Techniques & Tutorials Vintage Sewing | Laura After Midnight I hope these varied Tutorials, Hints, Tips & Articles have been in some way helpful, as I have a number of these planned any feedback is gratefully received! pattern primer the vintage This post has been prompted by the many emails I’ve received on the topic of sewing with vintage patterns. Where do I start? How do I use a vintage pattern? Vintage patterns can come off as intimidating to not only those new to sewing, but seasoned dressmakers as well. A warning: this post started innocently with a handful of tips and quickly ballooned into a novel. Trace all your pattern pieces. Have a good sewing reference book handy. Pay attention to the pattern markings. FIT! If a pattern is something that is comprised of many pieces, cut on the bias, looks tricky, or just gives me the heebie jeebies about fit, I make a mock up or “muslin” of at least the bodice first (I can usually fudge my way through the skirt in a dress). A subcategory of fit that should be mentioned: often you fall head over heels for a pattern that isn’t quite your size, and presents you with the conundrum about making it up. Instructions should be at least studied. Basting is your friend. Start simple.
Fit and Sizing Vintage Pattern The most wonderful sewing projects can start with a vintage sewing pattern. You can follow the pattern exactly or get creative and interpret yesterday's styles so it coordinates with today's fashions. As an experienced seamstress, I would like to share some of my tips with you so that your first adventure in vintage sewing is a successful one. Understanding the sizing and fit of vintage sewing patterns is very important for anyone new to sewing with vintage patterns. Never purchase a vintage pattern by the size number - especially the size you buy off the rack (retail). Pattern companies have not catered to our retail fantasies. A lot of what we talk about when we discuss fit is EASE. Garment ease is the minimum amount of excess room needed to breathe and move comfortably while wearing that garment. Fit and ease become problematic for the first time vintage pattern user because of the differences in how we wear clothes from how our mothers and grandmothers wore their clothes.
Dress Patterns Vintage Sewing and from Decades of Style Out of Print,Retro,Vogue Simplicity McCall's Sewing Patterns,Vintage,,Over 7000 - Home Skinny Ties One of Ralph’s requests for his birthday was skinny ties. They are surprisingly hard to find — either too long or too expensive for a 13-year-old’s wardrobe. So a few weeks ago, I had an idea: I would buy some old fat ties at a thrift shop and take them to a tailor to have them altered. Brilliant, right? But then, of course, I forgot about the idea till 3 days before his birthday. But since I had the ties in hand, and since they only cost $1 each, I figured I’d try it myself. Here is the before shot. Here is the after shot: DIRECTIONS: 1) Turn your too-wide thrift store tie upside down. Keep un-stitching till you get to the skinniest part of the tie: 2) Pull the tie form fabric out of the lining (there is probably a real name for this, but I don’t know what it is). 3) Trim one side of the tie-form fabric. 4) If you traced it, then cut out the second side. 5) Your tie-form material should now look like a skinny tie. 9) Now it’s time to iron the second side. And that’s it! Into these:
How to Make Necktie Valentines February 7th, 2014 Email 51 users recommend Two neckties and 10 minutes are all you need to make this cute heart, which makes a perfect V-Day pin. Diane Gilleland Necktie hearts are also perfect embellishments for handmade cards. These little hearts are practically begging to be appliquéd, too. Photo: Diane Gilleland Sometimes, you need a way to say "Happy Valentine's Day" in a tailored way, and thrift-store neckties provide a great solution. What you'll need: Two coordinating necktiesScissorsRulerFusible web (see below)Hand-sewing needle and coordinating threadIronGlue (optional)Pin back (optional)Blank card (optional) A note on fusible web: If you're not familiar with this wonder material, it's essentially a kind of glue-mesh that you place between layers of fabric. Begin by trimming the neckties. Then, trim that second tie so it's short enough to tuck behind the first tie, as shown. Turn under 1/2 inch at the cut end of the longer tie. Now to fuse these two pieces together.
Sewing 101 - Guide for beginners, like me... - The D.I.Y. Dreamer Since I’m new to the whole sewing world, I put together a Sewing 101 – Guide for beginners, like me. I included everything I believe is essential to start sewing from a sewing dictionary, threading a machine, tools, fabric and easy sewing patterns. Sit back and enjoy all these great sewing tips and tutorials. Before we can actually start sewing, I believe it’s important to know all the necessary sewing terms. Amber from Crazy Little Projects created an AMAZING Sewing Dictionary with Pictures which is part of the Learn to Sew series. If you are interested in the Learn to Sew series, it begins on January 7th. Now that we have a useful dictionary to refer to, we should probably get to know our sewing machines. We now know our sewing machines better, now it’s time to thread them. Our sewing machines are threaded, now we need some tools to create some beautiful projects. One of the tools that I’m nervous about using is the Rotary Cutter. It’s sewing time!! Want more patterns? P.S. Hi there!
Artfully Caroline: Stashbusting - Jeans upcycled into fun purse In this project, all my favorite things: denim, a cute purse, upcycling, awesome fabrics and even beads! It's no secret, I love making purses and I looove a challenge. A couple of months ago, one of my friends sent me a few ripped jeans done in by her children after I ran out of old jeans. The first transformation was the twirl skirt for Bug. This is the second pair, which had been cropped just below the knee before landing in my stash, so there was no extra to work with. The little embroidered flowers gave me the color scheme : denim + pink + chocolate brown. I did some stash diving and pulled out this lovely pink and chocolate damask style print I grabbed a while ago from the remnant bin at JoAnn's and a piece of leftover denim from my bike basket yielded the bottom piece and the shoulder strap. I cropped the pants a bit below the crotch and recreated a straight seam after cutting off the excess fabric. Old ripped jeans : zero dollars Giving new life to old jeans : priceless!
10 Better Sewing Habits Your sewing habits can often make or break a project. Good habits enhance your results, while bad habits-which may at first seem rewarding-stymie success. In this article from Threads #164 (December '12/January '13), we asked our authors to share what they considered to be good habits for a better sewing experience. It's easy to believe that developing good habits requires herculean efforts. Sewers sometimes drag a garment through the needle and feed dogs in an attempt to get a smooth, pucker-free seam or to move delicate fabric through the machine without snagging. To eliminate puckers the correct way, adjust your machine's tension setting, and use the correct needle and the correct size thread. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10next> View all