Sewing Lessons & FAQ

[Emer]

Hey ladies, I need a little fabric advise. I´ve seen the most fabulous retro fabric today but it has 5 % spandex. I use an old sewing machine that doesn´t seem to offer any elastic stitches. Will there be problems with the seams if I use the plain boring stitch on 5 % spandex fabric?

Does your machine have a zig-zag edge option? I think that would probably work... Can you test some of the stitching options on a small scrap piece first to see which holds/looks better before doing a whole garment?

 

[Stray Cat]

Bartenders (and the rest of the ladies ...[size=-2]and gents[/size] :eyebrows,
Pardon me if this is already posted.

I've found this on blueprairie's Flickr photostream.

[size=+2]Sewing Secrets[/size]

 

[Stray Cat]

Part two of the booklet:

 

[Stray Cat]

Part 3:

 

[Stray Cat]

Last part:

AND - if it's a nuisance, do delete the posts. :hail:

 

[Maudelynn]

Hi all!
I have never done a narrow hem with a narrow hem foot before so I have a very basic, maybe even silly, question; Do I pre fold and pen the material first, or just thread it through the foot and it does the folding for me?

 

[huntedrose]

Doesn't look like anyone answered your question, and this is a late reply, but the foot fold the fabric as you sew. I'd practice with it first. I've found if I hold the fabric at an angle to the foot (to the left) its less likely to slide out of the foot. Silky fabrics can be really tricky!

Hi all!
I have never done a narrow hem with a narrow hem foot before so I have a very basic, maybe even silly, question; Do I pre fold and pen the material first, or just thread it through the foot and it does the folding for me?

 

[TackCollector]

Using attachments, from Singer online manuals

ALL KINDS OF ATTACHMENTS:
I stumbled onto http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2008/08/singer-online-manuals.html yesterday, while looking for something else. The Singer machines like the 66 and the 15 series came with a whole box of attachments and the manuals covered how to use them. You can download an entire manual from the links on that blog site, or here I just linked to specific pages from one of the Smithsonian manuals that are available online.

The Singer 66 or Singer 15 manuals are good "generic" manuals to refer to if you can't find one for a Japanese-made straight stitch machine. The US Government gave the Singer model 15 design to Japan as part of the Marshall plan, and the Japanese improved upon it and subsequently added zigzag capability.

This is from the Singer 15-88 and 15-89 manual, toward the end where using the attachments is covered:

 

[Alice Blue]

I'm making some culottes, which got me wondering about the 40's playsuits with culottes and skirts. Was the skirt worn *over* the culottes? (The pattern cover illustrations below make me think that it was.) In that case, did the skirt attach somehow?

Simplicity 2013, 1947

Simplicity 1020, 1944

Simplicity 2844, Late 1930s

 

[vintageTink]

Looks like it maybe just be an attachable skirt that uses a button or hook and eye closure. Maybe the shirt tucks in?

 

[renaissancemedici]

I hope this question hasn't been asked before.

What if I wanted to combine a shirt and skirt pattern to make a dress. A seam in the waist will be there of course. Any alterations needed on the pattern to join them? I was thinking mostly about the skirt, because the shirt will be shortened (but then again, where? The waist? ) I am a very novice seamstress yet. But if I get the hang of it, I will really make dresses I like!

Any suggestions would be very helpful! Thank you!

 

[lareine]

You will need to consider how exactly the shirt bottom matches the skirt top, so that the seams match. You will probably need to take in the shirt a little (or a lot!) to make it fit the skirt. If there are darts or other shaped areas like that then you want them to match properly in both garments so that they line up with each other and look good together. Either an exact match or a complete mismatch is better than a sort-of match between top and bottom

You'll also need to think about how you get in and out of this outfit. You could add a long zip to the side seam of the merged garment, or use a skirt pattern that buttons at the front if your shirt also buttons at the front.

You will need to shorten the shirt at the bottom of it, yes, because you still need the same length to cover your torso - you just want to lose any fabric that goes below the waist seam.

If it was me I would trace off both patterns without a seam allowance, make my adjustments so that all the stitching lines match up, and then add my seam allowance to the outside.

 

[Lady Day]

I'm making some culottes, which got me wondering about the 40's playsuits with culottes and skirts. Was the skirt worn *over* the culottes? (The pattern cover illustrations below make me think that it was.) In that case, did the skirt attach somehow?

