Blame Pen of Jen!

Due to repeated urging from PenofJen,
I've decided to start a new weekly posting activity. I am not going to try and figure out how to do the Mr. Linky thing-a-ma-bob...however, if you'd like to join in then just let me know in the comments cause I'd really like to learn too!


Sarah's Simple Sewing Secrets

OK, they're not secrets...but tips just didn't have the same alliteration! Hey, maybe I should call it "Simple Sarah's Sewing Secrets"????

Oh well, it all amounts to the same thing in the end.

I grew up under the sewing machine. I mean that quite literally, I sat on the floor under the machine or right next to it while either my mother or grandmother sewed. As I got older they would give me any tasks that I could handle...probably just to shut me up for 3.5 min! Thanks to this piece of my heritage I have amassed certain tricks of the trade so to speak...most of these are very basic, but Jen has pointed out to me that "the basics" are no longer taught as they once were....and many of the folks who sew now picked it up catch as catch can rather than being taught by a veteran seamstresses as I was.

So, here's my rules!

If anything is in any way unclear, LEAVE ME A COMMENT SAYING SO and I will come back and restate. If I use any terms or phrases that you don't know, assume that it is just a family shorthand and TELL ME I AM NOT MAKING SENSE. I know very few actual sewing terms...just what we always called things.

Today I am going to tell you a trick for putting elastic in a garmet. I am telling you this because it is what I spent my entire UFO meeting on Saturday doing as well as the last hour and a half.

My boys' sweatpants are too long for them and Subvet is terrified that they will trip over the hems and break their lovely little noses. So I turned up the bottom of the pants leg and sewed it to the inside, leaving room for elastic, and leaving a hole to put the elastic in. So far as I know this is called making a casing. The casing being where you put the elastic.

So, here's the tip/secret thingy.

When you go to thread the elastic into the garmet first get out two safety pins.

Pin one to one end of the elastic and leave free. Pin the other to the other end of the elastic and to the garmet just above the hole you'll be feeding the elastic into.



Then feed the free safety pin through the garmet's casing till it comes out the other side. The free safety pin will make it tons easier to feed the elastic as you can feel the pin to guide it through and the anchored pin will keep you from losing your other end in the casing. (When that happens it is called a "teach your kid to cuss activity")

Then, once the elastic is fed through the casing overlap the ends and sew together. (it's always a good idea to safety pin the overlapping ends in place first, and try on garmet as then you can make adjustments as needed)

When you go to sew the elastic. Regardless of if you sew by hand or machine always make a box with your stitches. Don't stop and start, turn the corners without breaking the thread. If the area you are stitching will be getting a lot of pulling on it then sew an X inside the stitched box for added strength. I do this when reinforcing handles on bags that I always shove too much stuff into!

Well, I hope this helps someone. If you have any questions just put it in the comments and I will answer either in the comments or in another post...