Sewing Vloggers

Saturday, February 28, 2009

In The Queue.....


Now that my bag is finished I pulled together some recent fabric purchases with patterns. They are all in the queue but I am not sure what I will cut first. I think I am ready for some children's clothing so that may be it. Easter is coming and I have to step to it. First in the queue: some camouflage flannel. It's a really heavy flannel, too. DGS asked me for camo jammies and of course IG(Indulgent Grandma) acquiesced. This is my favorite boy jammy pattern, very classic and the boys love it. I have made more times than I can count.

Next up is a "polka dot dress" requested by DGD and once again IG succumbed. I have a couple of coordinates here but not sure how this will play out. I am not even sure on the pattern. I like the little retro garment on the left from Kari Mecca but also found this Daisy Kingdom halter dress just beyond cute. DGD liked that one the best so that will probably be the way to go.





IG needs some more pants so this group is a poly pinstripe that is really pretty nice and the heavy black linen I have wanted for a while. Got the poly at Martins's. It looks like the last garment fabric I may buy at Martins. They have hugely downsized and appear to be canning the garment fabrics. Once again, quilts and home dec survive! Does anyone understand that there are people out there who really sew? The pattern is the Simp "Amazing Fit" pattern that I fell in love with. I may make the legs narrower on this one. We'll see.



Finally, this little beauty. DD bought it for me to make DGD a dress. To me it is gorgeous but reeks Christmas. DD doesn't see it at all. The cherries are surrounded by pink and she wants a pink co ordinate. This will be a challenge. Maybe that combo would be better in that Daisy Kingdom pattern above. I just have to mull this one over a lot more. Suggestions are always appreciated.





Tomorrow will hopefully bring pics of the Collage Bag. It is done but not without its interesting moments. This was a very distracting week with the tykes and I did lots of reverse sewing on this one. When I finally completed it all this afternoon and was giving it the final press, the bag made a clunk. Then it clunked again. I reached in to arrange the lining for the press and felt the clunk. Here is what I left sewn up between the lining and the bag's shell:

Just the mini cutting board, not the chisels. Oy.........

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Bellows Pocket Plus More

This is the sixth time I have made McCalls 4400. Here is the pocket pattern from McCalls 4884 that I use universally in all my bags. It is a simple bellows type pocket that I have modified a bit.

The first difference is to cut the pocket doubly on the fold. Then I interface with a light interfacing, usually a tricot, inside of the two layers. The interfacing is not in the seam allowances. When I do bags my interfacing is almost always fusible and I always cut off the seam allowances. When making a bag there is so much potential bulk and layers that you really have to eliminate them when you can, so no interfacing in the SAs. I then sew the mitered corners, trim with a pinker, and topstitch the upper edge.
A bellows pocket is three dimensional, the dimension being achieved by that miter. The pocket needs to be pressed in a crease from the top edge to the end of the miter seam on both sides. Pink and iron under a quarter inch the side and bottom seams of the pocket. Bring the crease to the edge of the of the side seam fold. Do this on both sides and press in that crease. You now have a pocket with all seams ironed under and a pleat on each side. Place this where you want on the lining and topstitch only the side seams. All threads will be brought to the back and tied off. Press well, pressing the pleat down on each side.

If you have placed the pocket properly you will be wondering why you have excess at the bottom. We will deal with that now. Line the bottom edge up so it makes a 45º angle from the side seams. Tuck in a little pleat equidistant from each side seam and top stitch. Now you have depth as well as a rectangular shape to your pocket. I bet a few minutes ago you thought you would have a curve at the bottom!
I like a place in my pocket for a pen or pencil, so my next step is measuring 3/8 of an inch from the center of the pocket on each side of center. I then topstitch this down. Next is a good press.

Your pocket is now done and will accommodate your phone and lipsticks nicely, oh so much better than a flat little number!

************************************************************************************

I am going to do my Thursday Throwback today as I have company coming tomorrow. My munchkins will be heading home soon and their Mommie and Daddy will arrive tomorrow. It has been great fun.
When I needed professional clothing, I got in the habit of doing 4 piece suits, vest, pants, jacket, and skirt. This vest was made as part of a much simpler Geoffrey Beene Vogue suit that also used the two different wools. We are talking circa 95 here (blush). I know, I keep everything I sew. I'll show the suit one day.
I textured the fabric with randomly shaped uneven pleats. This was then embellished with free motion embroidery, cords, and ribbons. The buttons are two huge MOP antiques I inherited. This was really fun to do.

