Hemming a Tulle Skirt

It’s prom time and one of my dear nieces asked me to hem and alter her dress and to sew a really puffy petticoat for under the dress.    Absolutely beautiful and a skirt of yards of tulle.

The first and most time consuming step was to remove and replace about half of the lace applique and bead-sequin trim.  While this took time, it was straight forward.  On the other hand, I knew that hemming the tulle was a once and done affair.  If not done correctly the first time, removing stitches would result in damaged tulle.  Here’s what the hem looked like originally – a narrow turned over hem.

As you can see, it wasn’t sewed all that well when the garment was manufactured.  It was turned over twice and sewed close to the edge.  Originally my plan was to repeat that process after the dress was cut to the desired length.  Fate changed that plan.

On the day that I was finishing the dress alterations, one of my sewing friends came to my house to see how a serger works.  One of the finishes I showed her was a rolled hem. Immediately I realized that’s what I should use for the hem.  Why hadn’t I previously thought of this?  The result was a beautifully finished rolled hem.

How to Serge a Rolled Hem

While this process will vary slightly by serger, the general process is the same.

1. Remove the left needle.

2. Thread the right needle and the upper and lower looper with thread that matches the fabric.

Note: Because of the limited serger thread color selection, I used one spool of regular sewing thread and wound 2 bobbins in the same color. 

3. Set to a very narrow stitch width.

4. Set stitch length to a very short stitch – some sergers have rolled hem settings.

5.  Disengage the cutting blade.

6.  Place cut edge ~1/16″ to the right of the right needle.  This part will turn under and will disappear into the rolled hem

7.  Sew a sample one the fabric you’re hemming.

Note: The fabric should not pull or ruffle the edge. 

8.  Adjust tension as needed.

Note: This is the part that varies by machine so it’s difficult to provide specific directions.

The result is an amazingly beautiful hem and it takes only minutes to complete.  I was so thankful that I remembered to use this finishing method, which would work equally well for chiffon, crepe or many other fabrics.

Settings for a Baby Lock Evolve (or similar serger)

• Remove left or Overlock 1 needle
• Disengage cutting knife
• Stitch width 3.5
• Stitch Length 1.5R (Rolled hem setting)
• Stitch Selector  - D
• Upper Looper Selector – Up position
• Tension – no settings as this is automatic on an Evolve

Wedding Dress Alteration: It’s too Small

Altering a wedding dress isn’t something I do regularly, but I’ve muttled through on several wedding or formal dresses.  So in case you’re tackling this project, I’d like to share some “how to’s”.  Of note, these same directions are applicable to any formal dress or bridesmaid dress.

Recently when I altered EB’s wedding dress, I needed to find 3″ of extra circumference in for a well-fitted dress.  While that seemed like a lot of fabric gain, it was very manageable and yet it was nearly the maximum alteration I could get without adding additional fabric to the sides (not an option for this dress because of the pleating).  Yes, and then there were the leftover stitching marks – how were they eliminated?

Here are the steps I went through to get this lovely result.

Great dress

Altering the sides of a wedding or formal dress that’s too small:

1.  Start by taking a peak at the side seam and zipper allowances, which for most dresses is where you’ll find the extra fabric.  (This dress had 1″ side seam allowances and 3/4″ seams for the back zipper). 

2.  Establish the amount of additional fabric needed in order for the dress to fit. (3″ for this alteration).  Do this by measuring the gap at the zipper.  In other words, with the zipper open, use a seam gauge to measure the exact amount of space between the zipper teeth. This is the moment of truth and it’s basic math.  If the amount you need to alter (i.e. let out) is more than what is available in the seams, it’s likely not possible to do this alteration.

3.  Determine how much can be obtained from the side seams.  (I could steal 2-1/2″ from the side seams and 1/2″ from the zipper).

