The Sewing Garden

Thank You!

By: Linda December 31, 2013September 21, 2022

Alterations, Encouragement2014, Alterations, clothes, Google, grandchildren, how to alter clothing, how to sew, My dad taught me to sew, search engine, Trusting in Jesus, What I love about Google Analytics, Why I decided to write a blog8 Comments

The WordPress annual report just showed up in my inbox. I am speechless. There were over 290,000 visits to this blog in 2013! That’s about 800 per day….incredible! And you are reading this blog from 179 countries all over the world… (from some countries I have never heard of)…..even more incredible! Thank you to each…

Should You Charge A Minimum Fee For Alterations?

I get asked this question alot. Should you charge your customers or friends a minimum fee for alterations? Well, let’s take an example. This morning, I found a bag on my front porch. Inside was a pair of workout pants: The customer called to say that there was a hole in the seam at the…

How To Alter a Top With a Low Neckline

By: Linda September 1, 2013February 10, 2021

Alterationsalteration, camisole, gift, how to alter a shirt with a too low neckline, how to fix a shirt with a low neckline, low cut, sew, sewing, shirt, t-shirt, tank top, vacation, wardrobe9 Comments

Have you ever tried to alter a blouse that was lower in the front than you were comfortable with? It can be a little intimidating to try and figure it out. I have a frilly blouse here that needs this alteration and I hope after reading all about how to alter this top with a…

Sewing With Treadle Machines in Africa

My family and I just returned from an amazing, life changing trip to Zambia, Africa! It is a trip we will never forget. Our daughter, Michelle, works for an orphan ministry called Every Orphans Hope. We wanted to go and see her working first hand and help where we could. There are 11 orphan homes…

Teaching the Mamas How to Sew

Updated January 2021 Hi everyone, I just wanted to let you know that I will be in Zambia, Africa, for the next two weeks! Last summer, as many of you helped raise money to buy the mamas there each a sewing machine, God was impressing on my heart that I should be the one to…

How to Alter a Top With an Elastic Hem

By: Linda July 4, 2013February 15, 2021

Alterations, Hemscut off elastic from the bottom of a shirt, diy elastic hem removal, how to take out elastic diy, how to take the elastic off the bottom of a top, how to take the elastic out of a top9 Comments

You’ve seen these blouses everywhere: They’ve got elastic around the bottom edge of the top. Many women don’t like how they look when they wear them because they look poufy and make their hips look too big. When they don’t fit well, they pass up the idea of buying them because they think it will…

How to Avoid Ruining a Garment

By: Linda April 15, 2013March 26, 2021

Alterations, Bridalconquering fear when you sew, How do I know when I'm ready to sew bridal wear?, how do I know when I'm ready to sew wedding gowns?, How much experience do I need to sew expensive clothing?, how to build confidence when you're sewing, how to fix alteration problems, should you pay for an alteration mistake you have made?26 Comments

Here’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…

Oh Mama!

By: Linda April 5, 2013February 15, 2021

AlterationsAfrica, aids, Every Orphan's Hope, kiva, micro loans, orphan, Seed Effect, sewing, Zambia2 Comments

I thought you might like to see what some readers to this blog contributed to last summer. If you missed the original posts, you’ll find the first one entitled Sewing in Zambia and the second one called Update on Zambia. Our daughter works for an orphan ministry in Texas called Every Orphan’s Hope. There are…

How to Choose Boning for Your Dress

By: Linda March 21, 2013June 20, 2023

Alterations, BridalHow do I make the bust of the dress stand up?, How to make the bust in a wedding dress rigid?, How to pick the boning you need for a formal dress, how to put in boning, How to sew in boning to a wedding gown, What kind of boning should I buy for a bridal gown?, Where do I buy boning for a bridal dress?, Where do I find boning to put in a wedding dress?15 Comments

Each day, I receive many emails with great questions and today I thought I’d post one I received yesterday as well as the answer to it. Here’s the question: Hi Linda, I am making my daughter’s strapless wedding dress. I used the fabric store feather weight boning for the muslin corset. We got it fitted very…

How To Replace a Zipper in a Jacket or Coat

By: Linda January 28, 2013February 20, 2024

Alterations, Basic SkillsDIY fixing a broken zipper, DIY fixing a zip, DIY Fixing a zipper, DIY replacing a broken zip, DIY replacing a broken zipper, How to add a zipper in a garment, how to fix a broken zipper, how to fix a zipper, how to put a new zipper in a jacket or coat, How to replace a zip in a jacket or coat, how to replace a zipper in a coat, how to replace a zipper in a jacket or coat, How to sew in a new zipper in a coat or jacket45 Comments

Update: October 19, 2020 If you read my last post on How Much To Charge To Replace a Zipper, I promised I’d be back to show you how to put in a new zipper. Here’s the jacket with the broken zipper: On this jacket, the zipper teeth didn’t hold together when the jacket was zipped.…