DH's comment when he saw me photo'ing it on the form yesterday, "This looks like what they wear on Big Love." Yeah right. I am sure it is the high neck!....Bunny

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Bag Questions Answered


I've got the lining cut out for the bag, as well as the pocket setup. The lining will be the seafoam dupioni.

Design Dreamer asked if I cut the fabrics specifically for this bag. I did. I just kind of did a hack and turn with the scissors. I started with the large pieces first, the velvet and dupionis, and then filled in with the more textured smaller pieces. Some got tucked under, some stayed on top. This is really free play. But I like the structure of the corner appliques, from the pattern, and the top stitched bias strips in contrast. In my opinion you have to have contrast to make things interesting in any kind of a art project and I consider this bag one of those.

Nancy asked about the interfacings. I tend to buy interfacings I can touch, not on line. I have no doubt that there may be better options on line but for now these basics do most of the work for me. Decor Bond, is a fusible, I think by Pellon, that is very stiff and heavy. It is intended for craft and home dec projects. You will often see it spec'd for window shades. I use it in my bags. Sometimes I use two layers. Another favorite is FormFlex. I am not sure if this is a Handler or a Pellon. It is a woven interfacing of 100% cotton. I like this a lot for collars and cuffs on tops. I like that it has a grain that you can utilize to your best advantage. Next fave is weft insertion interfacing. I get it from a shop in NH. He has the 60 inch commercial variety but you can buy this product most anywhere fabric is sold. It will probably be narrower. Just look for the grey interfacing with the funny texture. It works wonderfully for jacket/ coat fronts and comes out stiffer than you would think once fused. I am always surprised by the amount body it has. Also in the arsenal is fusible tricot interfacing. This is great on my delicate heirloom children's clothing. It adds oomph and stability to the pleated area of smocked silks and lightweight batistes. It also makes a great jacket front on a lighter weight fabric. Those are my basics that I try to always have tons of. I fill in as needed with the hair canvas and other more specialized interfacings. Those I usually get on line.

As with anything I suggest or do with my sewing, samples are in order. Always sample your interfacing before comitting to a project. It is the only to know what is appropriate. But these basics, available nearly any where fabric is sold, are good to have in the larder............Bunny

Friday, February 20, 2009

The Collaged Bag

My work on the Collaged Bag continues but in fits and spurts. I am blessed with my grandchildren visiting this and next week and have to steal some of my sewing moments. This morning I awoke at 4:00AM and couldn't get back to sleep so it was down to the cave.

Because of the bulk of the collage I did my seams a little differently. I cut out Decor Bond to the exact size of the bag front and back without seam allowances. This is then fused to the collaged front and back. On the side seams I cut the collage back to the edge of the interfacing. These were then butted together, held with painter's tape, and stitched with a triple zigzag.





Then I cut a bias strip of the plaid dupioni. This was backed with a one inch fusible strip of Formflex. I then switched on the edge stitching foot and did my topstitching to secure the strip to the bag and strengthen the side seams. I think if gives a really nice finish.








I am using McCalls 4400 with a change or two. I will have cloth handles and a large double needled tab with a magnetic snap for a closure. View E, which I am using, makes a really nice sized bucket bag. I like the accent of the corner appliques.
********************************************************************************

Today we do the kiddy swap, driving 3 hours South and trading one grandchild for two others, then driving 3 hours back to NY for another week of grandparent fun. We have sledding planned as well as a trip to a nice goat farm that will have brand new babies born next week. So a lot going on! I will continue to steal blog and sewing time as available. Till then...........Bunny

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Burda 02-2009-115

Pardon Miss Fanny's jewels, but she just doesn't feel dressed without them!

This is my first Burda World of Fashion effort. It is from the 09 February issue and is pattern #115. I chose this first because I thought the style was kind of fun for the summer, but also because it was the "sewing course" pattern that BWOF has in their magazine each month. I figured for my first attempt I might as well get all the help I can. I also viewed this as an experiment. I cut this as a size 38 with only a hip adjustment to a 40. I wanted to note the variations to patterns that I do with the Big Four when it comes to fitting. I did not petite this pattern. Next time I will. You can see my jacket on the form just has a sort of large/longer look than the one on the model. If I had petited the pattern it would have looked more like the original.

