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?

After my Season Opener Pants post, I received several comments and lots of emails on pants. I posed a question on my Facebook page and asked you all what is the scariest/dreaded awful part about making pants for yourself was and several of you answered. So, I thought I would put my knowledge here in a post, that is due to be added to every now and then as I become aware of more and more awesome stuff about pants. Part of the pant conundrum with sewers/sewists (whichever you prefer) is knowing. Dontcha think? I mean, I remember when I made my very first pair of pants. This was after I had made a jacket, a well-fitting pencil skirt, dresses, even blouses. I was fresh out of college at the time and I made a pair of Vogue wide leg trousers right out of the envelope. They were awful! Yet, I still wore them because it was the principle of the thing, you know. Then it was time to get educated on how to fit pants and what’s more, how to construct them. So here is an encyclopedic post on where to find the best info on pants. Here we go!

Nothing strikes more fear into us than fitting a pair of pants! Am I right or am I right? Here’s some resources for you.

● Pants for Real People – I love this book! If nothing else, it teaches you about the relationship between each of your three tubes (torso and legs) and teaches you how they interact. I’ve also heard really great things about their DVD’s too.
● Here’s another book to look at too. I don’t actually own this book, but I’ve heard amazing things about it – Easy Guide to Sewing Pants. Apparently its chucked full of great fitting information and goes through the process of how to only fit one pair of pants but make several different design changes for a whole wardrobe of different pants from one pattern.
● I hosted a Trouser Sewalong a few years back and here is the link to all the posts (several fitting posts included) for it. If you’re new to pants, check it out. Lots of great info there.
● Colette Patterns also hosted a sewalong for their Clover pants. You can find all of those posts here – many are insightful fitting posts too.
● Kenneth King offers a CD Book on how to draft (and fit) your own trousers. Though I myself haven’t yet purchased it, I’m a huge fan of anything Mr. King does – his Threads articles are simply marvelous. Check it out! Additionally, there was a recent article – that applies to many of us – on this particular pattern alteration, how to fix a baggy seat.
● Sandra Betzina has a Craftsy class on how to fit pants. Tell me, what could be better than being able to see someone, who knows a bundle about sewing and fitting, actually teach you how to fit pants? Nothing.

Sometimes even though we’ve tried every trick in the book, we still can’t seem to get the fit we want. Here’s another idea for you.

● Try a rub-off of a favorite pair of pants. A rub-off is the process of creating a sewing pattern from an existing garment. Rubbing off a pattern from a favorite RTW garment is not terribly hard to do (in fact pretty easy!) and its something that I think should be utilized more. Patternmaking for a Perfect Fit is a great and affordable book on the subject. This book doesn’t actually walk you through the process of rubbing off a pair of pants, but she shows just about everything else. You’ll get the idea and learn how to to do more types of garments than what is shown in the book. Also, Kenneth King’s Craftsy course Jean-ius! is another way of doing this – he’ll walk you through all the ins and outs on an actual pair of pants.

A lot of people dread the fly front. Many have questions on how to line a pair of pants and how to make welt pockets. Here’s some construction resources, especially for pants, just for you.

● My absolute favorite fly front zipper tutorial (Debbie you are a genius!) – please note that I interface my entire fly front area. I firmly, firmly believe that all zipper openings should be stabilized – my own personal opinion – and fly fronts are no different. Here’s a link to another video tutorial by Sandra Betzina – she stabilizes her fly fronts too. Both tutorials are EXCELLENT and make the task of putting in a fly zip actually kind of fun.
● I think Connie Long’s book on Easy Guide to Sewing Linings is the best kept secret in the sewing universe. (By the way, the link here is to the very affordable e-book – buy it right up!) In this book, she takes you through every type of lining situation including how to line a pair of pants with a fly front – it is awesome, it is marvelous, miraculous and stupendous. If you like lined garments, this book is a MUST have!
●Welt pockets are not hard. Just time consuming and they take a good amount of prep work. These two tutorials from Fashion Incubator are excellent – single welt pockets & double welt pockets! I also found this tutorial for single welt pockets pretty great too – especially if you’re concerned about how to stitch the pocket bag.
● Sandra Betzina (this woman knows her pants, eh?) also has a Craftsy course on pants construction. So in addition to the fitting series, there is the construction series.

Starting with a good sewing pattern is really almost half the battle, right? Personally, I feel now, that you should go for a pants pattern that has all the elements you want. From there you can change design elements on the pants to make different styles. Here’s a few of my recommendations.

