I am of the opinion that everyone should just go get a serger. Yup. I lived without one for way too long and I was completely in the dark as to how much they cost and how much they really are worth to a garment sewer. Sergers just make life easier and believe me when I tell you, I am not kidding. Since I’m a Thread’s Insider (seriously, just go get a membership now!) I have access to all of Louise Cutting’s Industry Insider Technique videos – this is totally worth the membership by the way, Louise is a GENIUS! I love her! Anyway, I remember in one of the videos she says something to the effect of how great and easy it is to use a serger and how no sewer should really be without one because the days of finishing seam allowances without one are over. I agree 1,000,000%! I finish seam allowances with my serger nearly 100% of the time now (occasionally I’ll do a french seam on linings, but otherwise, I’m a serger girl).

So let’s talk about what I was never able to seem to find out before I just went out and bought my serger a few years back. You can get a decent serger for fairly inexpensive these days. Mine was a whopping $275. Yup. You can drop your jaw too if you’ve been thinking that sergers will cost you an arm and a leg and you have to give up your firstborn for one. You can and should be able to purchase a decent serger for something in the $300 – $500 range. My sewing machine was considerably more than that, so when I found out that sergers weren’t all that expensive I kept wondering why I had waited so long.

Then I went out and purchased the Babylock Lauren. It’s the entry level Babylock serger. Now, I’m not going to say that this is the serger for you, but I’m happy with it. It finishes my seam allowances like a champ. Sometimes we have small issues going over bulky areas, but for the most part its fine. Its actually one of the easier ones to thread and I say that having threaded many sergers for students and threaded the ones at Yellow Bird Fabrics a few times. It has a pretty good narrow hem on it that I use from time to time to finish a lining hem. It’s got four threads, differential feed and you know, that’s pretty much it. With sergers you can get crazy and spend money on a really really nice one (like the Babylocks that thread themselves….sigh….) but the end game is pretty much the same – it finishes your seam allowances so that you can spend your time perfecting other sewing techniques. And when it comes to seam allowances, a serger really really does save you time. The daunting task of finishing seam allowances all of a sudden is not daunting anymore. It reduces time spent doing that to like 1/4 of the time you would spend finishing those silly seam allowances. In fact, I remember the times before I had a serger and I would wander around in a fog just thinking about how long it was going to take me to finish the seam allowances on any garment. Now I don’t even think about it. I just do it and its done.

So, when I first purchased my serger, immediately after I had done the deed and paid the money, I was reading a certain blog (which I’ll not name, but held in very high regard at the time) that went into great detail about how even though they had sergers on their premises that they were “rarely used” because they were totally into finishing their seams the old fashioned way. And it wasn’t just one blog post, it was like several blog posts where they kept mentioning that and their sort of “higher ground” for not being in the serger crowd. So then I had instant buyer’s remorse for being one of those that invested in a serger and every time I went to serge a seam I would feel instant guilt because I wasn’t doing it the “higher ground” way.

Friends, this is BOGUS! Look, I totally understand if you don’t have the money to invest in a serger right now – I empathize. Just know that there are entry level model sergers that do the job just fine, so maybe you won’t have to save up quite as much money as you were thinking. Otherwise, serging just makes life easier. Thank you – I’m a “lower ground” sewer and I’m proud to admit it!

What are your thoughts on sergers? Been saving up thinking that sergers are going to cost you thousands of dollars? Are you a “lower ground” sewer?

In addition to all the craziness that’s been going on around here, I decided to purchase a coverstitch machine. I’ve had my eye on procuring one for quite some time and I was finally able to treat myself to one and goodness gracious, let me tell you – I’m a convert. If you are unaware, this machine’s main function is for hemming knitwear. It does that whole double needle thing with what looks like a serged edge on the other side. It does more than just hemming, but yes, this is the sole purpose for why I really wanted one.

I had my eye on the Brother coverstitch machine – I was totally swayed by Elizabeth’s love for her coverstitch – and the Janome Coverpro. After reading Andrea’s take on the Janome, I opted to go for this little machine. The free arm and “Wow, it actually looks like a sewing machine, look at all that room on the right hand side of the machine” thing is what finally sealed the deal. I purchased the lower end newer version of the one Andrea has (the 900CPX rather than the 1000CP) and I’m totally thrilled with it. Mine is only capable of a double needle function (the Janome 1000CP and CPX have a triple needle function, but after much thought I didn’t really think this was something I would use) and I’m not able to move the needle for narrower or wider needle widths. I’m totally fine with this.

