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Tutorial: How To Adjust the Waistband of Your Jeans

Hey friends! I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy during these strange times. I think most of us are firmly in the “stay home and self isolate” camp (at least, I hope all y’all are! STAY HOME!!) (except for those who are, of course, on the front lines – thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, for your sacrifices every single day. Y’all the real MVPs <3), and while it’s a great excuse to catch up on all the projects we’ve been putting off… I know I’m not the only one who is experiencing a dip in their creative energy. It’s not surprising; stress can really do a number on your mental health and overall energy, and sometimes the first thing to go is the desire to do anything other than [barely] survive. However, for me – and I’m sure this can be said for a lot of us – being creative is what brings me joy, so it is important that I make at least a tiny effort every single day. Sometimes that means I sew, sometimes I draw, sometimes I just read. And sometimes I want to sew, but not necessarily start a new project. This is where alterations are so useful! I can get a little bit of sewing in – 20 to 60 minutes – and let my brain have a little stab at problem-solving. Plus, it feels pretty good to take something previously unwearable and make it wearable!

So with all that being said – today I want to share a tutorial on how to alter the waistband of your jeans! This is something you can do on both handmade and ready-to-wear jeans (I actually perform this alteration frequently for clients as one of my side-gigs). You can of course use these steps for any waistband adjustment – trousers or skirts for example – just be aware that some steps may differ depending on what you are working on.

I am sorry in advance for the quality of the photos. I originally shot these with the intention of posting them on Instagram, but while typing my caption i realized it was too long for the app! So I’m moving it here to a blog post (and I can’t re-shoot the steps since, well, all my pants fit now! LOL). For more mini-tutorials and pro tips, please follow and/or occasionally check in on Instagram – the hashtag is #lladybirdprotips

Some notes about this process – as I mentioned, this is not technically jeans-specific, as you can use this process to alter any waistband, including trousers and skirts. Keep in mind that anything you alter without belt loops will mean a visible waistband seam (which I personally thing is a worthwhile trade-off for having a fitted waistband, but you can be the judge of your own wardrobe!). If you don’t like the idea of a visible waistband seam, you can either re-cut a new waistband (I keep leftover fabric from projects specifically for this purpose!) or remove volume from multiple areas (which would make the adjustment appear more of a ~design element~ rather than an alteration).

When determining the amount of take out of your waistband, you will be tempted to overfit. Don’t do this. You want to aim for snug, but not tight. It’s hard to really articulate this into specific words, but I’ll try. A waistband should not have negative ease (unless it’s super stretchy), but should be quite close to your own actual measurements, if not slightly larger (no more than 1”, but this will vary based on body shape and personal preference). For me, I like a waistband that is fitted enough to only allow a couple of fingers, but not so snug that it gives me back fat / love handles. I know with some body shapes, this can be unavoidable – so use your best judgement, and understand that it’s totally fine if you end up needing to re-adjust later down the line. It’s a learning process, after all! Better to not take out enough and need to re-do the adjustment (think of it as another chance to practice, rather than that you did it “wrong” the first time), than take out too much and render the pants unwearable. Because of this, I tend to err on the side of a looser waistband when first sewing my pants, with the understanding that I can always make adjustments later down the line. Sometimes your fabric – especially if you are working with a rigid denim – takes a bit of wearing and washing before it really settles into its shape. A LOT of my pants start out needing a belt for the first few wears, then the waistband shapes itself over time and washing. I recommend waiting a couple of months before doing this alteration!

I know a lot of people recommend adding darts to your yoke to get a better fit, or subbing a curved waistband. While these are certainly viable solutions, I personally find a curved waistband uncomfortable (and it’s something you rarely see in RTW – most waistbands are cut straight and eased in) and I think darts in a yoke look terrible (there, I said it! Fight me!). So my method is a little different, but it works! Try it!

Now, without further ado- Altering the Waistband of Your Jeans: A Lil’ Tutorial!

1. Try on your jeans and pinch out the center back waistband until it fits snugly. Pin this measurement (or use a binder clip), and then measure the distance from the pin to the fold. This is how much you will need to take out- in my case, 1” total. Don’t worry about doubling the measurement or anything, we aren’t mathing here! If you are fitting yourself, you may need to pinch the side seam rather than the center back.

Trying to figure out if you just need to adjust the waistband or the whole back of your pants? A good rule of thumb is if it fits everywhere *except* the waistband (like you just need a belt to snug it up, or else the waistband shelfs open when you sit down)- then you will just work on the waistband. If you’ve got quite a bit of extra space down the center back of your pants as well (like you can easily shove your whole hand down there), then you will want to also take in the center back seam in addition to the waistband. If you’ve got loads of unnecessary room everywhere in the back, you probably just cut a size too big – so take a bit out of the side seams in addition to the center back. Don’t be afraid to pin shit until you’ve got a fit that feels good!

2. Ok, time to start unpicking! Completely remove the center back belt loop, and remove the bottom stitching lines from both side back belt loops.

3. Remove the back waistband from the jeans, from side seam to side seam. Depending on how much you are taking out of the waistband, you may be able to get away with unpicking less (although I tend to err on the side of removing more than less, since you’ll be closing the whole thing up later anyway). I do not recommend unpicking far beyond the side seam!

4. Remove all top stitching and under stitching from all sides of the waistband, so that you can completely separate the waistband from the facing. You don’t need to unpick completely from side seam to side seam here – 3”-5” is plenty, depending on how much you are taking out. If you are removing understitching, you will need to unpick about 1” of top stitching beyond the understitching on either end. Mark the center back of the waistband (I used a pin here).

5. Fold the waistband at the center back together short ways, with the right sides facing, and open out all folded seam allowances so it is completely flat. Sew a new seam line from one end to the other, with the distance from the fold being whatever measurement you took in step #1. Repeat for the waistband facing.

6. Cut open the fold, trim seam allowances if needed (I like to trim my facing seam allowances slightly shorter so there isn’t a bunch of bulk right at the center back), and press both seams open.

7. Sew the waistband and the facing together along the top edge, and understitch.

8. Pin the center back seam of the waistband facing to the center back seam of the pants, with the right side of the facing against the wrong side of the pants, then ease the top edge of the pants to match the new length of the waistband (no photo, sorry!). You will probably need to pull the waistband quite a bit to stretch to fit (#unintentionalpoetry), but it can be done! I took out 2” total from my waistband (1” on the fold), using a very low stretch denim cut on the cross grain, and was able to ease it in with some womanpower. If your fabric is very rigid or you need to take out a lot, you may want to unpick the top stitching from the center back seam of the pants and remove some of the excess there, grading to nothing along the CB seam line. Use your best judgement here!

10. Now sew the facing to the top edge of the pants, pulling the waistband to stretch and easing the top edge of the pants to fit (pro tip – keep the facing on top and the pants against the feed dogs of your machine. This will kept ease the excess fabric, as well as give you more control over stretching the waistband). Press the seam allowances up toward the waistband, steaming out any ease wrinkles at the top edge of the pants if necessary.

11. Now just sew everything back together! Pin the waistband on the outside to cover the previous stitching line, then topstitch along the top edge of the pants. Topstitch the waistband to the facing along the top of the waistband. Re-attach the center belt loop (which ideally will cover your CB stitching line) and the bottom of the side back belt loops. Give everything a good press and you are done!

And that’s it! Honestly, this is a very easy (and very emotionally fulfilling!) adjustment – I think writing this blog post might have taken longer than actually making the alteration! I encourage y’all to give this a whirl if you have a pair of jeans that’s just a little loose in the waist – even the smallest adjustment can make a huge difference!

Some notes: The jeans in this tutorial are the Claryville Jeans from Workroom Social (blog post can be found here). Also, I am still offering Virtual Private Lessons if you have an alteration need that you’d like to chat about or get a little guidance with! So far they’ve been a blast!

How is everyone holding up these days? What are you doing to bring a little creative joy to your life?

Tags: alteration, claryville jeans, denim, jeans, protips, tutorial, waistband

Comments 26 Comments
Categories completed projects - reconstructed, tutorial

Now Offering Virtual Private Sewing Lessons!

