Category: Sewing How-To’s and Videos
Fine Elastic Waist Finishes That Eliminate the Bulk
Comfy Elastic Waists need not look 'home-made' nor be bulky. Watch my new video with LOTS of details I bet you never thought of before.
Zippers – a Short History
Zippers are a series of hooks and eyes to create a long, continuous fastener! Invented in 1890, zippers are certainly an interesting invention! Browsing through some files, I happened upon a short history of zippers in a Taunton Press article from 1991 by Kathy Sandmann. "Whitcomb Judson devised this fastener system in 1890 and called it, the 'C-Curity Placket Fastener. However, the invention was not very successful. The B.F. Goodrich Co.,Read More
Tough Man Work Pants Mending – Continued
It is a joy to have a son-in-law in carpenter's training who works so hard that he makes LOTS of holes in his work pants. Sometimes I'm honored to get to RE-mend some pairs. You can go back to my post of July 19,2017 and can offer this additional advice. Plan on work/wear-tested updates as they reveal themselves! Below, see the current challenges - and my solutions. I didn't thinkRead More
Don’t Miss: Nick Verreos
Nick Vereos on You-Tube I recently stumbled on this great series on You-Tube, Fashion School with Nick Verreos, a past Project Runway winner. I feel what he is offering on You-Tube is all done quite well, and is in essence, a great class on fashion draping. In my mind, it is better than Craftsy class on the same topic that I found so 'dry', I never finished watching it. TheRead More
Sweatshirt Jackets that FIT!
NO MORE SLOPPY FITTING SWEATSHIRT JACKETS No matter the style-sweatshirt jackets need to FIT and not look - or feel - like a sloppy sweatshirt. Over my years in this niche, I've created two different techniques. I explained them well in this designer spot as seen on IT'S SEW EASY TV. Sew Easy TV - Series 500. How To LENGTHEN a Sweatshirt Jacket Using my favorite 'Method 2' fitting technique asRead More
Tools & Techniques for the Alabama Chanin ‘Look’: Part VI
The Tools and Techniques developed by Natalie Chanin are a wonderful blend. So much of all this is a delightful 'twist' on what I've known in my creative past. What intrigued me from the beginning was the stenciling. Years ago, I had Diane Ericson to my retail storefront and I fell in love with her 'brand' of surface design. Visits and teaching from Diane, her late mother, Lois Ericson, andRead More
Textures of Alabama Chanin – Part V
Breath-Taking Texture THAT is what first - and still - draws me to the 'look' of Alabama Chanin, the amazing TEXTURE that she and her artisans have created. What dropped my jaw was the STACKS and STACKS of technique books we were shown on the tour of The Factory! All techniques identified by number, etc. Even these lovely large binders are covered in the signature cotton jersey! A Closer LookRead More
Visit to Alabama Chanin – Part I: Overview
A visit to Alabama Chanin in Florence, Alabama This was a wonderful conclusion to our August vacation to New Orleans. AND, my hubby even suggested it, saying: "Wasn't there someplace in northern Alabama that you wanted to go to sometime?" Uh - YEAH! So a quick hour detour later, we found the Alabama Chanin place of business: The Factory - so named because it had previously been a garment factory.hisRead More
Quick & EZ Top from a Sweatshirt + T-Shirt…$5 eclass from Londa
First eClass from Londa: Quick & Easy Top from a Sweatshirt & T-Shirt Give me my sewing machine ANY day over computers, BUT BUT BUT, I DID IT! This is the first of hopefully many more 'e-classes'. WHAT is an e-class? A series of photographs of the design and construction process, accompanied with my personal audio explanations for each photograph. Ultimately, easier for me to produce and without the needRead More
Tour a Cotton Gin with Londa