Here is an up close and personal look at Bridging (Faggoting) along with a few tips. I first fell in love with this technique 32 years ago when I recieved a Feltman Brothers outfit as a baby gift for my oldest. (32 years ago......that actually hurt to write!) Anyway, it wasn't until I started working at our local Heirloom Sewing store that I found good instructions and could give it a try! It is a very old technique used to attach lace or a tiny bias band to fabric. I discovered that the biggest secret is basting the fabric and lace to piece of light weight interfacing. This keeps the two pieces the correct distance apart. Try not to stitch into the interfacing. My thread of choice at the moment is a polyester/cotton blend sewing machine thread. I find that the thread tangles less if I use Bee's Wax on the thread. This is not a complicated stitch. It just takes a little practice getting the spacing or the stitches correct and remembering to keep the thread under the needles for each stitch. The instructions for the Bridging (Faggoting) are included in many of my patterns and the "Heirloom Embroidery" book. I would love to hear if you are giving this technique a try! Michie'
A blog about the Exploration of Quilting and Design
Melody Crust talks on her blog about the importance of selecting the right quilting pattern to make the most impact on your quilt top. Calling straight line quilting elegant, click HERE to learn mo…
These stays are certainly the most complex cording project I've done, so I wanted to share how I've been going about it! First off, I'm using a totally different cording method than the ones shown in my Making a Corded Petticoat post. In both methods shown in that tutorial, the cord was put in place first and its channel was sewn around it. Those methods work just fine for a corded petticoat, but won't work very well for these stays. Instead, I'm sewing channels into the fabric first, then inserting the cording afterwards. As a reminder, this is the pattern I'm working with: Fabric Prep Since the criss-cross cording is the most difficult part of these stays, that's what we'll focus on. Each of the squares that make up the criss-cross pattern are only 0.25" wide, so they're very small and difficult to sew accurately. The space between each square forms the channel that the cord threads through. I'm using a green shot cotton as the pretty outer fashion layer of the stays, with two layers of thin but tightly woven white cotton as the strength layers. My stitches will go through all three layers of fabric, but the cording will be run between the two white layers of cotton. The first challenge was figuring out how to mark the stitching guidelines on the fabric. I could have made all the markings on the back of each piece, but I find that the top side of my stitching often looks a bit more precise than the back, so I needed a way to mark the green fabric so that I could stitch accurately, but not have the markings visible later. Squares marked with water soluble pen, with a penny for scale. At first I tried using a water soluble fabric marker that had a relatively fine tip. It showed up very well on the fabric, but since it is a marker and the fabric wicked the ink out a bit, the line it left was fairly thick. The thicker line made it very hard to see where exactly to stitch. Some of my test squares were more parallelogram than square, and the width of the squares varied between 5/16" and 3/16" wide. It may seem like I'm being overly picky, but that is a difference of 1/8", which means I was off in some areas by the width of half of a square! When working at such a small scale, even a little bit of deviation becomes extremely obvious. Wibbly wobbly stitching due to wide fabric marker guidelines. I considered using a fine mechanical pencil to draw more precise, accurate lines, but there were two potential issues. One, I was worried it wouldn't wash off well, leaving me with pencil lines all over my stays. Two, it's actually pretty hard to draw an accurate line on this fabric with a mechanical pencil, as the pressure of the lead warps and distorts the fabric as you're trying to draw. Can't draw a straight line b/c the pressure of the lead warps the fabric. Luckily, I was able to solve both issues at once with my favorite secret weapon: Mah super-sekrit weapon. Shh, don't tell! Starch has saved my butt on many a sewing project. Here, it serves two purposes. First, it stiffens the fabric so that it is almost paper-like, so now I can easily draw on it using the mechanical pencil without the fabric distorting. Now I can get perfectly straight, thin, highly accurate stitching lines! With starched fabric, no distortion! Comparison of marker lines vs mechanical pencil lines. Second, thanks to Lifeofglamour's various experiments with tinting starch for use on ruffs, I know that very often, pigments and dirt that are mixed in with or sitting on top of starch wash out without staining the fabric. When I tested this theory on my fabric, washing the starch out washed the pencil marks down the drain too! You can buy spray on starch or the liquid kind you dip your fabric into from the store, but thanks to Frolicking Frocks (dude, check out those petticoats!) I'm a convert to making my own