I decided not to go into a full-on review of this machine since I think Andrea did a first rate job of that here and if you were ever interested in purchasing a coverstitch machine, you should definitely hop on over to her blog and have a gander at what she has to say. Like Andrea, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money for one of the higher end models, but I still feel like I got a great deal for the money I did spend.

Additionally, I would like to state that I think coverstitch machines are a good investment only if you a) work with knits quite a bit and b) are completely dissatisfied with the hemming methods that your sewing machine can do. The more and more that I’ve come to work with knits, the more and more dissatisfied I was becoming with the hemming methods that work around not having a coverstitch, ie: twin needle hemming (mine always tunnels something awful and I always end up breaking the bobbin thread when I put the garment on, uggh!), blind hem stitching (one that I’ve become more attached to, but was still somewhat dissatisfied with) and finally self fabric or rib knit bands (my favorite of the three, but this method doesn’t translate to every style very well). I think its also worth stating that this machine doesn’t just magically work and not everything you do turns out perfectly. Like any other machine, it takes some getting used to and you’ll still have to invest in a few extra pieces for it to be able to do certain things better. Also, there are sergers out there that have a coverstitch function. I thought about going this route too, but ultimately, I LOATHE entirely changing settings and feet and needle plates and blah blah blah on my serger as it is and would rather smother myself with a pillow just have a separate coverstitch machine – though I know that not everyone feels this way so just do your homework if you ever plan to invest in one (PS ~ from what I’ve read, coverstitch machines are MUCH easier to thread than sergers, my own coverstitch being a complete cinch to thread).

Thoughts on coverstitch machines? Thoughts on hemming methods for knitwear?

I find that meeting people who share your passion wonderful. Meeting someone who shares your passion, has sewn practically everything, lives by you and is supportive of you is pretty much a needle in a haystack. But I’m here to say that it happens. I have a friend and mentor that is an insanely amazing woman. Leena has been around the sewing block. Lately when I’ve sewn something, I show her or I plan projects and get her input. I like getting her input because she gives me ideas for how to do this or that differently or maybe try this sewing technique or gives me her thoughts on color choice and style.

Leena is one of those types of people that would literally give you the shirt off her back if you needed it or probably if you didn’t need it too. She’s given me a TON of fabric from her amazing stash and then one day, she invited me over to pick out yarns because she wanted to weave me some fabric too. I know, I know! This is crazy, but yeah, these photos are of some fabric that she wove for me. Like on a loom with her bare hands and all. I really have no concept of how to weave fabric except to say that its pretty much magical and this is pretty much one of the nicest, most thoughtful gifts anyone has ever given me. Amazing, right?

I feel pretty spoiled and am quickly brainstorming a jacket to make out of it. Chanel style, cardigan jacket I think. What do you think? Do you have a sewing mentor in your life?

I know I’ve promised a lot of stuff lately and I’m still planning to deliver, but as I juggle several balls at the moment, I’ve been simply aching to tackle the Robson Trench. Tasia does it again! I swear this girl is building a wardrobe of patterns for the Everyday Wardrobe. Everyday wearable, chic, classic, feminine patterns. And since its been unusually cold here in Utah lately, but yet not cold enough to warrant a full on winter coat, you could say that I’m in dire need of a coat like this.

So the Robson is on my sewing table at the moment. I went to the 40% off sale at Designer’s Resource (another local fabric store that specializes in home dec) and scored a pretty fabulous charcoal grey super fine wool. Its a suiting weight and seriously, the perfect color for a trench. Am I right? Woot, woot! I’ve got buttons coming and I’ve decided to line my version (I plan to show a tutorial on this) and I’ll show you my progress as I work on this coat. I expect it will be a fairly quick sew because I’ve sewn several jackets lately – so many jackets! I think I could make a jacket in my sleep at this point! Ha!

What’s on your sewing table this weekend? Any plans for a Robson in your future?