4.  Carefully remove the side seam stitches from the outer layer and the lining of the dress – all the way from top to bottom or for the area where the alteration is needed. This means “cut”, not “rip” the seam as ripping can increase the size of the thread hole.  Sometimes this can include the seams of the skirt.  If the seams aren’t finished or are susceptible to fraying, you may want to finish the edges before manipulating the fabric.

5.  Sew the dress and lining seam back together. ( I was lucky here – the dress and the lining had a thick fusible lining which made the seams very stable and there was no fraying).

Old seam-line and new seam close to the edge.

6. From the inside, press the seams open.  A sleeve board or clapper covered with silk organza works well for this step.

That’s it for sewing the side seams.  While it seems easy, manipulating such a large amount of fabric is what takes the most time.

Altering the zipper or (usually the back) of a wedding or formal dress that’s too small:

1. Remove the old zipper.

2.  Press out the old seamline.

3.  Re-sew the zipper – you may wish to use a new zipper just in case.  My preferred method is to hand-pick the zipper.  The look is beautiful and for my level of experience it’s easier than machine sewing a replacement zipper when you’re trying to handle yards of fabric.  (I was able to get an additional 1/2″  of the required alteration from the zipper.  Also, I modified the zipper from a lapped to a centered zipper placement).

Pressing the alterations - and removing those pesky stitch marks which are tiny holes in the fabric.

Admittedly, this is the most difficult part of the process.  Here are some tips to help you:

• Use a good pressing cloth such as silk organza.
• Use lots of steam.
• Place a sleeve board or clapper under the seam while pressing.
• While pressing, apply pressure from the edge of the iron directly on the old stitch-line.
• If you aren’t getting the desired result and you think it will never look good, dab a small amount of diluted vinegar (1:1 with water) on the original seam or the stitch line.  Brush lightly with a new toothbrush to reduce the size of the stitch marks and then press the fabric, again using a pressing cloth.

That Special Wedding Dress: Last Minute Alterations

At the end of August my dear friend Kathleen’s daughter EB was married.  It was a beautiful outdoor event in a lovely park and on a sunny summer day.  Sounds like the wedding made in heaven.  As with all events of that magnitude, there are always a few last-minute glitches.  In this case the most significant “week before the event” change was the wedding dress.  Originally EB selected a vintage dress and had it altered so it fit perfectly.  It was ready for the big day.

As we know, there’s more to a great wedding dress than “fit”.  EB loved the dress but the style (for her) wasn’t quite right.  So with 10 days to the big day she found an amazing dress in a bridal shop.  Now she was really in love – with the guy and the dress.

My dear friend Kathleen, EB and her brother Patrick

The bridal store clerk sold EB the dress and said it would be no problem to do the alterations in a week.  They quoted $100 to alter the sides, repair/place a new zipper, adjust the shoulders. shorten the dress 7″, shorten the slip and to add a bustle.  As Kathleen told me this, I thought, “The people at the bridal store were taking EB for a ride.  There’s no way they’d do all of those alterations for $100″. Truthfully I was a little annoyed that a bridal shop would be so disingenuous as to give a low-ball quote. Haven’t we all heard the tales of bridal shops charging exorbitant prices for alterations services?

What are friends for?  I was pleased to do the alterations.  Besides this was self-serving as it nourished my hunger for working on a wedding dress.

The schedule:  With six days to go, EB came to my house for a fitting.  For 2 days I ripped, cut, sewed and pressed.  In 48 hours or 4 days before the wedding EB came for the final fitting and it was perfect.  She loved it and the dress looked fabulous on her.

The back had buttons all the way down to the hemline – a lovely design detail.

Great dress

How wonderful it was to see the a bride feel beautiful on her special day.

BTW, since I had difficulty finding websites with information about “Side alterations – too little fabric”, my next post will be on this topic.

