Tutorial
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Science of Sewing: Single Welt Pocket
The single welt pocket is a staple of business attire, commonly found on blazers, pants, and the occasional dress or skirt. Differing from a patch pocket, the single welt pocket is a pocket inside your garment, with a strip of fabric covering the pocket opening on the outside of the garment. While there are many ways to go about welt pockets, this tutorial covers the basic insertion of a single welt pocket with step-by-step instructions that are clarified with pictures. Once mastered, this easy technique, though somewhat time-consuming (it will take about an hour), will add a touch of elegance to your garments. Materials NeededFabrics: Garment fabric, pocket bag fabric…
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Science of Sewing: The Scallop Edge
I made a wrap skirt from a UFO dress from 2017 (pattern is lost and I didn’t have some of the pieces anymore). Wanting to not be plain Jane about it, I decided to do a scalloped edge on the overlapping piece to add even more visual interest to an already punchy skirt. So if you wanted to make something with a scallop edge, I got you covered. Here’s how you do so: Interface the edge of the fashion fabric you are going to scallop. (I also serged, this is not necessary though) 2. Draw your scallops! I took a candle and used that to trace to make my scallops…
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Science of Sewing: Enlarging a Sleeve
Enlarging a sleeve is something I have to do all the time! I don’t have the pencil arms patterns seem to think are normal, so I am constantly redoing the sleeves. I helps that I love a gathered sleeve head, that makes it even easier to alter. I’m working on a project that requires a rather fluffy sleeve. Having found no such pattern, I decided to make my own using an existing pattern as a base to alter to match. Note that there is some loft in the sleeve head – I’m interpreting that to be gathering. The forearm of the sleeve is also much wider than the bicep, so…
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Altering an Unflattering Dress
When I originally bought this dress from Ann Taylor, I didn’t inspect the fit as well as I should have. Totally my fault, I fell in love with the stripes and the shirtdress style combined, so I was blinded to the issues that were quite apparent that made the dress rather unflattering. While not too terrible, there were some serious issues. Circled in blue is the waist seam actually level. To do this, I had to pin up the back on the dress form otherwise it would sag in the back (highly improper for my body type unless it there is an empire in the front). This lead to a…
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Science of Sewing: Creating Custom Striped Fabric
I fell in love with this fashion plate and knew I had to make it into Captain America. But the problem was the striped skirt, I didn’t want the stripes falling into the seamlines and creating chevrons. Instead I decided to make my own stripes and sew them on to recreate the look. This was my process for getting crisp, clean, and even stripes all around the skirt. Step One: Tear taffeta into 2″ strips. Yes, tear. Silk taffeta tears evenly on grain, creating perfect strips of fabric that you didn’t have to cut meticulously. It takes near zero time to do in comparison to cutting. Step Two: Grab handy…
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Science of Sewing: Finishing Seams without a Serger
Fraying seams are the worst. They’re scratchy and uncomfortable, they can leave threads hanging out from under you clothes, but worst of all, they can be unstable, cutting the life of your garment to nothing in a flash. Here a few different ways to finish a seam that will increase the longevity of your garment and put an end to unseemly seams! Basic Straight Stitch Seam The simplest way to finish a seam is to sew a parallel stitch to the seam to keep the raw edge from fraying. To do this, sew your seam with the seam allowance instructed by your pattern. Then sew the selvage of your seam…
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Science of Sewing: Basic Stitches
Today’s post is all about the basic and common stitches you’ll need to learn to make your costumes! These stitches are found on almost every machine these days, so get ready for the 12 most useful stitches. (Note: though your machine may not have the exact stitch pattern, there is going to be something close. Check your manual for a description of the stitch to map the below to your machine’s stitches. Stitches 1 & 2 Straight Stitch & Stretch Triple Straight Stitch Straight Stitch: For seaming and topstitching, you absolute most common stitch. Stretch Triple Straight Stitch: Reinforced seams and topstitching. Stitch 3 Zig Zag Stitch Reinforce seams, finish…
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Science of Sewing: Cutting Implements
Let’s talk about all the scissors you might want or actually need for cosplay creation! There are quite a few, so I’ve broken them down here with their uses and place in the cutting world: Types of Shears and Scissors Dressmaking Shears Embroidery Scissors/ Thread Snips Pinking Shears Tailor’s Shears Rotary Cutters Hair Cutting Shears Thinning scissors Hair Razors Dressmaking Shears Dressmaking Shears come in two distinct varieties: Knife-edge and Serated-edge. Both styles coming in sharp tip and blunt tip. There are also spring loaded versions to take some of the work off your hands. These are the mainstay of your scissor collection. They are meant to cut through fabrics…
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Fabric Selection 101
Beyond a doubt, fabric selection is the most crucial part of sewing – it literally is the costume. When I was a starting seamstress, my fabric choices were ALL over the place, especially for skirts, I used lining fabric, charmeuse, silky solids, and a myriad of completely inappropriate fabrics for the styles I was making. Best part? They fell apart. Not just because I didn’t finish my seams, but because the fabric was quite literally, wrong. You can learn from my mistakes! Save yourself some coin to spend on the appropriate fabrics for a project. I’m going to talk all about wovens today and save knits for another. If you…
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The Great Big List of Stuff!
Starting sewing is intimidating, especially when you’re going through rows and rows of sewing notions in Joann Fabrics. I’ve distilled those walls into a list of the basics you’ll need to get started and with the ‘advanced’ tools you will likely want to acquire over time if your needs call for them. Click on the pictures for links! Taking care of your machine is priority #1. You’ll need to keep it properly oiled and continually remove lint so the machine action can work uninhibited. You’ll want to clean the lint out every 6-12 hours of sewing depending on your fabric. (I’ve had to do this up to once every hour…
