Seven GREAT Blogs!

Lori...a most talented sewist who authors the very popular blog,
Girls In The Garden, has nominated me for the Kreativ Blogger Award.

I am delighted to be included among this group of very talented people...thank-you Lori!

Rules and Responsibilities--

1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers.
4. Link to those on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.


So now....how do I just choose 7 blogs from among the many I enjoy? But choose I must, and here they are...in no particular order:

Ruth and Jessica at SEW CHIC

Liana at SEW INTRIGUING

Adriana at THE PRINCESS SEAM

Mardel at SEW DISTRACTED

Cennetta at THE MAHOGANY STYLIST

Faye at CUTTING EDGE DESIGNS

Erica at ERICA B's DIY STYLE

These wonderfully creative, stylish women are a constant source of inspiration...I highly recommend a visit to their sites!

Perfect Hems Every Time!

Hemming the knit garments we sew can often be a frustrating experience. Wavy, stretched-out, lumpy and uneven hems are all too common.

Here's an easy way to get great looking hems on knit garments by using any of the various brands of clear "water soluble" embroidery stabilizers...such as the brand-name product, "Solvy" (available at chain fabric stores).

As pictured, first cut about a 10-inch length of the stabilizer. Then roll it up into a tube. Next, as shown below, cut off a "slice" of the tube the depth of the hem. I usually cut several 1" "slices", as that is the hem depth I use on most knit garments.






Now you have several nice uniform strips of stabilizer ready to FUSE your hem.

Fuse?

Yes, that's right, you will be using the stabilizer to temporarily "fuse" the hem into place before stitching.

Just as you would use regular fusible web to permanently fuse a hem, place your strip of "temporary fuse" between the hem allowance and the garment ("inside" the hem). Then thoroughly steam-press the hem. This melts the water-soluble stabilizer strip, temporarily holding the hem in place while also making the hem area firm and completely stable, ready to be stitched.

Now stitch your totally stabilized hem. A twin-needle hem works especially well, because the hem area is so stable that the stitches will not "tunnel".

Once your hem is stitched, the stabilizer is easily and completely removed from the garment by a quick trip through the rinse cycle of the washing machine. After drying, your hem will be soft, flexible, and beautiful...with NO puckers or waves!

BAN Boring BUTTONS !

There are so many interesting buttons available today. So why oh why do we see the same old boring, blah, ho-hum buttons on almost every shirt and blouse?

Economics is one answer. Large shirt manufacturers buy huge volumes of plain boring, ho-hum, blah buttons at an amazingly low cost, and therefore use them....over and over and over again.

Red buttons on a white dress shirt may not make the proper statement in the boardroom, but then again these days...who knows? The example photograph shows a mixed variety of buttons of different size and color against a background of glorious BLUE STRIPED Swiss Cotton shirting fabric.

Brown buttons with blue fabric? Why not? Pewter buttons? Fabulous! Feeling a little daring? Alternate white buttons with mottled gray/white buttons. Wooden buttons are such a wonderful unexpected detail.

Oh, you like white buttons? Well, so do I! So use white buttons but try using textured ones or buttons of a slightly larger than average size.

C'mon...take a walk on the creative side!

Sewing Notes: Buttons from Fashion Sewing Supply,
"Buttons by the Scoop"...check site for current offerings.