Sewing Sunsets

As I’m sure you know by now, I love to sew.  However, it wasn’t always that way.  When I was in junior high, I made an apron in home ec class and enjoyed that enough that my mom decided to send me to a sewing class/school that summer.  That class lasted two weeks and it was miserable!  In my memory, the teacher was young and didn’t really do much but tell us to follow the pattern instructions.  Of course, as someone who did not understand what I was doing those pattern instructions looked like Greek to me.  All I really remember about that class was doing a lot of Un-sewing, and as a result, I had a horrible tension headache most of that time.  After the class was over, I made a few feeble attempts at sewing things on my own, but I was never pleased with the outcome.  As a result, I vowed to  never sew again.

Fast forward to my adult life when I decided I wanted to learn to hand smock because I thought the baby/children’s outfits were so cute.  And I had a five year old daughter who was very girly and would look great in a smocked dress.  I learned to hand smock and the lady who taught me told me that I either needed to learn to sew or I would have to pay someone to sew these dresses together for me.  I decided to learn to sew.   I pinned the blouse (I was making a smocked jumper and matching blouse) to the fabric, took it to my mom’s to make sure it was correct, then went home and cut it out.  My mom sat with me while I sewed that first project and helped prevent me from making many mistakes.  As a result of having success with this project, I fell in love with sewing!  I’ve been sewing ever since that time.

A few years later, we moved to a different state and I had lots of time on my hands so I sewed–a LOT!  This was a good thing because I honed my skills and learned a lot more about sewing during that time.  People began to ask me to teach them to sew, and as a result, I started my own business teaching beginning sewing out of my home.  I taught private lessons to adults.  My favorite type of client was the one who barely knew what a sewing machine was!   Because I felt that I had struggled with learning to sew, I wanted to help others be successful with their first project.  From the feedback I got, my clients were happy.   I taught beginning sewing for a couple of years until I had to stop to take care of aging and ill parents.   However, I never lost my love of teaching sewing.

About a year and a half ago, we moved to another state in a different region of the country.  I wanted to teach sewing again, but I didn’t really want to teach out of my home so I thought about how I could accomplish my goal.  Then I decided to teach sewing online by putting up a website, which I did.  (www.sewseamless.com)  Trying to “teach” online is much harder than teaching someone in person, but I think I’ve covered most of the necessary information to the best of my ability. 

When trying to decide on a name for the website, I wanted a name that indicated “easy” or simple, but those were all taken.    I finally decided on Sewseamless (www.sewseamless.com)  because the word “seamless” indicates smooth, easy, or simple.  Believe me, putting up the website was a whole lot harder for me than sewing–even understitching! 

Speaking of understitching, you will find information on that topic here: www.sewseamless.com/Page7.html    There is a lot of information about how to apply fusible interfacing here: www.sewseamless.com/Page4.html    Here: www.sewseamless.com/Page1.html, you will find tips for buying a sewing machine, as well as tips for beginning sewers. Beginning sewers also tend to make some mistakes, and there are some tips about those here: www.sewseamless.com/Page11.html   Some resources, including sewing books and websites are listed here: www.sewseamless.com/Page12.html

You will find pictures of sewing tools here: www.sewseamless.com/Page14.html   A list of basic sewing supplies can be found here: www.sewseamless.com/Page32.html  

I think you can see that there is a lot of information on the website.  There is a lot of text, but there are also a lot of pictures that I hope will help illustrate the sewing techniques.  Of course,  like many of you are learning to sew, I’m still trying to learn all this technical computer stuff…and the learning curve is steep, so please be patient with me.

Sewing is fun, but there are seams to be sewn and sewing challenges to face, so I’m not sure that sewing is ever going to be truly seamless in any sense of the word.  However, I think if we keep focusing on the fun of sewing and the sense of accomplishment we can feel when we have sewing successes, we might be able to say that at least once in a while our sewing is sew seamless.  www.sewseamless.com

I had planned to get a lot accomplished today, but it seems that the day has other plans.  First, I did a little tweaking to my website, but the computer, the software, and I suppose little gremlins had other ideas.  First, the site didn’t upload correctly, so I uploaded again.  The site was uploaded correctly in one browser, but not the other.  I worked all morning and discovered that it was one particular browser that is/was having problems.  I think I finally got everything corrected!

