Back again with more sewing tips from the blog archives!
First up is a note on sewing those little triangles at the end of jet/welt pockets. In the image below, the end of the two jets don’t align perfectly. In theory they should, but in real life there is often a bit of fabric creep as you sew them on.
Of most importance is that the line of the fabric fold (ie where you are going to sew) is square to the line of the pocket. If I force the ends of these jets to match, it will skew this line and the end of the pocket will be slanted. Not good!
An oldie but a goodie, and something I needed to remind myself as this week I struggled to detect the right side of a fabric I was sewing!
It takes only a second to chalk the wrong side of your fabric while cutting, and can save a lot of heartache later on – especially if you sew at night like I do!
I remember clearly the a-ha moment when taught this trick at fashion school:
Taping the armhole on a tailored jacket prevents those curves from growing – both during sewing and during wear. It also prevents inadvertent stretching of the upper armhole as the sleeve is eased to fit. I’ve used fusetape here, but twill tape is also used.
Sometimes when sewing seams on scalloped lace you end up with odd pieces of seam allowance that need sorting out:
Here the seam allowance was neatened by folding it in on itself and backtacking in place. You can do this with any thread tails from overlocking too.
This month’s tutorial from the archives is how to make custom piping to spice up your own creations. Just as important is how to accurately attach the piping for best results – it’s all here:
Hope there is something new-to-you here this month!
pattern scissors cloth 
Thanks for this – I needed that piping advice. I have trouble getting it to lay nicely on curves.
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I’ve been getting more in the habit of stay stitching my armholes along with the necklines now on everything! I’ve had a couple of instances when I noticed the armholes seem to stretch a bit and realized it doesn’t take much extra time to just run that staystitch all the way around the top as opposed to just around the neckline. Tape is a great idea however on an armhole like a jacket where the fabric is thicker and definitely more inclined to stretch more. Thank you Sheryl! I always look forward to your 5 tips!
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I needed this one too – my current coat project seems to be growing at the armholes…!
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Thank you – useful tips, as always!
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Thanks for another set of tips, Sheryl; they are always very useful and I look forward to seeing what great ideas and reminders you have come up with!
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Thank you so much for being so generous with your time and wisdom! Truly appreciate! 🙂
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I always learn something!
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Thanks for the really good tips Sheryl. It is not always things we don’t know but reminding us of things we do know that is helpful. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks for the tips! I never thought about taping the arm holes – it’s always the part I struggle with the most. Can’t wait to give it a go
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How nice it is to share all your tips and tricks
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