19 Mar

Hey friends! As we navigate the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, I know a lot of us are encouraged if not mandated to #staythefuckhome to slow down the spread of the virus and help flatten the curve. Which means lots of time for sewing – yay, silver lining – but not a lot of options for being social or getting help in the form of classes and workshops. I know I personally have had to cancel / reschedule 2 workshops so far and anticipate many more will meet the same fate (peep my workshops page for updates), which in addition to the loss of income is just a total bummer! I’m bummed!

While it is unfortunately not possible at this time for me to offer online workshops (logistically, I just can’t swing it – although I will continue to look into it so that may change in the future!), I do think one-on-one lessons can be managed via video platform. So, starting now – I am happy to announce that I am offering Virtual Private Sewing Lessons! Yay!

All information (including a FAQ because everyone loves a good FAQ) is on the Virtual Private Sewing Lessons page of my blog, but a quick rundown of how this works:

You will sign up for preferred lesson via the PayPal link ($18 for 30 minutes, $30 for 60 minutes, $45 for 90 minutes).
After payment has been completed, click the RETURN TO MERCHANT link to be redirected to my Calendly page to select your preferred time and date (availability is from 11a – 6p CST Monday -Saturday, although I can be flexible if your time zone does not work with these. Send me an email!).
To complete your request, you will be asked to tell me a little bit about what you would like to cover during the lesson – this will allow me time to do any necessary prep work so that we can go straight into the good stuff during your session! You can also email me pictures / confusing instructions, ask questions – whatever gets us best prepared!
Lessons will be held via Google Hangouts (which is free to use on your phone, tablet, or computer.

Since this is a new technological territory for me (let’s be real, there are gonna be some hiccups!), for a limited time I am offering these lessons at a discount of 40% off my standard hourly teaching rate. I know a lot of us are looking at an uncertain future in terms of the economy + our jobs, so I hope that these lower rates will also allow more people to take advantage of this new platform and strengthen their sewing knowledge!

So what can be covered in a Virtual Private Sewing Lesson? Well – just about anything, I reckon! Here are some ideas to get the juices going:

Deciphering confusing sewing instructions
Real-time demos for specific techniques
Help with fitting (I’m not sure how well this will work since I tend to fit very hands-on, but I am willing to try and see what happens!)
Basic clothing alterations
Flat pattern adjustments
General sewing advice (such as fabric and pattern recommendations, finishing techniques for certain projects, advice for handling tricky fabrics, troubleshooting)
Or we can just chat because chatting is fun!

Selfishly, I am also hoping this will allow me to be more social while still maintaining my self-isolation – so perhaps that will be the same for you! Shit is stressful enough right now without having to deal with long bouts of loneliness, amirite?

I have some new projects and tutorials that I’d like to share on this blog, so stay tuned for those! In the meantime, please check out my Virtual Private Sewing Lessons page if you are interested in booking at session with me! Share it with your friends! I think we could all use a little creative distraction right now 🙂

Stay safe, stay healthy, wash your hands, and STAY THE FUCK HOME! Love y’all!

Tags: COVID-19, lessons, private lessons, sewing, sewstayhome, staythefuckhome, tutorial, virtual private lessons, virtual private sewing lessons

Comments 23 Comments
Categories misc, sewalong, tutorial

OAL 2018: Quick Waistband Adjustment

12 Jul

Hello everyone! It’s been a minute since I mentioned the OAL, but we are still going strong (and it’s wrapping up in the next couple of weeks, meaning, YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO PARTICIPATE). I wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing, and also offer a little hack-y fitting tip for your Lander waistband (or any straight waistband, for that matter!).

BUT FIRST I wanted to share this – I’m on a podcast!

I was super honored to be interviewed for the Love to Sew podcast recently, and my episode just aired! I’ve been a long time fan of this series, so it was pretty flattering to get my own episode! If you are interested in checking it out, you can listen to the episode here. I hope you enjoy it!

Now, onto the rest of the blog post!

You’ll have to forgive me in advance because I don’t have photos of the progress (just the result); I was experimenting and not sure how this would pan out (story of my life). But I think this is a pretty simple and straightforward adjustment, so hopefully my words are enough to convey the information across 🙂

One of the features of the Lander Pants & Shorts is that they include a straight waistband made from a single piece of fabric. This is very simple to sew, but may not result in a perfect fit if you are especially curvy. Some people get excess fabric and gaping at the center back, since the waistband does not curve with their back. This does not indicate a bad pattern – it just indicates a draft that does not correspond with that particular body shape (there are PLENTY of bodies that fit great in a straight waistband, and PLENTY of bodies that can’t do a curved waistband, etc). This is something than can easily be adjusted by changing the waistband to a curved waistband (or, better/lazier yet – stealing a curved waistband from another pattern and using that), but you have to do it before you actually cut your fabric. If you’ve already sewn your waistband on and are experiencing this – read on!

My previous 2 pairs of Lander pants did not gape very much, and I was easily able to fix it by simply wearing a belt. Since these are shorts, and they felt like they were gaping a little more than I was comfortable with, I wanted to try to find a way to eliminate the gape without needing to wear a belt (it’s hot outside, I don’t need a layer of LEATHER around my waist amirite). Of course, one option it to unpick the waistband, pinch out the excess into a dart (creating a curved waistband, but with a seam), and then taking out the excess in the pants either at the center back or the darts (or all). I wanted my waistband to be fitted while also still being comfortable, so I thought I’d try a little bit of elastic at the back instead.

I cut two slits on the inside of the waistband, positioning them as best I could under the side back belt loops (to hide the topstitching I was able to do next). I only needed to take in a little bit – maybe 1/2″ at most – but in my experience it’s good to stretch this amount over a longer length than you need, which will make things less bunchy.

I fed a length of elastic that fit in my waistband (I found that 1.5″ wide elastic fit perfectly in the topstitched waistband), pinned one end down, and tried them on to determine the best length of elastic – i.e., tight enough to pull in the gape, but not so tight it was starting to gather.

After cutting the elastic, I secured each short end down with a zigzag stitch. Since these are under the belt loops, they aren’t visible from the outside. Then I stitched closed the holes I had made inside the waistband.

Here is how it looks on the inside (oops, I need to re-sew that hole closed I guess haha)

And the outside!

And finally – some gratuitous shots of my butt so you can see what they actually look like on:
(I am really sorry)

As you can see, it mostly flattens out so it is not super gathered. It snugs up the waistband enough so that it sits flat against my back, but the elastic will stretch if needed (i.e., tacos) so they are still comfortable.

This is a SUPER easy and quick fix if you need a minimal adjustment at the back waist – like I said, mine was no more than 1/2″. It’s also definitely a hack fix – the proper way would be to make a flat pattern adjustment to the waistband so it is curved – but sometimes I think a hack is good enough. If it’s the difference between you wearing the pants and not wearing the pants, I’d say it’s worth a try!

I also realized I never shared my yarn or stripe ideas for my Waters tee! God you guys I am awful.

Here is where I’m at as of this posting. Making good progress, which wasn’t evident until I took this photo, if I’m being completely honest! I’m heading to Canada today to teach a couple of jeans workshops at Darrell Thomas Textiles (and I *think* there is still an open seat for the weekday class, ahem), and I’m hoping I can knock the rest out pretty quickly because I am dying to wear this thing!!!

My yarn is Quince & Co. Sparrow, and the colors are pigeon and lunar (I don’t know why it looks black in these photos, pigeon is actually a nice blue-grey. Oh right because I can’t take photos to save my life lololol). I changed my stripes to be a basic 4×4, and the edging will be the darker color. I need to decide which side I want to be the right side, though – because the purl side looks pretty freaking rad, too!

Ok, I think that’s all! How is everyone doing with their OAL projects? Have you finished yet?

