Back to Basics: Sewing tips

So I have my first serger on the way and I am so excited to start working with it. I am no longer afraid to work with Rayon and linens because now I can properly overlock the edge and reduce fraying. In the meantime, I wanted to talk about some things I have learned over the last year of sewing. I want to preface by saying I have been sewing a year and I am self-taught so it's been a lot of trials and error. Any corrections or suggestions please leave below.

As a general overview for someone who says they want to home sew, I would suggest the following (I may break up into blogs for length);

The first thing I would tell a beginner is to relax. When you decide to sew you can get very excited as well as overwhelmed. Slow down and don't' take on more than you can handle. Find the beginner tutorials on YouTube and get a good book.

I reference "The Sewtionary" by Tasia St. Germaine from Sewaholic. The link will take you to Sewaholics page. It's an a-z guild of sewing terminology and how-tos with color photos and easy to understand explanations.

Another good book is "Dressmaking, a complete guide to making your own clothes" by Alison Smith. The link will take you to an amazon retailer. This covers everything from equipment to materials, techniques for fitting and some follow along patterns. Again, it has color photos and easy to understand explanations. These are great references for any newbie, but even after a year I still use them.

The next thing I would tell a beginner is to make sure the projects they want to do are appropriate for their skill level. I didn't know for the longest time that patterns usually have a difficulty rating on them. Some are more obvious than others. If you look through a Vogue pattern catalog they even have a whole section dedicated to "Vogue Easy" without sacrificing style, and there are also Vogue Very Easy patterns. Love it! So make sure you are sticking to something within your skill range.

The third thing I would mention is to get those coupons!!! I live near a JoAnns, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby who take each other's coupons, so get those apps, get on that mailing list. They have 50% off items, 60% off items, 20% off total orders and so on. You can use those for craft supplies, notions, fabric, and equipment. Coupons can't be used on Patterns, but those babies go on sale all the time. When simplicity has their $0.99 each pattern I stock up! Butterrick and McCalls also have something like $1.99 each, or 3 for $5 and Vogue will go on sale for $4.99 each. May vary by area. Also use the internet to hunt down cute patterns.

There is so much more I want to tell you but I am going to break this up. Next, I'll talk about the must have equipment, understanding patterns, choosing sizing and making mock-ups.

Hope you enjoy,

Jessi Harm aka Evil Regal

Summer Floral Flare

I recently got this very awesome Retro Butterick 1951 shirt-dress pattern in B5920 and had so much fun making it. Now I am a super beginner, and this is my first dress. I found it to be pretty easy to follow along with, however, you will notice the lack of the notched collar because I couldn't figure it out. I also ended up taking off a lot of length from the skirt compared to the original pattern. I am 5'5 and I like skirts and dresses typically right below my knee. This first picture was my finished piece. Again, room for improvements, but I really like this style. More shirt dresses to come. 

(again with that garbage pail)

SMALL

This is the dress still on my dress form with the tailor marks and original length. I wanted you to see the cloth buttons. I went to a vintage store and found a bunch of buttons, however, didn't like any of them and ended up getting a cloth button making kit to do my own out of the leftover fabric. 

 The only thing I want to do is find thicker, funkier belt to really cinch the waist. :)

Hope you enjoyed, 

Comment below, 

Jessi Harm

I am back... With Sewing!

Been a while. Got a Degree. Got a new Job, and oh yea... started sewing. :)

So earlier this year I discovered the amazing fabric and pattern designer, author and seamstress, Gertie, aka Gretchen Hirsch. I fell in love with her vintage, punky style. I bought all of her books and got myself some of her fabric too.

Recently I made a skirt out of her beautiful border print fabric, and followed a tutorial on her blog for a Dirndl style skirt. Links Below. Here is my creation. I paired it with a blazer and blouse from Target. It was light, feminine, fun and very spring :) This is her Rose Garden Border cotton Sateen fabric. I am a beginner. This is the 3rd finished project I have made so there was some room for improvements. 

(please forgive the garbage pail in the photo)

 It was really easy if you follow her tutorial, however I am bigger than she is, and I wanted some  extra lushy fullness, so for my waist measurement of 41 inches, I got 2.5 yards of fabric. 

Her tutorial is below, she broke it into two parts and I really don't think it needed to be that in depth.

Basically is two large rectangles for the skirt, sew up the side seams, but leave a spot for the zipper,  you just need to know how you want your fabric to lay, and I like big hems, so after I chose my desired length, I added 4 inches for a big hem. Same with waistband.  Two long rectangles of desired thickness, plus seam allowance, and width plus seam allowance, and I opted for some fusible interfacing. 

Best thing about this skirt, its a rectangle, so its the easiest hem job ever. I hate hemming skirts. 

Here is Gerties tutorial:

http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2009/08/sew-full-gathered-skirt-part-one-make.html

http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2009/08/make-this-skirt-part-two-of-gathered.html

Hope you enjoyed. 

Comment below, 

Jessi Harm