How To Sew: Sew A Seam Video. Sewing a seam at home can save you a lot of money.
Watch this About.com video to see instructions for sewing a seam by yourself, rather than paying a seamstress.See Transcript Hi, I'm Melissa Louch, resident seamstress at Picking Daisies Modern Fabrics in San Luis Obispo, California. I'm here for About.com to teach you how to sew a seam. Supplies for Sewing a Seam To do this, you will need: threadscissorstwo pieces of fabrica sewing machinean ironand an ironing board or mat. Easy French Seams. French seams are used on fine and sheer fabrics, and they give a more attractive finish than simply overlocking.
However they can be a bit fiddly and many sewers give up on them, but here is a way to get perfect seams even with the wigglyest of fabrics! Here my total seam allowance is 10mm, so I stitch 3mm, and then 5mm from the edge. The extra 2mm is taken up in the turn of the fabric. Begin by stitching the wrong sides together at 3mm, this is half a foot width on my machine: On your ironing board lay your seam flat and trim the frayed threads even, so they don't stick out of your seam later.
Press the raw edges lightly to one side, remember this will be your right side when finished: Tutorial: Invisible Seams, The Hidden Stitch. To close up a seam without showing any stitches you can use the hidden stitch, sometimes it is also called a ladder stitch.
This is a really useful stitch to use when you are closing up stuffies, a turning hole or binding the edge of a quilt. 1. Thread your needle and tie a knot on the end (I’m using red thread in this tutorial just so it will show up better) 2. Insert the needle from the inside out and pull it through until the knot catches. 3. 4. Flat Felled vs French Seams. Sheila asked an excellent question in the comments.
She wanted to know the difference between a flat felled seam and a french seam. The major difference in my opinion, is how the seam looks on the right side of the garment. A flat felled seam shows stitching on the right side (think of the seams on the side of a pair of jeans), while a french seam does not (it is found in many high end sheer garments). Thus, a flat felled seam tends to be found in sportier, more casual garments and a french seam is usually found in expensive evening clothes. Both types of seams are extremely sturdy and stand up to wear well. Below, I have created a tutorial. Flat Felled Seam French SeamSew the two pieces of fabric, wrong sides together, with a 5/8" seam.Trim both sides of the seam allowance to 1/4".Press open the seam.Fold the fabric, right sides together, along the seam and press.Stitch 3/8" from the fold.This encases all the raw edges inside the seam.
How To Sew A Rolled Hem. The Not-So-Nerdy Way to Hem Jeans. I’m in need of some shorter-inseam jeans to wear with comfortable shoes for walking I’ve been doing around campus.
I have avoided hemming what I have because hemmed jeans look so nerdy. I remembered hearing a friend say she only buys jeans at the Buckle because they hem jeans for free and keep the original hem. (Hem, hem, hem, any synonyms for this?) Make Crisp, Even Hems. How To: Hem Stitch By Hand. Hemming stitch by hand Hemming can be done in a lot of ways, by machine or by hand.
Perfect Flared Hem (Say No Sagging) – Learning Sewing. Two Ways To Tame Knit Fabric Hems. Hemming the knit garments that we sew can often be a frustrating experience.
Wavy, stretched-out, lumpy, and uneven hems are all too common. Here are 2 easy ways to get great looking hems on knit garments every time! The first way to hem knit garments and the one I use most often is by "Crowding the Needle". How To Mitre A Folded Hem. This is my favourite method of finishing hems on fine or drapy fabrics.
It gives a quality finish inside and out, with no ugly overlocking to be seen. Occasionally it is necessary to hem a corner of fabric, and following are step-by-step instructions on how to neatly mitre the corner. Lay your corner that you wish to mitre on your table right side up, then fold it diagonally right sides together so that the cut edges meet. Fold the upper raw edge towards the wrong side (towards you) 5mm, and fold the lower raw edge towards the wrong side (away from you) by the same amount. Sheer Hem Technique. I thought I would share the hem/edge technique I will use on my blouse, BWOF #122-3,6-09, that you saw in the last post.
After some fiddling with my last sheer hem, I came up with what was for me an original edge treatment but have since seen it referred to in BWOF 6/09. Their directions are cursory so here are mine in a little more detail. Baby Hems. I decided to use a "baby hem" for the edges of the peplum on this blouse.
It is a treatment used to hem sheer fabrics. First you need to sew a line of stitching along the area to be hemmed at where you would like the finished edge of the hem. Your hem will be 1/8 th inch shorter than this so keep that in mind. Fab Finish For Knits: Bound Edges. Darlings, your Pressinatrix has had a bad week. She installed her new Reliable boiler iron at the office, and has been happily pressing away. But The Pressinatrix also sews at home, and therefore is in great need of her pressing equipment there as well. Alas, tragedy struck. You see, The Pressinatrix believes that her home iron, a wonderful Consew gravity feed that has served The Pressinatrix dutifully for nigh these last seven eight years – my, how time flies.
Well, The Pressinatrix believes that her Consew discovered that The Pressinatrix had taken up a dalliance with the Reliable. Heartbreak ensued. How To Shorten Coat Sleeves. Do you want to learn how to shorten coat sleeves? If you regularly wear jackets, the coat should cover the jacket’s sleeves by between 3/8 inch and ½ inch.
For a professional look, you will have to alter the coat and the coat’s lining separately. This will also make any future alterations easier. To change the length of your sleeves, you'll need: How To: Shorten Sleeves with a Lining. I do a lot of different sewing projects for people, and learn a lot of new things along the way. Today I thought I'd show you how to shorten sleeves of a women's blazer (or any sleeve that is lined). It is easy, even if you don't call yourself a seamstress, you can do it too! How to Hem Suit Coat Sleeves. I have had this post in draft for a while.
Altering suit coat sleeves is not difficult if you know a few tricks. It does take a bit of time, but it is very worthwhile. You can expect to spend one to two hours working on this project. You will need a few basic supplies such as good quality matching thread, a sewing machine (straight stitch only, don't panic), an iron, a press cloth or dish towel, tailors chalk, a ruler, scissors, and a roll of fusible interfacing approximately 1" wide.