● I’ve had pretty good luck with Burda patterns. Their pants block (the block from which all the patterns are drafted) is excellent for my shape. This may not be true for everyone else. My recent BurdaStyle 7447′s (here & here) are great examples.
● Sewaholic’s Thurlow Trouser is another one to try. I’ve not actually tried them myself yet – will soon though – but I’ve had a couple of students use this pattern in my Pant Fitting class. Its impeccably drafted and I’m fan of some of the different elements that Tasia has included. Also, you don’t have to be pear shaped to use this pattern – I’m not and I’ve used several of her patterns all with success.
● Simplicity’s Amazing Fit patterns are actually pretty amazing. I’ve had a few students bring these to my pants fitting class and I’m actually quite impressed with how well these have fit a variety of shapes right out of the envelope. They usually include the fit for 3 different body shape types and if you look at their dresses and tops, they include different bust sizes – AWESOME! Be aware that you do need to read the instructions for these patterns – they have a different way of measuring for the bust and they include 1 inch seam allowances in certain strategic places.
● Connie Crawford has a line of Butterick patterns for plus sizes. I’ve used them in a few different Pant Fitting classes and they seem to work quite well.
● If you’re up to it, you can draft your own. I’m a big fan of Building Patterns, which is a great book on how to draft all manner of women’s clothing. Fairly affordable too, especially as compared to many other drafting books.

Well friends, I do hope this gives you some idea as to where to look for ideas and help on pants. For those of you who are already pant masters, what are some of your resources/recommendations? Care to share?

I distinctly recall my first purchase of a Burda World of Fashion magazine (which by the way, is now BurdaStyle magazine). I remember falling absolutely, insanely in love with a dress (that I have yet to make) on the front cover of the magazine and purchasing it up real quick like. I got the magazine home and started flipping through the endless pages of photos of all the patterns in the mag and thinking, “Gosh, this is amazing! All these patterns in one magazine.” I remember when I found this really big sheet of paper at the end of the magazine that had lots and lots of lines all over it and then it hit me like an anvil that those were the actual pattern pieces. There they were all nested like a hot mess on top of each other, and there I was completely horrified at the thought of having to trace one off. This before I even knew that they didn’t have seam allowances to boot. This is not to say that I don’t actually appreciate these types of patterns, I do – especially as they have become more popular in sewing books that come with patterns – its just that I wasn’t educated on how to properly trace a pattern. I had never traced off a pattern before and the idea really perplexed me. For starters, where in the world would I find paper that was big enough? And what would I do then? Just take a pencil and start outlining my size? And what if there were something like 12 – 15 pattern pieces? And then I have to add a seam allowance too? It felt really overwhelming and I think, to someone who has only ever worked with Big 4 patterns (Simplicity, McCall’s, Butterick & Vogue) and just cut your size from the tissue, you might think the same thing.

Today I wanted to show you two ways to trace off a sewing pattern. Both methods work for tracing off patterns that come nested on one big sheet of paper and those that come in an envelope too. If you are asking why you would want to trace off an envelope pattern, rather than just cutting out your size, I would say that choice is up to you.  If you feel that its a pattern you’ll keep in your stash forever and want to wear again when you’re 40 but at the moment, you’re 25, trace it because its almost guaranteed that you’re body will change as you age putting you in a different size bracket. If not, don’t trace it and just cut your pattern size from the tissue. Ok? Ok.

Method #1
I’ve tried many methods for tracing off a pattern, so as one who is always looking for the latest and greatest in pattern tracing technology (ha ha!) I’ll show you my two favorites. First, let’s start with the less expensive. To trace in this manner you’ll need three elements:

• Paper – I prefer medical exam paper! Very Very easy to see through, write on and tape up
• Pencil
• Ruler – those 2″ x 18″ gridded rulers are the bomb!

Layout your pattern with the piece you want to trace facing up. Lay the medical exam paper or paper of your choice on top of the pattern and then lay down a few heavy objects (like cans of food or pattern weights) or pin the trace off paper to the pattern so the papers don’t slip and slide around. From there, start the tracing game. Trace off your size, with the aid of the ruler (seriously, this is a TON easier with a ruler), label your pattern piece and if needed, add the seam allowance. Adding that seam allowance is made only about 1000 times easier with one of those 2″ x 18″ gridded rulers. In addition, you’ll use that sucker for so many other things, its not even funny. Get one. You know you need it. By the way, I have 3 because I loose these puppies all the time and having more than one makes it a bunch easier to find at least one….