Tags: lander pants, love to sew, OAL2018, podcast, tutorial, Waters

Comments 29 Comments
Categories tutorial, work in progress

OAL2018: Belt Loops & Waistband

18 Jun

Good morning, everyone! If you are participating in this year’s OAL, you should be rocking and rolling along with both your sewing & knitting projects. As I mentioned in the announcement, I will not be offering full tutorials for sewing the Lander Pants – there is a great sewalong available for free on the True Bias website, should you need the additional support – but I did want to pop in and share an alternate method for sewing the belt loops & attaching the waistband. Even if you are not participating in this year’s OAL, I hope you will find this useful!

You’ll want to make your belt loops before you attach the waistband (note that you can also attach the belt loops after the waistband if you prefer! For the sake of simplicity, I am following the pattern directions here). The pattern has you sew a tube that you turn right side out and press flat. This is a great method if you are sewing with a lightweight fabric, but it can be a nightmare to try to turn that skinny tube if you are using a heavier fabric, especially denim. Even my red linen doesn’t like being pulled like that! So here is an alternate method if you are using a thicker fabric, or just hate turning tubes 🙂

Finish one long edge of the belt loop piece. I used a serger, but you can also sew over the edge with a zigzag stitch, or bind with fabric.

The pattern is designed for the finished belt loops to be about 1/2″ wide. You may want to trim 1/8″ off the long (unfinished) edge of your piece if you want to maintain that measurement. Otherwise, your belt loops will end up being about 5/8″ wide.

Starting with the unfinished side, fold the belt loop into thirds with the right sides facing. You will end with the finished edge on top, hiding all raw edges. Be nitpicky here and do your best to get the finished edge right EXACTLY on top of the first fold.

Topstitch along both long sides at 1/8″. This is why it is so important to get the finished edge right on the fold – if you are too close to the center, the stitching line won’t catch it.

And that’s it! This gives the same effect as the turned-tube-belt-loop-, but I find it a lot easier to sew. From here, you can cut your belt loop into 5 pieces and attach them to the top of the pants as instructed.

Now, for the waistband!

If this tutorial seems like deja vu, it’s because I’ve showed it before on my blog! I wanted to show it again for those who missed it the first time, and also to show that it does work for one piece waistbands as well as two piece!

On your interfaced waistband piece, fold up one long edge a little bit less than the seam allowance (this pattern is 1/2″, so I folded up my edge at 3/8″) and press.

This is gonna seem ass-backwards – just bear with me! Attach the waistband to the INSIDE of the pants, with the right side of the waistband facing the wrong side of the pants. Sew all the way around at your normal seam allowance, making sure to leave at least 1/2″ overhang at each end (you can always cut off any excess). You will sew all the way around, from one opening to the other. If your pants have a zipper, make sure that it is unzipped and sew right across the zipper – just go slow so you don’t break your needle on the teeth.

Now you’ll fold the waistband back on itself, with the right sides facing. The side that has been folded and pressed – i.e., the side that was not sewn to the pants) should hang below by about 1/8″-1/16″. This is to ensure that the stitching line you just did will be covered when you turn the waistband right side out.

Now, stitch along the short edge, keeping in line with the center front edge of the pants. It may be helpful to draw a guideline here first with a ruler (which is exactly what I do – no shame here!).

Trim one of the seam allowance layers in half. Do not trim the corner, keep some seam allowance there.

Now you will turn the waistband right side out! To get a nice, crisp corner, start by sticking your thumb in the waistband up to the corner.

While your thumb is still in that corner, use your pointer finger to push the seam allowance down to one side (doesn’t matter which side) (Sorry, I don’t have pretty hands haha)

Keeping your fingers in that weird pinch, turn the waistband out to the right side.

You should end up with a nice sharp corner here! You can use a point turner to really push the edge out if you need it to be even sharper 🙂 By holding the seam allowances in place when you turn right side out, this keeps the corner sharp (rather than trying to crap the seam allowances in after the fact). Keeping a bit of fabric in the seam allowances (rather than trimming down aggressively) also adds some structure to that corner, so it doesn’t collapse on itself.

Finally, you can pin the remainder of your waistband down and topstitch from the right side, making sure to cover the first stitching line. I like to start at the center back and go all the way around the long rectangle, ending where I started. You can then cover the backstitching with a belt loop 🙂

And that’s it! I love this method for attaching a waistband, because it ensures you get a beautiful, even topstitch on the outside without having to worry about catching the facing on the inside! It’s just EASY and basically fool-proof! You can also use this method for sewing in the round waistbands, cuffs (buttoned or in the round) and even collar stands.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Tags: belt loops, lander pants, OAL2018, pants, tutorial, waistband

Comments 13 Comments
Categories tutorial

Tutorial: Adjusting Crotch Depth (OAL2018)

5 Jun

Good morning, everyone!

In light of the official start to the OAL2018, I wanted to share a little tutorial for a very common pants adjustment – adjusting crotch depth. Even if you are not participating in the OAL, I hope you will find this useful! As I mentioned, this is a very common adjustment (at least half of my students in every Sew Your Own Jeans workshop that I teach ends up needing to make this adjustment!) that is a lot easier than it sounds.

This is the only pants-fitting post I’ll be doing for this OAL – most other adjustments can be done after the pants are basted at the side seams. If you have more pants-fitting needs, I absolutely recommend getting a copy of Pants for Real People (which is where the image below is from) – it is a fantastic resource that is full of valuable information and my top reference book when I’m fitting pants! Another post to check out is the Common Fitting Adjustments in the Lander Sewalong!

Common Pants Fit Adjustments – From Pants for Real People

So what does it mean to adjust crotch depth? The depth (versus the length, which runs from front waist to back waist) is the distance from your waist to the bottom of your crotch – i.e., the determining factor between a drop crotch and cameltoe. If you’ve ever had a wedgie, your depth is too short. Pants crotch hanging WAY lower than your actual crotch? Your depth is too long.

Since we are all special little sewing snowflakes (sewflakes?), all of our bodies are different – even in ways that aren’t super visible. Which means that not every single pants draft is going to fit every single person flawlessly – it’s just not possible. Personally, I have found that I have a slightly shorter crotch depth and generally need to make this adjustment with nearly every single pair of pants I sew. It’s not a hard adjustment to make, but if you’ve never seen is done before, it can be a little difficult to wrap your head around. Hopefully this tutorial will give you some insight on how to do it!

OAL2018: Shorten Front Crotch

First, you’ll want to make a muslin of your pants (or at the very least – a shorts version of the pants). Sew the front and back as instructed. You don’t need to include the whole fly setup (unless you want to practice sewing it!) or waistband (unless you anticipate needing to change it to a curved waistband). Pin the fly shut and move around a bit. Don’t freak out over wrinkles – muslin wrinkles like crazy (mine are extra bad because I pulled these out of my rag pile, true story) and doesn’t have as much “give” as your regular fabric. Feel where the crotch is in relation to your body – is it hanging too low and causing extra folds due to excess length? Is it all up in your business and giving you cameltoe?

OAL2018: Shorten Front Crotch

For a low-hanging crotch, pinch out the excess somewhere along the depth and pin it until it feels right. DO NOT OVERPIN – you don’t want to give yourself cameltoe (learn from my mistakes, people). Walk around, make sure you can sit, and let them settle a little. Likely, you won’t need to make a massive adjustment here – between 1/4″ – 1/2″ is most common. Little tiny fractions make a big difference when it comes to fit!

If your problem is the opposite and you need to add length, the easiest way to do this is to slice across the front of the pants and insert a strip of fabric (I just pin this, although you can sew it in, too). Pull down the bottom portion until the crotch feels like it is in the correct spot, then pin to the fabric strip.

I realize you likely cannot see a difference between those two photos (I mean… I definitely can’t haha). Like I said – it’s a small adjustment, and not always visible. But you can feel it!

OAL2018: Shorten Front Crotch

Check the back to be sure there aren’t any depth adjustments needed. I’d say that maybe 1 out of every 15-20 students of mine need to actually adjust the back – it’s usually all in the front. If you do need to adjust the back, do so the same way you adjusted the front. Mine looks fine, so I left it as is.

OAL2018: Shorten Front Crotch

Now take your muslin off, and measure the distance from pin to fold – or the additional length added by the strip of fabric. If you are only adjusting the front, then only measure at center front. If you are adjusting front + back, measure at the side as well as the center front and center back. This is how much you need to either add or remove from the depth.