Celebrating Independence Day in Style

Several weeks ago Catie announced that to match her new July 4th headband, she needed an outfit for the holiday.  We looked through my stash and found just the right fabric;  red jersey knit for the top and navy and white striped knit for the skirt.  Our planning evolved into Catie’s description of what the outfit should look like and how it should function.  Here’s the list of requirements:

• Swirl skirt
• Wide waistband on the hips
• Tank top
• Under-shorts
• Big enough so it will fit next year (at 6 years, very practical!)
• Stars on the top

As the last step of the planning stage, we searched my sewing room for just the right decoration – a iron-on rhinestone star.  I also went to the local chain store and purchased 4 stars.

Skirt with under-shorts

Doesn’t she look grand?  Ready for the July 4th Bike Parade in her neighborhood.

Next I’ll discuss how to make the very popular and practical under-shorts – no pattern required.

My New Coat: Marfy 1974

With great pride, I wish to share with you my beautiful new coat from Marfy pattern #1974:

Fabric:

• Taupe wool jacquard from Pendleton
• Underlined with polished wool - i.e. men’s plaid suit fabric
• Faced with brown wool
• Trimmed with lambswool
• Lined with Asian print, underlined with cotton gauze

Consistent with Marfy’s approach to provide pattern pieces without instructions, the following is a photo diary of the process.  Besides, this post is for my kindrid spirit whose wish to see the details more than to hear the story.  Enjoy!

Construction:

Underlined with polished wool and linen for shoulder stabilization

Welt pockets

Bound buttonholes

Velvet pockets

Fur collar with stand

Resulted in:

Back

Back yoke detail

Collar stand

Bound buttonhole

Facing, window for inside of buttonhole, velvet piping

Bone buttons and lining

Fur cuff

One more time

Thank you for visiting.

DIY Travel Shirt / Adventure Shirt / Technical Shirt

When traveling, one of my staples is a travel/adventure/technical shirt.  Typically they are made from lightweight quick-drying fabric.  In recent years, some fabrics include sun protection.  Typical features of these shirts are zippered pockets and vents.  They are especially good for layering over a t-shirt or top, and because of the long sleeves they provide sun protection.  The good and the bad is that these shirts are durable and thus they never wear out.  Because I have always owned two, my travel photos are pretty boring – either I’m wearing the red shirt or the blue shirt.  Now you know where this is going……

Travel Shirt Tutorial

Starting with Vogue 8689, I made a few modifications and now have a shirt I’m really pleased with.  In the future, I’d like to make another (or two?)

Three major changes to the pattern made this shirt very functional as a travel shirt:  a vented back yoke, front zippered pocket and zippered side vents/pockets.  Following is a tutorial for each change.

Additional Supplies:

• 1/2 yard of mesh or other breathable fabric
• 3 invisible zippers – I used long zippers and cut them to the desired length.

Back Vent:

RTW technical/adventure shirts often have a vented yoke like this:

To make this change in your pattern you will cut:  a) one yoke from mesh fabric and b) one yoke from the fashion fabric, extending the length by 1″.

1.  Cut one yoke front he fashion fabric, extending the length by 2″ as in the following photo (I extended it by 3″ but ended up cutting off 1″).

2. Cut a back yoke from mesh fabric.

3.  Cut a diagonal from the upper part of the yoke, like this

4. Serge or zig-zag the diagonal edges.  

5. Sew the mesh to the lower back piece with the right side of the mesh against the wrong side of the lower back piece.

6. Top stitch close to the seam-line.

You are now ready to attach the fashion fabric yoke.

1. Finish the lower part of the fashion fabric yoke by turning the hem twice (1/2 to 5/8″ rolled hem).

2. With the shirt back and the yoke wrong side down, lay the yoke on top of the mesh, matching the edges.  Pin in place.

3.  Top stitch the yoke at each end (about 1″ of stitching) and at the middle (1.5 to 2″).  The remained of the yoke will not be attached to the lower back, allowing air to flow (i.e. venting).  The arrows on the following show the top-stitched areas.

Arrows show top-stitching position for back yoke

Front Zippered Pocket

1. When sewing the front yoke to the front bottom pieces, insert an invisible zipper into the seam.  The zipper should be ~1″ from each edge.  On a size 16 shirt, this made a 5″ opening for the pocket.

