Vogue American Designer series by John Anthony to make my dress. Although the pattern featured both a coat and dress, I made only the dress. The dress pattern was described as follows: Loose-fitting, straight dress, four inches below mid-knee length has bias turtleneck, shoulder pads, back zipper, pockets in side seams, side hemline slits and narrow hem. Full length sleeves narrow at wrist. Topstitching. The completed dress did like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once I was done sewing,  except I "modernized" it. Sorry John Anthony.   The instructions were easy to follow. I really like...

L Looking for a stylish way to repurpose leftover fabric?  Wondering how to make a dress that can have multiple looks depending on the weather? A dickie is a perfect solution! It adds a polished look to your outfit while making use of fabric scraps. You can quickly turn a scoop neck dress into a dress with a toasty warm collar. Here’s how to make a wool Dickie from leftover fabric in just a few steps: Materials Needed: Scrap fabric Tape measure Pins Sewing machine or needle & thread Optional: Hook and eye closure Instructions: Measure & Cut Drape a tape measure around your neck in the shape you want your dickie to fall. Cut a square with sides equal to this measurement. (For a more fitted look, use a slightly smaller square.) Finish the Edges To prevent fraying, finish the edges with a rolled hem using a serger or a narrow hem on a standard sewing machine. Shape the Dickie Fold the square in half diagonally to form a triangle. Wrap & Pin Wrap the triangle around your ne...

  This project is my second entry for the Pattern Review bag contest. I have never sewn with leather before. I had some small pieces of leather gifted to me years ago that I never used. I thought this would be a good time to learn how to sew a leather bag and use up stash. This is the 5th bag I made with this pattern. This month. The first three were muslins made from upholstery fabric gifted to me from my grandmother, may she rest in peace, when she was reducing her stash. The fourth was a mystery fabric that may be "pleather" or vegan leather. This final project accomplishes my goal of sewing a leather bag, although I have no idea what type of leather. This was a small hide. Photos: 1. Front of Bag 2. Back of Bag 3. Sewing details: added interior and exterior pockets, darts for shaping 4. From hide to bag 5. Comparing new and old bags Pattern Description: Simplicity Bags in Four Styles by Elaine Heigl Designs 9803 Slouchy lined bags have indie style. ...

This project is my entry for the bag contest. It is the 4th time I've now sewn this bag. This month. The project is also part of the January 2025 Pop-up Sew-along: Nothing but Stash and a part of my yearlong commitment to the 2025 Fabric fast and 2025 50 Yard Dash . I've never made a handbag before, and I wanted to use this contest to learn how to do so and to duplicate a bag style I love.   Reversible Ergonomic Bag Worn as Healthy Back Bag I made three wearable muslins for this project: • V1: S9803 Sling Bag made with Upholstery Scraps  with Matching Makeup Bag and Matching Coin Purse • V2: S9803 Sling Bag w/ snap front pocket also made with Upholstery Scraps • V3: S9803 Reversible Sling Bag w/ zipper front pocket made with Blue & Printed Denim Scrap The project was made to replace a favorite bag that I used for years until it finally fell apart. The lining was torn and soiled. The hardware of the bag was broken. My cobbler told me to get a new bag. You can...

So, you want to make your own jewelry to go with your handmade garments?   You've come to the right spot. Years ago, I launched a 90-day project where I made a new piece of jewelry every day out of found objects. Folks often comment on how well my jewelry matches garments I've made. That's because I made the jewelry too. Brass Chain Belt Below is a list of 90 different jewelry tutorials I wrote for projects that are quick and simple to make using easy to find household objects. Many projects are based on key resources destined for your trash or recycling can.  The list of projects include: belts, bracelets, cuff links, earrings, necklaces, neck-rings, pendants, pins, and zipper pulls. The list of core found objects used include: bottle caps, bottles & jars, box, broken chain, duct tape, game pieces, gift card, glass, hair bands, hardware, old leather from garments, bags or scraps,  LEGO® , paper, leftover refrigerator piping, polymer c...

So, you want to make your own jewelry to go with your handmade garments?   You've come to the right spot. Years ago, I launched a 90-day project where I made a new piece of jewelry every day out of found objects. Folks often comment on how well my jewelry matches garments I've made. That's because I made the jewelry too. Button to Post Earrings Below is a list of 90 different jewelry tutorials I wrote for projects that are quick and simple to make using easy to find household objects. Many projects are based on key resources destined for your trash or recycling can.  The list of projects include: belts, bracelets, cuff links, earrings, necklaces, neck-rings, pendants, pins, and zipper pulls. The list of core found objects used include: bottle caps, bottles & jars, box, broken chain, duct tape, game pieces, gift card, glass, hair bands, hardware, old leather from garments, bags or scraps,  LEGO® , paper, leftover refrigerator piping, polymer clay your ki...

Sewing generates sharps as waste: needles, rotary cutters, broken scissors, dull or bent pins, dull or damaged serger blades. These can pose a danger when discarded. To reduce risk to myself, folks visiting my sewing space and sanitation workers I’m careful in handling sharps. Plastic screw top containers of all types are great for sharps of all sorts. I use large white plastic glucose tablet containers, but any container that is durable, puncture proof and secures tightly is a good choice. Secure Jar to Dispose of Sharps  I label the bottle sharps, store it high on a shelf out of reach from my young grandchildren and put in used needles and used rotary cutter blades. It can take years to fill. The mouth of the jar is just barely large enough to hold rotary blades, so it is very difficult for the blades to accidentally come out when disposing. Or if dropped. Not that I’ve ever done that. Since I buy blades in bulk, the used blades can’t go back into the container from which the bla...

 Are you looking for free containers to organize your sewing stuff? I find a lot of materials for organizing sewing supplies in my recycling can. Many are free, found versions of items found in the US Container Store or the IKEA marketplace. Examples: Storing Patterns The large plastic, rectangular plastic containers that leafy vegetables like spinach, arugula and kale are the perfect size for holding paper patterns. I label with paper taped to the side so I can readily see what type of patterns are in each box. They are designed for grocery store shelves, so they site very nicely and easily side by side on a shelf. The small, flat plastic rectangular boxes that hold salad tomatoes are a great size for threads and matching wound bobbins. These are designed to be nicely stacked in the store. They are see through and stack well on my shelf. I label them with paper taped to the side of the box, so I readily know what type of thread it is: all purpose, cotton, silk, e...