OAL2018: Shorten Front Crotch

Now how to translate this to your pattern? Easy! Your pattern piece should have a lengthen/shorten line that cuts across the fly (if it doesn’t – first of all, SHAME ON THAT PATTERNMAKER, but second, it’s easy to just add it somewhere in that general area nbd). If you are only shortening the front crotch, you will cut along that line from center front *just* to the side seam. Do not cut through the side seam – you want to leave a hinge. If you are also adjusting the back, cut straight across from edge to edge.

OAL2018: Shorten Front Crotch

To lengthen, spread the pieces apart until the center front matches the measurement you took, and then fill the gap with paper and tape closed. If you are only lengthening the front, it should fade to nothing at the side seam.

OAL2018: Shorten Front Crotch

To shorten, overlap the pieces until the center front is overlapped by the amount you measured. Again, if you are only adjusting the front, it should fade to nothing at the side seams/hinge.

If you need to adjust all the way around to the back, you’ll want to walk your pattern pieces to make sure that the side seams still match after making your adjustment.

Finally, redraw any wonky links or curves (such as the crotch curve if you overlapped – just smooth the curve) and straighten the grainline if necessary. You will also want to shorten or length your fly pieces (shield, facing, etc) the same amount so that they match up when you sew them together. I strongly advise making another muslin as this point to be sure that they changes didn’t wonk something up. You do you, though!

And that’s it! Like I said, a really easy adjustment that can make a world of difference in how your pants fit and feel. This is definitely the most common adjustment I see in my Sew Your Own Jeans workshops, so I wanted to share it here too!

Tags: fitting, OAL2018, pants, tutorial

Comments 28 Comments
Categories tutorial

Machine Review: Janome CoverPro 2000CPX

17 Jan

Good morning, everyone! As I mentioned in my year end post (as well as on Instagram a few times!) – I bought a Coverstitch machine in October! Specifically, a Janome CoverPro 2000CPX, which I purchased from Craft South here in Nashville. Now that I’ve had a couple of months to play with the machine and learn more about it, it’s time for a review post! Get a cup of tea, this one is long.

The Janome CoverPro 2000CPX is a 4 thread coverstitch that can accommodate up to 3 needles. It has minimal differences from the 1000CPX, which I also considered buying – basically, it’s a little easier to thread. There is also a 2 needle 2000CPX, but I wanted the 3 needle.

I chose this particular brand for 2 reasons – first of all, Janome tends to get very high praise for their coverstitch machines. This machine is pretty popular and gets great reviews across the board. It’s inexpensive (but not cheap), easy to thread, and provides a nice variety of stitches. Full disclosure for reason #2 – I work at Craft South, and I got a very generous employee discount with this machine purchase. This also swayed my decision, however, I was considering this machine before I even started working at Craft South (and I’m not gonna lie – knowing I’d get a discount on it was part of the reason why I agreed to work there, haha). While I did purchase this machine with my own money, it was discounted.

Why a coverstitch machine? Y’all. I have wanted one of these since 2007, no exaggeration. I put it on my wishlist every single year, and every year I convince myself that it’s a frivolous purchase. Since buying this machine and using it, I have learned that it does do more than just hem – however, it’s still an expensive machine that only does a few things. I ultimately decided to buy this machine because I do occasional alterations + fitting for clients, plus I got that discount, so it made sense for me to own one. However, it took me 10 years to decide to buy one. Don’t feel bad if you are still in twin needle mode when you hem your knits!

One question that I get a lot is – what is the difference between a coverstitch machine and a serger? Basically, a serger is used for creating + finishing seams – it has a knife blade that cuts the excess fabric so threads can wrap around the edge. It is great for knits as the stitches stretch with the fabric. A coverstitch does not seam, it only finishes. You can use it for hemming, attaching binding or foldover elastic, or creating decorative stitches (but not creating the actual seams). It is also ideal for knits, as the stitches stretch. If you are deciding between the 2 machines, I find a serger to be more useful for the most part. If you are debating on getting one of those 2-in-1 serger/coverstitch combos… don’t. They are a pain to use (you have to pretty much disassemble them each time you want to switch between machines) and cost the same as having 2 separate machines. Unless space is a big issue, get 2 separate machines.

All right, that all out of the way – let’s talk about the machine!

Here is the machine in all it’s glory. Yay!

One of the features it includes is a free arm (so you can sew small things in the round, like the hem of a sleeve). This is the free arm. I don’t know why but this is very hilarious to me, it’s so tiny!

When you open the coverstitch, it’s pretty clean and empty on the inside. There is only 1 looper to thread, and it’s very, very easy. Like, threading a sewing machine easy (not like threading a serger).

One of the nice features of this machine is that the looper has a tab to pull it out so you can more easily thread it (unlike some sergers where you have to use tweezers to weasel the thread in the looper hole under the needle plate, lord, I’m getting the sweats just thinking about that shit lol). This one pops out, so you can thread it and pop it back in.

The inside of the machine shows all the different stitch types that are available – two and three thread overlock, and a chainstitch. Since the machine has 3 needles, it means you have more options in terms of stitch width and needle position (something I didn’t consider when I purchased the machine but I’m pretty stoked about now!).

There’s also a diagram on how to thread the machine. See what I mean? Fucking easy.

Using the machine was definitely a steep learning curve for me – my serger (a Babylock Imagine) does automatic tension adjustments, so I don’t have a lot of experience with manually adjusting tension to correct my stitches (that serger is awesome btw, I’ve had it for nearly 10 years and I swear to god if it broke I would buy another one in a heartbeat haha). There are needle tension dials on this serger, plus looper tension, PLUS another switch that goes from “soft” to “tight.” The user manual is very brief, but my understanding is that soft is ideal for your lightweight fabrics and single/double layers that experience fabric curling and tunneling. The tight is for heavier fabrics, multiple layers (such as flatlocking or applying binding), especially if you are prone to skipped stitches. You can also adjust the tension on the needles for tunneling and skipped stitches.

Something else I have noticed with this machine is that it prefers a heavier needle if I am sewing through multiple layers (again, flatlocking or binding, or using a heavy fabric). It really does best with a 90/14. If you experience skipped stitches, I would recommend changing to a heavier needle and see if that helps.

One thing to keep in mind when using this machine is that you have to knot your threads or they will unravel the second you look at them. Once you are finished sewing, you pull the needle threads to the back and knot them by hand. I didn’t realize this at first and could not understand why my hems were coming unraveled so quickly haha.

Here are the stitch options, front and back. From left to right:
– Binding: 2 needles + looper. I used a binding attachment for this! There are several size options of attachments, mine is the wider one (42mm-12mm). The finished binding is roughly 3/8″ wide. You cut strips of binding (this example is a woven, but it is AWESOME for knits) or use foldover elastic, feed them into the attachment and the machine wraps it around your fabric and stitches it in one go! It’s super fast and fun, but that shit was a steep learning curve. Also, that attachment is not cheap. Again, I got mine at a discount, but it was still a bit eye-wateringly expensive, just FYI.
– Chainstitch: Single needle + looper. This can be used to baste (apparently, since it’s easy to pull out. Jury is still out on that one in my experience tho), or hem jeans (look at your RTW jeans! The hem is chainstitched!). What I use it for is single-needle topstitching on knits, like on a neckline. It looks really clean and neat – but unlike a regular sewing machine, it also stretches!
– 3 needle coverstitch: 3 needles + looper. This creates a nice, stretchy hem for knits. Another thing you can use this stitch for is a mock flatlock. Serge your seams as normal, then stitch over them with the 3 needle coverstitch, with the needles on the wrong side of your garment (so the looper side ends up on the right side). It functions just like a flatlock – reasonably flat (non-irritating), strong, stretchy, and looks cool!
– 2 needle coverstitch: 2 needles + looper. You have several options for this stitch, since there are 3 places to put your 2 needles. Narrow or wide (shown above is wide), left or right. I have found that I prefer the wide for hemming, and the narrow with both needles to the left when using my binding attachment. You can also use this to do a mock flatlock, but I think the 3 needle version looks better.

