Prym magnetic seam guide
Wednesday, May 6th, 2015
I’ve been wanting to try this seam guide for a while and now I’m really glad I have. Prym claims that it guarantees a precise seam allowance with no wavering. The strong magnet firmly grips to the plate of your sewing machine and allows you to line your fabric up against its raised edge. I’ve been using it for about four weeks and I have to say I do like it quite a lot. I don’t need it all the time but I’ve found it useful when doing a lot of straight sewing or for tucks and pleats when consistency is key. Or, like now when I’m rushing to finish a range of garments for a special occasion – I can just whizz along the seams with this in place. For the price, I’d say it’s a definite must-have for your sewing box and I can see one of these being especially useful for beginners – just like stabilisers for your sewing machine! Beware though – this guide is not suitable for computerised machines as the magnet can tamper with the electronics. I had to go back to my lovely Janome 525s to try it out.
Price: Around £3.10
Contact: Available from many sewing shops including Sassy Sewing
Solving breaking thread issues
Saturday, May 2nd, 2015
Nothing’s more annoying than thread that keeps breaking when you’re sewing your lovely new garment. The good news is that there will be a solution for this annoying problem. Usually it’s nothing too serious – more likely to be the machine set up, the wrong needle or the wrong thread for instance.
What Causes Thread to Break?
Here are some of the most common causes of broken threads. Check out the list and see if any of these might be relevant to your case:
1.Cheap thread
Cheap thread might be plentiful but its durability and strength will be poor and you may find that the savings outweigh the nuisance of thread that keeps breaking or knotting. It might be that you are on a badly fitting spooI. If you are in the middle of a project and have not encountered any problems like this until now it is definitely worth changing the spool and seeing if it makes a difference. Otherwise, get yourself some higher quality thread such as Gutterman.
- Badly wound bobbin
If it’s the lower thread that keeps snapping, look to your bobbin. I suggest that for every project you should start with an empty, clean bobbin – don’t keep the old thread on the bobbing.
- Unsuitable needles
Look closely at your needle, and particularly, at the eye. It is possible that the eye may be rough, with sharp edges that cut the thread before it has a chance to do its job. Alternatively, the problem may be that the needle is too small for the thread you are using. The more you try and force the thread throw, the more likely it is that it will snap and cause you problems.
- Incorrect threading
Have a look at the thread path and make sure that it isn’t caught on the spool or any other area of the machine. It should run smooth, without obstruction.
- Incorrect tension
Tension affects how tightly your thread is pulled through the machine and if it’s too high, your thread will snap. Make sure that your tension discs are in the correct position for your thread. If you thread is very wide, they will need to be adjusted so that the thread flows threw when you start sewing.
- Needle in backwards
Trust me this does happen. If your needle is in backwards it will l definitely lead to thread breakage. Just check it and rule it out as a possible cause of snagging.
New sewing machine nerves
Monday, April 27th, 2015
Is there a medieval term for ‘fear of a new sewing machine’? I’d like to think so. Something In Latin perhaps; scarycat dom brothernatious? I’m not actually scared of my new sooper-doper Brother computerised machine, it’s just that I know my faithful Janome so well that I can just get on it and go. This new one has an instruction book thicker than a builder’s buttie and more functions than a boxful of TV remote controls and smartphones.
I love it, of course…at least I will when I can find the time to really get to know it. Until then we’ve been playing a game of cat and mouse. I approach it, switch on, get set and then, er, find something else to do. I thought at first maybe it was feelings of infidelity towards my old faithful, but then I glanced across at Mr Sassy picking his toenails and realised that a newer model is always more appealing.
Funnily enough it was the same when I bought my overlocker. That took me almost a month, I’m determined to crack this one before the 30 day money back warranty runs out.
So any suggestions are very welcome. Hypnosis maybe, counselling? I tried Googling ‘fear of a new sewing machine’ and a surprising number of pages come up including one on Mumsnet that suggests I am not alone. One post-ee said it had been 10 months and she still hadn’t plucked up courage.
Maybe there’s an opportunity for a workshop – group therapy…. ‘My name is Julie and I’m afraid of my computerised Brother’ might even get on Jeremy Kyle if that one goes viral.
It’s our anniversary!
Sunday, April 19th, 2015
Today is six months since Sassy Sewing went from being one of those ‘what if’ ideas passed through the ‘why not?’ stage and finally opened its doors as a proper grown-up business. In those 183 days we’ve made a whole load of new friends, inspired at least a dozen people to timidly cross the threshold and either take up or re-discover sewing, had 102 people come along to our workshops and built a little shop that’s brought some lovely comments and feedback from everyone who’s come to say hello.