Here’s a small fabric sample that I’m creating a hem on. I’ve turned the raw edge up 1/2″ and from there I’m going to turn it up a full inch meaning that my hem allowance in this case was 1 1/2″.

Apply the fusible web with the webby side down on the fabric. For some webs you’ll steam or iron it in place and for some, like the Wonder Tape, you just stick it on there and push it down. For my sample here, I’ve turned the 1″ portion of my hem allowance back and I’m applying it to the inside of what will become my hem.

Once you have the web in the place you want it, lift up the paper. For the Wonder Tape, this might be a bit tricky but just separate it carefully at the top and away you can go.

Now stick the remaining adhesive side to something else. In this case, I’m just turning up the hem that 1 inch and sticking it to the other side. Keep in mind though that this can be helpful for zippers, trims and other such things. You’ll press with steam in the place with your iron and then from there permanently stitch in place. Remember the fusible web is just a temporary baster. It keeps things from shifting about and makes sewing certain things together easier. The final step is permanently stitching whatever you’ve temporarily basted. Also, you can purchase my favorite fusible webs here in my shop!

So, what are some other applications that you might use this stuff in? I’ve just shown a hemline here and zippers which you can see in my Craftsy class. Some other places to consider is matching plaids and patterns on fabric. Instead of hand basting these sections, try the fusible web instead. One of my favorite places to use this is in the collar stand area on a classic button up shirt – in fact I’ll show this one in an upcoming tutorial. Easy peasy! Another favorite application: Whenever I have to stitch in the ditch, like in the case of a skirt or pant waistband, I put this stuff down on the inside/facing first and then go about stitching in the ditch. Prevents rippling, pulling, puckers and distortion. So much easier! I also used it in the neckline binding of my wrap dress version from the 2-in-1 sewalong.

Ready to give fusible web a try? If you use it, what are some things that you use it in?

Last year I purchased a Thread’s Insider pass (totally worth it by the way) and I found that there were all these videos on Industry Secrets by Louise Cutting. I’ve become a HUGE fan of Louise (she’s a genius!) and would love to one day attend one of her workshops because I think she just has so many great secrets and she goes about making things easy and fast instead of always trying to convert you to the long way of doing something. In one of the video sessions she talked about fusible web and how its one of those tools that she never lives without. Then I used it and I was converted! Seriously, this stuff has sooooooo many uses and I can’t even believe that for so long I discounted its existence. So let’s talk about what it is and a few myths that surround this product, shall we? Oh yes, we shall.

Fusible web is a temporary baster. This means that you can use it to temporarily baste anything in place. This can take the place of basting something by hand and I say “can” because there are times that you might want to baste by hand (but I pretty much don’t anymore, ha!). I use this product to temporarily baste the centered, slot seam zipper in place in my Craftsy class. Can I just say that for years I never used this zipper application because I felt that it was the hardest zipper application to get looking good. I dare you to take this zipper application out of your bag of tricks and try to get those topstitching lines perfectly even on each side of the zipper without the use of the fusible web. Wait, let me up that ante – do it without having to rip it out at least once or 5 times. Yeah. It’s really, stupidly hard. Really really. Then I was asked to do the Craftsy class and then they were like “we’ll need to do that centered slot seam zipper, ya know” and I was like “of course.” Inside I was quaking in my boots. Then I remembered the fusible web and the problem was solved! Temporarily baste that sucker in place and ha! The hardest zipper application is now the easiest and I’ve been using it all over the place lately. Plus you don’t have to hand baste it in place and end up getting threads caught in your topstitching that won’t come out or getting screwed up because your basting lines aren’t straight but yet your topstitching lines are supposed to be. Yup, I’m not a fan of hand basting this sucker in, if you couldn’t tell.

Anyway, there have been a few questions that have arisen from my use of this product on the Craftsy platform. So let’s chat about some of those too.

Myth: Fusible web will gum up your needle.
Fact: No, it won’t. Take my word for it because I actually use it! Ha! And I use it all the time. 100% NO GUMMING!

