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Fashion and Sewing Tips
For information on how to cut difficult fabrics, please visit my student Mary Oren's blog.
Dressers quickly clean garments worn in theatrical productions by wiping the garments with a clean cloth moistened with 100 proof vodka. Works well at home, too. And saves a fortune at the dry cleaners. Test first on a scrap of the fabric from which the garment was made. Laurel has used this method on silk chiffon, cotton, and other fabrics. It is fast and easy. Best of all, it works.
To remove wine and other food stains: Lay the stained cloth, stain side down over a sink. Pour boiling water from as high as possible through the stain. The stain will disappear before your eyes! Also use this method to remove candle wax.
The best way to keep pins and needles is in small tin boxes.
Use a small magnet to quickly pick them up.
Consider buying pins with white heads. They are easy to find when they fall on the floor. |
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What do I make?
There is nothing in my closet!
Here is the solution:
Find a fabulous fabric in a neutral color such as off-white, light navy, periwinkle, or gray that is perfect for you.
Buy ten yards! Using the 4-piece go-anywhere concept taught in the IFM program, make pants, skirt; and tank top, jacket or blouse to create a combination of clothing that can be mixed and matched as sets. The industry calls this a collection. This will give you a solution for every possible known occasion.
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Buying a contrasting heavier or lighter fabric to make a second set really expands this wardrobe. Included in the entire two sets could be a short skirt, a long skirt, Capri pants, pants (full-length), and a couple of tops.
Consider using micro-fiber. It makes wonderful blouses, skirts, pants, and linings. It's washable, drapes like silk, sews like a dream. And it can be worn all year. Caution: Do not use dryer sheets with this fabric in the dryer, as the oil in the dryer sheets will streak micro fiber. Remove dryer sheet streaks from the fabric by washing the fabric in the washing machine with two or three full cups of Tide added to the wash water. |
Lining Patterns
In the industry, lining patterns are always made wider than the shell patterns from which they are drafted. The extra room in the lining prevents the lining from pulling the shell and acts as a precaution against lining shrinkage.
For example: Approximately 1/2 inch is added to the total body circumference of a skirt lining pattern – 1/8 inch each for the right front, left front, right back, and left back. The amount is added down the center of each pattern, midway between the center front or center back and the side seam, NOT at the seam allowance.
How to Thread a Sewing Machine
In the industry sewing machines need to be rethreaded quickly.
To quickly change thread in a sewing machine: 1. Cut the
thread at the spool that is being replaced - take the old thread out of the needle, making sure the rest of the machine remains threaded. 2. Remove the old spool. 3. Place the new spool on the machine. 3. Tie the end of the thread on the new spool to the old thread that is still treaded through the machine. 4. Pull the old thread through the machine, and with it the new thread. 5. Tread the needle. Think this is easy? Then try one of the courses in the program and make all of your sewing easier! You can take almost any course in almost any order. Students who have already taken other courses in the program will help you as you learn the new material. Everyone is very supportive. The courses are also lots of fun.
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