The Sewing and Craft Alliance

The Sewing and Craft Alliance is the brain child of two sisters who are both in the sewing business. Joyce Perham, former Executive Director of the Home Sewing Association is now President of ProShow, Inc. Her sister Janice Blasko owns The Abbey Group, a small website development company in central Florida. The Sewing and Craft Alliance dedicated to helping sewing and crafting enthusiasts learn more about their hobby. Their website <a href=" “>Sewing.orghas wonderful information and great free projects.

Several charity sewing patterns can be found at http://www.sewing.org/html/charitysew.php including a walker pouch, a wheelchair pouch, and a cute teddy bear.

The Sewing and Craft Alliance also sponsors a program to <a href=":“>train sewing instructors.

Sewing & Craft Alliance
PO Box 369
Monroeville, PA 15146
412-372-5950

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Bright as Day–lighting solutions for sewers

Having trouble seeing your work?  Sometimes living room lamps or ceiling lights simply do not offer bright enough light.  As I get older I have been more bothered by poor lighting.  I just discovered some wonderful new solutions for this problem at Simplicity.com.  They offer lamps by Daylight which may be the right light to turn your sewing into a pleasure again.  Daylight features several stylish desktop designs for close work.  The neat Daylight Ultimate features a removable magnifying glass and a removable chart holder so you can read your instructions with ease.  The light, magnifier and chart holder are all flexible and a can be manipulated to your comfort level.  This lamp comes in a beautiful antique bronze finish and it is environmentally friendly, with specially designed 20 watt bulbs that are the equivalent to the brightness 100 watt bulbs and use 80% less energy.  These lamps are a bit expensive, but worth the investment if you sew regularly.  And you can always save money by buying your fabric at OnlineFabricStore.

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How to Sew a Rolled Hem

How to sew a rolled hem

Rolled hems are an excellent choice for many delicate fabrics, such as tulle, which need a narrow hem; sewing one may seem difficult if you have not tried it before. Rolled hems are not difficult; you can learn how to sew a rolled hem which looks professional.

The quickest way to sew a rolled hem is on an overlock machine (serger). Set the stitch length between 0 mm and 3 mm. Setting the length at 0 will make a hem with a fine firm edge; if you want a soft, supple picot or scalloped edge set the length at 3 mm. If you want to cover the fabric edge, but not have too stiff of an edge, 2 mm works well. The 1 mm setting will give a satin stitch look and be fairly stiff.

Before beginning you may want to press a crease to mark the hem or mark it with disappearing ink. Accuracy the first time is very important when using a serger (overlock machine) since these machines trim the excess fabric as they sew.

When producing a rolled hem or other hem on the serger, you must carefully align the overlock knives with the hemline. Place you fabric right side up under the machine foot; this is important, because you want the hem to roll to the wrong side when finished. If this is first time you have ever sewn a hem on a serger, I strongly suggest that you practice first on several scrapes of fabric before sewing on your garment or other project. Practicing will also give you a chance to experiment with the different stitch lengths and see which suits your project the best. Soon you will master the art of sewing a professional-looking rolled hem.

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Learning to Sew–More on Sewing Journals and other Recordkeeping

Learning to Sew—More on Sewing Journals and other Sewing Record Keeping

You’ll notice I entitled my previous post and today’s post Learning to sew. I think that’s an apt title, even though many of you reading these posts are experienced sewers; after all isn’t each project somewhat of a learning experience. I feel sewing is really a continual learning process and that is part of what makes it so enjoyable. There is always a new skill learn or a technique to perfect. A sewing journal can be a way to reflect on what you have learned about sewing or even about life.

There are other great ways to keep a history of what you have sewn. Why not take a picture of every completed project and keep a sewing photo album. You could even snap pictures of the project in progress if you like.

Some people make a special label for each garment. They include the fabric the garment was made out of, the size and any alterations, the date it is was made and any other pertinent information. I have never tried this one, but it sounds great. With labels, you can have a record of any garment you’ve made for yourself or your family, right at your fingertips.

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About Tulle: It’s not just for tutus and wedding gowns any more.

 

            Let’s talk about tulle, that classic favorite of brides and ballerinas. Tulle is a wonderful, versatile fabric that comes in a wide-variety of delicate and vibrant shades, suitable for any mood or project you have in mind.  Light, fluffy tulle was originally used primarily for ballet tutus and wedding veils, but today its decorative qualities are becoming more and more appreciated. Tulle comes in  several widths; the 54” width is appropriate for apparel and the 108” width is great to decorate for any event, from an intimate baby shower for family and close friends to a large, formal banquet or wedding reception.  

 

            The best thing about tulle is that it is inexpensive and many tulle projects require no sewing.  Tulle bows to decorate the backs of chairs, the ends of pews, or to make the table holding the wedding cake look simply as spectacular as the cake it self, can easily be made by anyone who can tie a bow.  I’ll be sharing some more non-sew decorative ideas for tulle with you over the course of the next few weeks.

 

            Those of us who just can’t stop sewing are getting crazy about tulle.  Besides the traditional wedding veils, skirts, and tutus, tulle can be fabulous in home décor.  Try your hand at a satin table runner or dresser scarf with a delicate tulle illusion insert.  I’ll have some tips on these projects as well.

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Learning to Sew–A Sewing Journal

Learning to Sew—A Sewing Journal

Have you ever made a marvelous garment or craft project, something you just loved and then forgot what extra touches you used to make it so great? Many of us have had this same problem after we have been sewing for awhile and have started to branch out and alter patterns or make our own patterns. You simply can’t remember how you altered that pattern or maybe even what pattern you used. Or maybe you still have the pattern and are wondering why you altered the way you did.

It happens. Is it a sign of memory loss or age? I personally prefer to look at it as sign of a lot of experience. I am so experienced I have forgotten half of what I’ve learned.

There is an enjoyable solution to this problem. Keep a sewing journal. Many people keep a journal of their life experiences or of what they are grateful for. A sewing journal may be more mundane, but it is a good way to keep track of those favorite projects.

Any notebook will do, although an attractive journal might be more of an incentive to write in. Write down everything you want to remember about each project: when did you start, what fabric you used, how long it took, what alterations did you make to the original pattern or did you make your pattern. It is also interesting to record what techniques you may have learned while doing this project or perhaps even what you were feeling or experiencing in the rest of your life while working on the project.

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