Sewing Lessons & FAQ

[Miss Neecerie]

Oooh! Actually, that's one I missed, but it's a great idea! For non vintage items, anyways lol Please, everyone, don't add tacky tape to vintage, especially fragile things. That would be sad.

oh yes....and if i am remembering it right.....it also might have been....'lay the tape in strips with the tack facing upwards.....not with the tack lying on the dress....

I -will- go find the magazine article at home to confirm...

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Thanks ladies. I will read that article over the weekend and seriously give this a try! Maybe I will start on a top I don't want/like anymore so I won't get upset if something happens.

I have another Sewing Question, too....

Today I plugged in my grandmother's '38 Kenmore and it works fine. I swear it used to have a foot pedal and I do believe it was in bad shape (unlike the rest of the machine!) When I retrieved the machine from my dad's house there was no pedal to be found. BUT! It has a knee pedal that makes the machine go. What is the difference between foot and knee pedals? I really want to get this machine serviced and working properly -- I was told there was a chance they wouldn't be able to locate a foot pedal. Would I NEED a foot pedal if I have a knee pedal? Would someone please explain?? lol lol

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

oh yes....and if i am remembering it right.....it also might have been....'lay the tape in strips with the tack facing upwards.....not with the tack lying on the dress....

I -will- go find the magazine article at home to confirm...

I think I have that article too. They used blue painter's tape, right? IIRC, they *did* actually stick the tape to the garment. Obviously not a Good Thing for delicate/vintage garments!

I've copied garments before using the pin-and-paper method, but it gets tricky when things like gathers or darts are involved. You pin or weight the garment to paper, along the grain - generally along CF or CB. Then, smoothing it out from there, you place pins at the seamline to mark the seams on paper, being sure to keep everything on-grain and flat.

I know there's a book out there with a couple methods, but I can't remember the name.

 

[Miss Sis]

Today I plugged in my grandmother's '38 Kenmore and it works fine. I swear it used to have a foot pedal and I do believe it was in bad shape (unlike the rest of the machine!) When I retrieved the machine from my dad's house there was no pedal to be found. BUT! It has a knee pedal that makes the machine go. What is the difference between foot and knee pedals? I really want to get this machine serviced and working properly -- I was told there was a chance they wouldn't be able to locate a foot pedal. Would I NEED a foot pedal if I have a knee pedal? Would someone please explain?? lol lol

Amy, my mother's first sewing machine was like this. No, if it has a knee peddle you don't have to have a foot one too. It is a bit strange to use if you're used to a foot peddle though. My Nana still had that machine when I was young and I used it a little. Have to admit it was a bit tricky but I suppose you get used to it. That's what my Mum said, anyway, although her later machines were foot operated. [huh]

 

[MissAmelina]

My mom has a newer Bernina, and she actually *replaced* her foot pedal with a knee pedal attachment as she prefers it. And she sews up a storm.

 

[MarieAnne]

I am going to make another dress like this but I find that the waist is a little high. I know how to lengthen the bodice pattern I'm just not exactly sure by how much. At the moment I'm thinking 1 ". I would like to make it 1.5"-2" but I'm worried about having to make the dart taper from waist up as well as waist down. I'm also going to be putting shoulder pads in the next dress. What do you ladies think?

 

[MarieAnne]

I am making slopers. It's going well but yesterday I realized that my tape measure and ruler are a little bit different. Can anyone recommend a good brand so I can buy a tape measure and ruler that actually match.

 

[cailinbeag]

I am going to make another dress like this but I find that the waist is a little high. I know how to lengthen the bodice pattern I'm just not exactly sure by how much. At the moment I'm thinking 1 ". I would like to make it 1.5"-2" but I'm worried about having to make the dart taper from waist up as well as waist down. I'm also going to be putting shoulder pads in the next dress. What do you ladies think?

Hi MarieAnne,

It's a little hard to tell from your pic, since the gathers at the waist hide where your hips hit and there's no side or back view. However, I think an 1" would probably be good. That dress style is meant to sit at your natural waist, which (generally) lays around 1" from your bellybutton, so if you're talking about lower darts, you've probably gone too low. Also (and this is what the side pic would be useful for), most ladies' hips tend to ride higher in back than in front because of the curve of their lower back and bum, whereas the stomach is flatter. So if you drop the waist to a place you like in the front, you may find you've got a bit of fabric bunching in the back.

My suggestion would be to do a muslin of the bodice, adding an inch at the lengthen/shorten line, and another inch at the bottom. Baste the skirt on and see where you're at, then take up as necessary and note the final adjustments.

Hope that all makes sense! By the way, the dress is REALLY pretty. Good job!!!

