by Stephanie
May 16, 2012 in General
I’ve seen this cute ribbon trim at the store, but never thought to sew it on my own…check this awesome tutorial out from Threads Magazine:
How to Make a Lovely Pleated Ribbon
Picture from www.threadsmagazine.com.
On a similar note, has anyone ever tried the pleating foot and what did you use it for? It looks awesome!
by Stephanie
May 10, 2012 in General, Tips & Tricks
When you’re first learning to sew, usually a lot of mistakes are made (and for a lot of people your patience level through it all often determines whether you’ll continue sewing)…although, they still occur throughout the career of a seamstress, I’m sure, like sewing something on the wrong way, etc. Somehow, many projects bring new challenges anyway. Whether it’s a new fabric or the same one you’ve worked on for awhile; it’s just a new style or design that’s different. Patterns can also throw you off sometimes too. I must admit my mistakes launched me forward and taught me lessons…here are just a few of my bloopers. Hopefully, some of my mistakes can help you! Do you have any? Please share in the comments section!
1. The first time I made a garment on my own was my prom dress for junior year despite my mom’s recommendations to learn more about sewing first. So, we get the pattern, buy the fabric, and cut it out. I, then, realized we had way too much yardage left over…we had gone with the 45″ fabric measurement on the pattern envelope as opposed to the 60″ …whoops, we could have saved so much money not buying all of that extra satin!! Sorry, the quality of the picture below is sub-par, it was the best picture I could find of it (I think my photo albums are still at my parents house since I got married 2.5 years ago; I should probably obtain those). This was 2003, wow, almost, 10 years ago…high school doesn’t feel that long ago!
2. I didn’t realize that “naps” made a really big difference when sewn opposite of each other until I was making a pencil skirt out of corduroy in a beginning college fashion class and had cut a piece out “upside down” and sewn it together. I kept looking at it and trying to figure out why the lighting was hitting it so differently…then I realized that I had cut the fabric out incorrectly and learned that corduroy does indeed have a nap! Good thing I had extra fabric in that situation! 
3. Fashion school was somewhat stressful…so much work, so little time!! I was sewing a dress that I liked to call my “tuxedo dress” as you can tell why below. It was due the next day…and I promise, I hadn’t been slacking, in fact, whatever time I could find to work on it, I did. We truly didn’t have enough time for what we needed to do. So, I was sewing and serging and serging and sewing. Apparently, during one bout of intense serging, some of the fabric that was not supposed to hit the blade, did…luckily, I caught it early, but, when I clipped it out of the machine as carefully as I could and there was a v-shaped cut in the middle of one of my skirt panels, I fell over and cried for a brief minute…I felt like screaming! But, I realized quickly that time was of the essence and there was no way I had time to replace that panel let alone cry, so, I stitched it up with the same color thread and hoped it remained unnoticed…and it did! It rocked on the runway! This lovely picture below is of the dress in our fashion show 2007! Image taken and kindly provided by Kastler Photography. For more information on Kastler Photography, visit www.kastlerphotography.com; Kastler Photography serves the St. Louis and Houston metropolitan areas!
4. This one was in fashion school also…again, so much to do, so little time…I only stitched one gathering stitch as opposed to two (to save time) in a very full gathered evening gown skirt to save time. Well, that backfired and ended up taking more time…the thread broke half way losing a great portion of the gathers…grr, more time wasted! Funny now, not so much then! Moral of the story: whenever you have to gather a long portion of a skirt, stitch two gathering lines! My friend, Jenna, took this beautiful picture; http://www.jmarie-photography.blogspot.com/
5. I made my sister’s prom dress for her senior year prom (this was 2 years later than my junior year prom dress in #1). We both worked on the beading portion (as it takes FOREVER to bead and is so redundant)! It was all ready to go a week before prom and we thought maybe we should have it dry cleaned, since, it being home-made, had been handled a lot. Well, first of all, the dry cleaning made the many layers of tulle in the skirt, including the stiff stuff, soft. So, the skirt wasn’t quite as full as intended, but, it wasn’t too bad. What was worse was one type of bead on the entire bodice and skirt melted, some completely gone! When I got home to my sister crying because of this…3 days before prom…we opened up the bodice, her on one side and me on the other. We beaded throughout and met in the middle…it was a nightmare, but, we finished it! Needless to say, plastic beads don’t fair well against dry cleaning, even if they look really pretty! (First picture: prom queen 2005; Second picture: She was able to wear it to a college formal too)!
