Teaching Sewing and Alterations for Fun or Profit
Once in awhile, a dress comes along that is too long in the bodice length and it is just plain uncomfortable to wear. It feels big and baggy and droopy. In this alteration, I needed to raise the waistline in order to make the dress fit better. (There were some other alterations that needed to…
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As you readers know, altering garments is my focus, not constructing them. But, I just got a great question from a reader and I would love your input in helping her. I’d love your thoughts on the tulle (netting) fabric. Do you have some tips on how to expedite the process and make that skirt…
Read MoreHere’s another good question from a reader… Judy wrote: My question regards mistakes. I’ve never destroyed anyone’s item (thank goodness!) but I’ve always been afraid of messing something up, especially an expensive item, like a prom or wedding dress. Have any of you ever made an error like this? If so, what did you do? Here’s…
Read MoreA customer brought me two jackets to take in at the shoulders. Both of these jackets had shoulder pads, too, which she wanted removed. You don’t see those much anymore! The other jacket can be found in the post entitled, A Finely Tailored Jacket. Both were custom made in England for my customer and they were…
Read MoreThis is a sewing related post, even though the title doesn’t sound like it! As I mentioned in the previous post, we held two receptions for our daughter’s wedding. One was held at the church. The second was a family dinner at a public golf club in the next town. Here are the newlyweds leaving the church:…
Read MoreThis formal dress has piping that goes all along the very top edge. (Piping is cord that has been covered with fabric to make a nice decorative feature on a garment.) This dress has to be taken in at the bust area, which means I need to alter the piping when I take in the…
Read MoreEvery morning I open up my e-mail and receive many wonderful comments and good questions. Last week, I received a tip on how to remove a stain from a wedding or bridesmaid dress. In all my years as a wedding coordinator, I don’t remember a bride or bridesmaid spilling anything. Maybe that was partly because we made sure they…
Read MoreUpdate: October 19, 2020 Do you know what a gusset is? It’s an inverted triangular (or diamond shaped) piece of fabric inserted into a garment to make it fit more comfortably. If you’d like to put gussets in pants or a top that has sleeves, look at this post on How To Put Gussets in…
Read MoreI’d like to address how to fix a few problems with the boning in your wedding dress, formal dress, corset , tops or really anything that has boning! Recently, a customer tried on a dress that just didn’t seem like it fit correctly in the bust. I knew right away that it had an issue…
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This is an older post that has some great tips on how to alter tulle or netting on your dress. After reading this post, click on How To Hem a Dress with Tulle or Netting for an updated version. This particular dress, below, had two layers of satin and two outer layers of netting on…
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The Sewing Garden 