Myth: Fusible web can leave permanent web and gum on your fabric.
Fact: It doesn’t leave gum on your fabric and its not permanent really in any way. It’s temporary. You can even peel it off your fabric if you need to move something somewhere else – like a zipper. I’ve even used it on silk. Plus, unless you’re using this product the way that you’re not supposed to, you won’t be able to see where you’ve applied it anyway. Whenever and wherever you use fusible web, just know that its temporary and you need to permanently stitch it in place later on down the road. Plus, to add better to best, you can use the Wash Away Wonder Tape that’s in the shop and yeah, it actually washes away after the first use. I know, you can totally thank me later (snark!).

With that friends, I’ve since tried new brands of this fusible web and have put two of my absolute favorites in the shop: the Clover fusible web and Wonder Tape by Collins. The Clover brand works just like Steam-a-Seam, but I like it better because the tape that you pull away is just well easier to pull away. The Wonder Tape is just as awesome and doesn’t need steam or heat to set and it washes away, like I just said upstairs there. Slap it on your project, peel off the tape and temporarily baste whatever in place. Voila!

Tomorrow I’ll be back to show you some of my favorite applications of this product and hopefully you’ll be converted too! Thoughts on fusible web anyone? Are you a convert yet?

So anyway, today I have a treat for you. There’s a free class at Craftsy with your name on it. That’s right, your name. on. it. I taught the class and can I just state for the record, there is something completely unnerving about watching yourself on tv, or the internet as the case maybe. It’s surreal. It’s weird. It’s uncanny. I can’t get over it. Whatever. We shot the classes in November and Craftsy did their crafty thing and put it all together for you in a wonderful little package and its on……. Zipper Insertions! Hip Hip Hooray! The official name of the class is Mastering Zipper Techniques and I go through, step by step, how to insert a slot seam, invisible and lapped zipper all by machine. Plus there’s a class on how to handle the slot seam and invisible zipper with a lined/faced garment. I think there’s something in there for everyone. Even if you’re an intermediate sewer, its always fun to see how someone else does something, right? I think you’ll all enjoy yourselves and hopefully pick up a tip or two along the way. I had a ball doing it all!

And if nothing else, now you can experience what I sound like. And then you can ask yourself, “Wow, does she really sound like that?” To which I would say, “That’s funny. I asked myself the exact same thing.” And I did. Like I said, it’s different watching yourself on tv. Oh, how do movie stars do it? So hop on over to Craftsy and Zipper out! Don’t forget, this class is FREE! That’s right, I said FREE FREE FREE! Knock yourselves out! Yay!

Can I geek out for just a minute more too with y’all? I don’t know if I’ve ever stated this, but my absolute, hands down, favorite movie of all time is Bridget Jones’s Diary. I’m totally silly like that. So, on my plane trip to Denver to shoot this class guess what exploded in my bag – why my BLUE chalk pen of course. It wasn’t the white one or the pink one, no it was the blue one. And there was blue on nearly all of my sewing supplies that I brought for the taping. Yup. Blue. Blue soup. My god, is that blue soup/chalk pen? Why yes, yes it is. Thank you. Very. Much.

“Do I really sound like that?”
Sunni

Y’all seemed pretty keen on the idea of watching the progress of two tailored jackets – one traditionally hand tailored and the other fusibly tailored. I thought I would start this series with my thoughts on tailoring. Tailoring is a very ambiguous term these days and it seems to refer to a lot more than the art of making jackets. So let’s take down a few definitions shall we?

From the Wikipedia we get this:

“A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men’s clothing. Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men’s and women’s suits, coats, trousers, and similar garments, usually of wool, linen, or silk. The term refers to a set of specific hand and machine sewing and pressing techniques that are unique to the construction of traditional jackets. Retailers of tailored suits often take their services internationally, traveling to various cities, allowing the client to be measured locally. Traditional tailoring is called bespoke tailoring in the United Kingdom, where the heart of the trade is London’s Savile Row tailoring, and custom tailoring in the United States and Hong Kong. This is unlike made to measure which uses pre-existing patterns. A bespoke garment or suit is completely original and unique to each customer.”

