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August 5, 2022
There are many ways you can decrease the stress and heartache in sewing by simply following some guidelines about not only how you sew but to make the process enjoyable and always in touch with your creativity.
Patterns
Picking out a pattern is like picking out a road on your summer family trip. If you don't have at least a good idea of where you're going, then your trip is going to be fraught with troubles from the beginning. And like your trip, your sewing project can go in a myriad of directions - to infinite to list here, and most of them can be wrong.
That's why I so love and recommend using core patterns. These patterns contain the information of your style, shape and size and can filter out all those pesky problems that normally plague the sewists using a new pattern for the first time. There's no altering of the size, shape or style, but infinite variations which still leaves the sewists with plenty of looks without having to go through all the turmoil of fitting a new pattern every time.
I can extol the plethora of virtues in a core pattern, but here are some of my favorites:
- Your shoulder width is fitted to fit your shoulders. This means that the hang is going to be started well
- Your hang and drape, particularly as we age, changes and becomes much more individual. This means that you can control this hang so that your garment flatters that individual shape of your body.
- Your hem, sleeve, waist, bust, hip and bottom lengths are all contained in the core pattern to best flatter your figure. You can even adjust these for styles. Right now I'm very fond of the raised waistline height - not Empire, but below Empire and above your natural waistline.
Your girth measurements for sleeve, waist, bust, hip and bottom areas are the most flattering for your size and shape.
These give you such a head-start in sewing your own pattern that it's almost a crime not to use them. Not only does your core pattern give you a head start, it makes sewing a flattering, fitted and stylish garment easy.
Fabrics
Choosing a fabric to match your project takes a little investigation when you are first sewing, but some common sense will serve you well. If you want a jacket, a chiffon probably won't work (unless it's a light-weight tunic-y type over an outfit). If you're wanting a light-weight dress a heavy-weight tweed is definitely not going to work. You can always take a lighter-weight and make it at least heavier, if not heavy-weight by adding backing like a woven
interfacing (or even a bondable woven interfacing) or layers of organza (silk is my favorite for this).
One great source for information on what type of fabric to use for your project is the back of pattern envelopes.
This contains a lot of useful information - and you don't have to buy the pattern to use it.
Here's obviously a soft pair of pants with a draping soft semi-skirt around the pants. So the first thing is that you will need a draping fabric, and not something that has a lot of body, structure or weight to it. And looking in the FABRICS above, you see silk crepe, Georgette, challis type fabrics, so there's the place to start.
After you gain some experience with this, choosing a fabric becomes a lot easier.
KNITS
Knits are in their own category as far as choosing the right one for your project. This actually makes choosing knits fabrics a lot easier and more successful. This just one part of the unforgiving nature of sewing with knits. What's makes this really easy is that there's a stretch percentage chart. (Download here, and make sure that
you set this for 100% scale. If you don't know your scale, then measure it with a ruler after it comes out of the printer.) The chart has some of the basic groups labeled, but you can see that within each group is a variety of stretch percentages.
These stretch percentages are key to getting successful results for your garment. If you would like to make a tailored jacket with a little stretch, using activewear with a lot of stretch will give you drape, but that's something you normally don't want in a tailored jacket. This is how using the stretch percentage chart can help you.
There are three basic categories, but you can get more detailed if you like, but let's start with the three basic ones:
- Stable - a tighter woven and limited stretch which makes this fabric excellent for tailoring. Fabrics such as ponte, neoprene, scuba knit are typical descriptions and make fabulous tailored pants as well as great tailored jackets. There's another group in this classification that's woven stretch. This is a very small stretch to it. I like to use woven patterns for this fabric to
give your garment that "aaaaah" feeling. Stable knits have fairly good recovery, and the stable knit pant when hung over night will allow the "pull" in the knee and butt area to make the pant look like new. All of these contain some Lycra, Elastane, or Spandex in them and over time these fabrics will dry, crack and begin to lose their elasticity, so there's a time-limit on these fabrics. Usually this is up to about 5 to 10 years, so it's a decent
investment in your clothing.
- Jersey - this is that "inbetween" knit that works for most tops, tees and sweaters. There is a limit to this stretch which means it can not be used for turtlenecks or leggings, but for a top that has a little drape and stretch, this is perfect. Jerseys are a mechanical stretch meaning that the weave is such that the fabric stretches - it's a tradition knit. This means that the
elasticity may not have the fastest recovery, but it will last forever cause the stretch is in the weave not the fabric content.
- Activewear - this is that category that stretches from here to Timbuktu! As a result it can be used for all sorts of activewear type garments - leggings, turtlenecks, swimwear and things that stretch like crazy. These fabrics always contain Lycra, Elastane and Spandex, and they always have a limited life, cause the stretch in these fabrics will dry out and crack over
time.
Methods
It's fair to say that most accomplished sewists have a whole cadre of skills and practiced discoveries that they use to accomplish even their most difficult projects. Thinking that one way of sewing or that one skill is going to work, will limit you in so many ways. These can vary to assembly order, to stitch types to even seam-ripping. Obviously the more skills you have, the better your garment will turn out.