Also, I had to go do my mom’s banking.  I have Power of Attorney for her and have managed her financial business for years, but today, for the first time, none of the tellers that know me were working, so I had a bit of an issue with the teller who was helping me.  She was very nice, but it was frustrating having to explain myself several times.

 My intention had been to go into the sewing room today and start piecing my grandson’s quilt.  I think I really Need some sewing therapy today!

The good news is that my mom and I are going to go to JoAnn’s tomorrow.  Even if I don’t buy any fabric, maybe just engaging in a little fabric therapy will help me.

No, I don’t usually “flip out” when I sew, unless I’ve made a really silly sewing mistake.  The kind of flipping out that I’m talking about is when you sew seams and have pressed well, you have to turn, or flip ,  the garment to the right side. This is also an example of having to think backwards when you sew.  The picture on the left below is the wrong side of a bodice; the picture on the right is after the bodice has been “flipped” to the right side, and in this case, has had a collar and facings sewn to it.

Another example of thinking backwards  in sewing is when you’re putting a bodice together, there is a left side and right side for the front, and there is one back pattern piece that is usually placed on the fold of the fabric.  When you sew the shoulder and side seams and look at the bodice from the wrong side of the fabric, it is different than it will be when you turn it right side out.  The front bodice pieces are mirror images of each other, just like the facings in the previous post.  If you look closely, you’ll see that the facings are mirror images of each other–a left side and a right side. 

Another way you have to think backwards when sewing is when you are making garments that have buttonholes.  The pattern will instruct you to put the buttonholes on the Right side of the garment for a girl’s dress or blouse.  However, when you are looking at the garment (fabric right side out), this piece will actually be on your Left!   The pattern is talking about the side of the garment as it is being worn on the body.  When you are making a boy’s shirt, the pattern will instruct you to put the buttonholes on the Left  side of the shirt, but again, as you are looking at the garment, this is actually on your Right!

Are you totally confused yet?  Clear as mud, right?

Although this may sound a bit confusing, it is meant to illustrate that in sewing, you must think about how the project will appear when turned to the right side.  I made countless sewing mistakes before I finally realized that I had to kind of think bacwards, which is much easier when I’m sewing a garment because I can get a preview by pinning the seams and turning the garment to the right side.  Believe me, I still have to do this very often even though I’ve been sewing for quite some time.   If I take my time, and practice my “preview” by either just pinning or basting something together with long stitches, it prevents me from making some mistakes.

So next time you go into your sewing room to sew, just tell your family you’re going into your special place to flip out and think backwards!

As you know by now, I love to sew!   Believe it or not, I enjoy sewing facings.  I like sewing the facing together, and I like sewing facings to the bodice.  In fact, I don’t even mind the understitching that must be sewn after sewing the facings to the bodice!

Facings provide support to the bodice, especially if buttonholes are necessary.  Interfacing is either sewn in or fused to the facing pieces; the front and back facings are sewn together, and this piece is sewn to the bodice.   When pinning the facing pattern pieces to the fashion fabric, most back facings are placed on the fold, while the front facings are not, which results in one back facing piece and two front facing pieces.  These are sewn together at the shoulder seams (shoulder seams of the facings).  The picture below shows a completed facing, except for finishing the outer edge, which is typically the unnotched edge.  Interfacing is applied to each facing piece separately before sewing them together.

I know the facing is kind of funny looking, but I promise it’s important!  If the bodice of your dress has buttonholes, a properly interfaced facing will provide stability and support.

The outside edge of the facing (the one that will not be sewn to the bodice) is slightly curved and most patterns will instruct you to finish the outside facing edge in some way.  I use the serger to finish mine, although some sewers might pink theirs or just zigzag around the outer edge of the facing.  The main purpose of this is to make the garment look more professional, and if you should happen to be working with a fabric that ravels easily, this will prevent that from happening.

The facing is then sewn to the bodice.  Simply sew up the straight side of the bodice and around the curve of the neckline and down the other side of the bodice. The seams are then trimmed/graded and the curved seam is clipped.  After the facings are sewn on to the bodice, then it’s time for that dreaded understitching!

More detailed information and pictures about sewing facings can be found at www.sewseamless.com/Page6.html , www.sewseamless.com/Page7.html, www.sewseamless.com/Page15.html  (last four pictures at the bottom of the page), and www.sewseamless.com/Page16.html  

Here is a picture of a bodice with facings sewn in and even understitched!