Method #2 – Sunni’s favorite method of all time!
This is the best, easiest, coolest method on the face of the planet, for tracing off a pattern! If you’re in it to win it, and save yourself a butt-load of precious time (because who has that in abundance these days), you need the following:

• Paper – again, my favorite is medical exam paper, but for this method any paper will really do ya.
• Waxed Tracing Paper – this stuff is fabulous, amazing, the best thing since sliced bread and anything else you can possibly imagine.
• Double Tracing Wheel – this is a FREAKING GODSEND when it comes to those Burda magazine patterns that need a seam allowance because this little doodad will trace off and add the seam allowance in one. fell. swoop. You can also use a regular old tracing wheel too, so no pressure or anything.

You’re going to make a little trace off sandwich here. First, lay out the tracing paper with the waxy side up – by the way, the blue and red are the best for this sort of thing. Then lay your paper of choice on top of that. Add your pattern on top of that and slap down a few pattern weights and you’re good to trace. Take your tracing wheel and start a tracing yo. That’s right, I said, YO! No pain. Less time consuming and well, less mental and emotional trauma. In addition, of you don’t have concerns about the fit, you can actually use this method directly on the final fabric. Or you can use this method directly on muslin too. Whatevs. To make the sandwich with fabric, I lay down the fabric first with the wrong sides out, then the tracing paper face down on the fabric, then the pattern.

A word about tools for this method. I sell all the tools here for doing both methods in my shop. You can find that stuff here. The wax tracing paper is huge and will last a long time – like years. The medical exam paper will last quite a long time too it being 75 yards and all. The double tracing wheel is so cool! Here’s some up close shots, just in case you were curious as to how this works. It works by repositioning the pegs that have the actual wheel on them. You can reposition them to any width from 1/4″ to 1 1/4″.  Or you can just use one peg and ditch the other one if your pattern has seam allowances already. Whatever.

If you’re newer to tracing off sewing patterns, I truly hope this little tutorial has helped give you a few options to think about. There’s always more than one way to skin a cat, and knowing that is half the battle. So there you go. My two favorite ways to skin a cat, I mean trace off a sewing pattern. In addition, because I feel SOOOOOOO passionately about this subject, I made my first ever video. I hope you like it. It will give you a quick and dirty action packed run down of what I’m talking about here.

Don’t use either of the methods above? How do you trace off a pattern?

Sewing is messy. Am I right, or am I right? As such, I continually look for ways to contain projects these days. Here’s one such idea that I’ve found very useful. I’ve been on a bit of a shoe buying binge lately. So shoot me! For some reason, I just needed shoes (like a hole in my head!). Especially shoes that were flat and less stiletto style and that could actually be worn on a daily basis. My whole Everyday Wardrobe thing, you know.

Anyway, shoe fetish aside, I procured two perfectly sized shoe boxes to hold sewing projects that I’m working on. By sewing project I mean the whole shebang: the actual project/cloth/pattern pieces, the sewing pattern and special tools I’m using for the project like special chalks, ribbons, buttons, tapes, etc. I’m constantly misplacing things like that and I can waste an inordinate amount of time looking for a said button. Freak!!! If I had a nickel for every time I lost something – in my small sewing room, no less – I’d be able to pay someone to organize stuff around here! Sheesh! It can be terribly annoying, but when you have it all contained, well there you go.

Like I stated, I have two boxes because some projects are bigger than others. I have a pretty regular sized shoe box, the one you see here and then I have a knee-length boot size shoe box that can hold bigger projects. The bigger shoe box was especially helpful with my man’s winter coat. I kept everything for that coat in that box and it was so easy to just open it up and find everything in there. Easy to clean up too. Like when I need to quickly get my table ready for some other thing I’m doing, all I have to do is throw everything back in the shoe box and then I have containment. It also can make projects portable. When I’m working on a project somewhere else, I can just take my shoe box with me – albeit people think I’m off my rocker a bit, but big deal.

Kind of seems a little silly, but seriously, this idea has saved me from loosing many odds and ends lately and I just had to share. Do you do anything like this? How do you keep all the bits and baubles for one project together?

By the way, the project you see in the shoe box here are some coral pants that I was working on. I know, coral pants. They turned out to be pretty awesome! I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy the finished project – I know I have.