Mr Sassy, who might be slightly too fascinated with numbers tells me that there are now more than three miles of fabric running through the sewing machines of Lincolnshire that used to be on our shelves. Along with a half dozen miles of thread, 34 miles of wool, almost 250 patterns and enough haberdashery to cover a small car (not sure how he worked that one out, but it keeps him occupied)
But more importantly, Sassy Sewing has become part of the, er, fabric of our lovely town and we look forward to every day meeting a whole load of new and old friends. So, thank you all for your support and kind words, thank you too for all your suggestions for future workshops. The latest list of workshops can be found elsewhere on this website, have a look and let us know if there’s anything you’d like to see.
I’m turning Japanese!
Saturday, April 18th, 2015
How exciting, a parcel from Japan. My friend Caroline, who was my inspiration for getting back into sewing moved there a couple of years ago and every now and then she sends a package of local goodies. This one is very special – a Japanese sewing magazine, full of patterns and some gorgeous chocolate brown printed cotton fabric to go with it (the picture does it no justice at all – it’s beautiful).
I love Japanese magazines even if I can’t understand a word. The paper and the design always makes them feel truly special and I like the fact that you have to read from the back. This one is called Boutique (I think) and has 43 different garments inside to make. Like all Japanese magazines there are phrases in English scattered through it and the clothes are really pretty.
So this week’s (OK, maybe next week, there’s a still quite a pile of unfinished stuff in the sewing room) challenge is to dive in and give it a go. It might be another language, but there’s still a pattern to follow – what could possibly go wrong?
My Francoise dress
Sunday, April 12th, 2015
I’m really pleased with my new Francoise dress from a Tilly and the Buttons pattern. It’s a retro design which looks great in this 60s-look cotton fabric. I love this sort of dress – not clingy (which I’m not too keen on) but it certainly flatters the figure, helping to achieve an hour glass look. It’s quite short, so check before you cut that you’re happy with the length – it really isn’t difficult to make it longer if that suits you better.
I went for the sleeveless version which makes it feel more summery, although I’ll need to be brave to wear it without tights/leggings – my legs are not in quite as good shape as they used to be!
So this was an easy make – nothing particularly tricky at all. I have been asked about the sizing a few times though. Tilly steers clear of the usual 12, 14, 16 etc. instead opting to list her sizes 1 – 8. She is very clear about how to choose which size to make, giving body measurements and finished garment measurements for each size. I measured myself and decided I was a five (I’m currently a little bigger than usual – too many visits to the coffee and cake shop) and the fit was perfect. If you’re between sizes go for the larger one. If in doubt, make the dress up in cheap fabric or muslin first (a test version commonly known as a toile) and then decide if it’s right or not and change and adjust accordingly.
There are bust darts which are simple enough, but on this dress you have waist darts too. I highly recommend tailor tacking or drawing these in with an erasable pen before you sew. They are quite long and shaped too and it would be easy to have a wobble if you are trying to ‘freestyle.’ Done properly these add lovely shaping to the dress and it would be a shame to spoil this for just a little more effort. I’m only saying this as I don’t always draw my dart lines in (I shouldn’t be admitting to this) but on the waist darts here I knew it would be crucial to the fitting and style. The armholes are finished with bias binding and the neckline has facings. There is a pattern piece included so you can make the bias out of the same material, but I opted for ready-made bias as, on this dress it’s used as a facing so isn’t really seen anyway – but either option is good. The neckline facings are easy to sew and are applied after the zip is inserted. The zip is an invisible, long zip but I also think you could add a fancy zip (lace maybe) on the outside as a feature and that would look great. It’s a simple dress so any embellishments like this would work. Even a row of ric-rac around the bottom or a bit of bling would be fine.
There is an optional tab at the front of this dress which I decided to add. This is in two pieces – one you add interfacing to. Then you sew around the edge, right sides together before turning right sides out through a little opening before top stitching it shut. I would highly recommend you draw in the sewing line if you make the tab as it’s quite difficult to get all four corners equal (they are rounded) doing it freestyle – mine are definitely wobbly. You attach the tab to the dress using two buttons. I found though that the tab gaped away from the dress a little, so next time I’d use maybe three buttons or put a catch stich at the top and bottom of the tab to hold it firm.