out of cornstarch. My test stitching proves much more straight and accurate with the pencil guidelines, and after washing all evidence of the pencil lead is gone! Now that I've got that settled, the last step before stitching is to use a lightbox to trace my design onto the fabric. Stitching My original plan was to hand-stitch the stays, but I came to my senses after attempting a sample. I tried using my modern sewing machine, but it's very hard to stitch a line precisely 0.25" and stop in exactly the right place using the pedal control, so I pulled out the little Singer 99 hand crank machine I refurbished a few years ago instead. Remember this one? Isn't she pretty? With a hand crank, it's really easy to stop right at the exact number of stitches you want. A lot of fiddling and several tests later, I settled on a stitch length calibrated to precisely 1/16 of an inch, giving me squares that were 4 stitches wide on each side. Getting the correct stitch size is no mean feat on these old machines, since you set the length by screwing an unlabeled knob in or out as needed. That knob is the stitch length regulator. Notice the distinct lack of numbers or any useful markings of any sort? Now that I've got the length set, sewing each square is now as easy as starting the needle in the right place, sewing 4 stitches, sinking the needle on the 4th stitch, raising the presser foot, turning the fabric, putting the foot down again, sewing 4 more stitches, etc, all the way around the square. This leaves a bunch of thread tails all over the place. Of course I can't just trim them because the stitching would come out, so the loose threads are pulled to the back and tied off. Since I'm a bit paranoid about the knots coming undone, I put a dot of Fray-Check on each to prevent unraveling. Remember to test the Fray-Check on an inconspicuous spot first! My layers are thin, and on the first few knots I used too much and it soaked through to the front. Threads pulled to the back for tying. At first I was tying the threads after each square, but it's more efficient to sew several squares, then flip to the back and start pulling through/tying off. The problem with doing it that way is that those loose tails get in the way of stitching, and if you sew through the tail of a square a few rows down it's a mess to untangle. Luckily, I'm owned by two exceedingly furry felines, and thus have a clothing de-furring brush that doubles as a way to clear all my loose threads off to one side with a single swipe. Guess the fuzzbeasts are good for something. There's something like 200 tiny squares on just ONE front panel, plus more on each side panel, so you can see why this has been taking me a while! Cording After washing the starch out, drying, and pressing each piece, it's FINALLY time to stuff some cord in there. I'm using the same Sugar n' Cream cotton cord that I used in my corded petticoat. You'll want a cord of a width that fits fairly snugly in your channels, so choose accordingly, or stitch your channels to accommodate the cord you wish to use. I'm using a thick, blunt needle with a wide eye. Tapestry needles are perfect. The eye should be large enough that the cord just fits through it, but not so big that the needle won't fit through your channels with the now doubled cord in tow. I also have a pair needle nose pliers, because despite my best efforts, the eye of my needle still gets stuck in the fabric sometimes. When I made my last pair of corded stays, I broke the only good needle I had and swapped to one that was nearly the same, only sharp instead of blunt. It sorta worked, but the sharp tip kept shredding the fabric on both sides, and those scrapes later unraveled into larger holes, allowing the cord to poke out. I wouldn't have minded if they were all on the inside, but most of them were on the pretty outside! If all you can get is a sharp needle, grind the tip down. Holes in channels caused by sharp needle shredding fabric. Sadly, these are on the front, so they show when I wear it. On the backside of the stays, I poke the needle through just one layer of fabric right at the start of a channel. Since the needle is blunt, with some fabrics an awl is needed to start the hole. It takes a bit of practice to get the tip to go through just one layer of fabric, but practice makes perfect, right? Using an awl to start the hole. Threading the needle into the channel. Once inside, the needle is pushed down the length of the channel, dragging the cord behind it. It's tight, and I have to moosh (super technical term) and manipulate the fabric around the needle to move it along. Sometimes the pliers are necessary to pull the needle through the channel too. The eye is stuck at the entry to the channel, so I use pliers to help it along. At the opposite end, I poke the tip of the needle back out through the back fabric and pull it out, taking care to not pull all the cording out with it! The pliers are also super useful here, as the eye of the needle generally gets stuck on the way out. All the pushing and pulling on the needle is pretty rough on my fingers; using the pliers instead solves that problem. The downside is that I'm more likely to break a needle when pulling on it with the pliers. It's easier on my fingers to