Lauren, I totally stole your slogan here. The outpouring of “one project at a time” love really rocked my world last week. It’s true, I’ve been feeling….overwhelmed and oddly enough, after I had posted that last week and finally just let it out, I felt better. So much better. That’s kind of the way it goes right? Writer’s/sewer’s block and all.

I was really taken with what y’all had to say too and I thought it would be great to bring to life your comments by posting this follow up post. This might be especially useful if you too, have been suffering from some sewing burn out and/or you just don’t know where to start because you have so many projects you could start….This idea of crafty monogamy – working on only one project at a time as stated by Lauren – is a really good way to get the most productivity out of your sewing, I think.

First and foremost, “Sewing should be fun and not stressful!” Miss Crayola Creepy said this. Isn’t that the truth? Sewing can be such an enjoyable process. I admit, I love the scheming part the best, but I do so love all the in betweens too. I love the moment you take the first cut into your fashion fabric and the way the scissors glide through the cloth. I also love the finishing – hemming, handstitching, making buttonholes and the like. What’s more I adore wearing the finished item. Always makes me happy to put it on and see it all done and then go to my closet and pair it with garments I already have.

Katherine had an awesome idea and one that would be really enjoyable to employ. Creating little bags of projects that have the fabric, pattern and all the notions and supplies collected and all put together so that you’re ready to sew it all up. This idea feeds my organizational side too and would probably be very handy when planning out a wardrobe for a new season. Carolyn also had a wonderful tidbit of advice to go along with this and that was to keep a notebook handy for scheming projects. Write down your thoughts for future fabric use, color scheme and possibly pattern numbers or ideas for patterns you’ve made and want to alter. It’s handy to sketch out your plan and staple fabric swatches next to your sketch. This gives you freedom from dwelling on and being consumed by future projects – something I have a problem with. Instead you can just write down your idea and then keep going with your current project. Brilliant!

“Working on 5 projects at a time does not get them done faster, instead it usually means that nothing gets done.” Amen lisa g. I’m embracing this one project at a time notion and I’m really loving it. I’ve got my man’s winter coat on a roll! Lisa also had the brilliant idea of creating a project task list – seriously this is like genius! Its so nice to organize your time in the sewing room with a task list and it can show you how long this specific project will take. I think it makes the project look and feel not quite so daunting if you’ve got a really big complicated project on your hands.

Several of you chimed in by saying that its really helpful to restrict yourself and make yourself work on one project at a time by not allowing yourself to buy anything new or start anything new until one thing is finished. Buying something new is something I need to work on bit by bit, but in the meantime, I definitely want to incorporate the don’t start anything new until one thing is finished part. In addition to this though, a few of you stated that with really long projects, its great to break it up with an easy peasy project, like a t-shirt. I’ve actually been thinking about this and have fabric and thread for another cowl necked Renfrew whilst I’m working away on my man’s winter coat. I’m looking forward to just breaking the pace a bit with something different that’s not really time consuming and is really gratifying and easy to bang out. A really really great idea!

On UFO piles – This is definitely an area I need to work on, but I have to admit to myself that I can’t just work on that pile alone. Some of those garments are for a different season than the one I’m in now and so I think for me, when it comes to organizing this section of my sewing room, it will be in order of season first and then by something that theperfectnose said which is to organize your UFO pile by the amount of work a project needs to get finished and putting those with the least amount of work at the top of the pile. Fabulous idea! Stef also said that she goes through her UFO pile and decides on their fate very quickly. How likely is it that you will finish that blouse that’s been languishing at the bottom of the pile for years? Maybe you should either come to terms with getting rid of it or cut it up and use it for something else. I totally need to do that.

Last but not least, organization can spawn creativity, movement and the desire to finish what you’ve started and you all even told me so! One of the most important elements here is keeping a clean workspace whether that’s by cleaning up your mess before you’re done for the day or by cleaning it up before you get started, the idea is to just clean it all up so that you can focus your attention on the project you’re working on at the moment. Organize your sewing room and put things in their proper place where you’ll know you’ll find them again. Its no fun searching for that one little tool you need for over an hour because your place is such a mess and nothing can be found! Ask me how I know!

Oh goodness readers! Thank you so much for your wonderful ideas, comments, suggestions and the time you took to post about my previous post. It was wonderful and I feel so much better! I feel great! Gosh, y’all know how to make a girl feel like a million. Here’s to more organized, efficient but creative sewing. Here’s to one project at a time!

