Lightning McStitch

Me too. All the wrong size but now I want to make a pink finewale cord Apple Picking dress!

Well you’re not meant to cut off the extra, but five inches of extra?! That would threats to hang below the hem of the skirt!

Oh, there are some patterns that should not be PDFs. Rain ponchos is now added to my list alongside men’s dressing gowns!

Oh, there are some patterns that should not be PDFs. Rain ponchos is now added to my list alongside men’s dressing gowns!

Once you’re happy with the zipper, and you’ve sewn the bottom skirt, you will stitch the extra zipper tape to the skirts seam allowance.
However with that much extra I’d be inclined to shorten the zipper a bit first. You need to handstitch round and round and round the teeth to create a new stopping point. Then cut the zipper an inch or two below…[Read more]

There’s nothing that I would like more
Then to visit a distant shore
Lend a hand to a mate

This step is sewing the pleats. So long as you fold the fabric right sides together it doesn’t technically matter whether you hold it as in the picture (folded side on the left) or turn it upside down (folded side on the right).
If you flip it and have the fold on the right but the markings still at the top then it’s all still the same.
Just sew…[Read more]

I just received a delightful little package in the post from @dubhels2003 Liberty fat quarters and gorgeous trims! What’s more i got word her daughter adores the Fairy Tale dress I passed on. Bursting with happiness. Sewing friends are the best!

Sewing friends sure are the best
Better than all of the rest
They’re there every time
To offer a rhyme

Oh Masha.
I wish a speedy recovery for him and as much help can be mustered for you. If only I lived nearby….
Shelley

Oh Masha.
I wish a speedy recovery for him and as much help can be mustered for you. If only I lived nearby….
Shelley

Just typed a long post then lost it, anyway mine did the same thing @juliamom2009 and it was good old quilting cotton. Now in the mending pile.
Perhaps we need to interface both main and yoke. The same issue was found with Badminton dresses. What do you think @liesl an errata or warning required?

Coat sewing but I wish it was frocks
Wool lint is all over my socks
It’s not all that bad
‘Least I’m not in Baghdad
Sewing hundreds of pairs of men’s jocks

(sorry, got carried away with 2 lines there 🙂 )

My kid has got arms like an ape

It took me an eon to sew
She’s going to just love it, I know
French seams throughout
But still, there’s a doubt

Liesl and co patterns should match your ready to wear size. Other patterns may not. Here’s the blog post from Liesl about sizing….

finding your correct pattern size

There are three places it would be nice to have plaid match, but unless you alter the pattern or are very lucky you’ll probably only manage two out of three.
The 3 areas are: Horizontally across the two front panels. That is to say, if you follow a line of plaid across the body from left to right it should match.
2: Vertically across the front…[Read more]

Well that’s good to know Ellen. I suppose a zig zag stitch kind of keeps the seam allowances together anyway. I was imagining a sleeve seam for example, if the seam allowances opened out and then curled a bit, it would take a lot of ironing for that to sit flat enough for my liking.
But then I did say I was fussy didn’t I. 🙂

If you’re using a curly edge knit I wonder if it wouldn’t be worse to have the seam allowances raw…
Personally I can’t leave knits unfinished or unhenmed. Just me, but I strive for my homemade stuff to be worthy in craftmanship of shop bought, if not better.
But then I use an overlocker/serger for knit sewing, so my sewing and finishing is one…[Read more]

Seam allowances are included.
In the written instructions it will tell you that they’re 1/2″ (as per every Oliver + S pattern.
Be aware that many of us find the hat runs small compared to the suggested age, but quite true to the measured size. Make sure you measure your kids noggin. If in any doubt I’d say go up a size.

Thanks @EllenMCM I think he is too! 😉