just use the pliers to pull the needle out. I don't trim the cord close to the fabric just yet; instead I cut it so there's about 1" still hanging out, then move on to the other channels. The places where the cords cross are a bit tricky to get through, but it's doable. Eventually I end up with a small forest of cord ends growing out of the back of the stays. Well that's a right mess. Once I've got a whole section done, I start trimming the stray tails. I cut the cord pretty close to the fabric, but not right flush with it. There are till some tiny tails hanging out. Trimmed close, with just a little bit hanging out. Then, without holding onto the cord, I tug on both ends of the channel, stretching the fabric slightly. Most of the tails pop back into their holes and disappear. A few are still sticking out a bit, but this is the inside of the garment, so I don't care overmuch. Gently stretching each channel. There are still holes at the start and end of each channel, but again, it's the inside, and they close up a little with time anyways. No more tails! Wow, that got lengthy! If any part of this tutorial isn't clear, let me know and I'll try to unmuddy it a bit. If you've got a cool cording project you're working on, show us in the comments! I've still got a few panels to go, so I'm off to the sewing table again for another late night.
Creative Arts Blogger Michele Bilyeu shares her sewing, quilting, and crafting journey from Alaska to Oregon and back again.
Tips for making traditional Flying Geese Quilt blocks - including 4 at a time no-waste method and foundation piecing with Triangles on a Roll.
Hi y'all! I am Jessica and I blog over at My Inner Need to Create. I am a stay-at-home mother to 3 kids (8, 4 and 3) but once a upon a time I was a web and graphic designer. Though I am not doing this as my career right now, I see this side of my style bleed through into all my crafting. In fact I like to think of all the clothes I make as a canvas waiting for me to make it into a piece of art. I like to do this in many ways but love the look of appliquéing... Here is a recent appliquéd project: Rainbow Butterfly Skirt. To start I took a skirt of my daughter's to use as a pattern. I chose a thick gray knit as the fabric for the skirt (it was left over from my Superhero Circle Dress from Week 1 of the Sew Along). I just made a simple A-line skirt with no seem allowance for the top since I planned on using 1.5 inch elastic for the exposed waistband. After the front and back of the skirt was cut out, I sewed one of the side seems together and laid out the skirt flat. Next I drew out the butterfly design, I used the skirt shape to dictate the cropping on the butterfly. Take your design and trace it on to Iron-On Fusible Interfacing, make sure that you reverse the image! Iron the butterfly onto the black fabric. Next- cut it out. Peel off the paper from the back of the butterfly, you will need this for a template in a minute. For my butterfly I wanted a rainbow, but at this step you could use a cute print or a solid color. I choose my colors and sewed them together in 1.5 inch strips. After the strips are sewed together and ironed flat, use the paper backing off of the Iron-On Fusible Interfacing as a template and cut out the wings. Iron the black part of the butterfly onto the colors. Take another piece of interfacing and iron it onto the back of the entire butterfly. Then iron that piece onto the skirt. Next you have to zigzag around all the black raw edges. I sewed with black thread... but with a gray bobbin thread so that I didn't have to line the skirt. I sewed the skirt together at the other side then I attached the 1.5 inch black elastic as the waistband. The skirt turned out very eye-catching with the bold, big butterfly but it is a really simple jersey knit skirt with very limited sewing skill needed (the zigzagging around the pieces of the appliqué takes the most practice.) My daughter loves the skirt and wears it everytime she finds it in her drawer clean. I took these photos with her wearing a black leotard as her top but a 3 year old wearing a leotard all day is really not ideal for going to the bathroom. So I refashioned a slimming black tank top from an old (very old!) tube top if you hop over to my blog you can check out the tutorial! Thanks for inviting me to guest post during this month of Flicker Friends! I am so glad to be able to get in on the fun! I hope everyone is having a great summer! If you don't feel like drafting your own skirt, the Becky Skirt Pattern from our shop would be a great base for this appliqué. Want to pin this post for later? Save this image on Pinterest. Related Posts
It’s no secret that I’m a cheerleader for the quilting industry. One of my favorite things is being an ambassador for companies whose products I love. Full disclosure: I’m not pai…
Today I’ll be showing you how to use a twin needle or double needle on your sewing machine all in a video tutorial. There’s a photo tutorial as well along with some great close up examples to help you be as successful as possible with sewing with a twin needle. There’s something about sewing two […]
Don't stress over the tension dials on your sewing machine. Find out when and how to set and adjust thread tension.