So far, I’ve used my machine to make loads of underwear and tank tops. The binding attachment is perfect for finishing all the edges very quickly (again, you can either use strips of knit fabric or foldover elastic) while still keeping them stretchy like you’d get with regular lingerie elastic. The 3 thread coverstitch is awesome for activewear and creating flatlock seams that don’t rub or chafe and also look super professional. And, of course, I love using the 2 or 3 thread coverstitch for hemming my knits!

If you’re interested in seeing how the binder on this machine works, I have made it a highlighted story on my Instagram (computer users, I think you have to be on the actual app to view it). It’s pretty awesome! I will write a more in-depth post on using the binder, stay tuned for that.

So, do you need a coverstitch machine? Honestly, I can’t answer that question for you – it depends on how much you sew, your budget, and the amount of space you have to store one. Since I do this work professionally (and also sell these machines at the shop!), it made sense for me to own one. This machine does do a great hem on knits, but there is certainly a learning curve involved and it’s pretty expensive considering it only does a handful of functions. I also really really REALLY love that binding attachment; it’s great for finishing edges on underwear and activewear. However, a regular machine can also apply binding – albeit not as quickly and not with quite the same finish.

In regards to the learning curve – well, there is one. It took me several days of playing around with the machine, testing different stitches, settings and fabrics, before I felt like I really had a good handle on how the machine works. The only way to get past the learning curve is by PRACTICE. No amount of blog posts, YouTube videos, internet research, or telling everyone how scared you are of your machine is going to magically make it suddenly easy to understand. Get a glass of wine, put on some Duran Duran, and get to know your machine. Learn what works, what doesn’t work, try different needles and tension settings, rip out your stitches, make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and take a lot of notes because I guarantee you won’t remember half this shit the next day. Like parallel parking a car for the first time, yes it’s a hot mess in the beginning. But eventually you get past fear and start working in autopilot. And also, for the record, I am an excellent parallel parker (after many, many years of practice lol).

If you are considering this machine, my advice NOT to buy this online (even if it’s cheaper). Your local shop will be able to show you how to use the machine and answer questions and troubleshooting you may have. I also am real big into supporting your local shop, and keeping them in business 🙂 If you don’t have a local shop that sells Janome – and this post swayed your decision to a yes – you can buy one from me at Craft South 🙂 We ship to anywhere in the US for free and offer a discount below the MSRP you see on Janome’s website. There are no affiliate links in this post, however, I do receive a commission for every machine sale I make through our shop. FYI!

Whew! Ok, I think that’s a long enough post so I’m gonna wrap this up. Did I miss anything about this machine that you still have a burning question for? Do you have a coverstitch machine? Are you gonna buy one now? 😉

Tags: coverpro, coverstitch, Janome, my sewing machine is my best friend, review, sewing machine

Comments 40 Comments
Categories misc, tutorial

Jeans Workshops for 2018!

8 Jan

Hey everyone!

As I mentioned in my last post, I have a few workshops already lined up for the first few months of 2018 😀 I was hoping to include my sample jeans in this post, but I’ll be completely honest with you – this post ended up WAY longer than I was anticipating, so I am going to split my FO into a separate post. For this entry, I just want to talk about my upcoming workshops!

If you follow my Instagram, you may have noticed the madness when I decided to sew 11 pairs of jeans in mid-December. If that’s not crazy enough for ya, I finished all 11 pairs in LESS THAN A WEEK. Yea!! There’s a reason why my sewing industry friends call me Speedy 🙂

You’re also probably wondering why I made 11 pairs of jeans in the first place? Especially after announcing over and over that I have plenty of pants and I don’t actually need more (I’m gonna keep making pants anyway, sorry!). These jeans are actually samples for my upcoming Jeans Workshops!

When I first started teaching sewing back in 2014, the first place to bring me in was Workroom Social in Brooklyn, NY. There are a lot of reasons why I love working at Workroom Social and have continued to teach there over the years. Jennifer is incredibly brilliant businesswoman and teacher, plus we work super well together. One of the things she does in her workshops that I thought was SO CLEVER is to have all the sizes of the pattern made up in advance of the weekend, so that students can try the samples on. This helps them not only choose the correct size to start, but also gives the ability to do basic fitting adjustments without the need to make a muslin. I have always loved this idea and I think it’s one of many things that really sets Workroom Social apart from other sewing workshops.

Toward the end of 2017, I started thinking about what kinds of workshops I wanted to offer in 2018. I have gotten a lot of requests to bring my jeans workshops to other cities, but I was lacking the samples (I realize you can totally offer this workshop without the samples, but y’all – once I’d tried it, I didn’t want to do anything else haha). After some internal debate – as well as a few conversations with Jennifer about my plans (I wanted her blessing before I did anything – I am not in the business of stepping on anyone’s toes here, y’all) – I decided to bite the bullet and make up my own batch of Ginger Jeans samples. This ended up working out perfectly because Workroom Social is moving toward offering a different pattern for future jeans classes (something that is a bit more size-inclusive than the Ginger because, as I’m sure you know, there are plenty of people who fall outside the max size range in that pattern), so I can continue to offer workshops that feature this specific pattern without being in competition with other workshops that I teach.

Having already worked with these samples for the past couple of years, I had some ideas on how I wanted to improve my own set when it came time to make them:
– Fabric: Hey, here’s a surprise for you – I didn’t use Cone Mills Denim to make my samples. I know this denim is the holy grail for sewing jeans – and for good reason, it’s a really wonderful fabric! However, it can sometimes be difficult for the average home sewist to source, and somewhat cost prohibitive depending on where you source it from (especially when you consider that you first pair of jeans may end as a wearable muslin). This was fine at Workroom Social because they were able to obtain rolls of the denim to provide to students as a kit, but y’all – I live in a small 2 bedroom house with limited storage, and I travel for my workshops. I ain’t about to buy stock in heavy-ass denim and schlep that shit around in a suitcase lol. Furthermore, Cone Mills just closed its White Oak plant at the end of 2017, which could potentially make the denim even harder to source in the future (or they move production offshore, or someone buys the plant to continue operating it – who knows? But I don’t want to bank on “maybe.”). So, with all that in mind – I wanted to make my samples out of a fabric that was easier for the average home sewist to obtain.
– Washed vs Unwashed: Plain and simple, denim feels and fits differently when it’s washed. It is softer and has more stretch. I wanted my samples to be out of washed denim, to better mimic what the finished pair would feel like.
– Familiarity with all sizes: Ok, this was NOT something I anticipated up front, but in hindsight this was a nice perk! Sewing every single size gave me a very hand-on experience with how they differ and how each one fits together. I don’t know if there is another person (other than Heather herself, obviously!) who has literally sewn every size in this pattern – but I have! Everything from fitting the pattern pieces on the fabric, to how the notches match up, even the differences in size grade. It was a surprisingly enlightening experience for me. As much as I’ve sewn this pattern up before and taught this class soo many times, y’all. I KNOW this pattern now. Like in a really creepy way almost haha.