Cheers!
Sunni

I have a certain fascination with clothing labels and I’m not talking about the size labels either. When I get out (which isn’t much lately) and go shopping, my heart skips a beat when I see the inside of a garment with sweet little finishing details and a sweet little clothing label. I go a little nutty for details like that. I’m also a true believer that the inside of a garment should look as good as the outside. It’s something that really excites me. I know its not everyone’s bag, but I truly find value in a well finished garment. Clothing labels add a little frosting to the inside of the garment. A little bling if you will. I’ve tried many versions over the years including store bought labels, customized labels with my brand name on them and handmade labels. The sad thing that’s really put a stop to purchasing customized labels with my logo or name on them (besides price) is that they’re itchy! I hate that! Every time I’ve put one in a garment, I take it right back out because it itches.

A few months ago, I had the hair-brained idea that I could make fun little labels with petersham ribbon. I love petersham almost as much as I love clothing labels and I admit that much of my love comes from the amazing color output it has. Truly, if you haven’t laid your hands on some yet, you need to because the color of rayon petersham ribbon is truly amazing (I’ve noticed the cotton variety is a bit duller and stiffer than rayon).

At first I was just going to sew-in a little bit of petersham ribbon as the clothing label, but then I took a double take at my sewing machine and remembered that I have about a trillion stitches on it that never get used. How many of you have that? I’m surprised that I can’t just put a piece of fabric into my sewing machine and have a garment pop out the other end! And I have a lower end machine that has embroidery stitches – Bernina Activa 230 anyone? I ADORE my machine, but were I to do it all over again, I would probably purchase a machine that is just more functional and has less stitches. I don’t know. Then again, I’m very attached to her – and yes, my machine has a gender.

So there you have it – a billion different types of machine stitches and petersham ribbon and Voila! Instant little clothing labels. I use the 1/2″ petersham ribbon (from the shop!), but I’m sure you could easily utilize other widths. I stitch a long piece of petersham at a time and then cut them down to size and sew them into garments with each raw edge folded inward. What’s more, these little guys are not itchy at all. In fact, I don’t even notice that they’re there when I’m wearing the garment, and that’s serious props in my book. And they add the perfect amount of eccentricity and whimsicality to the inner workings of my barely finished garment.

Do you love clothing labels as much as me? Aren’t these cute? Ever tried doing something like this before? You need to. I think you’ll love them just as much as I do!

Enjoy!
Sunni

PS ~ I know I said I would post about my broad upper back alteration today, but I need just a little more time for photo taking and such. I promise to get that post up first thing next week.

Rayon seam binding has been in the shop for a little while now (and I just updated some new colors too!) and since I’ve had several questions about what it is exactly and what it can do I thought I would show you my favorite use for it and link to some other uses for it too. It can be a fairly versatile notion and one that you’ll find really handy for adding finishing touches to garments. You can usually find seam binding at your local fabric store, but I will say, it’s sadly one of those items that has now been taken over by the polyester revolution. The polyester stuff is pretty crummy – really really stiff and a little too thick. The rayon type that I sell in the shop is really quite nice. Its nice and thin but has quite a bit of strength and it’s got body too. Plus it comes in some really lovely colors – I’m planning to add even more colors soon enough.

OK, so what is rayon seam binding? It’s a densely woven, lightweight, thin ribbon. You can bind seams with it, use it as a hem tape, as an embellishment and I’ve even used it as a light version for a waistline stay – in this dress actually.

I use it mostly to hem garments. I love it as a hem tape! It’s so nice and lightweight and doesn’t leave any unsightly bulkiness. Here’s how I apply it.

Stitch the seam binding to the edge of your hemline. I usually line up the garment’s hemline in the middle of the seam binding and stitch close along one edge of the seam binding.

Press the freshly stitched seam binding flat and then press your hem into place. Here I used a really small hem allowance as I’m working with a half circle skirt, but you can always use a larger hem allowance depending on your preference.

Handstitch or topstitch your hem in place along the unstitched edge of the seam binding. Give your hem a good press when your finished and Voila! You’re done! Easy peasy.

I applied it to both of my recent pencil skirt makes – here’s my little plaid number. See? It provides such a nice finished touch. It’s fun to use contrasting colors too! Go a little crazy! I think it makes the inside of the garment just as pretty as the outside and for me, that says a lot.