I have become obsessed with Flying Geese! No, not the ones currently flying south for the winter. With the quilt pattern Flying Geese. It’s a quick and easy (my favorite!) quilt pattern, and it looks great in all sorts of colors! Here is the first Flying Geese quilt I made. Outer Space Astronaut Flying Geese. And a Christmas Goose. Using the 4 at a time method makes these geese quick and easy, while also making sure that all of the points line up just perfectly like they are meant to. I’ve made flying geese before, and even wrote a quick tutorial on how to make them, but as star points, rather than as flying geese. What’s the difference, you ask? The finished product is different based on how you turn your flying geese units, and other background squares, but the construction is the same. So why, you ask, am I writing another tutorial so soon after the first? You have a lot of questions! I wanted my finished geese to be larger this time. And I couldn’t remember the measurements for cutting my fabric to make a different size. As a writer of the tutorial, I shouldn’t have to go online to look up measurements. I should have that resource available at hand at all times. Flying Geese can be made in any size, the finished size is always like this, each individual goose is twice as wide as it is long. Math, I know, it’s hard! Just a warning, more math is coming! I know, I try not to inundate you with too much math, but this time around it’s necessary. Let’s say you want your finished goose to be 3” by 6”, this will make each pair of geese into a 6” square. Why 3” by 6”? That’s the size I used most recently, so it’s fresh in my mind! So, now that I’ve looked it up, I’ve created a cheat sheet chart of many different sizes, to keep for handy use. The 4 at a time Flying Geese method uses one big square (this fabric is the goose body) and 4 small squares (this fabric is the sky). You should keep it handy too, you can pin it for later and never have to go looking for these measurements again. Now that you’ve got the list of what size little squares go with what size big squares, how ‘bout a quick tutorial on what do with them once you’ve cut them? Flying Geese Tutorial- The 4 at a Time Way To make Flying Geese this way, the large square is your width dimension (6”) plus 1¼”, for a total of 7¼”. The smaller squares are your height dimension (3”) plus 7/8”, for a total of 3 7/8”. This added fabric accounts for the seam allowances (that’s the bit that gets sewn into the seam). I wanted my finished piece (remember, finished means once it’s sewn into the quilt and no edges are left unsewn) to by 3” by 6”. To make this set of 4 geese, you’ll need: 1 Navy Square: 7¼” 4 Teal Squares: 3 7/8” Draw a line with a pencil from corner to corner across the diagonal of your 4 teal squares. Take your 7¼” Navy Square and 2 of your 3 7/8” teal squares, and place the teal squares corner to corner across the diagonal of the navy square. The corners of the teal squares will overlap in the center of the navy square, and the pencil lines will match up, to continue all the way from one corner across to the other. Pin in place Sew ¼ of an inch to the right of the pencil line. Turn the fabric pieces 180* and repeat, to sew down the other side of the pencil line. Because you’ve turned it, you will still be sewing to the right of the line. Cut along the pencil line. Iron the seam, pressing towards the smaller teal pieces. It makes sort of a heart shape. Pin your 3rd and 4th small teal squares, to the remaining navy corner of each of your heart shaped pieces. The pencil line will go from the navy corner, and should go right through the V of the heart. Sew ¼ inch from the pencil line, turn and sew ¼ inch from the pencil line on the other side. Cut along the pencil line, and press, again towards the teal. Now you have 4 Flying Geese! Here they are finished and sewn into a quilt. You can do lots of things with your 4 Flying Geese (even turn them into a star!) but here is the quilt I made with the navy and teal geese used in this tutorial. If you are wanting to making this same quilt, the original pattern (not my creation!) can be found here! My version is made with 40 different fabric combos. At 4 geese per combo, that’s 160 geese total. And, one more time, in case you scrolled by it above without memorizing it, here is the chart of square sizes again. Save it. Pin it. Use it again. And again. Happy goose flying! I love, love, love the binding I chose to go with this quilt! There’s a little bit of it in the quilt top too, but I just love it as binding.
