Teaching Sewing and Alterations for Fun or Profit
Last week I showed you my sewing room. Today, I ‘d like to show you how I organize it. I was raised by a very organized mother. She taught me well. When you are finished with something, it goes right back where it belongs. But I’m not as good as I used to be. I…
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Where do you sew? Do you have a designated room where you can keep your machine set up at all times? Is it in a bedroom, a basement, a dining room, an office? Is it well lit, roomy, comfortable and has lots of storage and all the tools you need to create the projects of…
Read MoreIn the last post, we looked at a technique on How to Mend What the Dog Chewed Up, Part One. In that scenario, I mended a few small spots on two Vera Bradley bags that a customer brought to me to fix. Her dog had chewed them both to pieces. Today, let’s look at one of the bags.…
Read MoreAre the sleeves on your shirts too long? Shortening sleeves is a quick alteration. This technique will work for men’s or ladies shirts that have cuffs on them. Let me show you what I did on this purple shirt: There are two rows of stitching on the top edge of the cuff It’s a little hard to see…
Read MoreI have a customer who loathes zippers in her robes. So, she asked me if I could take the zipper out and put in buttons. No problem, I answered. However, before I started, I wanted to make sure that she understood that she was going to lose some of the width in the front. Putting in buttonholes…
Read MoreMy husband had a job for many years where he had to wear dress shirts to work. Invariably, the collars would be the first thing on the shirts to wear out. It’s hard to see in this photo, below, but the collar is beyond help. It is worn out. Because my husband has his favorite…
Read MoreUPDATE 2/25/23: Read this post all the way to the end and then go back and read Making French Bustles, Even Easier Than Before for a shortcut on one of the steps. You’ll be glad you did! You’ll see why this dress ended up with a bustle in the location that it was and how…
Read MoreWe’ve covered so many ways to hem pants so far. If you’ve missed those, click on “Alterations” right here, or above, and it will lead you to all the posts I’ve written on hemming. But, for now, lets look at how to hem lining on pants or skirts. It’s very simple. Don’t be intimidated. First,…
Read MoreThe last post was on how to hem a pair of pants with a vent or slit in the side. This post will give you instructions on how to do a vent another way. This technique can be used with skirts that have vents on the side or center back seam. Here’s what this pair…
Read MoreToday marks what would have been my Dad’s 79th birthday. He passed away two years ago. So, this is to honor him and, being that it’s almost Father’s Day, I figured you wouldn’t mind because there’s some sewing parallels to be observed here. Dad bought me a little battery operated chain stitch sewing machine for my 7th…
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The Sewing Garden 