Here’s a couple links to some other great tutorials on how to use seam binding:
Lauren shows a quick Bound Seams tutorial.
Laura Mae has several little renditions of this too. Check it out!

What do you use seam binding for?

xoxo,
Sunni

In addition to having a great time teaching and meeting insanely amazing women + huge GIANTS in the sewing world (I shook hands with Judy Neukam, Threads Editor, and Susan Khalje AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!) I was rooming with Gertie! We shared a room last year in Florida and it was soooooo much fun to be roomies with her once again. I bought her book at the expo and she signed it for me and as I was reading through it and flipping through the fabulous pattern photos at the back, I found a little something on her resource page! She included A Fashionable Stitch shop in the resources section and on page 148! Thank you Gretchen – I’m thoroughly honored (blush, blush)! From what I’ve read of the book so far, I’m truly inspired! I’m loving all of the blouse patterns (total thinking Everyday Wardrobe gone vintage and a little upscale) and I might just have to break down and make the bomshell wiggle dress!

It goes without saying that I also spent wayyyyyyy too much money there. But truly, friends and cohorts in sewing crime, if you knew what I found, you could hardly blame me. I have to make you just a little bit green with envy, so here goes. I bought some really beautiful wools from Wool House which is a company based out of Toronto, Canada. I loved the selection and I couldn’t help but flash winning smiles at Bob Moosa, the charmer who was working the booth. What makes fabric shopping more fun than just the fabric? It’s the people selling you the fabric, folks. If sales people aren’t supposed to be charming, who is? Bob is all about the charm. He knows his wools and his selection is really vast. You simply must call and get swatches – if only to talk to him! He’ll make you feel like a million and you’ll get some wonderful fabrics too!

The Material Girls had this really cute dobby-like cotton that I simply could not resist. A japanese print, it’s just the ticket with these snaps I purchased from the Snap Source people. You guys every heard of the Snap Setter? I had heard about it before and was very interested in seeing a demonstration for it in person. For me, it did not disappoint. If you’ve ever tried to apply a snap to a blouse before – and I have – using the crummy Dritz plier tool is for the birds. Love snaps? Get this tool! So easy to use, so genius and they make every color and type of snap you could ever want plus they have varying sizes of snaps – a real bonus, in my opinion. Who doesn’t want to make a button up shirt with snaps? This is totally Everyday Wardrobe approved! I’m planning to possibly carry this tool with selection of snaps in the future in the shop, so look for those in the nearish future.

Last stop, Mendel Goldberg Fabrics, based out of New York. If you only knew how long I’ve been looking for a Chanel style boucle, you would have stopped dead in your tracks, like I did, when I saw what this booth had to offer. You guys, this IS Chanel boucle, not just Chanel style. Yeah. I’ve wanted one of those Chanel jackets for forevah! I’m not going to lie and say this wasn’t expensive, because it was, but I’m sooooooo in love with this fabric. As if it wasn’t enough that I actually found my long lost boucle soul mate, Gertie and I went halvsies on this silk and cotton brocade. Sooooooo amazingly gorgeous! Mendel Goldberg also has a swatch service and because these types of fabrics are truly kind of a rare find, if you too, have had visions of a Chanel jacket lined in quilted silk charmeuse with a chain weighted hem whilst sleeping, you absolutely must call and get some swatches. The ladies running the booth were fabulous!

Shop Alert!
And because I didn’t want to write an extra post about this, I thought I would just tack it onto the end of this one. Just soos ya know, I’ve just barely finished photographing and adding……………..LAMBSWOOL to the shop! For those of you doing Gertie’s Coat Sewalong or the Anise Sewalong, you might be interested in picking up some of this for added warmth. When this stuff finally came, I almost pinched myself because I couldn’t actually believe that I was able to source it. I’m selling it in cream for now and I’ll be getting it in black very soon too.

Eat your eyes out,
Sunni

Since many of you were curious about the process, I decided to give you my inside info on how I did it. As this was my second time giving my sofa the slip – pun intended of course – I had a much better idea of what I needed to do and how to do it. So if you too are interested in giving a piece of furniture a slipcover, here’s a few ideas/suggestions for you.