I’m sure there are more, but, I’m certainly glad that most of those learning bloopers have already been experienced and I get to do more sewing than fixing mistakes! Live and learn!
by Stephanie
May 6, 2012 in General
I didn’t make any maternity tops with my first (and only thus far), but, I think I might for the next in the future.This maternity top is really cute and the tutorial looks pretty straightforward and easy to sew! It is from www.made-by-rae.com, which also has some other cute tutorials as well, but you can click above or here. I love the bow on the side! Of course, I had to ‘pin’ it to my pinterest.com board! 
by Mac
April 25, 2012 in Patty Young
ANSWER THE QUESTION BELOW IN THE COMMENTS TO BE ENTERED TO WIN!
Entries accepted from 4/25/2012-5/2/2012
We will assign each entry a number and then choose a number via random number generator. If we are unable to contact the winner through Totally Stitchin or email by 5/9/2012 we will choose another number.
by Mac
April 24, 2012 in News
We are SEW excited to announce that Baby Lock will be the exclusive machine sponsor of The Sewing Summit for the second consecutive year. This, of course means more Bag Stalking and meeting new sewing friends and lots of long nights sewing away on Baby Lock machines during Open Sewing. Even better this year, Baby Lock is providing more machines and sergers- these ladies are in for a treat! Although the event is already sold out, we will make every effort to bring the experience back to our fans live through Baby Lock’s SEWcial media sites and here as well so stay tuned!
Here is the official press release from Baby Lock:
“Sewcial” Media on the Rise
Sewing and Blogging Conference Sold Out in One Day
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH—What do bloggers and a weekend sewing retreat have in common? Before last year, the answer would have been “not much,” but as of October 2011, sewing enthusiasts with an interest in social media gather annually at the Sewing Summit. Though only in its second year, Sewing Summit 2012 sold out in a mere 10 hours. Those who did get tickets will be pleased to learn that Baby Lock is once again sponsoring the event, and this year will provide even more machines, including sergers!
2011 marked the first Sewing Summit and the start of a social media revolution for the sewing community. Sewing enthusiasts actively involved with blogging and connecting with others via social media gathered in Salt Lake City to sew on Baby Lock Grace machines and mingle with one another. It was a weekend filled with networking, learning new techniques, and having fun with friends new and old. Many attendees also took advantage of open sewing until 1 AM throughout the weekend!The event was so popular that this year, Sewing Summit sold 100 tickets in the first minute they were available. After 10 hours the event was sold out, six months in advance!
Erin Singleton, the event coordinator, has started a wait list for others wishing to attend, but has not officially released any additional tickets.
“When Sewing Summit was formed, we always had in mind a smaller, niche, approximately 250 person event where people could genuinely connect and weren’t just cattle-called through big ballrooms and halls,” Singleton said. “I want to provide a place where you can do that, and it’s a delicate balance.”
Throughout the weekend, attendees will take classes taught by seasoned sewing bloggers. Hands-on classes will be taught with Baby Lock machines for the second consecutive year. Last year, Baby Lock partnered with Daines Cotton Shops of Utah to provide 50 machines. This year they have stepped it up and will provide 60 sewing machines and 15 sergers.
“We are so excited for our friends at The Sewing Summit, and all of the attendees that get to go this year,” Baby Lock Assistant Marketing Manager, McKenzie Lehmann said. “We are proud to be a part of an event where the online sewing community comes to life all in one place for nothing but to meet each other and learn from each other—for the love of sewing!”
The 2012 Sewing Summit will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah from October 11 through October 13. Sewing enthusiasts who wish to be added to the wait list should email waitlist@sewingsummit.com with a simple message stating, “I would buy a ticket.”
About Baby Lock:
Baby Lock has been a leader in the sewing industry for nearly 50 years. The company brought the first home serger to the market in 1964, and since then has introduced 14 patented features to the world of serging. Baby Lock also offers a full line of other products that enhance the love of sewing, including easy to use sewing and quilting machines, embroidery products, exclusive software and industry-leading Gold Standard service and support.
Baby Lock is a major underwriter of the popular PBS television shows “Sewing With Nancy®” starring national sewing authority Nancy Zieman and now celebrating 30 years on the air, “Quilt in a Day®”, starring national quilting authority Eleanor Burns, and Fons & Porter’s “Love of Quilting®” starring Marianne Fons and Liz Porter.
by Stephanie
April 20, 2012 in Tips & Tricks
Often times, when a dress needs taken in, it can be cinched in at the zipper. Many dresses are different, but may be similar enough to follow these directions. Use these as a guide, but, make sure you inspect how your garment is made and how to put it back together when complete!! This particular garment has no lining, but it does have a small facing.