Summer is just about here and yep, I am a slacker! I can't believe it has been 2-1/2 weeks since I have written in my sewing journal! Summer...
It's been an awfully long time since I first posted a coverstitch tutorial... and I've learned a lot since then! While coverstitch machines are fantastic, it's not uncommon to end up with a wavy hem,
The Jen Kingwell Gypsy Wife Sew-along kicks off next week (August 3) and I thought it would be a good...
Diagnose and solve poor sewing machine tension with this step-by-step checklist.
I found this beautiful tutorial from Pinterest. I have so many ideas for this, but unfortunately it’s all in French. I decided to translate it so I could work on trying this on a skirt or ski…
Neckline binding is my favourite neckline finish for knits. In today's Briar sewalong, we'll be showing you our method for creating a neckline binding.
Messy stitches. Loose threads. Clanking metal. Lint clogs. When you’re in the quilting groove, there’s nothing more frustrating than an out-of-whack sewing machine. Luckily, there are a few tips and techniques that can get your machine up and running in no time, and Rob is just the guy to show you how! In fact, he gets pretty excited about taking care of his machines! This week Rob has released a series of three video tutorials to guide you through do-it-yourself repair and maintenance. He’ll also help you diagnose problems that require professional attention. With over 15 years of experience as a sewing machine technician, youRead More →
Have you ever wondered what the little ball is for on your seam ripper? Learn how to use a seam ripper and the little red ball.
Learn three ways to sew beautiful hem facings every single time for your Dove blouse or any top you'd like!
Use charmeuse cord to make elegant pockets, collars, or cuffs.
I had several people e-mail me and ask about pin stitching after reading my last journal entry , so I decided to create a tutorial and show...
Learn how to successfully fit an armhole by using a muslin. Adjust the bust, back, and shoulder—and your armhole almost takes care of itself.
Patterns aren't cheap. Seriously, I was browsing through through the look books at Hobby Lobby the other day and some of them were as much as $20. Tack that on to the price of fabric and other supplies and suddenly sewing your own clothing becomes very expensive. Thankfully, you can make your own patterns using your own clothing that you know to fit well. I'll show you how to make a simple blouse pattern using a top of my own. I used Scotch Postal Wrapping Paper as my pattern paper. I found it at Target for about $5. It gives you 30 feet of paper, so it will last a long time. I used paper because I like to lay my pattern piece down and trace the shape directly onto my fabric. If you think you'd prefer to pin the pattern to your fabric and then cut it out, paper may not be the way to go for you. Muslin fabric is another great material that would allow you to pin the pattern piece to your fabric. It's also nice because it can be folded up and stored away when not in use. Lay your garment down on the paper and determine the middle of the top. Mark right above the collar and right below the hem. Draw a rough outline of one half of the top. When you get to the sleeve, do your best to fold it back so that you just see the armhole. Sketch the curve as shown below. This first pattern piece I'm working on will serve as the back of the pattern. Sketch the outline of the slightly higher, back collar. Stop once you get to the half marks that you previously made. Now you'll need to sketch an outline outside the dotted line to allow for seam allowances. To determine how far apart the rough sketch line should be from the final outline of the pattern you'll need to take what materials you're working with into consideration. For example: The lace top I am using has a stretch quality to it. If I want to use this pattern to make a top with a non-stretch fabric, I will need to make the final pattern outline a good amount wider than my rough sketch. However, if I was using a non-stretch garment to make my pattern I wouldn't have to allow for as much extra fabric. It's always better to have a too big pattern and therefore a too big top than it is to go too small. Don't be afraid to be generous. Extend the outline by about 1.5 inches along the sides and about 1 inch at the armholes and collar. Extend the bottom of the top by several inches to allow for hemming. Cut on the line and fold the pattern over making sure that the crease is on the middle marks you made previously. Trace so that you have a perfectly symmetrical pattern. Repeat the same process for the front piece of the pattern being sure to trace the front part of the collar this time. Now for the sleeves. Fold a piece of paper and position it underneath the garment and the pattern. The fold should be parallel to the top of the sleeve. Trace the curve of the front pattern piece. Leave plenty of extra room for the sleeve to be hemmed. Remember it's better to go oversized than undersized. You can always take the shirt in if it is a little too big. Cut out all of your pieces and press to get rid of creases and you're done! *Update* I recently used this pattern to make this cute little top. Click on the picture for the full tutorial!