Ideas for the Rub Off/Pattern
To start with, there’s actually a great pattern put out by McCall’s (3278) that walks you through the process of how to plan and sew a slipcover. I pulled the pattern out of my stash – which really its not a pattern per se, but more of a guide for how to make your own slipcover – and started perusing it and planning my slipcover back in May. McCall’s 3278 walks you through measuring your sofa or chair so that you have an idea of how much fabric to purchase, in addition it gives instructions on how to make welting for the slipcover and how to rub off the pattern utilizing muslin from your original sofa. If you want to sew a slipcover, get this pattern – you’ll definitely get your money’s worth.

For box cushions and throw pillow ideas, definitely read this Thread’s article. It would have been impossible to get great looking corners on my sofa cushions were it not for this article and I would never have come up with the idea of putting a buttonhole in the throw pillows – to make them washable – on my own. Also, this blog had a very helpful suggestion when it came to sewing a slipcover – as you go along, pin test the slipcover to the sofa by pinning the seam allowances together and draping it over the sofa to get a really nice and form fitting fit.

Sewing Notions for DIY Upholstery

There’s actually some great notions out there, at your local fabric store (amazing right?) that are easy to find and great to use for upholstery. I found all of the notions that I used in the making of my slipcover at Joann. It was really crazy that I didn’t have to go anywhere else to find any of it either. Hmmmm….. Anyway, let’s talk about them. First there’s upholstery thread which is a really fat heavy duty thread and it only comes in a few colors. I used this in the top thread of my machine only and it works really well in conjunction with your regular bobbin thread. I used the Coats and Clark brand, but Gutterman also has some and you can find it online here.

Heavy duty zippers. These are found only in the home dec isle too. I used a metal zipper in the slipcover portion of my couch – at the center back – and for the cushions I used this heavy duty zipper that comes in a 3 yard roll with something like 12 zipper pulls on it. You just cut off the amount of zipper you need and bar tack it at the bottom and top and there you go. These things have big sturdy zipper pulls and coils and their not going to just fall apart at the drop of a hat.

Drapery weights come in really handy if you need to add some weight to the hem of the skirt section of the slipcover. Just tack them into the corners of the slipcover and they’ll make your slipcover hang nice and straight.

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Upholstery needles are the only way to go if you plan to do any buttons on your throw pillows. Super long and they can hold about a million threads too.

Steam-a-Seam. I love this stuff. I think its the best stuff since sliced bread. I use it all the time and I really put it to work in my slipcover. Use it instead of hand basting – it’s the bees knees!

Welting cord can be found along with the other items above and it’s usually sold by the yard. There’s a few different sizes too.

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Fabric Ideas & Resources
I most definitely recommend scoping out your local fabric scene to see if there are any shops that specialize in upholstery fabric. Personally, I wish I had done this a bit more. I saw the fabric I chose online and went with it because I knew what the weight and quality of those Amy Butler cotton sateens would be like. It was only after I had purchased the fabric online that I started scoping out my local fabric scene. Surprisingly, here in SLC, Utah, there’s several shops around that have an amazing collection of home dec fabrics. Crazy. I’m still happy with what I chose, but I might have picked something different had I visited these shops first. Awww well. I found my fabric at fabric.com and I was very happy with the service – I also like the idea that I could reorder more of the fabric if I needed and I did because originally I only started out with 10 yards and had to order 5 more later.

For my sofa slipcover this time around, I decided to go with a print instead of a solid. Having grown up with printy couches my whole life, I didn’t realize why my mom had picked printy couches until I had a solid colored one. With my red sofa slipcover – the one I had previous to my now gorgeous new one! – there ended up being all sorts of stains and what nots all over it. I don’t even have kids friends. The solid red didn’t hide anything. So I decided on a print this time around and let me tell you it hides alot! For anyone first attempting a slipcover, I highly recommend using a print as even sewing mistakes and mishaps are not nearly as visible as they are on a solid.

I interfaced a few sections of the slipcover with some high quality muslin namely the seats on the cushions (the part you sit on), the back of the slipcover (the part you would have your back against were you to sit down on the sofa and also the skirt.

Well…. I think that just about wraps it up. Believe me, I’m not a professional home-dec-er. I never do stuff like this, just on occasion. Weird though that I did quite a bit of homework on this particular make. It’s only fair that I share it with you – especially if you too are a dressmaker turned home-dec-er every now and again. Let me know if you gals and guys have any questions and I’ll try to answer them! Hopefully this is a helpful post if you want to try your hand at DIY slipcovers. Enjoy!

xoxo,
Sunni