1. Have someone (who isn’t wearing the garment) fit and pin how much fabric needs to be taken in (the safety pins below mark where I need to take in). Open up the facing or lining, partially or fully remove your zipper depending on how much needs to be taken in (I had to fully remove the zipper because it needs to be taken in below the zipper as well).
2. I re-pinned the lower pins so that I could see them on the inside and then easily remove them after I mark.
3. Turn the garment inside out. Work with the area below the zipper first.
4. Mark the line you’ll need to follow to sew and then sew your line with a standard machine stitch. Sew from end of zipper to then fade out or all the way to the bottom, again, depending on how much needs to be taken in for how long down the length.
Here is the line sewn below the zipper (sorry picture isn’t that great).
5. This is the garment turned inside out. You can see the pins…this will guide you to draw your line.
6. Pin on the side where you drew your line.
Pinned and line drawn.
7. I then baste that line and iron open the seam well and then open up the basting (this ironed seam helps you line up your zipper).
Here it is ironed open.
8. Pin and line up zipper (I don’t normally pin this way; it’s just easier with the invisible zipper foot). Centered zippers are a little bit different, but not so much, just study it and how you’ll need to re-apply it at this step.
9. If you’re using an invisible zipper, use an invisible zipper foot; if you’re using a regular zipper, use a zipper foot. Sew zipper in place (I like to baste the invisible zippers first to make sure that the seams and upper edges line up and then stitch it in place).
One side done, one to go. Now, do the other side.
10. After the zipper has been sewn in, if you are using an invisible zipper, you may have to stitch on the seam at the base of the zipper if you couldn’t stitch the zipper all the way down. Then, pin your lining or facing in place and hand-stitch closed.
Here is the facing hand sewn to the zipper tape.
Replace your hook and eye if necessary and your done! Let me know if you need clarification on anything or if you have any tips as well!
by Stephanie
April 20, 2012 in Sewing supplies, Tips & Tricks
Love the skinny loop turner! They come in handy when turning tiny tubes like spaghetti straps or lacing. You can get them at a fabric store or online!
1. Sew your skinny tube.
2. The tube below is swimwear fabric, so, it is sewn with the “lightening” stretch stitch which helps tremendously when turning right-side out. Woven fabric can be sewn with your regular machine stitch.
3. Cut your seam allowance down so that the seam allowance will lay nicely inside the tube when turned.
4. Insert loop turner inside tube, scrunching fabric completely over until the hook appears at the top.
5. Push lower portion of hook through top edge of tube.
6. Pull down slightly, enclosing fabric inside the hook loop.
7. This may be the hardest part pulling the initial fabric over the hook (and it may take some practice until you feel comfortable with the loop turner). You’ll continue pulling down on the turner with your right hand while sliding fabric over the hook and the tube itself. Keep pulling the fabric all the way until it is turned completely. (Sometimes the fabric comes unhooked; try to avoid pushing the hooked portion back up; keep it somewhat taut so that the hooked fabric doesn’t release too early).
by diane
April 15, 2012 in Find It / Buy It, Tips & Tricks
While spring cleaning, I found myself bored with the same look and color in my living room. A great way to change colors without spending a fortune on new furniture is to bring new color into the room with pillows. I found a book called “Simply Pillows by the Editors of Sunset Books and found many different styles that would be easy to make with easy to follow directions. This book had a lot of great ideas.
by Susan G
April 13, 2012 in News
My grandma recently turned 96 years old. I was trying to think of the perfect gift for her. I decided to use my Ellure Plus and embroider a family tree on a pillow sham. Grandma Billie has 4 children, 12 grandchildren, and 33 great grandchildren. I simply purchased a quilted pillow sham for the project. I decided to use a different color for each generation. She was so excited to receive the gift and proudly displays it in her room at her retirement home. It is a great gift idea, and something that can be treasured for many years!
by Stephanie
April 5, 2012 in General
Picture and tutorial from www.danamadeit.com under “Tutorials”
My last 2 project blogs have been on following the process of making a 2 piece swimsuit (I hope to tackle the one piece with a built in bra next…stay posted for my April project) and as I have been studying up on some tricks and tips on swimwear, I noticed this Free Tutorial on how to sew a girls swim top with ruffled fabric and basic bottoms…it’s just too adorable!
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