Note:  If you want more pockets, you could do this on both sides of the front.

2. Working on the wrong side of the fabric (to make the underside of the pocket), sew a 5-1/2″ by 5-1/2″ piece of mesh, to the bottom of the zipper tape.

3.  To make the upper pocket piece, sew a 5-1/2″ by 6-1/2″ piece of mesh to the upper zipper tape or seam allowance.  I zig-zagged the edges together.

4.  Pin the pocket pieces together.  Sew edges as in the following photo.  You will notice that on the pocket sides you are unable to sew all the way to the top however this won’t alter the functionality of the pocket.

5. Serge or finish the edges to your liking (I didn’t but if would look better if I’d taken the time to do it.

Zippered Side Vent and Pocket

1. Before sewing the side seam, place an invisible zipper into the seam, starting at least 1″ from the arms-eye.  At the lower edge, leave at least 4″.  (My zipper was 10″ long)

2. Sew the seam above and below the zipper.

3. Using a 10″ wide by 12″ long piece of mesh, sew each side of the mesh side to each side of the zipper tape to form a single piece which will become a vent and a pocket.

4.  Fold the vent/pocket toward the shirt front.

5.  Sew the front seam and the bottom seam of the vent/pocket.  Finish edges if desired.

6.  Run one more stitch approximately 4″ from the top of the vent/pocket.  I’m not sure if this is needed but my thought was that this line of stitching would form the pocket.

7.  Hand stitch the top and bottom edge of the vent/pocket to the front princess seam to keep it in place.

One more note:  Inadvertently, I placed one zipper with the pull at the top and one with the pull at the bottom.  When wearing the shirt I realized that both directions have advantages, so I’ll leave that choice to you.

Finished - combined vent/pocket

Of course, what does it matter if the garment isn’t functional.  This shirt worked so well that I wore it all the time, as you can see in the following photos (oh yes, and we had fun too).

Now, I need your feedback.

Forty Years Ago Today

Forty years ago today and six weeks after Kevin returned from a 14 month tour in Viet Nam, he and I were married.  In the ensuing years we have been blessed with wonderful times (and of course some tough times); three incredible children, their wonderful spouses and two adorable grandchildren for which this blog is named.  Along with family and friends, we have created a lifetime of great memories and Kevin is still not only the love of my life, but also my best friend.

Our family - Megan and Chris's wedding

Congratulations to Megan and Chris, who are celebrating their first wedding anniversary today!

————————————————————————————–

Oh my, how times changed us.  I guess you would call us “vintage”.

At Shaun's Wedding - Sept 2010

About my dress:  Because this is fundamentally a sewing blog, a little information about my wedding gown only seemed appropriate.  (And for those of you who remember the awful plaid suit I made for Kevin in the 70′s, I didn’t make his tux.)

The following is an old folded copy of the dress I copied from a 1970 bridal magazine   then I like “knockoff’s”.  The fabric was a sheer poly of some type purchased from a fine Milwaukee fabric store that bit the dust about 20 years ago.  The cape and veil were made from yards of silk illusion, which is now a rare find and the lace was beaded French alencon.  I cut all of the lace and spent hours beading it, but had lots of time since Kevin was in Viet Nam.

A little hiccup:

For the  year that Kevin was in Viet Nam, I lived with my parents.  They had a toy terrier who was usually well-behaved but like all animals he had his moments.  One day I was working on the nearly completed cape (fine silk – just right for a dog bed) and left it on the couch, never expecting that the dog would climb on the couch and nuzzle in my dress.  But he did, and tore the fabric in several places.   Grrrrh.  I was able to move some of the appliques and cover the tears so all was well in the end but at that time it seemed such a big deal.

There’s no Starving on a Bus Ride in Honduras

By American standards, driving 120 Km north in order to go 50 Km east seems a little crazy.  However with the short supply of good roads coupled with the mountains (I guess there is probably a relationship between these two factors), that is just how it is in Central America and specifcally Honduras.