This pattern has downward bust darts that come out of the sleeve seam toward the bust. That right there is a ringer for SBS, aka, saggy boob syndrome. But again, I was experimenting here. I probably would not have chosen such a dart secenario with the Big Four.
On the original phote of the jacket in the magazine you can see that the pockets are "puffy" kind of like Seinfeld's shirt sleeves. I like this, but without petiting the pattern it puts the bulk in a funny place at my tummy. I think it would have looked much better if I reduced the length of the jacket about 2 inches at the waist. That would have given a finish closer to that you see on the 5'11" model in the magazine.

The fabric is a heavy linen that started out as navy blue. I discharge dyed it about 7 years ago , I think, and it has been waiting for the right pattern. I do think it worked up nicely in this design.
I will be making some black linen pants to wear with this jacket. It will be great for tossing on over a tank while I am in the supermarket or shopping wherever. Now that I feel comfortable with BWOF, I will make my traditional fit alterations. I think it will be much better. I do love the designs that I see in the magazine and am very happy I subscribed.

ETA: I just want to add that for the seams in this jacket I used probably my favorite technique. I stitch the seams. Then I cut back one seam to about a fat 1/8th of an inch. The seam allowances are then serged so that the upper SA is wider than the one trimmed underneath. This is then pressed to the side and topstitched from above. In keeping with the rather psychedelic nature of the fabric, I used a variegated rayon thread for my serging. It adds a cute touch to the inside. This technique is a really fast way to treat seams in linen. The have to either be lined over or treated in some way as the fabric is so ravelly. This definitely goes faster than HK seams.
************************************************************************************
What you see here is a collage made from the recent velvet/silk purchase described in the previous post. I have added in some organza, cluny laces, and other silks and such to make two pieces. They were then stitched with a double needle on the diagonal. These will be made into a bag. I have been needing one of late but haven't been able to settle on a design. When I was teaching my grandson to make a fabric collage it occurred to me that I could make one too! So we both fused and double needled away! He took incredibley to the machine. I have always taught him more of a play/ handsewing type of adventure, but this visit we hit Bunbun's machine and he took to it amazingly. Here is a pic of him double needling his collage. He turned 6 in December.
Graham has been visiting for the week. He will be heading home south this Friday and in his stead will be two more grandchildren. I can't wait. They are all just so wonderful to be with. This is so much better than parenting ever could be.

Given that, I will not probably get to my Thursday Throwback and will probably be back when the colllaged bag is done. Happy sewing...........Bunny

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Throwback Thursday and more..........


This is my stash I picked up at Joanns today, on the super cheapo. One is a soft velvet jacquard, another a seafoam dupioni, and the third a bronze plaid dupioni. I paid 2.50 a yd for the dupes and 5.00 for the velvet. Pays to dig in the bottom of the clearance fabric! The really neat thing is that they all work together beautifully. I am not sure what will come of these, but I never pass up a dupioni.

I finished the discharged linen jacket today. I just have one small detail before I put up pics but it may not be till Monday or so. DD's nanny has had a death in the family and we are racing down to Mass. tomorrow to help out. She works for one of those companies that is in the news a lot right now and this is not the time to take time off from work. So we will be heading down to help out.

Jane and Sherril have asked about discharge dyeing. I haven't done any lately but went thru a few years not long ago when I did a lot. I am a huge fan of Lois Ericson. I have all of her books and seeing her on TV is what originally inspired me to try the discharge dyeing. I have her video too! She also had a great article in Threads about discharge dyeing too. Luckily it is still up on the Threads website. The fun with discharge dyeing, for me anyway, is clamping and folding the fabric to get various effects. You never know what you will get and that is part of the fun. I previously posted that the original fabric of the linen BWOF jacket was black. I found my sample and that is wrong. The fabric was originally navy blue. Linen discharges really nicely and so does velvet. One year family and friends all got velvet scarves for Christmas that were discharged. Clicking on the hot link above will give you all you need to know with one caveat. I use vinegar to stop the process, not the chemicals she specs. I use about one part vinegar to 5 parts water. If you don't use either the chemicals or vinegar the bleaching process will continue, no matter how much you rinse out and your fabric can disintegrate. The vinegar also stops the smell of the bleach which has a hard time leaving the fabric at this ratio. Here is a video I found but there is nothing used to stop the bleach action other than water. I don't recommend that. This is also another page I found with clear instructions.

