Nicole

Would the City Weekend knits be suitable for leggings? I was hoping to make them out of something that won’t sag at the knees. How is the recovery on that fabric?

Keep in mind that 25% stretch is not very much! Cotton jersey will work just fine. Something with a TINY bit of lycra/spandex will have better recovery, but you don’t want a power stretch. We’re not making swimsuits here! I made S’s leggings with ordinary cotton jersey, so don’t worry too much about getting fancy with these. Dry Goods had a nice…[Read more]

I just found this fabric website called Nature’s Fabrics and they have a lot of cotton lycra and cotton spandex jersey and some are organic:
http://www.naturesfabrics.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=cotton+lycra+jersey&x=0&y=0

No idea. I just remember looking at the threads when I was looking for the invisible stuff Mother of 5 recommended for using in the overlocker and spying a product called Woolly Nylon and having no idea what it was for.

No idea. I just remember looking at the threads when I was looking for the invisible stuff Mother of 5 recommended for using in the overlocker and spying a product called Woolly Nylon and having no idea what it was for.

I use french seams for the inside of kids’ clothes whenever I can get away with it. And certainly for anything that frays very badly. The trick I find is to make sure you trim your first seam to 1/8″ after sewing. I use my rotary cutter and ruler to line it up, and then sew the final seam with a scant 1/4″. This seems to work well, even when two…[Read more]

I use french seams for the inside of kids’ clothes whenever I can get away with it. And certainly for anything that frays very badly. The trick I find is to make sure you trim your first seam to 1/8″ after sewing. I use my rotary cutter and ruler to line it up, and then sew the final seam with a scant 1/4″. This seems to work well, even when two…[Read more]

If you enjoyed the format of this show and enjoy baking, the original show The Great British Bake Off starts a new series tonight. It’s great, with the same pleasantness between the contestants. Apologies for taking this off on a non-sewing tangent!

If you enjoyed the format of this show and enjoy baking, the original show The Great British Bake Off starts a new series tonight. It’s great, with the same pleasantness between the contestants. Apologies for taking this off on a non-sewing tangent!

Thanks Sophie. I’ve seen it at Spotlight too.
No idea why it couldn’t be used in any machine, but then I’m still baffled after a Janome dealer told me I couldn’t use metal bobbins in my machine….. I do, and I can…..

Can you post a photo? Is it possible you need to cut into the seam allowance a bit more frequently to release the seam and allow it to turn out fully?

Can you post a photo? Is it possible you need to cut into the seam allowance a bit more frequently to release the seam and allow it to turn out fully?

I thought about this as I made one just recently. I think it would simply get too thick at the side where the two front (or two back) panels are joined, and then sewn into a frenched side seam. It would have to be very light weight fabric as Nicole said.

Thanks everyone. I think I probably do need to play with the tension a bit as sometimes the bobbin thread looks a bit straight and isn’t zigzagging between the top threads enough. after all that’s what gives the stitch its stretch, right?
Some tougher bobbin thread appeals too. It seems Maxi Lock thread is a brand of woolly nylon, as Liesl…[Read more]

I am lazy and don’t want to sew something twice, so I use Wonder Tape to hold the piping in place while I stitch the facing (or whatever) to the front piece (or whatever piece I am attaching it to). Works great!
Jane

This may sound daft (but I’ve done it), are you sure you haven’t rotated the bottom pants piece by 90degrees…..

Thanks for the feedback. Did you make it from pinwale or regular cord, Tamara? Yay, all cord’s on special at Spotlight!

Ah!! Of course. I should check to see what the new school requires. Boxer briefs, those are great…

I think what I like most about it is that it’s such a good-natured sort of competition. No fake drama. At least, not what I have seen!

Even the pleated neckline sound cute!