Sewing Archives ~ Page 9 of 11 ~ Angela Wolf's Sewing Blog

Sewing a Zipper with the Laser Vision Guide with Brother Dreamweaver

Hope you are all enjoying February, I can hardly believe it’s almost over! I spent last week taping season 5 for It’s Sew Easy TV, despite the cold and snow – we had a successful week. Here is one of my favorite photo’s on set with June Mellinger (Brother) and Christopher Straub (Project Runway). I have to say, he is one talented designer! He even left an autographed handbag for Katie, my ninth grade apprentice. She absolutely adores him and I can’t wait to see her face when she opens her gift 🙂 By the way, that handbag in the photo is fabric he designed. I foresee an order with spoonflower soon.

I have been busy working on some custom garments and my new collection, which I will be sharing over the next few weeks, including launching some new patterns. First, I have to share one of my last gown dilemma’s. The fabric was gorgeous, but challenging to work with … slipper, shiny, textured, get the idea? I was having a heck of a time inserting the back zipper. I couldn’t use a hidden zipper, as I could not find a color to matched the fabric. The problem occurred when I was topstitching around the zipper. I hand basted in the zipper, marked the center back seam with chalk (that was also basted closed), and marked the stitch line with chalk. The fabric really presented a challenge with the texture. Being a total perfectionist, I ripped the topstitching out twice because it just was not straight enough. Then I remembered the Laser Vision Guide on my Brother Dreamweaver XE VM6200D. This worked like a charm! I was able to line up the laser light with center back seam and topstitch perfectly straight, all the way around the zipper. I won’t forget about that handy tool next time. Here is the short video I put together if you want to see more details. Now, back to the cutting table. Enjoy 🙂 xoxo Angela

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af20N8dbmE8]

Brother™ has provided me with the DreamWeaver XE, but all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

DIY Project: How to Sew Fleece Texting Gloves

This is a fun and easy sewing project; sewing fleece texting gloves. You know I can’t resist coming up with a few fun gifts items to sew. How about a pair of texting gloves! I don’t know about you, but I really get annoyed when I have to take off my gloves in order to answer my phone, text, or check an email. Instead of buying gloves and cutting off the fingertips, I decided to whip up a pair of custom gloves. These are easy and fast to sew, not to mention you can customize how tight and tall you want them and not worry about your rings getting in the way. Did I mention they are GREAT for fishing!

The video below walks you through the entire process, including another glimpse at the V-Sonic Pen Pal feature on the Brother Dreamweaver XE. In short, here are the steps:

1. Measure around your knuckles, this will be the width of your gloves.

2. Measure from your knuckles up your wrist and come up with a length measurement.

3. Chalk mark your stitch lines, making sure to block out the area for your thumb.

4. Stitch and press your seam allowance open.

5. Fold the glove in half so the folded edge is at your knuckles.

6. Hand stitch the thumb hole closed.

7. Serge the raw edge.

That’s it! You can add beading, decorative stitching, embroidery … by the way, if you add embroidery, do so before you sew the gloves together. This is such an easy project. Show everyone how creative you are and post photo’s on my facebook, Instagram, and pinterest of your new gloves. Let me know if you have any questions.

Cheers and stay warm!

Brother™ has provided me with the DreamWeaver XE, but all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

www.AngelaWolfPatterns.com

How to Hem Jeans with the Brother MuVit Digital Dual Feed Foot

Dark jeans are really in trend this fall so that means distressing with a hammer might not be an option. I have tested the MuVit Digital Dual Feed Foot on the Brother Dreamweaver XE and believe it or not, after sewing over many thick seams there was not one skipped stitch! The only thing I added was a #14 denim jean needle and various thicknesses of denim. This foot is different from a walking foot, not only because it has a rolling belt, but the foot plugs into the sewing machine giving the foot it’s own brain … or something like that. You can then adjust the foot by pressing a few buttons on the sewing machine. I have to say technology is really making sewing fun and easy!

