Tangled Thread - Tips, Trick and Tutorials in Sewing & Stitching

August 26th, 2008

tip of the day - problems mending blue jeans or pants on your small sewing machine?

I recently got an email from a reader, asking for help because she couldn’t mend blue jeans on her small sewing machine.
There are a few things that can make your life easier, especially if you have a small sewing machine, or a machine with a small harp or large base.

First of all, try rolling up […]

By Chloe -- 0 comments

July 4th, 2008

the reveal - the new short-cuts shirt

As, promised - here’s the new shirt I just finished for my DH:

I don’t think that the extra seam on the front facing is going to be missed… and the button holes look pretty good too (okay, so I should have ironed it again)!

Noreen left an excellent comment, reminding me of another favorite short-cut. […]

By Chloe -- 3 comments

July 3rd, 2008

tip of the day - marking button placement on shirts

I’ve finished my DH’s new shirt (you’ll see it tomorrow) and wanted to share another tip that helps me when I’m sewing shirts with lots of buttons (like men’s dress shirts).
I’ve sewn the button holes, opened them up (I like to use a stitch ripper to open button holes).  I’ve laid the shirt over my […]

By Chloe -- 9 comments

June 30th, 2008

great websites - this to that

Have you ever needed to glue, oh say - a chunk of leather to… let’s say a ceramic vase - and then had no clue what to use to accomplish your task?
Okay, so I haven’t actually needed to do that - but if I did…
Well, I just discovered this cool website called “This To That” […]

By Chloe -- 1 comment

June 26th, 2008

tip of the day - short cuts for sewing shirts

I will freely admit to being an impatient seamstress - I won’t cut corners if it’s going to negatively affect the finished piece… However - tips & tricks that save a little time - are just fine with me :-)
I’ve sewn quite a few men’s shirts over the years, and generally the patterns call […]

By Chloe -- 11 comments

June 24th, 2008

tip of the day - dealing with a too-short cutting table

Okay, this is the most obvious solution to my problems… and I should have come up with it years ago.
Oh well, better late than never!
Seeing as a new cutting table isn’t in the budget (and I have very limited studio space) and my current cutting table is short enough that I get back spasms when […]

By Chloe -- 0 comments

April 21st, 2008

tip of the day - sewing with velvet

I’ve done quite a bit of sewing in my life… I’ve sewn everything from horse blankets to my duppioni silk wedding.  I can make a tailored men’s dress shirt or a bed-size quilt.  There are still fabrics that challenge me…  I’ve come close to crying when I was sewing a faux-patent leather jacket (hint - […]

By Chloe -- 0 comments