My first pattern The Ruched-T (now available in sizes XXS – 5X and paper or downloadable :))has been out a few months now and I have really enjoyed all the emails and facebook postings from everyone wearing their new tops 🙂 A few of you have asked how I do the ruching and I thought the best way to explain is to just show you. So I have put together a short video and of course I had to show another awesome feature on the Brother Dreamweaver XE VM6200D, the multi function foot controller. This special foot allows you to use your feet to backstitch, cut the thread, put the needle down, etc. and then you can keep your hands on the fabrics while sewing! Wait until you see this one! Anyway, enjoy ruching your tee’s and keep sending me photo’s, I love it 🙂 xoxo Angela
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 VM6200Dstitching 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 🙂
