I’ve been lurking a little while now…. meaning to join the forum discussion and Flickr group once I finally got around to taking some pictures of some of the lovely Oliver + S things I’ve made. I’ve enjoyed looking at everyone’s pictures and have gleefully stolen some great ideas for contrasting pocket bindings or plackets, etc.
But, two nights ago, while finishing the sleeves of a School Photo dress I had a moment of, for me, sheer brilliance, which I feel compelled to share. (don’t be afraid to shoot me down with “yep that’s what I always do”, I’ll still feel clever).
I’ve always really struggled with sleeves on little people clothes. They don’t fit around my sewing machine’s arm, so I have to sew from inside the garment with all those little pins catching and pricking me. If the fabric is a bit bulky then pinning and sewing on a sleeve cuff can reduce me to tears (or at least a gin). I have an absurdly stubborn aversion to hand basting anything.
I’d previously bought some iron on adhesive tape for making adhesive bias binding, and stashed it away. It seemed such a nifty solution to a problem that I was yet to have. Unnecessary, but clever.
Well, it’s the perfect solution to attach the binding to sleeves. Sew the first step as normal, then use the adhesive binding when folding the cuff over and ironing it into position. No pins required, the cuff is held perfectly in position and can then be edgestitched without a single finger prick or curse. I was working with a fairly bulky velour fabric and I’ve no doubt that pinning that cuff would otherwise have been a nightmare of bent, sticky out pins.
Thanks to everyone who’s provided me with tips or inspiration thus far. The first pattern I ever sewed drove me bonkers with a step that made no sense and I insisted on my husband, who was surfing the net at the time, looking up <pattern brand> pattern #2150, step 7 WTF? on Google. If only it’d been an Oliver+S pattern I probably would have found the answer I was looking for!
Happy stitching to you all.
