Get a Perfect Fit From Your Dress Form Every Time

April 28, 2011

Do you struggle with getting the perfect fit, even though you have a dress form in your size? You’re not alone. As if it weren’t bad enough that the fashion industry tries to stuff us all into 10 measly different sizes. We can’t even fit our own clothes on a dummy that’s shaped just right. [...]

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What is a Walking Foot?

November 1, 2010

Sometimes when you sew multiple layers of fabric, like with quilting or upholstery work, you’ll notice the layers tend to go together unevenly. It’s incredibly frustrating as you sew and unsew seam after seam. Sometimes you can just add a ton of pins along the seam to stop this, but it’s much more efficient to [...]

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What in the World is a Wing Needle?

October 27, 2010

Most of the time you want to avoid making holes in your fabric as you sew. But occasionally holes can make a nice decorative touch. That’s what a wing needle is for. It’s a regular sewing machine needle on top, but down by the eye it has two protruding wings. The wings work like an [...]

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Sewing Cabinets and Cutting Tables

October 26, 2010

How to find the right style for you at the right price Not many of us are fortunate enough to have unlimited space for our hobbies. My sewing room is a fairly large loft space over our garage, and there’s still not enough room for everything. That’s what makes sewing furniture so important. Not only [...]

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How to Choose the Right Sewing Machine Needle

October 25, 2010

I received an email the other day from someone confused about which sewing machine needles to buy. (She thought she only needed one type–the right one for her machine.) Can’t say I blame her for being confused, there are a lot of different numbers and types, so let’s go through them one at a time. [...]

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The Truth About Adjustable Dress Forms

September 15, 2010

Over the past 25 years or so, I’ve used a lot of dress forms. And I’ve researched even more. The truth is no matter what brand or style of dress form you look at, they all have their drawbacks. I get emails and comments all the time from people who want to buy a dress [...]

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Sew Garments That Actually Fit with the Dritz “My Double Deluxe” Dress Form

August 31, 2010

Are you tired of sewing garments that don’t fit right?   So was I. Imagine every garment you create fitting perfectly the first time! Imagine not having to wait for fittings to complete your projects. Imagine having the confidence to alter patterns any way you like and know they’ll look fantastic on you before you even [...]

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Get the Naomoto Gravity Feed Steam Iron and Spend Way Less Time Ironing!

June 22, 2010

All my friends practically disowned my husband when he told them he bought me an iron for my birthday. How sexist! How could he possibly expect me to like a gift like that? It’s like getting him a lawnmower on Father’s Day. “Here honey, now get to work!” Of course, what they didn’t know was [...]

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How to Clean an Iron

June 22, 2010

Every now and then I’ll be de-wrinkling a piece of fabric and my iron will take more effort than usual to push across the fabric. It no longer has that “fresh out of the box” glide that’s so effortless. That’s when I know it’s time to clean it. I admit I abuse my professional iron. [...]

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Sit Down and Iron Faster with Miele Rotary Iron

June 21, 2010

If you’re a serious sewer, you know how important a good iron is. I got a professional gravity feed iron a few years ago for my birthday (my friends were horrified!) and it’s the best for pressing open seams and getting crisp hems, sharp creases and pleats. I sew a ton of cotton and especially [...]

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