Are you new to sewing and quilting and are wondering how to use a rotary cutter and mat to cut fabric? Watch the video to learn how!
Hi Everyone, Well, my first day of spring break was completely unproductive. But it felt GOOD to be unproductive! haha! Thank you so much for all of your positive feedback and comments on my finished project. I really appreciate them. I am very excited by how Finding my Marbles turned...
Full instructions for an hourglass quilt block, complete with step-by-step pictures, video tutorial and printable cutting chart.
Modern Quilting Tips, Tricks and Tutorials! - Everything you need to know to make quilting easy and fun so you can do what it is you love to do and create a beautiful joy filled life!
Assemble an 8" Sawtooth Star block.
Learn how to make 48 half square triangles (HST) at once This is a very easy technique that produces 48 accurate HST. Learn in 3 minutes: HST size 3 1/2 inch square. With this technique you can eas…
love simple sewing patterns for beginners because they are way more mindless. There are a bunch of easy sewing projects on this list that I have made lots
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How to make half square triangles for quilting using the magic method. Step by step pictures along with a chart explaining the quilt math.
The tank was forced gently placed on Maia and it fits super well. And the back's not too shabby either. Because Millie asked so nicely about the way I did the binding, here's my compendium of different methods of knit binding. And why I don't like them. Except my own way, which I love. Method One: Single fold binding Binding is folded in half: On fold, sewn to the right side of the garment: End result flipped up: NB: You can topstitch seam allowance back down to the main fabric for a nicer finish, I didn't because I'm in a ridiculous hurry. Why I don't like it: If you're binding a neckline or something super curvy you have to cut the binding much shorter and make it stretch evenly to fit. Too. Many. Pins.Method Two: Double fold binding Binding folded in half and then into quarters: Folded to hide raw edges and the bottom fold extend a little bit further down from the top fold: Binding encloses raw edge like a sandwich: Stitched close to the bottom edge (thereby catching the hidden folded edge on the inside that extends slightly further) The right side: The wrong side: Why I don't like it: You have too be oh-so-slow and careful to make sure you are catching the hidden bottom edge in a non-ugly fashionMethod Three: Enclose and trim (the Ottobre method) Binding folded up about a third of the way to give stitch guide: Placed to the right side of garment and stitched along press line: Binding pulled up and over the raw edges into the inside of the garment and pressed down: Stitched on the right side of the garment just below the bottom edge of the binding: Turned to the wrong side: The excess binding trimmed up to the stitch line: The end result: Why I don't like it: It's honestly not that bad, but I don't love the trimmed raw edge. That's the kind of thing that shops cover up with a coverstitch.Method Four: Fold and Flip (the Kitschy Coo method) As per Method One, fold binding in half but put it to the wrong side of the garment: Once stitched, flip the binding to the right side: Fold it over so that it encloses the seam allowance. Roll it a tiny bit so the edge of the binding is still visible from the wrong side (otherwise known as Don't Drag the Wrong Side of the Garment Up and Over So Everyone Can See It). You should be able to feel the seam allowance hiding inside. Stitch the binding down close to the edge from the right side: Pardon the skipped stitches, my machine was being an a**hole. The wrong side looks nice too (and see what I mean about a tiny bit of the binding still visible from the inside): A better picture of both sides when machines are being cooperative: Why this method is awesome: Good looking from both sides, and you don't need to cut the binding smaller than the neckline and stretch it to fit. Hope this helps those of you getting your summer knits out! Pin It Tweet
Top US quilting blog, Diary of a Quilter, shares their No-Waste method fo make Flying Geese Block and 8 point Sawtooth Star Quilt Block. Click here now!
A great list of over 50 sewing tutorials, with many different sewing projects, tips and techniques. Many of these sewing tutorials include video lessons.
