Category: Blog

It’s officially party season which means it’s time to pull out the luxe fabrics. Sewing with fabrics like stretch velvets and sequins can be tricky so over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing our top tips on how to tackle them so you can be a shining star in your me-made Christmas party dress.

Velvet is always ‘on-trend’ at this time of the year,  and the great thing about this fabric is its ability to be dressed up or down. We’ll of course be adding ALL the glamour we can to our makes, but we also love the idea of little velvet dresses with chunky tights and ankle boots. We’ve included some of our inspiration below, but check out Pinterest for lots more.

So now you’ve picked a fabric (or two) and the perfect pattern, its time to getting prepping and sewing. Sewing with velvet is as simple as sewing with jersey so try not to let it overwhelm you. As well as this, follow our top tips and you just can’t go wrong:

• Always cut your pattern pieces with the nap (the direction of the fibres) of the velvet going the same way. Velvet looks darker with the nap going up so will be very obvious if you sew them up in different directions!
• Just like other jerseys you’ll need the right tools to get the best finish: Ballpoint needles and a stretch stitch or zig zag on your machine. If you have a walking foot that’s great but not essential and likewise an Overlocker is an added bonus but not essential.
• Don’t press your velvet! Use the iron on a low heat to gently steam the fabric and finger press where needed. If you do need to press at all, ensure the right side of the velvet is placed facing a towel or another scrap of velvet and press lightly on a low heat. This will stop the pile from being crushed – Always test on a scrap first!
• Top stitching on velvet doesn’t always look great. Test on a scrap of fabric, lengthen your stitch slightly and ensure you’re using good quality polyester thread. Alternatively choose patterns with bands or facings or use the blind hem foot on your machine. You could even hand hem for a really professional finish.
• So there you have it, everything you need to make the perfect velvet dress. The team are already whipping up their Christmas makes (coming soon to the blog) and you better believe there are a velvet piece or two in there!

Sheona is wearing a Friday Pattern Co Adrienne Blouse in Stretch Velvet.

If you’re still feeling a tad nervous, why not book to come along to one of our dressmaking classes?

It’s sequin season and we are so ready for lots of shimmery creations, but we know that they can be a bit daunting when you haven’t worked with them before. Don’t worry, we always have your back here at Sewisfaction and to ensure you that you get yourself prepped for the party season, our ever popular kits are back – this time with a sparkly twist.

That’s right, we’ve taken our favourite fabrics and paired them with the Grainline Studios Scout Tee for a simple yet shimmery showstopper sew. Excited? First up, the fabrics: we’ve got something for everyone with the three new colourways in the shop:

The sequin top is a must have in your wardrobe, not only for the Festive season, this top is also perfect for both festival and wedding season too – it’s all in the styling. It’s all about tights and sky high heels for formal occasions or add jeans, trainers and a parker for an off-duty chic look.

So now hopefully we’ve got you inspired? You’ve got your pattern and the perfect fabric, next up, our top tips for sewing sequin success.

• Don’t prewash your sequin fabric! You will want to prewash any lining fabric, as it will shrink a little on its first wash. You’ll need to handwash your sequin top when finished to keep it looking fabulous.
• You will find it easier to work with the fabric wrong sides together when cutting out, so the sequins are facing out and can’t get caught on each other.
• Using a rotary cutter and mat is the quickest and easiest way to cut sequins, as you can then change the blade afterwards. However, don’t fear you can still cut with pins and scissors if you don’t have a rotary cutter, but we would recommend you don’t use your best fabric scissors, as sequins can dull the blade – ordinary scissors will be just fine.
• Sequins can have a tendency to leave little bits everywhere so we recommend cutting out somewhere you can clear up easily! And maybe wear glasses to avoid any rogue bits pinging up at you – sounds extreme but it’s better to be safe than sorry!
• When sewing with sequins, use a fresh, sharp needle – we’ve included a new full pack in your kit as you might find you need to use a couple. A medium weight needle is ideal (80 or 90).
• Sew your seams as normal and then trim off as many of the sequins from your seam allowance as possible, this will stop them catching the lining fabric. If you want to you could actually trim off your sequins from your seam allowance before sewing – just sew a line of basting stitches (the longest stitch on your machine) in a contrasting thread, and trim off any sequins that fall in the seam allowance.
• Check your seams from the right side, you will have some sequins that are half caught in the seam allowance, this is fine. Either trim them off or if possible use an unpicker to pull the full sequin through to the right side.
• Pressing your seams – either finger press your seams open and don’t use an iron at all, or if you really feel an iron is needed ensure you use a low heat, iron from the reverse side and use a pressing cloth (or tea towel!) between your fabric and iron.

And there you have it, all the tips and tricks that you’ll need to add a little sparkle to your tee. Our kits are available right now, so head here quickly, because once they’re gone, they’re gone.

This week, we’re talking all about the wonderful world of jersey and knit fabrics. They can sometimes seem scary, but here at Sewisfaction HQ, we’re big believers in simple sewing and trust us, with the right hints and tips, jersey and knits fall into that category.

Why jersey? 

Most practical clothing we would by from the store is likely to be made in jersey or knit fabrics, from t-shirts to dresses, there are so many things to choose from. Sewing with jersey means you can make clothing you’re more likely to wear again because it’ll not only fit you well thanks to the forgiving stretch contouring to the body, but it’s more practical to some of our more technical sews.

What is jersey? 

