The Sewing Garden

Creative Pinning

By: Linda March 1, 2010July 30, 2017

I’ve got a post coming today or tomorrow concerning how to do a challenging alteration. But, in the meantime, I just had to show you how creative my customers are when it comes to pinning. Those of you who sew always have pins on hand. But have you noticed what happens when people don’t? They…

How To Shorten Shoulder Straps on Your Dress or Top

By: Linda February 11, 2010February 6, 2021

Alterations, BridalAlterations, baggy, Bridal, how to shorten shoulder straps, how to shorten shoulder straps diy, loose fitting, sew, shoulder straps, tank top, wedding gown61 Comments

When your dress or top needs to be taken up at the shoulders, the process is not difficult. Often, my customers will tell me to just stitch across the strap and cut off the excess. Yes, you can do a version of that, but it leaves a very large lump that doesn’t always lay flat,…

How To Add a Corset Back to Your Wedding Dress

By: Linda February 2, 2010February 22, 2021

Alterations, Bridalhow to add a corset back, how to add a corset back to your wedding dress, how to add a corset back to your wedding dress diy, how to add width to a dress, how to alter a quincinera dress, how to alter a quincineras dress, how to enlarge a garment that is too small, how to enlarge a wedding dress, how to lace up a wedding dress, how to make a dress bigger, How to make a dress bigger by adding fabric, how to make a dress more rigid, how to make a lace up back dress, how to make a quincinera dress bigger, how to sew a corset back dress, how to sew a corset back in a dress, how to sew a quinceaneras dress, how to tie a quincinera dress, how to tie a wedding dress, how to turn zipper into a lace up dress249 Comments

Have you found the perfect dress, but it won’t zip up in back? It looks and fits great everywhere else, but you just can’t zip it up? Well, here’s an alteration you can do to fix that problem. I’ll show you how to add a corset back to your wedding dress (or any dress) and…

We Interupt This Regularly Scheduled Sewing Post….

By: Linda January 25, 2010February 25, 2023

UncategorizedAlterations, Amanda Jones, feather boas, God's word, Houston Galleria, Melissa Moore, Siesta Scripture Memory, Travis Cottrell, We met Beth Moore16 Comments

I just had to tell ya’ll about an incredible weekend I had with my eldest daughter in Houston, Texas this weekend! (I will try to find something sewing related to share with you as I write, but if you’re here looking for an honest to goodness “how-to” do an alteration, you’ll be so disappointed.) There are two posts…

close up with measuring tape, hem using the inseam, #829

Hem…Using the Inseam Measurement

By: Linda January 18, 2010June 30, 2023

Alterations, HemsAlterations, hem, how to hem diy, how to hem pants, how to hem slacks, inseam, jeans, pants, sew, slacks, topstitch16 Comments

Several of my customers leave their pants to be hemmed on my porch without ever coming inside. It’s because I hem their pants using their inseam measurement. The inseam is the seam on the inner leg that runs from the crotch area to the hem edge of the pants. Once I know what their inseam measurement is,…

Taking In A Dress That’s 5 Sizes Too Big

By: Linda January 1, 2010February 24, 2021

Alterations, BridalAlterations, Bridal, How to alter a garment that is too big, How to know what size to alter a garment, How to take in a large garment or outfit, New Year's, wedding26 Comments

I haven’t written in almost a month. Not because I didn’t want to. I was preoccupied with altering a bridal gown. I should have known that taking in 8 inches at the bust was going to prove to be difficult. Isn’t there an unwritten rule that you shouldn’t take in more than like three inches…

How To Mark Your Hems..Another Method

By: Linda December 10, 2009February 10, 2021

HemsAlterations, dresses, gowns, Hems, how to hem pants, mark, marking, pants4 Comments

As I mentioned in How To Mark Your Pants For Hemming…One Method, there are many ways to mark a hem. Besides the method I showed you in that post, I have tried using several measuring devices, including a yardstick. None of them worked super well for me. They all had their issues. But many thanks to Christy, a…

How To Mark Your Pants For Hemming…One Method

By: Linda December 4, 2009February 25, 2023

Alterations, HemsAlterations, hem, how to measure pants for hemming, jeans, mark, marking, pants, slacks1 Comment

There are several ways to mark a pair of pants in order to hem them. I have used the same method for years. It is so easy that your kids, husband, neighbor, or friend could do it easily. And so can you! First, I make sure the customer has on a pair of shoes that…

beads all over a wedding gown, clear beads up close, 707

How to Sew Beads onto a Wedding Dress or Formal Gown

By: Linda November 23, 2009February 15, 2021

Alterations, Bridal, Sew For DoughDIY sewing beads on a bridal gown, DIY sewing beads on a wedding gown, how to sew beads on a bridal veil, how to sew beads on a wedding dress, how to sew beads on a wedding veil, Sewing beads back on a prom dress, take off beads and put them back on a dress, What to do if a bead falls off a dress?4 Comments

What do you do if you have to alter a wedding or formal dress (for a customer or for yourself) and the dress has beads on it? (Or maybe, you are making a dress and you want to add beads to it). It looks intimidating, doesn’t it? Well, I’m here to show you how easy…

French Bustles…Making Them Even Easier Than Before!

By: Linda November 12, 2009February 12, 2021

Alterations, Bridalalteration, Bridal, bridal gown, French bustle, French bustles, How to add bustles to your wedding gown, How to add French bustles to your wedding dress, How to keep the train off the floor diy, how to raise the dress for dancing, how to take the train off your dress, under bustle, wedding dress38 Comments

A big thanks to Christy, at Alterations By Christy, for telling me about an even easier way to put French bustles in your gown! Many of you have seen the post I wrote on How To Put Bustles on Your Wedding Gown. Christy saw it too and wrote to tell me about a step in the…