So anyway, here are the details on my new samples:
– The denim I used is Robert Kaufman Super Stretch denim! At 8.6 oz, it’s on the lighter weight side – but in my experience, a lot of people actually prefer this over heavier denim (especially for very fitted jeans like the Gingers) – it makes for a more comfortable pair of pants that feel almost like leggings. Of course, using a heavier denim and/or one with less stretch is as easy as adjusting your seam allowances to accommodate, but this particular fabric is a great starting point. The fabric costs around $15/yard and is super accessible – most fabric stores carry Robert Kaufman! And as someone who has long used Robert Kaufman fabrics, I love their quality and the company has been so easy to work with. I’m pretty excited about this!
– The denim is washed one time, to remove the sizing and soften everything up. I was hoping this would also remove the indigo bleed, but it only did so a bit – it looks like 2-3 washes is the magic number (based on my personal sample pair). I love my students but idk y’all, I wasn’t about to sit and wash 30 yards of denim multiple times. You hands will be slightly tinted blue. Don’t wear white underwear and bring hand sanitizer lol.
– Each sample is sewn using the key pieces necessary for fit – front and back legs, yoke, full fly (zipper, shield, etc), and waistband. There are no pockets, no seam finishes (or hems), and there is only topstitching where necessary for fit. Furthermore, the waistband is uninterfaced, except where the button would go – this is what I prefer in my jeans, and it gives students the chance to see what that feels like when they try on the pair, so they can decide for themselves whether they want to interface their waistbands. Personally, I find it way more comfortable! I also left off the buttons – students simply pin the waistband shut when they try on the sample.
– The pattern is the Ginger Jeans pattern from Closet Case Patterns, available in sizes 0-20. My samples are View B, the high-waisted, skinny leg version.
– As a fun side note, each pair of jeans has a different colored zipper. I knew that giant box of 75+ vintage zippers in weird colors that I bought at the flea market AGES ago would eventually come in handy! 😉

To get everything sewn up in a timely fashion, I had to set things in stages. Due to the number of pairs and them all being different sizes (in all the same fabric, no less), I was unable to batch sew these like one would in production. I literally sewed each pair one at a time. I found that the fastest way to do this was to cut everything first (again, individually) and batch all the pieces together with the size clearly marked. Then, starting with the largest size and working my way down – I sewed each pair of jeans from start to finish. For fun, I timed myself – the first pair took 52 minutes, but by the time I sewed that last pair I was actually down to 32 minutes!

And then I got really into it and a little time-lapse video of myself sewing one of the pairs of jeans. Because I am a huge nerd.

I also totally broke my sewing machine during this process. At some point, I sewed over a zipper (a nylon zipper, I might add) and hit it at juuuust the right angle that it snapped the needle and everything went completely haywire. I had somehow managed to completely jack up the timing – my needle was hitting the needle threader on it’s way up, and not picking up the bobbin thread. I am lucky that we have an incredible sewing machine dealer + repairshop in the area, so I brought it to him and he was able to get everything fixed and back to normal by the next morning! I can’t even tell y’all how much I love my dealer – highly recommend them if you are in Nashville and shopping for a Bernina!

Ok one last nerdy thing! Doing the same sewing process over and over (and over and over) actually gave me some wonderful insight for finishing the waistband! In the past, I (and probably most of y’all) have attached it the waistband from the right side, then turned the facing (inside) to the inside and pinned it, then topstitched from the outside. This is unnecessarily fussy and I don’t know about you, but I always end up with a little section of facing that didn’t get stitched down. Jennifer had mentioned a few times in the past to flip and attach the facing first, then topstitch from the outside – which I’ve done before with other garments when it’s in the round, but I couldn’t get a clean finish right at the zipper opening. Well, y’all – 11 pairs later, I’ve definitely got it down! So here’s a mini tutorial:

Assemble your waistband as normal (sew the waistband to the facing along the top and understitch one side), then press the seam allowance of the WAISTBAND (the side that is not understitched) under to the inside. I press about a scant less than the seam allowance – so a 5/8″ seam allowance gets pressed a little between 1/2″ and 5/8″ (this allows the waistband to fully cover your stitching). Sew the facing to the top of your jeans, with the right side of the facing against the inside of the pants, like so. It will look totally wrong at this point. Trust.

Now fold the short ends of your waistband in half, with right sides facing, and the connecting line of stitching (not the understitching) right along the top of the fold. Sew across the short end to close.

When you turn the ends right side out, the waistband should fall right into place, covering the seam allowances.

Then you just pin everything down and topstitch! Since the facing was already attached, you don’t have to worry about catching it in your topstitching 🙂 Here’s another hint – start at the center back, that way your backstitching gets covered by the belt loop.

So now I want to talk about my classes! Jeans Making has been pretty popular and I am excited to take this class ~on the road~ since I realize that not everyone can come up to NYC to take a sewing class (and also, I’m selfish and I like to travel haha). I have taught this class several times at Workroom Social, and learned a lot about teaching these workshops – what works, what doesn’t work, and what I might want to change for my own classes (very little- like I said, Jennifer is VERY good at what she does! There’s a reason why I keep working with her, she is amazing and the classes at Workroom Social are wonderful!).

The main thing that Workroom Social focuses on in their classes – and I focus on as well – is the overall experience of the class. Yes, you are there to learn and we want you to learn as much as you can and feel empowered by your knowledge! But even beyond that – we want you to have FUN in the class. Based on what my students tell me, this is not always the case – which kind of makes me sad, and also explains why there are lots of people who get scared off from sewing after a single class. I always strive to give my students the very best experience, and give them my full undivided attention during the entirety of the class. This is why I rarely have photos from classes (unless someone else took them), or post on social media during my classes – I’m not using my phone in class because I want to be 100% involved with my students. I am also a firm believer in that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to do something – you do whatever works! Sewing isn’t like baking, it’s like cooking – whatever gets you the result you want is the “right” way to do it. My classes are less about doing things perfectly and more about having a good time, learning a lot, and actually finishing your project. Then when you go home and make that next pair of jeans – that’s when you can work on the perfection side!

One other thing about my classes that may be a little different – I don’t try to keep students at the same pace the entire time. If that means I have to repeat myself 10 times during a class, that’s ok (seriously, you’re not going to fluster or bother me haha)! I realize that everyone learns differently and operates at various speeds, and I don’t want to punish half the class for being at a different speed. Faster students can blaze ahead and not be bored, and the slower students aren’t stressed about keeping up. I find this to be a very positive overall experience, both in terms of people actually learning shit and also keeping the vibes of the class high.

The only thing I changed with my solo jeans classes is the time involved. Classes at Workroom Social are 2 full days. While you can definitely finish a pair of jeans in that time – I’ve had classes wrap up as early as 3 hours before the end time before – it can also be a little rushed sometimes. Workroom Social also speeds things up by having the patterns pre-traced and cut, and also providing lunch in the studio. After some thinking, I realized the fitting/cutting portion was really the big roadblock here – so for my classes, I am moving that to its own half day. This makes my classes 2.5 days, but those extra hours make a big difference (plus it makes things a little easier if you’re traveling to take the class – you can fly in that morning). Students have 4 hours to try on the samples, choose their size, cut or trace their patterns, make basic fitting adjustments if needed, and then cut and mark their fabric! Next two days go straight into sewing, with a little extra time built in so it’s not as rushed – and you can chat! Or take a break! Finish early? Cool, I’ll do some demos or talk about what shit you want (jeans-related or not)! Or we can drink and hang out and celebrate! I don’t care, we are here to have fun!

Oh yeah, one last thing – if you fall outside the size range of the Ginger Jeans pattern, that is ok! The Ames Jeans pattern from Cashmerette is available in sizes 12-28 and for two different body types (apple or pear fit). While I do not have samples available in this pattern, you can absolutely use it to take my classes and get you a pair of jeans that fits YOU. In other news, I cannot tell you how excited I am that Jenny released this pattern. I may or may not have fangirled for like 2 weeks straight haha.

Ok I swear I’m wrapping up! Here are my upcoming classes through the beginning of May (you can also see these on my Classes Page 🙂 )

Sew Your Own Jeans Weekend Workshop!
January 19th – 21st
Craft South / Nashville, TN
First workshop of the year! This 2.5 day workshop will cover everything you need to make your own pair of Ginger Jeans 🙂

Jeans Making Sewing Intensive
March 24th – 25th
Workroom Social / Brooklyn, NY
Pfft y’all didn’t think I leaving Workroom Social, did you? THEY CAN NEVER GET RID OF ME 🙂 This 2 day workshop in beautiful Brooklyn is all about jean-making – rumor has it we will be sewing a custom Workroom Social jeans pattern in this class 🙂

Ginger Jeans Workshop
~~April 27th – 29th~~ SOLD OUT // May 1st – 3rd
Stitch Sew Shop / Alexandria, VA
Two dates for this one! Choose either Friday – Sunday (Update: The weekend is now sold out!) or Tuesday – Thursdsay (maaaaybe you are thinking about going to the Sheep and Wool Festival that weekend? ;)). This is another one of my 2.5 day workshops where we will make Ginger Jeans!

