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Recent Posts
- The Secret Life of the Sewing Machine May 17, 2021
- Kansas Troubles May 10, 2021
- My map quilt May 6, 2021
- My chess board project Apr 29, 2021
- The National Garment Cutter Book of Diagrams: fabulous patterns from 1888 Apr 23, 2021
Category Archives: Techniques
Easy ways to sew in a zip
Sewing in a zip can be a bit of a pain. I tend to avoid it when I can, because of the hassle of remembering to buy the right length. And often they don’t sell the colour I want. But … Continue reading
Custom fitting your sewing patterns
Today, I’ve got a collection of posts about dressmaking with a commercial pattern to share: This post tells you how to merge sizes for a better fit. Then there is one about adapting a neckline. And finally, this one gives … Continue reading
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Tagged dressmaking, make your pattern fit., using a commercial pattern
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Producing your own linen
Flax is a beautiful delicate flower. And it produces a fibre that has been in use for many centuries. I wonder when people started to turn against it just because it creases easily? Must look into that. Anyway, a great … Continue reading
Seamless cast on
If you are knitting a hat starting from the top of the crown, or a sock starting from the toe, this might help. The stitches for both sides are cast on at the same time, so there is no seam … Continue reading
Tips for sewing better collars
Collars are important. Not only are they one of the main features in garment design, setting the feel of the garment, but also people tend to focus on them, as they are so near your face. You cannot afford to … Continue reading
Disappearing nine patch with a difference
Have you tried dissappearing nine patch quilt blocks? The basic idea is you make a nine patch block by sewing squares of fabric into three rows of three squares each, so there are nine squares in your square block (hence … Continue reading
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Tagged disappearing 9 patch, disappearing nine patch, quilt blocks
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City skins
Here are some more pictures from my visit to the National Centre for Craft and Design in Sleaford, Lincolnshire. This time it is Eszter Bornemisza’s City Skins. From a distance, it looks a bit like a kimono. It is made from … Continue reading
The EYES Rainbow banner
Here is another group project from the East Yorkshire Embroidery Society’s exhibition Hopes and Dreams in Stitch, which is at Beverley Minster from 10am to 4pm every day until 10th May. Participants were given a square of fabric, and asked … Continue reading
Knitting a plant
Recently I’ve been sorting through some experiments from my City and Guilds course. We had to find pictures, use them to inspire our knitting, and produce a sample to go in our A4 files. I knitted a mangrove swamp. Unfortunately, … Continue reading
Improving on the scrunch dyeing by-products
When I did some multicolour scrunch dyeing recently, I used the leftover dye to create plain scarves to use as a basis for something else. The yellow and red scarves were surprisingly bright, considering the subtle results obtained when the … Continue reading
The Rainbow Angel 