It's throwback Thursday again. This is a silk jacket lined with silk charmeuse. I did the painting using some pieces of cardboard as a resist. I wore this a lot, often with a belt and turtleneck. It is one of those garments that feels yummy. Blogger is not allowing me to upload these photos. I will try again in a few minutes. Thanks for your patience.........Bunny


Monday, February 9, 2009

BWOF 02-2009-115 continues.....


My first Burda adventure continues. I am continuing to do my own thing here and I am starting to realize that is what is seems to be about anyway. On my collars I often used the Nancy Zieman "wrapped corners" technique and used it here. She instructs to understitch with a triple zigzag. I like this a lot on bulky fabrics. It provides a really flat thin edge done this way. I know some don't like the uncoventional look but I think if done neatly it looks fine. It is on the undercollar, after all. You can see how neatly the collar rolls to the undercollar with this technique.

After the collar was topstitched I steamed it on the ham. It will sit tonight to dry out. Tomorrow I will install it in the neckline/ facing.

This is a VERY heavy linen but because of that it is bulky. Any excess fabric is hard. So on the pocket flaps and the collar points, I rounded my points off with the edge of a Gutterman spool. On both of these pics you'll get a better idea by clicking to enlarge.

I know I mentioned sewing tomorrow. Truth is I really have to move on our taxes, like many of you. I think a piece of nice fabric should be my reward when I am done, don't you?

For our friends in Australia, you are in my thoughts and I pray you are out of harms way.......Bunny

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Odds and Ends


I have taken the BWOF plunge. The fabric I am using is the one at left. It is a quite heavy linen with a really nice hand. About 7-8 years ago I discharged this BLACK fabric. As you can see it shades from purple thru magenta, and then even pink. The scissors are on it to give you a sense of the scale. It is about 3 yards by 54 inches. I love this fabric.
Finally I have found the right pattern, I believe. It is in the February issue of BWOF, pattern number *115. I chose that one because this is my first experience with Burda. It is the "sewing course" pattern that is offered each month. It has a shaded pattern to trace, much easier to see. It also has more extensive directions than other patterns in the magazine because of the "sewing course" designation. I figured I needed this extra help the first time around. I also read and reread my directions as Tany and Summerset suggested.

So far my only mistake has been the following: BWOF gives you a pattern layout for your fabric and the required pattern pieces. It also gives you dimensions for pieces that don't have pattern pieces. Got that? I traced everything, added my seam allowances and cut out. When I got to the "turn ups" ( what they call cuffs) I cut the piece out per the spec'd dimensions. I forgot add the SAs. As I had this piece half cut out, reality set in. Luckily I had plenty of fabric for cutting out the pieces WITH the SAs.

Today I started putting things together. I have been sewing a bit, and the sequence on this pattern made no sense to me. It has you make the entire jacket and at the very end put on the pockets and flaps. My usual MO is to make the details, aka pockets and flaps, first, before construction and then install them into the flat fabric, certainly not at the tail end of the project. So that is what I did today and I am glad I did. I have read the directions over and over, as many have suggested this where problems occur. Well, sorry, the sequence to be followed just did not fit my experience so I " did it my way" . Right now I have the fronts and backs ready to be put together with the pockets and flaps all installed. Tomorrow we will work on the sleeves and cuffs. Keep ya posted. I really like the styles offered in the magazine and can see myself doing a lot more.

***********************************************************************************
On my recent post on the olive green linen blouse, a couple of you had questions.

Cissie asked if I did French seams on this blouse. I did but did not do them on the armholes. In the armholes I stitch first at 2.0 then did another line of stitching an 1/8th of an inch away with a 1.5 stitch length. . I then trimmed the seam close to the second stitching and zigzagged the edge all the way around. It made a strong narrow seam. With all that I had to ease in on the sleeve I did not want to compound things with a French seam on a tight curve. I was able to get a nice french seam on the princess curves, however. Again a lot of steaming helped that along. I also made them as narrow as I could.