This is very much in line with how I view tailoring. Especially the part about “a set of specific hand and machine sewing and pressing techniques that are unique to the construction of traditional jackets.” I think its important to set this distinction as I see the term tailoring thrown around a lot with regards to fit. Now this may be true of some garments – garments that are tailored to your lifestyle or tailored to your specific figure, but I’m referring to the construction techniques of a jacket. More importantly, I’m referring to the specific techniques used to shape certain areas of a jacket like the lapel, collar, shoulder, hem, sleeve cap, etc.

From what I know about tailoring, there are 3 methods: hand, machine and fusible. Many times, I intermix all three methods into one jacket. There are certain things that I just really love about hand tailoring, but other things I don’t. There are great advantages to machine and fusible tailoring too and like hand tailoring there are some things that I don’t think work as well as others but these are personal preferences and I believe will vary with your experience. Also, I truly believe that the fabric that is picked for a jacket project, will give you more direction on what tailoring method you use. For example, pad stitching on my Obsession Jacket – a cotton sateen – would have been disastrous! I am not an expert tailor and perfecting pad stitching on a smooth faced fabric is not high on my to master list. So going with a fusible method made a lot more sense to me.

In this series, I’ll be showing two of the three methods, hand and fusible. You can definitely mix and match elements from each jacket to use in one jacket of your own, but I’ll try to stick to the ideas for each with each separate jacket.

All that said, what is it specifically that scares you about tailoring a jacket? If you’ve never tried one, what is the most intimidating part about making a jacket? Any tips or tricks from you more experienced sewers?

You are most welcome to disagree, agree or other, but please keep your comments respectful of myself and others. Comments will be deleted that contain hostile or rude innuendo.

I was teaching a class on fit just last night and I had an awesome bunch of ladies who were just great. We had a lot of fun. There was a moment in the class when I made the claim that there is no such thing as perfect fit. One of the ladies in the class disagreed with me stating that, “there is such a thing as perfect fit, but for many of us it is unattainable.” Now, I don’t mean to put anyone up on the chopping block and I certainly think that everyone has a right to their own view, but as someone who has fit and overfit myself many times and has fit many others of various body shapes and sizes, I absolutely can not agree. I do not believe in perfect fit – even if it did exist, at what cost does it come?

This is not to say that there is no such thing as bad fit – there is. Especially when it comes at the cost of our comfort, which I believe should be the first call to order. If something is not comfortable, in the way that it should be comfortable (note: strapless gowns will never feel like pajamas so let’s not go there) then something needs to be done to the fit to make it feel better. For myself this includes a broad upper back adjustment so that I can put my arms in front of me without pain in the sleeve. Does that make sense?

This is also not to say that there isn’t such a thing as good or great fit – there is and its worth your time to get a book or two on how to fit your body. I’ve seen plenty of garments that have absolutely wonderful fit and I don’t usually notice flaws in the fit unless I’m looking for them. And even then, usually if there is a flaw in the fit I only notice because someone points it out ie: the person who stitched it. After looking at yourself in the mirror a bazillion times and trying on the garment at several stages and all that jazz who wouldn’t notice every single wrinkle and fitting imperfection?

Aspiring to perfect fit is absolutely crazy – and it will make you crazy too. Ask me how I know – seriously because I could give you volumes as to why this is soooooo maddening! Aspire to fit your garments well, not perfectly. Let things slide that really don’t add to the overall fitting quality of the garment or especially if its not that big of a deal and you can’t for the life of you figure out how to fix it. Here’s a quote from one of my favorite authors that really puts the cap on perfectionism, in any form, for me:

“Once a close friend gave me a priceless gift. She convinced me that my sanity is much more important than the subtle nuances that I adore. The subtle nuances are the essence of perfection. The subtle nuances trigger the “Ah” response. But a life spent seeking the subtle nuances leaves little time to enjoy the big picture.”
—Sarah Ban Breathnach

Instead of seeking the subtle nuance of perfect fit, just make yourself some great clothes and stop haggling with your sanity over the price of tea in China, I mean a wrinkle here or there.

What do you think? Is perfect fit attainable? Do you drive yourself bonkers with trying to achieve perfect fit? Jump in – this conversation is all about your opinion! Maybe you don’t agree with me – you have the right! I want to hear why.