I did want to put the optional collar on the dress and cut out and made one with no bother. However when I came to fit it, the two pieces of the collar didn’t meet in the middle as they are supposed to – in fact they were about three inches apart which is no good at all. So if you’re adding the collar, measure carefully before cutting. Even though it didn’t fit, I could see that the collar would be a nice touch, so don’t be put off making one.
All in all a lovely dress and a stress-free sew which could be easily started and finished in one day. Or even an afternoon if you don’t get too distracted like I always manage to!
Miles!
Friday, April 3rd, 2015
The picture below shows 2% of our fabric and 52% of our Hob Nob stock! We know this because we finally finished the Sassy six month stock take. The numbers are eye-watering – hard to see how we get it all into one shop. There’s more than a mile and a half of fabric, 22.7 miles of wool, 65.6 miles of thread, 3.5 miles of ribbon and binding, 1366 needles and 811 pins. Plus, 280 other items of haberdashery, more than 600 patterns and nine-and-a-half chocolate Hob-Nobs. And that’s without all the new stock that’s been arriving daily for the last couple of weeks.
Mr Sassy calculated that we could wrap our town at least twice in fabric and run thread around the London marathon course twice and still have enough to get to Brighton too. And that we have enough wool to get from here to the seaside. Who knows what he’s got planned for all the pins and needles. I think he needs something more useful to do and perhaps at least one more Hob-Nob. Where did I leave the paintbrushes?
Sew by the hour
Sunday, March 29th, 2015
Got a project to start or finish and need a machine to work on? Don’t forget that Sassy Sewing does machine hire. Our Janome 525S machines (the same ones as used on The Great British Sewing Bee) are available to use at the shop for just £5 an hour or £4.50 per hour if you book two hours or more. And you can drink as much coffee and tea as you like while you’re with us too. If you’ve never used this type of machine before then a quick five minute demo will make everything clear.
You can hire a machine between 10am and 3pm and if you need it there is help at hand from either Debs on Monday to Friday or Julie on Saturday. Come sew with us!
Holiday sewing frenzy
Wednesday, March 18th, 2015
“The one thing you must never do”, says my very clever friend and Sassy Sewing instructor Christina, “Is to let your overlocker unthread itself.”
Hmm. I’m looking at an overlocker that is very definitely naked. Three 20ps in the Sassy swear box and the optimist returns. Of course I can thread an overlocker. And it turns out I can.
Mr Sassy thinks the blizzard of stencilled tissue paper slowly taking over our kitchen is the blueprint for a glider to escape from his experimental cooking (note to self…in next life never marry a scientist). Truth is, the monster taking over our house represents my holiday wardrobe. Next week I will be mostly standing up on a snowboard and, occasionally, er, not. In the last three days I’ve made three tops and one skirt to dazzle the alpine fashionistas. To keep it simple I’ve used patterns I know well and to add some complication I’ve finally started using my overlocker. What a fantastic machine. And aside from the aforementioned light swearing, things have gone pretty much to plan.
Those of you who’ve been reading this for a while will remember that my friend Judi and me are having a challenge this year to only wear things that we’ve made. Which is good because it’s meant no last-minute pre-holiday trips to Top Shop, not so good because our living room floor has more pins on it than workshop repairing beds-of-nails.
It’s not often that sewing goes so well – maybe I’m finally getting the hang of it. Two of the tops are made from some of our new stock (‘isn’t that stuff supposed to be for sale?’…asks Mr Sassy) and the skirt from an old favourite – the Kauffman bicycle print.
Apologies in advance if this blog goes a little quiet for the next few days, Mr S has the passwords, who knows what he’ll find to write about.
Looks what’s coming to Sassy Sewing Shop
Thursday, March 12th, 2015
Pattern Drafting Workshops
The fabulous and talented seamstress and designer that is Kate Pinfold is running pattern drafting workshops right here at Sassy Sewing and we’re very, very excited.
On the day you’ll learn how to measure yourself accurately, how to make a paper pattern to fit your exact size, how to make a made to measure toile and Kate will also show you how to adapt the patterns to make lots of lovely, unique garments. Everything will be supplied on the day – you just need to turn up. You don’t have to be an expert sewer to attend these workshops although some knowledge is preferable. Each workshop is stand-alone so you don’t have to attend all four.
April 26 – Skirt block
May 24 – Trouser block
June 28 – Bodice block (for making tops)
July 19 – Dress block
All workshops run 9.30am – 4pm and cost £45 which includes all materials required – you’ll go away with everything you need to create made to measure garments. Only five places available on each so early booking is advisable.
Tea, coffee and cake will be freely available
For more information visit www.sassysewing.co.uk or call 01507 524566.
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