Here is a great way to make sure your facings lay nice and flat. After you sew the facing and clip your curves, press the seam allowance towards the facing. Then stitch on the seam allowance, as close to the seam as you can get. This will anchor the seam allowance to the facing, and create a nice, crisp edge when you fold the facing inside the garment. And it also helps to keep it from rolling out!
By the way, I'm looking for any advice about sergers. I might break down and get one some time this year, but they scare me half to death. Do you have one? Do you like it, and is it easy? I mean, really, really easy?
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Why do I always read your great tips after I finish something. I could have used this one on my hubbie's scrubs. I just bought a serger. I used it for all the seams and it made the shirt look so professional. I still had to use the regular sewing machine for pockets, etc. I love it. I did order a book to learn to do more with it though. The directions that came with mine were very basic.
Great tip, Clare. I've been thinking about getting a serger for years. But every time I think I've ready, I chicken out.
Girl you know I don't sw,but very happy you came by and hope your weekend goes well.
Haha, I was just explaining this one to a friend over the weekend! And as you know, I did get a serger recently. I'm still learning the ins and outs of it, but so far I really like it. (I think I'll like it more when I really get the tension thing figured out though.) I'm using it more for seam finishing than anything else. I thought I'd end up with a used one, but I was actually able to get a new Baby Lock for a lot less than pretty much any of the used ones the store had to offer, plus it had one of the main features I wanted (free arm, for ease of serging things like sleeve caps). Best advice I can give is, if possible, have a sales person show you how to work stuff on it. Mine also came with a free serger class, which I haven't taken yet because the spring schedule hadn't come out, but now that I've had some more time with it first it'll probably be better. At least I'll know what I have questions about.
And, well, I'm not actually making the skirt in lavender. That was more my "muslin" for fitting purposes. The real skirt will be made out of a quick-dry nylon in black. (I'd gotten some of it several months ago with the intention of making pants that zipped off to shorts for hiking, but when I tried out the pattern with the second piece of fabric I'd gotten for that purpose, I discovered that their unisex pattern wasn't going to fit my "size" at all (couldn't even get it around my thighs. Apparently it was designed with men in mind.) So I'm going to be cutting that out today. (Meant to do it yesterday, but got sidetracked by friends. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.)
Thanks..do you ever sew that style dress? That is such a simple pattern. That is what I made when April was little,but that is how long it has been since I sewed. April bought this dress at a place in town the lady sews and monagrams.I wished we had them in all colors. They are so sweet
I don't know anything about sergers. If you buy one, I'd like to know how you like it and if you use it a lot. I'd need a bigger sewing room if I were to get one!
I bought a 5 thread Quantum Singer, which has the cover stitch. It's a good machine, but if I could do it over, I would buy a simple 4 thread Janome, and then get a cover stich only machine. MAKE SURE YOU TEST DRIVE whatever machine you get. One other thing, if you do any sewing for children, make sure it has a free arm, and test it. Especially if you get one with the cover stitch. Mine doesn't have a free arm, and it's a bear to get small things like pant legs or sleeve hems to fit. The plus side to having the two machines is that you can always have one set up and threaded ready to go. The other way, you have to rethread for each different fuction you want to do. Threading to me is the fun part. I see it like putting a simple puzzle together. I highly recommend a serger! I haven't been able to use mine very much because I've got an injured arm. Once that heals I need to get back on the saddle and really learn how to use this machine, LOL!
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