Alright, so in my last small post about this jacket, I alluded to the fact that this project was on a deadline. I was contacted by organiccottonplus.com a little over a month ago and asked if I wanted free fabric in return for a fair and honest review of their product (and they wanted a review within a month, hence the deadline). Count me in, hello! Who doesn’t want free fabric? After looking at their offerings, I decided on probably the most boring piece imaginable. A simple navy blue cotton sateen. It wasn’t for lack of their offerings, but I had my heart set on either another pair of pants or a jacket and since the jacket won out in my head, I went with navy blue, though admittedly the pink and green were seriously calling my name. But as someone who doesn’t have very many jackets, I thought I should go conservative and easy to wear and pair since I tend to make fabric purchases based on the eye candy quality instead of actual reality quality. Yup, I’ve got a mountain of fabric with frosting written all over it.

So I asked for enough fabric (and a little extra just in case) for this jacket and set to work getting the pattern ready for when the fabric arrived. Admittedly when the fabric did arrive (very quick shipping by the way) I found that this cotton sateen was a little on the thin side – at least that’s what I thought at the time. I forged on. I wanted this jacket specifically for spring and early summer and after I started getting the jacket put together, I found that the fabric did just fine and really is the perfect weight for my spring time fancy. The key thing to keep in mind I think, with jackets and coats is the layering factor. You sometimes have several layers in different areas, not to mention interfacing, shoulder pads, sleeve heads and lining. So when all was said and done, this is seriously, the perfect jacket for spring and early summer. Not too lightweight and not too heavyweight.

The fabric itself is quite soft, something I’ve actually noticed about organic fabrics in general. It takes shaping quite well – though I didn’t go to the trouble of hand tailoring this jacket, just fusibles which I think fares better anyway on fabric with a smooth face and makes for better collar popping and I’m nothing if not a notable collar popper. It also fuses wonderfully to fusible interfacing (I used this from Fashion Sewing Supply) which is a problem I’ve been encountering with a lot of fusible interfacing lately, even the good stuff. This fabric is also made with sustainability in mind. This friends, is becoming increasingly more important to me these days. Have to say, I give this fabric my full endorsement! Seriously good stuff here. Additionally, I want to point out that they have not only cotton sateen (is it weird to anyone else how hard this is becoming to find?) but cotton twills and 100% cotton batiste – this is the gold mine right here. Batiste!!!! It’s hard enough to find the cotton/poly crap these days, but actual 100% cotton batiste is like, next to impossible to get your hands on. Ask me how I know! They’ve also got some pretty great cotton prints and knits – KNITS! Wait, there’s more. Check out these laces – pretty right? And these fabrics are quite reasonably priced for being organic too. Just sayin, this is kind of a little goldmine of an online fabric shop for cottons. Go ahead, treat yourself to a little organic goodness today.

Let’s see, what else. Let me give you a few more details on the jacket now. I lined the body in rayon bemberg and then lined the sleeve in a contrasting silk charmeuse – y’all know this is a favorite trick of mine. Adds a touch of luxury and its seriously luxurious to have silk charmeuse rubbing my arms. Feels like I finally hit nirvana or something – Oh! warm chill just thinking about it!

Picked out the buttons myself – I’m a terrible button picker and its something I always dread. I’ve made really bad button choices before, but these, these are just right for me. I’m pretty happy with the fit overall and the rub-off worked pretty well. I need to do little work on the sleeve – I think its off grain for one and I need to add just a touch of ease to the sleeve cap because its pulling a little strangely at the underarm.

A bit off the beaten path but I’m teaching private lessons to a lady who wants to make a tailored jacket and so I told her it might be fun if we did two jackets, one traditionally hand tailored and the other fusibly tailored. I’ll be making my own jackets with her and I thought you all might find it interesting to watch the progress and see how it works. You guys up for some tailoring posts? Like from the very beginning? Like the whys and wheres and whats and seeing how the two methods differ side by side? There are many great tailoring posts from other bloggers out there, but it might be fun to see these two methods side by side and why you might pick one over the other for a particular project.

By the way, I finished this jacket last week and have been wearing it like everyday since. Its sooooooooooo weird to me how easy it is to just throw this thing on and look great. A+ for jackets. Many more are going to be popping up around here. Just sayin.

Peace out friends – jacket envy, anyone?