Now, go face those facings facing you in your sewing room!

Happy Sewing!

There are lots of  sewing techinques that sewers of all skill levels tend to struggle with at times.  Personally, I would rather sew a thousand buttonholes rather than sew in one zipper.  Of course, I would probably be much better at sewing zippers if I made more garments that had zippers for a closure.

Another sewing technique that can strike fear in the hearts of (beginning) sewers is understitching.  I covered that topic in earlier post here, entitled “Understitching Can Be Fun!” and also here: www.sewseamless.com/Page7.html   

Yes, there are many sewing techniques to learn and master, but most of them really aren’t that hard if you know some of the “tricks”.   Sewing sleeves can  also be tricky, and does take a bit of practice, but it isn’t really too difficult.  There are two ways to sew sleeves.  The most common way to do this is to sew sleeves into a bodice that already has the side seam sewn, which is called set-in sleeves.  On sleeves that are designed to be sewn in this way, the sleeve cap is a higher sleeve cap than those sleeves that are designed to be sewn in flat.  Sleeves that are designed to be sewn in flat (most bathrobe patterns have this type of sleeve) have a kind of broader or flatter sleeve cap. Prior to sewing the sleeve seam, the sleeve cap must be eased.  I usually ease the sleeve cap prior to sewing the sleeve seam because it’s easier to do this while the sleeve is flat.  Most patterns will instruct you to ease the sleeve at 5/8 inch and 1/2 inch, but I do this a bit differently.  I set my stitch length at about a 4 or 5 and sew on the sleeve cap at 3/8 inch and just under 3/8 inches.  This way, I don’t have to be too concerned about pulling out the threads when the sleeve is completely sewn in.  Even though I use a gathering stitch (long stitch length) to ease the sleeve cap, gathering and easing are very different.  If I were gathering the sleeve cap, I would pull the stitches tightly to make tight gathers.  Easing is a way of making the sleeve fit into the armcye, so the stitches are only pulled until the sleeve fits into the armscye. (armscye is the armhole of the bodice)  (One tip here: always pull the threads from the bobbin side.  I learned this myself not long ago.)  The picture below shows a sleeve cap that has been eased.

When you look at a sleeve pattern, you will notice that there is a single notch on one side of the sleeve cap, and a double notch on the other side of the (sleeve cap) pattern piece.  A single notch always indicates the front of the sleeve and a double notch always indicates the back of the sleeve.  When you sew in sleeves, it’s important to match these notches to the notches in the armscye.

There are a couple of ways to sew set in sleeves. Some folks sew with the sleeves next to the feed dogs on the sewing machine,  and others sew with the sleeve facing them (picture on the right below). I use the free arm of my sewing machine and sew with the sleeve next to the feed dogs, as shown in the picture on the left below.

There is more information on sewing set-in sleeves at my website: www.sewseamless.com/Page8.html and lots more pictures here: www.sewseamless.com/Page17.html

Another way to sew sleeves is to sew them in flat.  Sometimes it won’t make a difference if you sew sleeves in flat, even if they were designed to be set-in sleeves.  I recently did this with a girl’s top and everything turned out well. 

When sewing sleeves in flat, the bodice side seam and the sleeve seam are left open.  The sleeve cap usually still needs to be eased.  The sewing is much easier, especially for beginners, because everything is flat.

As you can see in the picture on the left above, the bodice is sewn at the shoulder seams, and the facings are sewn, but the side seams are left open.  In the picture on the left, the sleeve as been sewn onto the bodice.  The bodice side seam and sleeve seam will then be sewn as one long seam. 

More information about sewing sleeves in flat can be found at my website: www.sewseamless.com/Page28.html and www.sewseamless.com/Page29.html

Now you can have a few tricks up your sleeves as well!

When my youngest daughter was in her senior year of high school, I began to view that time in my life as ”endings and new beginnings”.  Everything we did that year was a “last”–the last PTA meeting, or her last voice lesson before leaving for college—there were lots of “lasts” that year.   My daughter’s graduation from high school meant the end of life as I had known it–with children in the house and school bells, PTA meetings, and all the things that make life go round when you are raising a family.  However, this ending of life as I had known it also signaled a time of new beginnings, both for myself and for my daughter. My daughter was embarking on her college career and entering a new phase of her life.  She would be entering adulthood and exploring her dreams and goals in life, and I would also be entering a new phase in my own life.

