M&J Blog

By Roseann

In 1982 President Ronald Reagan declared September national sewing month “in recognition of the importance of home sewing to our nation.” This could not be truer today; the theme this year is “Reuse, Remake, Restyle.” Our blog has been dedicated to the do it yourselfer since the beginning and in the spirit of the month I’d like to share some helpful sewing tips in hopes that your creative projects this month go a little smoother. I have put together a list of the most helpful tips for what I’ve found to be the most common hang ups in a sewing project.

Golden Rule

The single most important thing to do before you even cut your fabric is to wash it. If this is not done your fabric will shrink and your garment may not fit after the first wear. Keep in mind that the width will shrink more than length; consider that you will probably lose about 10% of your width after washing when deciding how much fabric to purchase. Before washing my fabric I like to serge the cut edge, you can leave the selvage as is, this prevents fraying. If you do not have a serger at home a zigzag stitch can be done along the very edge, it works the same.

Gathers

Gathering for me has always been a bit of a pain. Pulling on basting threads can often times cause them to break and cause uneven gathers. If you created a zigzag stitch over a piece of dental floss instead of basting be sure not to get the floss in the stitches, it’s much easier to control gathers and will not break.

Curves

Sewing curves can be daunting, I cannot tell you how many times I have had to pull stitches and restitch to smooth out pinching and create a smooth line. To gain more control reduce your stitch length around curves and corners. It helps greatly. Reducing stitch length can also be done at the beginning and to end seams instead of backing up which can be difficult with very thin fabrics.

Matching Stripes and Plaids

You can spend all the time you like on a project but if your fabric patterns and prints don’t match at the seams, no one will notice the rest of your hard work. There’s a easy way to match your patterns pieces so that your garment doesn’t end up looking like an unintended Picasso. Cut out your patterns pieces one at a time. Cut one side then use the fabric you just cut as the other side, be sure to flip it over you want mirrored pieces. Fabric to fabric will help you line up your lines.