My mom started sewing before I was born. She continued to sew throughout much of my childhood. Watching her sew was most likely the impetus for my interest and desire to learn about sewing when I had my own child. She ended up having four girls (enough work in-and -of-itself, let alone while sewing!) and put up her sewing machine for about a decade. When I began sewing for my own little girl, my mom helped me whip up a bonnet, Bishop, Jamie, and learn the basics. Her re-entry into sewing has been incredibly eye-opening for me, as we’ve both improved our skills through dramatically different ways of learning and…
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Smock ’em Straight: Smocking A Bishop Straight
When I first learned to smock I remember being taught about blocking, having no understanding of what I was doing and then assuming that smocking was too hard for me. This prevented me from smocking for quite some time. When I finally regained the courage to do it, I purchased a million pre-pleated inserts and just practiced. After that, I was hooked, and I was already smocking straight. I stuck to inserts (give me all the Michie Playsuits and Alan’s bubbles!) and did not venture out. When I finally attempted a Bishop, I did so with help. My friend Margy and I pleated the Bishop below using the methods I…
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Harper + April Mash-Up
Y’all this combo. I am a sucker for a bubble…and this combination is most certainly my new favorite. First off; the patterns are extremely well written and easy to follow. It’s obvious that Children’s Corner goes out of their way to ensure that any level of sewist can pick up a pattern and understand the instructions. Because of this, it is super easy to combine the two. Another thing I love about both of these patterns is that they’re both lined. Patterns that are totally lined tend to have great body. I have found that I love lining my patterns with a Fabric Finders broadcloth or a fabric with a…
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Attaching Gathered Fabric to Flat Fabric-quick tip
Don’t you love it when people show you a quick tip that changes your sewing life? I absolutely love it. My sewing mentor recently dropped this little gem on me so I thought I’d share! When attaching gathered fabric to flat fabric you can use this little tip to keep your gathers PERFECT. So next time you attach gathered trim to a sleeve, a skirt to a bodice, or gathered trim to beading, this is a quick trick that will make your life easier. Gather your fabric (in my case trim) as normal. Making sure gathers are nice an straight and evenly spaced. Lay a paper towel down on your…
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Ironing…the glamorous part of sewing.
To say that I did not enjoy ironing when I began sewing would be an understatement. I skipped ironing steps, sewed with only polyester blend fabrics, and even postponed projects if they included too much ironing. I did not like ironing because I did not know how to do it. Ridiculous right? You just iron out the wrinkles…enough said. Every single time I went to iron my garment or piece of fabric looked EXACTLY the same after ironing as it did before ironing. It was infuriating. As I watched women sew during sit-n-sews I learned (while trying not to creepily stare) the value of ironing. I also learned the value…
