Putting Darts in a Tank Top or Dress

Do you have a tank top or sleeveless dress that doesn’t fit well on top?
Is there extra fabric hanging loose between the shoulder and armpit?
Alot of loose fitting tops and dresses are made without alot of tight fit to them in that area.
But you can do a simple alteration to make it fit better.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Most darts lay [...]

Tailor Tacks…Instead of Pins

Have you heard of a tailor tack? If you’re 50 years old or older, you probably have.
If you’re a young whipper snapper or you’re new to sewing in the last 25 years, you may not have any idea what I’m talking about.
So, let me first tell you what one is and what it does and [...]

Rolled Hems

This is a close up of a rolled hem:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
You’ll find them on prom dresses, wedding dresses, casual dresses, skirts and men’s shirt tails. In fact, they are found on all sorts of garments made from all sorts of fabrics.
You can make a rolled hem “by hand”. You simply press up 1/8″ along your hemline with a [...]

Get Yourself a Mini Iron

My friend Sharon has a special knack for getting me the perfect gifts for my birthday and Christmas. She seems to know exactly what I need. Maybe it’s because she’s a seamstress too.
Mostly, it’s because she is thoughtful and generous.
One of these great gifts was this mini iron:
 
 
 
They are perfect for those tasks where you [...]

Let’s Serge a Hem

This is what a serged hem looks like up close:

 
 
Maybe you have a dress, skirt, shirt or even a scarf that really needs this type of hem.
You can duplicate this look with your serger (and I’ll give some pointers for how to do this on your sewing machine at the end of this post).
This is [...]