If you are a shop who would like to host me for a Jeans Workshop, please get in touch! I still have a little bit of availability for the second half of 2018 🙂 I am especially interested in teaching on the west coast or in the UK!

If you read this entire post and you’re still somehow still here – if we ever meet irl, I totally owe you a drink haha!

Ok, I’ll be back soon to discuss my jeans made with the Robert Kaufman fabric! Have a great day, everyone!

Tags: ginger jeans, hot damn this is my jam, jeans, jeans making intensive, jeans workshop, lladybird, sewing, sewing class, tutorial, workroom social

Comments 86 Comments
Categories misc, tutorial

OAL2017: Invisible Zipper + Hemming

30 Jun

Hello, everyone! I’m back from Belize, burned butt and all (this dum-dum didn’t think about how her ass would literally be the ONLY thing sticking out of the water while snorkeling… oh well, worth it! I swam with sharks and stingrays and even waved at a manatee! He responded by showing off with an underwater somersault!). One more final OAL post, to wrap up our dresses and then get back to normal (post-vacation) (post OAL) life!

This post is pretty redundant as I’ve covered invisible zippers in the past, but I’m always keen to take some ~fresh photos~. Plus, this shows you how to insert an invisible zipper with the facing already sewn in, and a French seam at the bottom!

If you are sewing a lapped zipper, here is a tutorial for that! Or you can do an exposed zipper! THIS IS YOUR DRESS, U DO U.

Start by measuring exactly where your zipper stop will hit (or use the pattern marking if that’s your jam) and sew up to the marking, starting from the bottom and backstitching to secure. If you are using French seams, clip into the seam allowance right above the marking so the rest of the opening is free and can lie flat.

Finish the seam allowances where the zipper will go (a really lovely touch would be to bind these with self-fabric post zipper insertion, but since my fabric is sooo light, I am just serging here). I also like to apply a length of fusible stay tape along the seam allowance of opening, to give the fabric from extra stability.

Place your zipper with the right side facing down (so the straight side without teeth is next to the finished seam allowance, and the bulk of the teeth is facing upwards), aligning the zipper stop about 1/8″ away from the seam where the facing meets the bodice (if you want to insert a hook and eye, you can lower the zipper stop as needed).

Start your sewing at the top stop (leaving the tail above the stop free), working your way down to the bottom of the zipper. You will want to use an invisible zipper foot- yesss, you can use a regular zipper foot if you want but OMGAH this foot will make your life sooo much easier I swear. Regardless, you want to line up your fabric edge with the 5/8″ marking on your throat plate (or whatever your seam allowance is) and determine your zipper placement from there. Sew down as far as you can, and then backstitch.

Before you attach the opposite side, zip the zipper closed and mark any matching points (such as the waist seam) with a pin or marking tool. When you place the zipper tape on the seam allowance to sew the opposite side, it makes it easier to match that point so the lines are uninterrupted.

Sew the opposite zipper side as you did the first one, again, starting from the top and working down to the bottom. If your machine does not that seam allowance markings on the left hand side, measure out the distance with a seam gauge and mark it with a piece of tape or a post-it note.

Here is the zipper after it has been sewn in. You can go ahead and try on your dress to make sure you like the fit (as you can probably see, mine was way too loose in the waist and I had to DETACH THE ENTIRE SKIRT to take in the waist seams, lord, my life).

If you measured accurately, your zipper *should* have ended right where you stopped sewing your center back seam. If it’s a little off – that’s ok! You can sew it right up, using a standard zipper foot with the needle moved all the way to one side. If you used a French seam, sew up along the seam line, and then zigzag over the raw edge to keep it finished. The bottom of the zipper will cover this, ain’t no one going to see it!

If you’re curious about the bottom of my zipper, I just bound it with self fabric bias because I thought it looked cute.

Next, you want to tack the zipper tape to the seam allowances at the bottom. This keeps the zipper secure and makes it much easier to zip up. I sew right where those pins are, about 1″ – 2″ along the seam allowance. You don’t want to catch the outside of your garment, just sew the tape to the seam allowances only.

Finally, the facing! First, take your little unsewn zipper tape tail (above the zipper stop – if you accidentally sewed this, no worries, just unpick it) and turn it down and out so it points toward the seam allowance. I have pinned this so you can see what it should look like, but in reality I just hold this with my finger when I’m sewing it. This will keep the tail from poking out of the top of your garment when the facing is secured.

Flip the facing down so it completely covers the zipper, with the finished edges lined up. The seam where the facing meets the bodice should be just barely below the fold. Pin in place, and use a zipper foot to sew along this edge. You’ll want to be about 1/4″ away from the zipper stitching – that’s enough to catch the zipper in the seam allowance, but not so close that it makes the zipper difficult to operate.

This is what it should look like after it’s been stitched.

Push the center back seam allowance to one side, and turn the entire piece right side out. You can pull the top of the zipper to get a more square corner if you need to.

Ta da! A finished facing with NO HANDSTITCHING CAN I GET A HALLELUJAH

The finished zipper from the outside! The top edges should match right up. Feel free to sew a hook and eye here if you would like. I always skip those if I think I can get away with it haha

Now you can tack down the facings so they don’t flip out when you are wearing your garment (if you opted to include lining, you obviously can skip this step). I attached mine to the seam allowance of all princess seams, plus the side seams.

Last step is hemming! I turned my hem up 1/2″ twice (for a total 1″ hem) and then topstitched by machine.

That’s all for this dress! Hang around a few weeks while I work up the nerve to take photos outside (I have a yard in this new house, but it’s not fenced and on a very busy cross street and therefore I have no privacy D: D: D: help), then it’s Big Reveal time!

How are you coming along with your garments? As always, let me know if you have any questions!

Tags: By Hand London, invisible zipper, Kim, oal, oal2017, sewalong, tutorial, zipper

Comments 16 Comments
Categories tutorial, work in progress

OAL2017: Assembling the Bodice

9 Jun

Hey everyone, and welcome back to the second week of the 2017 OAL! This post today is all about assembling the bodice of the dress – stabilizing the neckline, sewing French seams, and attaching the facing.

A few things before we jump in:

The pattern I using is the Kim Dress from By Hand London, but these method should apply to most any pattern that you are sewing!
If you missed the first post, you can find it here.
If you don’t give a shit about sewalongs and hate me right now (it’s cool, I don’t give a shit about anyone else’s sewalongs either haha), I promise it will be over soon! 😉 It is impossible to please everyone, but lord knows I try!

Your fabric should be cut, your markings all clipped and transferred to your pieces, and you should be ready to sew!

Before you drag your pieces over to the sewing machine, it’s a good idea to stabilize your neckline first. This will prevent it from stretching and distorting over time – which can happen both during the sewing, and over normal wear. They are multiple ways to stabilize a neckline – such a staystitching or using silk organza (here are 3 methods, all with their own tutorial!) – but for the purposes of this particular garment (considering how lightweight the fabric is, and also the overall casual-ness of the dress), I chose to use a lightweight fusible stay tape. This “extremely fine fusible knit stay tape” is the exact one I used – I bought it at my local Bernina dealer years ago, and it is especially helpful to stabilize shoulder seams on knits! Since it’s knit, it curves very easily, which makes it perfect for this pattern.

I fused my stay tape to the curved edges of both the front and back neckline, ending just before the tips of the strap ties. Since the seam allowances are 5/8″ and my stay tape is 1/2″, I made sure it was 1/4″ from the edge so I would be sure to catch it in my stitching. Since I am using stay tape, I did not staystitch these areas.

Now you’ll want to sew your front and back princess seams. Because my rayon is nice and lightweight, I using French seams, which I love because they conceal the raw edges beautifully. Pretty sure I don’t need to throw out another French seam tutorial into the WWW, but I was really having fun with this white piece of posterboard backdrop SO HERE YOU GET IT ANYWAY:

I start by placing the pieces WRONG SIDES TOGETHER and sewing with a 3/8″ seam allowance. Lay the piece flat and trim the seam allowances down quite aggressively – to about 1/8″. You want them to be smaller than the second seam you sew, so they don’t peek out.