Jersey is a a fabric that is knitted in such a way that it gives a stretch, it has a different make up to woven fabrics such as denim and cotton and we need to treat it in a slightly different way for sewing success.

Cutting

Think about how you’re going to cut your fabric. Stretch fabric can be slippy and move a little more than woven fabrics and so to avoid fabric waste, we recommend a cutting mat paired with pattern weights and a rotary cutter.

Needles and thread

We should always be changing our needles when it comes to using new materials but even more so for stretch. Switch to a jersey or ‘stretch’ needle depending on the fabric and machine you are using.

A good thread is also key to getting the right finish. Using a better quality, cotton thread such as a Gutterman really makes a world of difference – trust us!

Stitching

One of the key factors in sewing stretch fabrics is the stitch you select. A straight stitch doesn’t allow the fabric to do what it needs to once the garment is finished so look for a triple stitch symbol or if your machine doesn’t have this, a zig zag stitch will also work just as well. Try different stitches on some scrap fabric for practise.

Walking foot

A standard food doesn’t feature feed docs and so sometimes this can leave you with wonky stitches thanks to uneven pressure. A walking foot or an even feed foot, is a device that helps to evenly distribute your jersey fabric through the feed dogs on your machine.

DO NOT stretch

It can be so tempting – especially when you’re trying to make a speedy sew, to drag the fabric through the machine. Stretching the fabric in this way can distort your final garment and so resit temptation when it comes to working with this fabric – a walking foot can help with this too.

No finishing – wahoo!

The beautiful thing about jersey fabric is that it doesn’t fray making this the fabric of dreams – no need to finish the insides as it’ll wash just fine and let’s be honest, no on is going to see (we won’t tell don’t worry).

So there you have it, jersey really doesn’t have to be scary and we really do believe that it’s a far more practical, fun way to make your own me-made garment – no overlocker required! And for more inspiration, check out our vlog on Sheona’s top jersey sewing patterns here.

When it comes to sewing, sometimes, it feels like there just really aren’t enough hours in the day, right? From distractions at work, to simply having to be responsible when you get home, a lot of the time life can just get in the way of your hobby. This week, we’re sharing our top tips for super sewing productivity, so you can feel like you’re getting the most out of any sewing time – no matter how big or small of a window!

Batch cutting

Let’s be honest, cutting out is not the most fun part of any sewing project. To ramp up the productivity, we quite often like to sit in front of the TV and cut on the floor with a cup of tea during the week, that way, when it comes to the weekend and it’s time to sew, you can get stuck straight in because everything is ready to go!

Skip the scissors

Rather than pinning you pattern pieces to the fabric and then tirelessly going around the edges with scissors, simply lay your fabric and pattern pieces onto a cutting mat, add some pattern weights and take a sharp, 45mm rotary blade to them. If you struggle to keep a straight edge or you’d like to keep those curves perfect, invest in a metre rule and a french seam which will help you to keep it crisp.

Go pinless

We know, we know. Whenever we mention this to the non-converted, they look at us like we’re absolutely mad. Don’t get us wrong, we know pinning can help, but often, they can distort the fabric, break the needles on your sewing machine and it takes AGES to sew the simplest straight seam when you have to stop every 10 seconds to remove the pins – try it we think you’ll love it!

Bye bye back stitch

Nobody wants their seams to come apart, we get it, but if you look at the construction of your garment, you’ll quite quickly notice that if you’re sewing a skirt for example and you stitch the side seam, it’ll be locked off by your finished hem. Save yourself a few seconds at the start of each stitch by just going straight on through!

Batch sew and press

Back to batch. If you’ve got all your pieces cut, why not ‘get into the zone’ and take all your pieces and do all of the darts at once? Or if you’re about to finish up, add all of the zips to all of the pieces so that you are able to cut down on the time fiddling about swapping between feet. The same with pressing seams, although most instructions will tell you to press in between steps, use your keen sewers eyes to select areas that you can finish in bulk and then steam all at once.

These tips and more are the reason we’re able to chuck in a sneaky sew every now and then and of course as with anything, preparation is always key, check out Sheona’s vlog here for more details.

We’d love to hear any tips you have for a quick sew, simply comment below.

Next up in our ‘Meet the team’ series is Sandra. A familiar, smiley face if you’ve been over to our bricks and mortar shop, Sandra is the smiling face that greets you as well as getting all of your orders prepped behind the scenes.

Sandra answers our ‘Meet the team’ questions.

Start by telling us a little bit about you?

My name is Sandra , I live locally in Wokingham with my husband and my gorgeous 12 year old cocker spaniel. I have been been working for Sewisfaction for nearly 2 years  and am still in awe of all the beautiful fabrics as well as the things our lovely customers make from them.

What’s your role at Sewisfaction?

My main role at Sewisfaction is completing orders online, assisting in the shop and preparing the studio for classes, I work part time so this role is shared with the lovely Jacqui & Hayley.

Tell us a little bit about your top make of 2019?

My dressmaking has come along from last year and I’ve made quite a few clothes including a Tilly and the Buttons Coco and a Stevie dress too. This year I have attended  our ‘ Improver sewing course’ which I really enjoyed , making a piped cushion and a handbag, which will be perfect for the summer.

What’s next in your sewing queue?

Next year I will be looking to make another coco dress and an indigo top, together with more piped cushions !

Any New Year’s sewing resolutions?

New years sewing resolutions are to be more organised and get my fabric sewn not stacked !

For more on what Sandra is up to, you can follow her on Instagram: @sandysardines