For example I like to use about 5 or 6 methods most of the time for seam ripping. Each seam ripping method will work differently for each project. For example, when working on heirloom garments, quick methods such as pulling the looser thread can put extra stress on the fabric, that can most likely cause extra damage and certainly unnecessary wear on the fabric that can lead to catastrophic results. When working on some thin or very delicate fabric, no matter how new,
with a seam ripper or Exacto knife blade, can cut right through the fabric before you even realize what's happening. Here's a video on some of my favorite methods, and
determining which one depends upon the weight, thickness and type of fabric you're using. Use one and if it feels too dangerous, then don't use it. And by all means if you are using sharp cutters, do that with new blades. The quickest way to get in trouble with cutters is using a dull blade, which can mean changing it more often than you think - sort of like changing the sharp needle on your machine.
Tools
Methods, fabrics and patterns can go a long way to success, but tools can not be discounted. My sewing went from happy-hands-from-home to professional overnight when I started using a Bernina machine. That's not an ad for Bernina, but it is a strong recommendation for a well-constructed sewing machine. It took me 4 years to pay off my current machine, and those years flew by as sewed some magnificent and very creative garments for me and my clients. Now that
it's paid off, I feel ahead of the game, as this machine is still in excellent working order and so worth the money I paid for it. Using equipment like that can be a pleasure and encourage your sewing and creativity. Those dorky looking ads about increasing your creativity really does happen with well-constructed machines.
I've always been a proponent of buying the dealer. If the dealer is good, your machine will be good and your purchase experience will be good. A good dealer will have a lot going on in the store when you walk in, and they will let you sew samples on several different models so you can test drive them. They will also know a lot about their machines and can often troubleshoot some basic problems. Buying a dealer can make all the difference in the
world, cause the good dealer will want to service you while the bad one will simply want a sale and move on down the road.
After the machine, your iron is your very next purchase. There is a huge problems with irons cause you can get the standard household model, or can jump up in price to get a more professional type iron. If you are not sewing that much and turn on your iron no more than two or so days a week, then a household iron will work for you. If you want an iron that you can turn on for more than that, you should consider a more professional version. Those pro versions usually
fall into two categories: the boiler type and the drip type. The boiler type is always more expensive and the drip type and I've found that the boiler types don't last as long as they used to. Currently I'm suing a Silver Star drip iron with the protective sole plate, and having great success with that.
The presser on the commercial floor of clothing manufacturers is always paid more than the seamstresses. That's because the presser can make something that looks like a total mistake and change it into a perfectly acceptable seam. Do not discount your iron as a seam-changing tool.
Of all the different ways you can decrease the sewing headaches and increase the enjoyment, one of the most primary is your mood or temperament while sewing. If you're pressured with time-constraints, taking on more advanced sewing or simply under the weather a little (or a lot), it's not a good time to sew. Trying to make a ball gown in two days can be a nightmare - I've done it, but it's
very hard on your spiritual state (and your creative state). Trying to take on a tailored jacket after completing a basic tee, is probably not a good follow up to the tee. Taking on a tailored jacket after sewing a tailored shirt, is not a bad idea at all. And when I feel funky or under-the-weather, sewing can be down-right frustrating and dangerous. But sewing when I'm emotionally scared, or worried can be a Godsend. As a matter of fact sewing (albeit simple
and basic projects), can be a way to get through difficult times - at least for me. It's that "Calgon take me away" moment.
This is a beginning guide on what to do with your core pattern after you have fitted and worked on it.
All the work that you have done in your core pattern contains all the information to make a garment that you will totally love. This means you really don't have to buy another pattern for making skirts, pants or leggings. Variations on your core pattern makes it possible for you to have the styles you see in a photo or on Pinterest without having to look for the pattern that looks like it might work. You can now simply trace it onto your core pattern and
you're done.
This resource also contains some other important resources at huge discount because they are so important to this creative process of varying your core pattern. It also contains some downloads that aren't available in the Resource Library at all, but are vital toward making good design.
In this world of crazy, illogical fashion, we sewists are having to turn into designers. That sounds really hard and foreboding, but it's not. Unlike designers, we simply haven't had all the experience they have, most of that experience they got when they went to design school. More than anything I wanted to make this process encouraging, empowering and enlightening without having to worry about whether or not you could vary your core pattern.
You can! It isn't that hard. It is knowing some guidelines and charging out into the unknown. That's what we sewists do and we do it very well most of the time.
This is the beginning of the series into variations on core patterns. I wanted to start with something basic, so that you wouldn't feel so intimidated. It takes a while to write these up, cause I'm an idea factory, and coordinating and organizing these ideas can be monumental with the sewing muse yacking in my ear 24/7.
The resource is available now at a discount so that you can enjoy it before spring starts in full force. Right now, I'm thinking happy, colorful and pretty. Those are all fresh looks for future clothes. When things seem upside down, it's great to have something to make us happy and often bright, springtime and summertime fabrics are just as much as drab, dark and somber fabrics. I'm ready to be beautiful, comfortable and look flattering in my clothes and
I'm dying to share that with you.
Skirts, Core Pattern Variations, Part 1 (but there's more than skirts in here)
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