Essentially our plan was to only visit Copan to see the ruins, however it is on the western border, and in order to get to Nicaragua, there really is no direct or easy route.  So we took the long road, which got a little longer than we anticipated.  This was also the trip where we made the transition from ¨traveler¨ style buses to local buses, because in Honduras there is an option besides using Chicken Buses.

We thought our trip from Copan to San Pedro Sula in N. Honduras would be a quick ride as it was only 125 Km.  In fact this last traveler bus was pretty posh with lay back seats and airplane-style service.  They checked and recorded our passports and even took our photos before boarding the bus.  For a trip of about 80 miles, I was sure we would make it in 2 hours on our executive style bus.  Oops, I forgot about the mountains.  Three and a half hours we rolled into a bus mall in San Pedro Sula where we made our first mistake.

We searched for a bus to go south toward Lake Jogua (on the road to the capitol city of Tegucigulpa) before going to an ATM to get some cash.  OK, so maybe we forgot.  At any rate we found out where the bus was loading to go south and a nice gentleman whisked us on the mini-bus (like the type of bus which shuttles you from an airport to the parking lot) which soon took off.  The temperature is above 95 and this bus is from about 1970 which means the air has not worked since 1973.  We were never so happy as to start moving so the hot air could blow in our faces.

We were starved as we only had a little travel food like crackers and cookies, but the good news is that you will never starve on a bus in Honduras or Nicaragua.  From the time passengers started loading on the bus and until we arrived at our destination, there was a steady stream of entrepreneurs with food or drink in hand.  They hop on the bus at one stop, sell their wares and get off at the next stop.  During our 2 hour ride, I am sure that no less than 30 venders got on the bus, selling everything from small bags of ice cold water, soda, cookies, coconut milk or cut fruit in small bags, plums, tomatoes, home-made cookies, sandwiches, chiclets, candy suckers, donuts, fried pork rind, coconut nests (i.e. cookies)  and probably some items I don’t yet know the name of.

Since this was a public bus, we weren’t quite sure of where to stop near Lake Jogua, however several very kind Hondurans were eager to help us and it seemed that they were looking out for us.  One woman struggled to tell us where to get off as there was a hotel right at the stop.  Decision made.  We got off at the stop right next to Chalet de Laguna, which is on the very pretty Lake Jogua.  This hotel, however is part of what looks like a resort and convention center – not exactly the type of place we have been bedding down.  This was a resort only with no town within about 5 Km and for sure no taxi service.

The woman at the reception desk showed us a beautiful room for $80.  Very nice, but we asked for something less expensive.  She then showed us a cabin for $40.  We agreed to take it and when we went to pay, we remembered that we hadn’t gone to an ATM.   When we asked her for the location of the nearest one, her expression was priceless.  This wasn’t ATM country. In fact the nearest one was probably 80 Km away in San Pedro Sula.  Oh, yes, the VISA card, which we haven’t used to date but it worked for the night.

The next morning we stood at the side of the road in front of the Chalet and got on a public bus to Tegucigulpa and on south.  This one was an old tour bus with tired seat coverings and much more, but it got us there.  The stream of vendors continued, even though the bus made a mid-trip food stop.

Tegucigulpa to the Nicaraguan Border

Once in the capital city, we quickly found a bus that would take us to the Nicaraguan Border however there was a little time to transfer which meant no time for an ATM but the buses are cheap.  Our goal was to get to Choluteca which is about 45 minutes from the border.  There we would need to get another bus.  However about 15 minutes into the ride with another old tour bus packed with passengers,  we stopped at a gas station and the driver disappeared.  About 30 minutes later he reappeared with grease up to his elbows.  There was no explanation but we needed to wait for the next bus which meant we had to stay in Choluteca, Honduras and we missed the opportunity to cross the border.  Oh, and there was an ATM in Choluteca!