For myself, I knew that not being tied down by school schedules and PTA meetings meant that I would have the freedom to redefine myself and start to realize my own hopes and dreams.  It was a bittersweet time in my life because all of the “lasts” were poignant moments, but if I concentrated on the new beginnings to come, the “lasts” weren’t quite so hard.

Sewing also has endings and new beginnings. (Of course, I had to find some way to relate this topic to sewing! )  Sewing enthusiasts take a flat piece of fabric and by cutting it into pieces or shapes, turn that flat piece of fabric into a beautiful garment or quilt.  The fabric has ended its “life” (does fabric have a life? )as a flat piece, and has a new beginning as a garment, toy, bag, or quilt.  Even these new creations may have a new beginning of sorts.  If they’re given away to friends or relatives, the quilt or garment will begin a new journey with someone who appreciates its value.  If these items are given away to a charity that helps the less fortunate, perhaps that one small item–a quilt or a new dress–just might give someone a new beginning in life, or at least the glimmer of hope that new beginnings and better times lie ahead.

  That glimmer of hope that someone might have when given something as simple as a new dress or quilt could be the difference between whether or not they will turn to drugs or alcohol and become addicted, or whether they will one day become President of the United States, or find a cure for cancer or Alzheimer’s.  Sometimes just a simple gesture of kindness might make a huge difference in someone’s life.   It just might mean the ending of a really hard time in life, and the new beginning of a life filled with possibilities and the ability to realize dreams.  And if we’re lucky, really lucky, everyone who receives even the smallest gift or glimmer of hope, will pass it along to someone else.  Perhaps, just perhaps, by each one of us doing one small thing to help the less fortunate, we might play a small part in endings and new beginnings–the ending of poverty and the new beginning of a much better life.

When I first started sewing, I was fairly successful sewing blouses, dresses, and skirts for my daughter, who was five years old at the time.  However, when I decided to make my first pair of pants for her, I got totally confused!  The crotch seam just looked funny and it took me a while to figure out the pattern directions.   Thankfully, I learned the easiest way to sew that crotch seam and that’s usually the way I sew pants, unless I’m convinced that the pattern has a really good reason for giving different instructions.  During those days, my daughter mostly wore dresses–especially jumpers in the winter and sundresses in the summer.  However, there was a very cute jumpsuit pattern that she liked, so I made many of those as well.  There were no buttonholes, buttons, or zippers, so it was a fairly easy pattern.  Of course, there was that crotch seam…..

I have learned through the years that making pants for adults is different than sewing pants for children.  Correct fit is very important for adults and pants are one of the most difficult things to fit correctly, so it might be wise to do a little research on getting correct fit for adults when sewing pants.

Sewing pants or shorts really isn’t that hard if using the method I’ll describe here.  The most confusing part is the crotch seam and that can be conquered by beginning sewers as well.   The easiest way to sew pants is to sew two pants legs.  Sew the inner leg seam and the side seam for each leg of the pants or shorts.  You will have two separate pants legs.

  .               

The picture on the left above shows a back leg and front leg of a pair of shorts.  The short inside leg seam is the seam that will be sewn first, and the long side seam will be sewn next.  The picture on the right shows the shorts legs that have been sewn together.  In this picture, the shorts leg on the left is wrong side out; the leg on the right is right side out.

Notice the “U” shape of the crotch in the picture on the left.  This is the shape the crotch will be when sewing the pants legs together at the crotch seam.  I promise it’s not as confusing as it sounds!

 Insert one leg of the pants/shorts into the other(leg) and sew the “U” shape of the crotch seam.  Make sure that you have the right sides of the fabric together before sewing!    Once this seam has been sewn, turn the pants/shorts right side out and you have a pair of pants!

There is a more detailed tutorial (with lots more pictures) beginning here at the main website: www.sewseamless.com/Page33.html  

I had fun making these little shorts.  My original plan was to donate them to charity, but after I had them finished, I noticed a stain on one leg, so I won’t be donating these.

Sewing pants really isn’t that hard.  It just takes a little practice.  And who minds practicing when it means having quality sewing time?!

