Category Archives: SEWING ESSENTIALS

Sewing a zipper fly when making pants or trousers can be quite an intimidating task for a lot of people. There are many different methods and techniques for installing zippers, some more confusing than the others but none are truly difficult. Once you learn all the right steps and practice a couple of times, you’ll…

Spaghetti straps (also referred to as rouleau straps) are those narrow fabric straps that you often see in lingerie, camisole tops and dresses. They look delicate and feminine, keep the shoulders bare but have a bad reputation for being difficult to sew. Because spaghetti straps are so narrow, they can be hard to turn right…

In today’s tutorial we are going to show you how to make and sew fabric belt loops, sometimes called belt carriers. It’s one of those construction details that you never think about making until you sew a pair of pants or a dress with a detachable belt and realize that it could really do with…

If the devil is in the details, an accurately installed zipper can give a handmade garment a professional finish. And when it comes to sewing zippers, the invisible zipper is the easiest one to insert. As its name suggests, an invisible zipper is a zipper that lies hidden in the seam with no machine stitching…

When you become a more confident sewer, you are always looking for things to hack or add that may not be included in the pattern. Adding a flap to a patch pocket is one such thing. Pocket flaps add some interesting detail to a standard patch pocket and can help to restyle a tired garment…

There are some small sewing tricks that can make a big difference to a project and the bar tack is one of them. For those wondering what exactly a bar tack is, the answer can be found on your favorite pair of jeans. Just look at the pockets or belt loops and you will notice…

Need a way to make a project stand out? Then consider piping. It is a great detail for adding some pop of color, contrast and texture to any sewing project. Piping gives an opportunity to draw attention to interesting design elements and accentuate seamlines, transforming even the simplest garment into something classy and sharp. Piping…

A mitered corner is a neat way of finishing the corner of a fabric edge in such a way that there is no bulk when the hem is turned under. Carefully constructed corners give a handmade project that clean, professional look and make such a big difference in the finished look! We all know that…

Have you ever been intimidated by a pattern because of a button fly? It does seem pretty complicated but turns out, it’s not hard to sew at all! Today we are going to show you how to construct and install a button fly for that classic, vintage look. The instructions provided in this tutorial are…

  Gathering is the process of drawing fullness into a much smaller area to create soft, even folds. Just like with darts, tucks, pintucks, elastics, and pleats, gathering is a way of controlling fullness in a garment. It is most often used at waistline, yokes, sleeves, cuffs or when adding ruffles. This basic sewing technique…

Darts are one of the most basic structural elements in dressmaking and garment construction. They are folds of fabric used for shaping and removing excess volume for a better fit. The female body is not a simple flat cylinder, it has all kinds of curves, dipping valleys and rising hills. In order to make a fitted…

An all-in-one facing (also known as a combined neck and armhole facing) is a clean and simple finish for a sleeveless garment. It creates a neat and supportive finish at the neckline and the armhole edges. Many sleeveless dress and top patterns call for separately faced neckline and armholes. However, in some cases, especially when…

A notched collar (or «tailored collar») is mainly used on tailored jackets and coats. However, this collar style became so popular that today that it is often seen on all sorts of garments – vests, dresses, shirts and pyjama tops. A notched collar is composed of an upper collar, an under collar and two lapels. And…

Chances are that you’ve seen elastic shirring on many dresses and skirts in store this summer. This sewing technique is quite popular in women’s wear this season, but did you know you could do it yourself? It’s quick and easy and all you need is an elastic thread in the bobbin of your sewing machine…

Remember that fold-down casing method we talked about in our recent tutorial? So while this information is still fresh we thought we would show you two techniques for adding a drawstring to a waistband: you will learn how to sew a basic drawstring waistband and an elastic drawstring waistband. Basically, you can use a drawstring instead…