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

I am making slopers. It's going well but yesterday I realized that my tape measure and ruler are a little bit different. Can anyone recommend a good brand so I can buy a tape measure and ruler that actually match.

Tape measures tend to stretch out - we pull on them (at least I do), and the measurements shift. Since there's a little variation in everything, you might have a time finding an *exact* match.

Me, I use a flexible, clear gridded ruler like this. You can find them at hobby/art supply stores, or in the quilting section of your local fabric store.

 

[SayCici]

I went to a big flea market today and found a lot of gems, but unfortunately once I was home I started noticing some flaws I didn't see while I was there. This is the stand out piece. Gorgeous mesh over-dress, rhinestone buttons, great neckline, snap buttons at the side (I'm thinking 30s).. but there are tears where the sleeves join the bodice (otherwise there are only a few, very small holes). The sleeves don't seem like they're salvageable, so I was wondering if it'd be a terrible thing to remove them and finish the sleeves with some double fold bias tape (also, if that's what I decide to do - any tips)? While I like to keep things historically accurate, I'm also a fan of giving them new, wearable life - so I'd love to get any suggestions or advice. Thanks!

 

[Lauren]

Beautiful dress! Such a bummer about the sleeves
I don't know what you could do... that's a tough one. I think resetting them would be hard because of where they've torn. You could maybe buy a netting and mend the holes by hand? I did that with a lace 50s dress for a friend, but I think the lace pattern covered it better than a netting would.
Maybe you could make the sleeves into flutter sleeves? Looks like there's enough fabric there, and you could bind the bottom armhole with bias or some of the netting from the bottom sleeve.

 

[Lady Day]

Are they tears or is it dicsentergration? I think I see other holes in the bodice.

Its super cute. I do hope you can save it in any way you can. Perhaps making flutter sleeves as Lauren suggested but perhaps out of another material, black silk, maybe?

LD

 

[SayCici]

Are they tears or is it dicsentergration? I think I see other holes in the bodice.

Hmm, I'm not sure! Most of the netting is strong - I haven't noticed any holes in the skirt, just those few nicks in the bodice (which makes sense, considering how many times this must have been passed around!).

Thanks for the good ideas - how could I do the flutter sleeve? I'm still a newbie sewer so I don't know if I could wing it!

 

[Shirin]

I don't think this site has been shared yet, but if anyone is on the search for 1930s reproduction fabrics, there's some here;
http://www.robertkaufman.com/themes/period_styles/1930s_reproduction/ I think they're all quilting but I'm not really sure.

 

[texasgirl]

So when I was running around playing gangsters with the guys, I ran and jumped in the car with my lovely vintage dress and had a slight wardrobe malfunction. This dress is like a swirl in that it wraps around the back and ties at the waist. On the upper back part of my left shoulder, there is a button with thread that wraps around it. Anyway, the thread broke. Is there an easy way to fix this? Thanks!

 

[Lady Day]

Sure, just make another thread loop in the same place. Cut away that thread, double some thread in a needle, and sew a loop in the same location.
Easy peasy

LD

 

[Inky]

So when I was running around playing gangsters with the guys, I ran and jumped in the car with my lovely vintage dress and had a slight wardrobe malfunction. This dress is like a swirl in that it wraps around the back and ties at the waist. On the upper back part of my left shoulder, there is a button with thread that wraps around it. Anyway, the thread broke. Is there an easy way to fix this? Thanks!

Do you crochet? You could remove that one and crochet a new tiny chain with thread and a teensie crochet hook.

OR

here are instructions for doing it with a needle and thread:

http://mamalong.wordpress.com/2008/05/31/crochet-chain-thread-loop-tutorial/

 

[texasgirl]

Thanks ya'll- LD, that's easy peasy to a seamstress extraordinaire, but not me-lol. I think the tutorial will help, thanks Inky! I guess the problem I was trying to figure out is the fabric is -folded- I guess you could say. So I was trying to figure out how to get started from the inside, when I can't get to the back of the fabric, if that makes any sense. But I guess no one would see the side that goes against my back, so if knots show, oh well. Thanks!

 

[Lady Day]

I was gonna post a vintage diagram from one of my sewing books, but the tutorial Inky posted was just that.

I have complete confidence in ya, Texasgirl

LD

 

[MarieAnne]

SLOPERS!

I have successfully created a set of slopers for myself and I am designing a dress. Actually I'm using an existing pattern for reference. Rather than grading/resizing, I thought I'd try my hand at using these slopers. So I'm almost done and it's going well. I just thought I'd ask if there's anything I should do or check before I make the muslin. Any useful tips? I used several websites but I'm not sure I'm allowed to post them.... must ask a bartender