Let's face it - I'm not a particularly good sewer. I'm keen. I can follow instructions. I can put pieces together but somehow the clothes don't turn out as I imagined. The fit's not quite right and the fabric doesn't always work with the pattern design. The finished garment then gets relegated to the back of the closet. Sound familiar or is it just me?
You see, I'm mostly self taught. I kind of learned as I went along by reading and following pattern instructions (apart from a few short lessons - thank you Gay).
Recently I had a enforced rest and decided to use the time to improve my technical sewing knowledge and skills. So I enrolled in Susan Khajle's online course in the The Couture Dress and absolutely loved it. I learnt a heap of stuff. You can ask questions, take notes and revisit sections whenever you like - it's a great resource.
The approach is so entirely different from what I have learned in the past but it also make a whole lot more sense. Here's what I've learned:-
Respect the grain.
If you don't understand the fabric and the fabric grain and take particular care when lining the pattern pieces up on the grain, the garment will never sit right, ever.
Focus on the stitching/seam line, not the cutting line.
The seam line is what determines the fit of the dress, not the cutting line. Leaving extra seam allowance will allow for fit adjustments.
Make a muslin.
This will allow you to test the garment fit and make any changes before cutting into your expensive fashion fabric. It can then be used as your pattern again later.
Hand baste, hand baste, hand baste.
Yes, time consuming but you regain control of what you're sewing the the machine. At least I do anyway.
Interlining and lining
Gives more body and luxury to the garment. You can also hide construction elements like hand stitching or reinforcing pieces.
Hand stitching the zip
Looked a whole lot easier than trying to get a machine stitched zipper right. But that may be in Susan's capable hands, I'll report back when I've tried it.
Lastly...take the time, be patient and enjoy the process. Oh and now I know why these dresses cost so much!
Finally back to the sewing machine after our 4 months sailing trip. I must admit I really missed having something "crafty" to do and will prepare better for the next trip.
First job - taking up two pairs of jeans - not interesting - so while I have the machine out I'll test a couple of things out....
I want to do is improve my technical sewing skills and I think the trick is having the right equipment. So, I'm investing in some sewing gadgets. One of them is the Adjustable Bias Binding Presser Foot. My bias binding skills suck, so anything has to help. Plus I want to make this pattern, it needs 5 meters of binding and I want it to look well finished.
Here's what I learned in trying to use this new foot:-
- I don't think I could have worked it out myself, so the video I stumbled on below really helped
- adjustments can be made for the binding width and stitch position - very nifty
- once these adjustments are made, it's pretty straight forward to use
- this is the second test attempt on sample. I'm pleased with it as it's a small binding and very fiddly to do otherwise
It's not often I make a pattern multiple times but this Japanese pattern has been one. It's so simple to make, it's also easy and flattering to wear.
This time I made it out of a pink and white stripe with a slight seersucker effect it in one of the stripes from my favourite fabric store. It was a 2 way stretch but a heavier weight than I previously has used and this did alter the final effect (notably the softness of the drapes).
This top also gave me the opportunity of trying to improve my technique using self bias. I also used this handy gadget to help make the self bias. This was a 12mm size but there are others. Simply cut the bias to size (across the fabric grain), push the fabric through the device (having a point of the fabric and a pair of tweezers to pull through the first part of the fabric helped me) and then iron into bias binding.
As this fabric was not so soft a stretch as the previous version, I eased out the side seam and made sure the bottom hem was well stretched while sewing.
Front view (in soft focus:) )
back view
The stripe may or may not have worked but I'm still happy to wear the final result.