Simplicity 2013, 1947

Simplicity 1020, 1944

Playsuits are generally 3 pieces: a blouse, shorts and a front open skirt for easy removal for those romping times The skirt for these is generally referred to as a cover up. As you can see, most of the illustrations have the skirt completely off, or unbuttoned to where the shorts peek through. My assumption is the shorts act as kind of a slip for the skirt.

 

[renaissancemedici]

You will need to consider how exactly the shirt bottom matches the skirt top, so that the seams match. You will probably need to take in the shirt a little (or a lot!) to make it fit the skirt. If there are darts or other shaped areas like that then you want them to match properly in both garments so that they line up with each other and look good together. Either an exact match or a complete mismatch is better than a sort-of match between top and bottom

You'll also need to think about how you get in and out of this outfit. You could add a long zip to the side seam of the merged garment, or use a skirt pattern that buttons at the front if your shirt also buttons at the front.

You will need to shorten the shirt at the bottom of it, yes, because you still need the same length to cover your torso - you just want to lose any fabric that goes below the waist seam.

If it was me I would trace off both patterns without a seam allowance, make my adjustments so that all the stitching lines match up, and then add my seam allowance to the outside.

Thanks this was very helpful. I prefer zippers myself, because buttons tend to be traitors now and then. So I usually sew down the button part, and they don't really open. Of course, when you sew you can make a fba and avoid the button problems, however I still prefer them decorative. As for the darts, you are so right! I will have some problems there, matching the perfectly. Or, I could sew shirt and skirt from the same fabric, and make it look like a dress while being seperates? But somehow I don't think it looks quite the same!
I have also been considering pattern drafting from vintagesewing.info (remember that?) but that's a different story. So many wonderful styles out there!

 

[TheSacredFemme]

Just started, and nearly finished, my first ever "proper" sewing project- a wonderful pencil skirt from "Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing." It's coming so much easier to me than I thought, but I'm so glad to have enrolled in a 10 week course on dressmaking anyway! This will definitely be the year I finally take this hobby up properly.

 

[Joie DeVive]

I'm desperate for a little help here. For my fashion show, we were loaned a jacket with a metal zipper front. It is STUCK. Despite quite a while working on it, I can't get it to move down a millimeter, and I'm afraid to move it any farther up for fear it will be further zipped and just as stuck. Any suggestions as to how to get the darned thing to unzip? Help!

 

[ingineer]

My first step after looking to see if the fabric is not caught under the runner is to use a little lubricant, bee's wax is what I prefer, some say the lead of a pencil but that can stain.
Richard

 

[Joie DeVive]

My first step after looking to see if the fabric is not caught under the runner is to use a little lubricant, bee's wax is what I prefer, some say the lead of a pencil but that can stain.
Richard

Thank you ingineer. I've looked at it from the front and back, and have not seen any fabric caught. If you don't mind me asking, where and how exactly to you apply the wax? Would I apply it to the closed track of the zipper behind the pull, or directly into the open teeth? And then would you recommend risking pulling the zipper further closed and then working it down, or just continuing to attempt to unzip it. Forgive me, but I am at a loss. I've never seen a zipper this stuck!

 

[ingineer]

You need to get some sort of lube were the teeth meet inside the runner, Soap , Palmolive etc. Move the runner or jiggly it so that it will move in any direction so that one can access the condition of the teeth, They are probably crowded. Then one can determine if replacement is in order. The last one I replaced on a A2 was $20 for the zipper and $40 for the seamstress. Good Luck.
Richard

 

[GHT]

I'm desperate for a little help here. For my fashion show, we were loaned a jacket with a metal zipper front. It is STUCK. Despite quite a while working on it, I can't get it to move down a millimeter, and I'm afraid to move it any farther up for fear it will be further zipped and just as stuck. Any suggestions as to how to get the darned thing to unzip? Help!

Absolutely, you must try and move it up, but only just a tad. When you can't get it to move down, it's because something is jamming it. Seeing the cause of an upward jam is much easier than seeing the downward counterpart. Be brave and tug it hard upwards, this will free it from whatever is causing it to stick. And as Ingineer has explained, if you need to, use a lubricant.

Remember, that the worst that can happen is for the zip to jam permanently. So replace the zip, if you have to.