Sewing is fun!  It’s fun to sew a garment for yourself or for someone else.  There is such a sense of accomplishment!  However, when sewers, especially beginning sewers, are disappointed in the results, it may be because pressing during sewing construction was ignored.  Pressing can make the difference between a final project looking “homemade” or more professional.  Pressing really is a sewing technique!

It’s always wise to check pressing requirements for the particular fabric that you are using for a sewing project.  Some fabrics , such as velvet, require special care. I would  advise beginning sewers to stay away from these fabrics, as well as slippery fabrics like chiffon, until you have more sewing experience. Of course,if you’re brave, go for it!

I like to sew with 100% cotton fabric, so I set my iron on the cotton setting and use lots of steam.  Sandra Betzina has lots of good information in her book, “More Fabric Savvy”.  Most of the information in the book centers around how to preshrink the fabric, which interfacing is appropiate, the correct size sewing machine needle for the specific fabric, and lots of other information. There is also a small section in which she mentions pressing.  There is a small section about pressing  here at www.sewseamless.com/Page11.html .  I learned a long time ago that the “secret” to sewing well is proper pressing during sewing construction.

Some people may say they do not like to iron, but pressing isn’t ironing! Pressing is using a lift and press type motion with the iron instead of a sliding motion as you would use if you were ironing a shirt.  I don’t really like to iron either, but I’ve learned to enjoy the pressing process because my final projects look so much better when I press well during sewing construction. And if it’s raining or chilly outside, the steam from the iron warms me up and makes the sewing room feel cozy.

As you know, I have been in the process of getting a box of children’s garments together to send to Mission of Hope (www.missionofhope.org).   Yesterday, I managed to get the clothes all sorted by sizes and they are now in piles around my living room.  My goal is to get this box sent to Mission of Hope within the next week or so, although I will contact them first to make sure that they can accept the donation.  

Even though I have chosen to focus on this particular charity, I would encourage you to use your own sewing, quilting, knitting, or crocheting talents to help someone in need by finding a charity that you would like to be the recipient of your talents and kindness.  There are many charities out there who would welcome such donations.  I have found that most people who enjoy crafting tend to be kindhearted people and are more than willing to use their talents and time to help others.

Even if you can’t sew, quilt, crochet, or knit, perhaps your could donate money or even some supplies that you have bought–children’s socks, school supplies, new underwear, toys, etc.   The recipients of these items would appreciate them.

I think that the most important thing that we can give to those who are less fortunate is Hope.  And by using creative talents to spread a little kindess and cheer to their world, perhaps that one small thing might also give them a glimmer of hope that they may not have seen in their lives before.  Yes, they will appreciate the donated clothes, blankets, toys, and other physical items, but perhaps, somewhere down deep, they’ll also appreciate and understand that they are also being given hope in what they may perceive to be a hopeless world.

I went to JoAnn’s this morning. Yes, I know I said I would stay out of the fabric store, but I needed some supplies–I really did!   Even though I looked at fabric, I restrained myself and only bought the buttons and cording that I needed. Of course, I might have to go back and look at some fabric again very soon.

While I was looking around the store, I saw several elementary aged children looking for fat quarters.  As I passed them, I asked what they were making, and I was told that they are making a quilt.  Later, I met the teacher who is incorporating quilting into the classroom.  I began to talk to her, and commented that I was impressed with her creativity and her ability to incorporate her love of quilting into classroom lessons.  At that point, I found out that she teaches  the  combined fourth, fifth, and sixth grade class at a Montessori school.  She is using quilting to teach geometry.  (Apparently, learning to sew and/or quilt is what the teacher termed “life skill lessons”. )I  think that is a wonderful idea!  If my high school teacher had incorporated quilting into the class, I might have actually liked geometry and done much better in the class!

As we continued our conversation, I asked the teacher if her students were going to be hand piecing or using the sewing machine.  She said they would be hand piecing and as the class–and quilt–progressed, they would be hand quilting as well.  Her hope is that they will start this project soon–perhaps around the beginning of December or so– and by Mother’s Day, each child will have a small quilt for a gift for  his or her mom.

I noticed that the teacher was buying fat quarters for herself as well, so she will be able to sew and quilt right along with the students! 

I realize that this particular school is a Montessori school, which typically teaches “hands on” learning or “learning by doing” and that is part of the reason that they can sew and quilt in the classroom.  Wouldn’t it be great if our  public (and private) schools would start teaching home economics again?