The video below shows you just how smooth this digital dual feed foot works and I even tested it on one of my new jean patterns. Which by the way, I am happy to announce my first two jean patterns are up and available! Both patterns come with detailed sewing instructions in a book format, very easy to follow. The other bonus that comes with both of these jean patterns is a downloadable PDF file, download to your tablet and you can enlarge the photos for detailed viewing. The PDF file offers color photos and details on where to distress the jeans as you sew. My goal is to help you sew jeans that fit perfect and look expensive 🙂 Enjoy and don’t forget about the previous videos on sewing jean pockets if you need a little extra help. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend, lot’s of family, food and shopping on my end. Wait until you see my new shoes (and yes that’s plural!) xoxo Angela

[youtube=http://youtu.be/2584thCSUoo]

www.AngelaWolfPatterns.com

Brother™ has provided me with the DreamWeaver XE, but all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

How to sew topstitching that looks professional on jeans and jackets …

I hope you are all safe from hurricane Sandy and my heart goes out to all those affected. We even experienced severe weather here in Michigan! I made it to the beach yesterday and after getting stuck in the sand with our SUV, I was able to snap a few shots. Unbelievable waves on Lake Michigan, over 20 footers. I think I’ll pass on fishing for a few days 🙂

Lake Michigan during hurricane Sandy …over 20 foot seas!

Now onto sewing …. more specifically topstitching. Topstitching jackets and jeans are not only a designer touch; this has become a main focus in today’s fashion. The more creative the topstitching the more expensive your garment looks. On that note, have you ever finished a great looking jacket only to discover you can’t find a matching color in the thick topstitching thread? Would you like to hem your favorite jeans – again not being able to match the original jean thread color. This video shows you an easy way to solve that problem, using two spools of Coats & Clark polyester thread and a #14 denim jean needle. You will even get a peek at the automatic needle threader on the Brother Dreamweaver XE, yes it even works with 2 threads! Enjoy 🙂

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtKotSXYreI&feature=plcp]

Brother™ has provided me with the DreamWeaver XE, but all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

How to Sew Designer Jean Pockets … Part 2 Adding the Coin Pocket

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OH2uiaZXyc]

Here is part 2 for finishing off the front of your designer jean pockets. This video will show you how to add a coin pocket, which is totally optional. Sometimes I add a logo instead, just depends what kind of mood I am in 🙂 Of course I have to show off a few other features on the Brother Dreamweaver XE VM6200D, like using the V-Sonic PenPal to determine how wide my zigzag stitch will be – you really have to see it to believe it. Now, I just have to finalize the last of the Angela Wolf Jean Patterns so we can ship them out soon, wish me luck! xoxo Angela

Brother™ has provided me with the DreamWeaver XE, but all opinions expressed are entirely my own

Sewing the Front Pockets on Designer Jeans (part 1)

Another quick lesson on sewing designer jeans, sewing the front pockets. I have broken this into two parts as this lesson will cover attaching the silk charmeuse lining and topstitching the pocket edge. The next lesson shows how to add a coin pocket and closing up the lining. To get started you will need your front jean pieces and the pocket lining. You will usually find cotton as the fabric for the pocket lining, but I prefer to use something a little more luxurious, like silk charmeuse. Because the silk is so thin you can’t see the pockets through the outside of the jean, not to mention the fabric feels awesome against the skin.

Again, experimenting with some of the new features on my Brother Dreamweaver XE VM6200D stitching this pocket is painless. First off, look at the size of the new “J” foot. (The picture has the original foot alongside the new foot). The longer length really makes a difference when sewing across layers of fabric. The foot glides across humps, thicker seams, even uneven edges as the pocket we will topstitch. I call this a BIG plus!

Onto sewing the pockets … pin your silk charmeuse lining to the denim fabric along the curve of your pocket. You can stitch from either side, I chose to stitch with the denim on the top so you can see the sew straight laser vision guide a little better. I have aligned the laser with the raw edge of the fabric, allowing me to sew the entire pocket curve with a precise seam allowance.

Press the Pocket Lining … Turn the lining to the inside of the pocket and steam press, using the tailor’s clapper to permanently hold that crease (shown on video below).

Topstitch the Pocket Edge … Again, utilizing the laser light to make sure my first topstitch line is perfectly placed 1/8″ from the edge of the pocket curve. Then I move the laser light to align with the previous topstitch line, but here is a new one for you. I am able to use the v-sonic pen pal to touch where I want the laser light to move to. You have to check out the video below to get the full visual of this unique feature, but simply put … engage the pen pal, touch the bed of the sewing machine where you want the laser light to shine, and hit OK. That’s it! Just imagine how easy sewing straight rows of topstitching will be 🙂