Category: Sewing Tips and Tricks
Using the Body-confidence to make the perfect pencil skirt!
Hey there! My name is Michele, and I’m here today to talk to you about hacking the AMAZING new Body Con-fidence dress into separates! I’ll confess something to you all-when I first saw the line drawings for this, I immediately thought, “Oh that’s lovely, but no thank you.” My distaste for my wiggly bits is …
Using the Body-confidence to make the perfect pencil skirt!Read More
Installing an Invisible Zipper
Step 1: Replace your sewing machine foot with your invisible zipper foot, lining up the center marking with your needle. Step 2: Unzip your zipper. From the wrong side, iron the zipper coils flat using a synthetic setting on your iron. Do not zip up your zipper until you are finished with installation. Step 3: …
Adding Leg Ruffles to the Corner Swimsuit
Ruffles are cute, girly, and adorable, but this particular ruffle covers the top of the thigh where the suit presses in, for a smoother sexy look which makes me feel confident! This can be added to the one piece or the bikini bottoms, at the step just before adding elastic or bands to …
Rad Restyled Contest: My Pinspiration and the Buttercup Dress
Are you ready for some Rad Restyled? Do you know what it is? Rad Restyled is when you take a totally Rad pattern (see what I did there?) – or two or three or… whatever you want really – and mash them together or hack them apart to create a new amazing garment! Maybe you …
Rad Restyled Contest: My Pinspiration and the Buttercup DressRead More
Adding Pockets and Making Luca Reversible!
I love pockets in the winter, especially our cold ones in the PNW. Now you may be asking yourself, why doesn’t she wear gloves? Two words… little kids. I was inspired to make this coat with pockets and a full lining. In my photos I am wearing it with a short sleeve shirt underneath and …
The Selfish Sew: Or How I Learned to Love Myself and Throw Away My Old Undies
Old underwear seems to have—at least for me—a kind of magnetic pull. I would glare at my stretched-out, ugly old Walmart undies every time I put them away in a drawer, but I’d still put them on again each morning without fail. When I first started sewing, my focus was on learning the basics, and …
The Selfish Sew: Or How I Learned to Love Myself and Throw Away My Old UndiesRead More
Buttons! And how to make them not scary.
Hey Rad fans! So you’ve seen the new Buttercup top and dress right? Buttercup is a fabulous knit top with a fun feature -BUTTONS! SMLXL Now, I get it, buttonholes and buttons can be quite daunting if you’ve never done them before. But don’t worry! We’ve got your back. I’m going to walk you …
Cutting Out Fabric
A lot of people were taught to pin the pattern to the fabric, and then cut with fabric shears (that you threaten death to anyone who dares suggest using them on paper!) photo from some e cards This is even how I was taught to cut things in apparel design school…but it isn’t the …
Knit stitches
There are SO many different types of stitches and fabrics and sometimes it can be overwhelming trying to figure out what goes with what, especially if you’re new to sewing! The very first class you take as an apparel design student is basic construction – where you learn how to sew. My classmates ranged …
Why that 1″ measurement square is SO important
If you ever sew using PDF patterns, you’ve likely seen the 1″ (or 2, 3, or 4″ depending on the pattern maker) measurement gauge square. This square is designed for you to ensure that your pattern has printed correctly, so your finished project fits correctly. Nobody wants to cut into the pretty fabric they’ve been …