15 Tips For What To Do With Your Sewing Pattern
What to do with a sewing pattern once you take it out of the envelope. You have searched the pattern books, found the perfect pattern for your material and now you are off home to make it up. What is the first thing you need to do? You will have selected a pattern for your size, when you open the envelope, everything is folded neatly. 1. Take the instruction sheet and it will show you how to set out the pattern on your fabric, there will be the lay-outs for the different widths of fabric, and for with or without nap. Some fabrics you can cut out your pattern pieces in opposite directions others you will have to lay the pattern pieces all going the same way or else the fabric will show a different shade, velvets and corduroys are a good example. 2. Cut around the edge of the seam allowances with paper scissors, not the scissors you will be cutting the fabric with. 3. Always check the pattern pieces against you, you can pin the various pieces together and try it on to see if there needs to be any adjustments before you start cutting the fabric. 4. With your fabric right side out, place and pin the pattern pieces according to the layout for your fabric width and cut your fabric pattern pieces out. 5. You will see triangles known as notches. circles, arrows, broken lines, unbroken...
Read More
How to Find Cheap, Unusual, and Beautiful Fabrics for Quilting
Quilter’s are always on the lookout for beautiful fabrics and supplies for their quilting projects. Sometimes the most unusual and pretty designs can be found in places one wouldn’t normally consider. Some of the best places and tactics to find fabrics include the following. Swap meets or flea markets are a fun place to shop. On occasion you will find sellers liquidating bolts of materials. Usually these materials are unused and were excess inventory or closeouts. Last Sunday I found a vendor with a selection of 30 different types of materials in bolts of 30 and 40 yards. He was selling each one at fifty cents a yard. At garage sales, you will find quilters selling excess materials and tools. You may also increase your chances of finding quilters selling items by going to neighborhoods that have a larger population of retired folks. Retirees seem to have more time for quilting and seem to sell off their items regularly. Garage sales in mobile home parks seem to yield good finds. Online auction sites can reap a great supply of fabrics without leaving your house. Watch out for shipping costs. I like to search for auctions that are in or adjacent states. After the auction, I email the seller requesting a reduction in shipping because of same shipping zone. Storage...
Read More