Design Dreamer asked which stitch I used and thought I used a Bernina. I sew with a Pfaff, which I love. The stitch I use, a Parisian stitch, looks like a ladder with one side of the ladder missing. It also looks like a blanket stitch. The difference with a blanket stitch is that the Parisian stitch goes in and out of the holes three times. That and the use of a wing needle helps make the holes large. That is the goal of hemstitching. This is also facilitated by the use of embroidery, aka fine or size 60 or 80 , thread. The fine thread hides and lets the lacey holes be the star. In this case however, I wanted a match with my thread and fabric and embroidery thread was not available in the color. I did sample and liked the bulkiness of the regular size thread. My holes were not as obvious but the bulkier stitching looked appropriate so I was happy.

***********************************************************************************
My sewing has taken a back seat the past few days as our daughter, her DH, and three little ones were here visiting. We had a great time visiting the Ice Castle at Saranac Lake and watching the fireworks when it was lit off. They also got to go skiing at Whiteface and we got to watch the twins while they did. It was all great fun. Here are a couple of pics of the little ones. The twins love to get into boxes and both climbed into this tote.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Goals Rethought

As we move along into February, lots of thoughts about my sewing goals are entering my head. I have had a definite re adjustment of those goals and may even have forgotten one or two of the originals. So to pin myself down here is my new and standing list:

  • Get familiar with and successful at using BWOF patterns. Status: I just got my magazine and have the pattern for the sewing coarse jacket traced and ready to cut. I really would like to thank Summerset for her imput here. If you haven't checked out her blog posts on using the European magazine patterns, you need to.
  • Make a vintage pattern, or at least a re issue of a vintage pattern. Status: I have the pattern picked out and purchased. It is Vogue 1083, circa 1953. My plan is for a black cashmere coat. Yummy!
  • Get better at picture smocking. This is a real challenge. I have yet to reach the level of skill with this that I would like to have. But I will keep trying. Status: I have a plate I am smocking right now and hope to have done for Easter. I will keep pecking at it.
  • Steal my grandaughter away from NH as much as possible and get her sewing. She is very anxious to learn and has talked to me about it. She is 5 and has excellent fine motor skills. Status: She will be coming up next week. Yippee!
  • Make more pants, lots of pants! Status: Not good as I need to shop for more bottomweights. That will come on my next NH trip. First purchase: hopefully some heavy black linen.
  • Develop a TNT pattern for a tee shirt, a pair of pants, and a blouse. Status: I think I am there with my latest pants and blouse but that tee keeps alluding me. I just haven't found the right pattern for a great TNT yet. I did read Marcy Tilton's tee shirt treatise in Threads for about the fifth time this past week. That's a fabulous article with every possible detail in it.
So that is my new plan. I am glad I have this down in writing to keep me on target. I think I will even bookmark this page. Better yet-I will print it off and up it will go on to the bulletin board in my sewing room.

************************************************************************************

THROWBACK THURSDAY: This is my absolute first attempt at any sort of heirloom sewing. It is about 12 years old. I was inspired by a Nancy Zieman program and just couldn't get enough techniques into one garment. It leaves a lot to be desired. For some reason it smashed my boobs so I would wear as a jacket, open, with a cami underneath. There are pintucks, crossed tucks, sharks teeth (one of my favorite techniques) and some bumbling attempts at seaming. It held up for quite a while but now has seen better days. It reminds that I have come a long way since this one. Maybe we all need to revisit our oldies but goodies to remind ourselves just how much we have learned and how much more skilled we have become, no matter what our sewing level. Reviews are always good. ...................Bunny

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Linen Blouse, Simplicity 3789

I think Simplicity has another winner with this blouse. It is from the Khaliah Ali Collection and has the B-C-D cup options for the bodice fronts. For me, this rocked. This pattern was made out of the envelope other than the following:
  • For petiting purposes I cut back the width of the collar a third of an inch. Can't have those details out of scale.
  • As my upper chest, back, and shoulders are narrow I used a size 6 for those areas, morphed to an 8 in the sleeve, armscye area, and ended up a 12 at the hips. I used the C cup bodice.
  • I baste-fitted the pattern and the only adjustment I needed to do out of the envelope was to scoop out a bit from my apex to almost the armscye. I also cut back the cap as noted below. Other than that this pattern was good to go. I usually have lots of adjustments on tops so this is wonderful.
  • From a design standpoint, I made the sleeves 3/4 length. I also did permanent tucks which I stitched with a Parisian stitch and wing needle. The collar also got the Parisian stitch treatment. I did not do the horizontal stitching across the tucks the pattern spec'd.
Based on reviews on PR, I knew there would be issues easing in the sleeves. "Hard" linen would only make this worse so I flattened the cap by a half inch at the center dot. Then I went thru a whole process before putting in the sleeve.
First I did double gathers on the sleeve. Normally I would put one on the outside of the stitch line, but with hanky linen this can mark. So they are both in the seam allowance. These gathers were then steamed down over my trusty sleeve mitt.