I should mention – this is assuming you are using a pattern with a 5/8″ seam allowance. If your seam allowance is larger or smaller, you’l want to adjust your math accordingly.

Press the seam allowances open as best you can. They are tiny, so this won’t be the easiest thing – I’ve found I get the best luck if I use my fingernail to pry them open, and then the tip of the iron the whole way down. If you found you have cut them *too* small and simply cannot press them open, it’s acceptable to iron to one side.

At this point, your bodice is going to look at sorts of wrong. Just trust me here.

Now flip your pieces so the right sides are facing, effectively sandwiching the seam you just created. I like to take this to the iron and press right around the seamline I just sewed, so everything lies flat. Then sew along the edge at a 1/4″ seam allowance.

Press your seam allowances to one side, according to your pattern instructions. In the case of this pattern, we are pressing them toward the side seams.

Repeat for the remaining princess seams. Your front and back pieces should look like this.

Finally, sew your front and back pieces together at the side seams. Again, I used French seams for this.

Now to attach the facing! Start by fusing interfacing to the front and back facing pieces that you created. I used a very lightweight interfacing, and opted to cut it so that the interfacing does not extend all the way into the ties (I want those to stay soft and floppy!). To prevent a hard ridge from showing where the interfacing ends, I cut that with pinking shears.

Attach the front and back facings at the side seams, and press the seam allowances open (don’t worry about using French seams for this, unless you wanna be super extra or some shit). You will also want to finish the lower edge of your facing – I serged mine, to prevent it from fraying and also from showing bulk from the outside. You can also using pinking shears here, or bind the seam allowance.

Attach the facing to the bodice, all the way around the neckline and strap edges. Trim the seam allowances down, and then understitch to help turn the facing to the inside. You won’t be able to understitch all the way if you are doing tie straps – just go as far as you can.

Turn the facing to the inside of the bodice, and give it a good press. You’re done!

Ok, that’s all for this week! As always, let me know if you have any questions! 🙂

Tags: By Hand London, french seams, Kim, oal, oal2017, sewalong, tutorial, work in progress

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Categories sewalong, tutorial, work in progress

OAL 2017: Getting Started!

1 Jun

Hello everyone, and welcome to the 2017 Outfit Along! My apologies that this post is a bit late – I moved house yesterday, and only just got my internet turned on in the new place. Taking a short break from unpacking to get this OAL rolling! Let’s do this!

The official pattern for this year is the Kim Dress from By Hand London. There are a few options for this pattern – choose between a straight or sweetheart neckline, and a gathered skirt with pintucks at the hem or a sleek tulip skirt. I will be making the sweetheart neckline with the gathered skirt, but obviously feel free to make whatever your heart is calling for – whether it’s another variation of this pattern, or a different pattern completely! We want you to love and wear what you make, so don’t waste your time on something that doesn’t check those boxes for ya 😉

As I mentioned in my announcement post, I will not be running a full, in-depth sewalong for this pattern. I will be popping in every week with updates on my progress, as well as tips and tricks (with tutorials!) that you can apply to any pattern you are sewing – not necessarily specifically this one. However, if you are feeling that you need that extra help – there is a great sewalong on the By Hand London blog for this pattern, so please feel free to utilize that! You got this!!

For the first post, I’m gonna keep this one reasonably short and sweet!! This week is all about preparation!

If you still haven’t chosen your fabric, you will probably want to do that first 😉 This particular pattern works well with a smorgasbord of fabrics – from crisp cotton lawn to slinky silk, the sky is really the limit here! The main thing you want to keep in mind when deciding on fabric is how you want the finished garment to hang when you are wearing it. Do you want a more structured garment or one with a soft drape? Choosing a fabric with the correct amount of body and drape is key for this. That cotton lawn will result in a more structured bodice and full skirt that wants to stand out on it’s own, verus the slinky silk will give you a soft, floaty bodice with a skirt that drapes beautifully around your body. For more in-depth information about this, see this post from a previous OAL that goes over the differences in drape and body in fabric.

Here is the fabric I am using this year – a soft rayon print from Mood Fabrics with a nice drape to it. I love wearing rayon in the summer – it breathes really well in the heat, and a dark color/pattern means that sweat is less likely to show. Rayon traditionally can be a little tricky – both to work with and care for – but I ultimately think it is worth the additional effort. This particular rayon is pretty stable and easy to work with, compared to other rayons I’ve used in the past, so I will not be doing any sort of pre-treatment to aid with sewing. That being said, if you are sewing one of the aforementioned slinky rayons – or a silk, or slippery poly, anything that wants to float off the table when you try to cut it – you may want to consider pre-treating your fabric to be a bit more stable before you cut it. You have a few options for this – for something quick and easy with no mess, spray stabilizer works very well. Just spray it on your fabric, allow to dry, and then treat it as usual. Once you are finished sewing the garment, it easily washes out so your fabric goes back to it’s glorious, drapey self. For a cheaper option, I’ve been very happy with the results I’ve gotten from using gelatine. This method is more time-consuming, but also WAY cheaper. You basically boil the gelatine in water, soak your fabric, and then spread it flat (or hang) until it’s dry (Threads has a full tutorial on their website). Again, this washes out easily once you are finished. The major downside is finding space to dry it flat – if you live in a small space, that can be tricky – but it’s a fraction of the cost of using spray stabilizer and works just as well one it has dried. I have used both of these methods with great success, it just depends on your time and budget!

Make sure you pre-wash your fabric before you do anything – you want to make sure you get all the shrinkage out before your pattern pieces are cut. I wash and dry all my fabric the same way I plan on treating it once it’s been turned into a garment. For delicate fabrics like rayon, you don’t necessarily want to throw it in the dryer every time you launder it – over time, this will break down the fibers. But I do think it’s a good idea to use the dryer for the very first pre-wash, as it will shrink up the fabric sufficiently and then if the garment does accidentally end up in the dryer, it won’t shrink more!

As a side note, there are plenty of “dry clean” only fabrics that actually can be washed in a machine. Fibers such as silk and rayon are totally machine washable – you just want to ensure that you are washed them before they are cut, again, so that you get all the shrinkage out. I wash all my silks and rayons on cold water, use the dryer for pre-washing (and hang to dry once they are finished) and have not ruined anything yet. Keep in mind that this will take a bit of the shine and stiffness out of your fabric, but I think it’s worth it to not be a slave to the dry cleaner! When in doubt, test with a swatch to make sure you are ok with how the fabric looks after it’s been laundered.

I am making a few changes to my pattern that are a bit different from how it’s drafted:
– I converted the straps to tie at the top (instead of being a continuous loop)
– Rather than line my bodice, I drafted all-in-one facings to clean finish all the top edges

For the tie-top straps, I used this tutorial from By Hand London. It’s super simple – you just trace your pattern piece, and then extend the top strap by 6″-7″, rounding out the end to a nice shape.

To draft the all-in-one-facing, here is what I did:

First, I marked my seam allowances on all the bodice pattern pieces. Since these bodice pieces have princess seams on both the front and back, we want to eliminate those so that the facing pieces are one continuous piece.

Once the seam allowances are marked, I overlapped the pieces as they would be sewn together (center back to side back, and center front to side front). Then I laid my pattern pieces on a sheet of blank paper (mine is just kraft paper from a roll, but you can use whatever you have on hand) and traced around the neckline, arm holes, and straps. I drew down the side about 3.5″ and center about 4″, which will be the depth of the facing.

I used a curved ruler to connect the center back/front with the side seam, just to give it a gentle curve. Then I transferred all my notches and grainlines, and marked the pattern pieces.

It’s a good idea to lay your drafted piece under your pattern pieces, just to make sure everything fits and matches up. Which this one does! Yay!

That’s all for this week! You’ll want to cut and mark your pattern pieces, and be ready to sew next week! Let me know if you have any questions about anything covered in this post or, you know, life in general 🙂

Tags: By Hand London, Kim, oal, oal2017, rayon, tutorial