Free Child’s Crinoline Pattern

One of the fascinating things about a blog is taking a peek behind the scenes of a website.  As the blog owner I have regular access to the type of searches and other sites which refer users to the blog.  For me, this experience provides the same level of intrigue as other “back stage” experiences; maybe like being in a cockpit of a plane or in a production studio.

You Asked: Free Crinoline Pattern

For me, a peak into the wonders of the internet revealed that the most common word searches for my blog are submitted by sewists seeking a (free) crinoline pattern for under a child’s dress or a wedding dress.  About six months ago, I posted a brief tutorial for a wedding dress crinoline, which is what the search engines are targeting.  I understand why that posting gets a lot of hits, because when I tried to find a free crinoline pattern online, I struck out – hence the reason for the post.

Last week as my good friend Barb, was making a flower girl dress for her granddaughter, she asked me for directions on how to make a child’s crinoline.  That request reminded me that I’d started this post a long time ago.  Because of the number of photos and the length of the text, this would have been a really boring and long blog post.  Instead I put the instructions and photos into a really long and boring document.  This is hardly high fashion, but it’s a try at writing instructions.  Now I understand why there are so many patterns which are poorly written – It’s really tough to describe how to sew a garment, even with a lot of photos.

Click below to open the pdf:

Childs Crinoline Pattern

Please leave a comment with feedback on whether this give you the needed information.  Enjoy!

Hand-picked Zippers

Three Options for Hand-picked Zippers

One of the things I absolutely love is to hand-pick a zipper however I’ve not had many opportunities to use this technique.  That changed with the recent surge in sewing wedding garments and now I think I’ll use this method in other garments, even pants.

Since there are great tutorials on the web and specifically because most point pack to Susan Khalje, there’s really not much for me to add.   If you’re interested, Threads Magazine‘s article by SK describes the technique beautifully and the title says it all: “A hand-picked zipper is worth the effort”.

Now for my three samples:

1. Side zipper

The first is the side zipper in Megan’s wedding dress.  Because I was nervous about the zipper breaking on the day of the wedding, I decided to use 2 rows of stitching on each side of the centered zipper and a double strand of waxed silk thread.   Two rows of stitching wouldn’t have prevented the zipper from splitting but it made me feel better. Maybe I put in a second row because hand sewing is so calming that I couldn’t stop sewing?  In the end the two rows of stitching afforded a nicely finished appearance.

Side zipper with 2 rows of hand stitching (not pressed)

Up close

2. Replacing a Machine-sewn Zipper

The second was on Deb’s wedding dress.  The dress was beautifully constructed except the lapped zipper stood out straight and completely exposed the teeth of the zipper.  As a part of the alterations, she asked if I could do anything to make it look better.  With the yards of fabric in a finished gown, I couldn’t imagine putting the dress on my little sewing machine table.  Besides, as you can see in the photo below, there was some beading which needed to be removed for machine sewing.

My first attempt at hand sewing didn’t look good – even with a double strand of thick silk thread, the stitches sunk into the fabric and looked like snags or fabric flaws.  That’s when I decided to use small pearls.  Unlike Susan Khalje’s tutorial, I stitched the pearl as a part of the back-stitch.  I think SK adds the pearls in a second round of stitching.

Deb loved it this small change to an already beautiful gown.

Machine sewn zipper replaced with pearls and hand picks

3. A hand-picked invisible zipper?

The third one was in the dress I wore for Shaun and Deb’s wedding. The fabric had some distressing in it and the dress bodice was ruched. A machine sewn zipper wasn’t in the cards anyway. The problem was that I planned to use an invisible zipper and that’s all I had on hand. So I improvised and hand-picked the invisible zipper.  Instead of stitching 3/8″ from the edge, I sewed about 1/8″ from the center edge, again using a double strand of waxed silk thread.  It worked very well and I’d definitely try this again.

Hand-stitched Invisible zipper

If you haven’t tried this technique, give it a try.  It’s much easier than a machine sewn zipper and less frustrating than pulling out the stitches if you didn’t get the zipper in straight.  This is way easier than you think.