Ping to the weekly Thread Thread
Question-— every now and again I want to sew a hem but I’m not an experienced sewer nor have a fancy machine. Can I just use one of those small hand held units and which would you recommend?
They look good! Looks like you did a good job!
As far as laying out patterns, just follow the directions that come with it, that should work. Might help if you press the fabric first to make sure there are no wrinkles.
Adorable shorts. Love the rocket motif and the “pork chop pockets.”
The shorts look very well done, including the elastic in the waistband. I always promote putting in pockets. Some kids like to collect things too, rose blooms, half a breakfast sausage, junk mail fliers about Pizza Discounts or Disneyland discounts.
You probably used a 100% cotton or predominantly cotton based fabric. Cotton washes well and won’t shrink very much in the wash. Synthethic blends can be useful and are of much better quality today vs decades back in the days of Leisure Suits.
PS I found this website yesterday www.allfreesewing.com Looks like they have a lot of free patterns for just about any project you can think of.
Hope some of you have progress pictures of your current projects you will share with all of us.
I use a rotary cutter and a tailoring curve. Just make sure you have a rotary cutting mat under it. As long as the fabric is coming up off the cutting surface at all, it will be uneven, so scissors don’t work for me.
BTW, my cousin in Sweden is a new grandmother to a grandson. I made my cousin a hooded jacket of blue fleece and now I’m going to make a baby bunting of what is left of the fabric.
Nice work!
This is going to sound crazy, but trust me (said the person hiding behind the computer, right?) Don’t try cutting around those little notches on the patterns that are there to help you match the pieces. Instead, use a water soluble pencil and mark the fabric with one, two, or three dots in the locations of the notches. I use different colors of pencils for different types of marks on the patterns. One color for the notches, another for the little dots (if there are any), another for darts, etc. I’ve found water color pencils work great for this. You can buy cheap water color pencil sets in craft stores. Be careful using water color pencils like red, navy, etc. on light colored fabric. And try to stay inside the seam allowance when possible with your marks.
As for scissors, make yourself a rule that you never break. Sewing scissors are ONLY used on fabric, period. Not crafts, not paper (except the patterns as you’re cutting fabric), not elastic, nothing but fabric. And keep them sharp. Something else, how sharp are your pins? If yours are pretty old, they may be dull, which will bunch up the fabric just enough to throw the measurements off and will be noticeable. You may want to consider ball-point pins, if you’re using nylon, polyester, jersey, or fabric that will run or snag.
Hope this helps. The shorts look really cute!
No matter what you use to cut fabric make sure it is sharp, sharp, sharp! If you use scissors, don’t use them to cut anything but thread and fabric, and don’t allow anyone else to use them for cutting paper, cardboard or plastic.
Also, if you use scissors, you can keep them sharp by keeping a glass jar handy. Use the scissors in a cutting motion on either side of the glass opening, as if you were going to “cut” it. You will feel the scissors tightening up as you work them.
Your project looks very good!
” A friend who saw them asked if I would make a couple of pairs for her niece’s son and I agreed to do that.”
As a long-time seamstress my advice is to NEVER agree to do someone else’s work for free because the word spreads rapidly and you’ll find yourself being expected to sew for MANY other people. I’ve been asked to do the most outrageous sewing for people who can well afford to BUY beautiful clothes for themselves and pay the store for the hem shortening.
Just one example of many: A neighbor who saw a woolen dress I had just completed except for the hem wanted me to loan her my brand new dress to wear to a party the next night. She was 4 inches shorten than I am, and I explained that I would never be able to remove the crease mark in the woolen material if I shortened it for her. (Not to mention that she was a sloppy eater). She said I was selfish!
Find some polite excuse to refuse.
I limited myself to sewing hems for my mother’s new clothes. I hate sewing hems but I did it with love for my Mother.
Very nice! Next time try cargo pockets for a change of look.
Good suggestions about ironing the fabric and pattern too.
If the fabric is brushed or has a nap it may “slither” to the side and need to have each piece cut separately. ( remember to “flip the pattern for the second side!)
This works for matching stripes or patterns too. Put the arrows and the corners of the pattern on the matching fabric pattern and all will match well!
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