Next the sleeve is pinned into the garment and then steamed again over a ham.

Next, I baste between the two gathering lines and STEAM AGAIN! You can see the gathers disappearing each time. The sleeve is then stitched in with the sleeve on the machine bed, garment up, and the walking foot disengaged. STEAMED ONE MORE TIME and you get the results you see above.

*****************************************


I can't wait till Spring. Sewing linen helps me deal with Cabin Fever up here in the Adirondacks...........Bunny.......ETA: Just wanted to add that the color is that pretty dark olive like you see below, not the washed out brown above.


Sunday, February 1, 2009

Hong Kong Seams


Heather Dee asked on the recent pants post how I did Hong Kong seams. She had a general idea but I told her I would do a tute up the road and here it is. This is info that can be found in most sewing references but it always helps to see real pics.
  • First is the fabric choice for the seam "cover". You want something lightweight and in keeping with the garment you are sewing. If I were sewing a silk garment, I would not use a poly for the HK seams. I'd use a lightweight silk. Your fabric should be lightweight. Some use lining fabrics. I love prints for mine and find it a good way to use up those poly georgettes that seem to proliferate around here. I start by tearing the fabric and placing it on my cutting mat on grain. Slippery fabrics need to be kept still so therefore, the stones. On my acrylic ruler is a 45º angle which you can see if you click on the picture. This line is placed on the horizontal on the cutting mat. This gives me the proper angle to cut my strips at. As I continue cutting strips, I move the ruler to give me a one and a quarter inch width on each strip. If you are unable to make strips long enough for your project, you can overlap them on the garment seam allowance. If the strips are cut at right angles that cut will be on the bias and won't fray. So if my strip is not long enough, I just lay another on top, overlapping about a 1/4 inch. (I know there are other ways to cut long strips and I will do a tute on that some time. I don't know anyone who uses the method I do but that is for another day. ) I find strips cut from a 45 inch width at a 45º angle are long enough for most garment seams. You are dealing with mostly short lengths here.
If you have one put your edge stitching foot on the machine. I set it one click from the farthest left. Put the strip, right side down, on the right side of your garment seam allowance. Make sure the bulk of the garment is to the left so it won't get caught up in stitching here. Line the edges up with the edge stitching foot and stitch the strip to the SA. You can certainly use a regular foot for this, watching to keep your seam width even here.

Iron the strip away from the seam allowance.
Wrap the strip around the seam allowance to the back. Yes, the strip is wider than needed but this is where that extra comes in handy. It helps with the fiddling. Pin it close to the garment SA. Damp fingers help with the wrapping around.


Adjust your needle position so it is now in the center of the foot, right in line with the blade. Stitch in the ditch running the blade right in the ditch of the two seams. Your results will vary. If you are sewing a "hard" fabric" like this one, it is hard to get the stitches in the ditch. They seem to naturally want to go on the strip SA. That is fine. Many people do them this way intentionally. If you are stitching on a softer fabric with more oomph, the stitches will easily sink into the ditch. I suggest you do a few samples to see what kind of results you will get and what you like best.

Now cut the excess seam allowance from the strip, leaving no more than an 1/8th of an inch. Press the garment SA open and Voila! A Hong Kong seam finish!

This treatment will definitely increase the time involved in making your garment. It is a wonderful treatment for an unlined garment. Your seams will be beautifully finished and you will just love flashing them open when you can. When I was working, I would casually take my jacket off in a warm room and lay it on the chair or table so the seams were obvious. Not sure anyone else appreciated my finished seams, but I sure enjoyed seeing them looking back at me on a tedious work day.


Be careful that your color or print of the strips does not show thru your garment fabric. Don't want that! And also be real careful cutting the excess fabric from the back of the seam allowance. Pelican billed scissors help.

For you Heather Dee, and hopefully some others.....................Bunny

Had to Refurbish This One!

    About  6 or 7 years ago , during the dawn of the Zipper Trend,  I bought one of my rare retail items. It was a blush pink and black bord...