Secret Seam
Well done for thinking outside of the box or pattern! I run a craft group for people with mental health problems and we try to make things using items that would end up in the bin. This is inspiring as one of our ladies is a fabulous seamstress so will be showing her this. Thank you
Secret Seam
Love the concept of the secret seam! One of my craft bugbears is that companies normally tell you to buy way more fabric than needed, and also have wasteful suggested cutting diagrams. This is another way to eke more clothing out of less fabric.
Your secret seams is a game changer for me. A drawerful of too-small clothes are now on the way to being totally rehabilitated. Pieces of sleeves, hems, collars and pockets are now adding that bit of extra width at the sides. Thank you so much for this post!
Ideal gift for a Seamstress!!!! seam dividers; seam ripper. I designed the handle with polymer clay with great care. The separator and the chrome element. The seam separator and the item are very sharp and sharp, can be returned inside after work done.
This easy to follow written crochet pattern shows you step by step how to make a perfect granny square without a visible seam or twisting. Can be made any size, and a great way to use up scrap yarn, or stashbust! Can be joined together to make almost anything!
You must remember to finish the edge of your fabric every time you make a seam.The reason behind this is that if you have to cross two or more seams together, it will not be possible to finish them later.
A quick and easy method that is useful if you are low on thread.Simply sew with a straight stitch 5mm from the edge of the fabric, iron the seam open, and cut out the edge of the fabric with pinking shears or a wheel with a wavy blade.
Sew the edge of the fabric individually with a zig-zag seam, or by using an overcasting stitch found on your sewing machine, making sure that the needle enters the fabric on one side and passes over the edge on the other side as it exits the fabric.If the fabric is lightweight, it is possible for it to curl, in which case fiddle with the thread tension until the fabric is no longer faulty.
Can you imagine to wear sportswear, casual clothing or underwear with scratchy seams? No? We, neither! Everybody appreciates soft seams, but what is the secret of soft seams? Watch our new videotorial to get the answer:
A standing seam roof has panels that run vertically up the roof. People enjoy their striking look, with vertical shadows that provide a tremendous amount of visual interest. But the appearance of a standing seam pattern is only the beginning of what makes it an outstanding roof.
Standing seam roofs are designed to conceal the fasteners with relatively tall seams impervious to cracking, streaking, and staining. The seams are protected from the elements and are less likely to warp in heat or cold.
Custom metal panels ensure the standing seams of the roof are perfectly sized and panels connect securely. Of course, it is important the seams themselves be defended from oxidization since rust could weaken them and expose the fasteners over time.
This one is kind of baffling because a standing seam metal roof does not really sound much different from the average shingle roof. After all, you are going to hear rain or hail on your roof no matter what kind of roofing material you choose. You will get used to the difference within just a few days.
Although standing seam is more complex to install, it ultimately represents the apex of what a metal roofing system can do. To get the job done right the first time, choose metal roofers with plenty of experience.
The secret is the presser foot. I have an old and very basic machine and found a shell tuck stitch that resembled the overlock stitches but missing the back stitches. After experimenting with the overlocking presser foot, I discovered you can make even a plain zigzag finish look very nice. Just be careful and use the hand wheel for the first couple of stitches to make sure your needle is missing the center bar of the presser foot. My narrowest zigzag stitch hits the bar.
It's widely known that quilters sew with a 1/4" seam. But have you ever heard of a scant 1/4" seam? I remember the first time that I heard this term, I thought it was a bunch of malarky. I refused to believe that it needed to be a "thing". I had it in my mind that if I just ignored it's existence, maybe I would never have to confront reality. (hah!) Well, my friends, the reality is.... scant 1/4" seams really aren't as daunting as you probably think they are.... or as least as what I made them out to be in my mind! The truth of the matter is: the term itself is actually scarier that what it actually means.
I was pretty mad when I heard this for the first time. Why isn't a true 1/4" seam good enough? Who would decide to use a scant 1/4" seam just for fun-sies? Well, I quickly learned my lesson the hard way when I went to create my Interwoven quilt pattern and I was running into MAJOR issues.
It turns out, when you press your seams (either open or to one side), you lose a tiny bit of your fabric as it has to fold around your seam. This can vary from person to person based on what kind of thread you are using (ply and weight), how you are pressing your seams (open vs. one side), how well that seam is pressed and how many seams are in a block.
Say that hypothetically, the the width of the thread and or the fold of the fabric as it goes *around* the thread accounts for 1/32'nd of an inch. Pretty small right? You might not notice this if you only have three seams in a block. 3 x (1/32") = less than a tenth of an inch. But what if you have 9 seams in a block? 9 x (1/32") adds up to over 1/4"!
Check out the example below. When you sew ten 1.5" strips together using a 1/4" seam, in theory they should measure 10.5". (10 x 1.5" = 15"... subtract 4.5" of seam allowances = 10.5"). With the strip set on the left, I used a seam allowance that was way too narrow. You can see that it came out to measure larger than 10.5". The strip set on the far right was constructed using a *true* 1/4" and it came out shorter than what I needed. I used a *scant* 1/4" seam to create the strip set in the middle and that did the trick!
When I shifted my mindset from thinking about a scant 1/4" seam as a definitive measurement to more of a fluid adjustment, I began to understand the nature of what happens to my seams based on the following factors:
Yes, no and maybe! It really depends on the pattern. For some patterns, it really only matters that your seams are consistent. You might be able to get away with using a certain seam allowance and you'll just have a slightly smaller or larger quilt in the end. For example, if you are making a quilt that is entirely made up of squares, like the one seen below, you can technically use whatever seam allowance you wish to use and it will not make a difference in the end. As long as you are consistent.
For most quilt patterns (my own included) the blocks may not look right within your quilt if they are not accurate. For example, with Homecoming and Interwoven, you really want the blocks to measure accurately, otherwise, the lines created within the quilt will not 100% connect from block to block. In the end, this may not bother you, but it can be pretty noticeable. It's better to take 10 or 20 minutes to perfect your seam allowance to have better results than to have inaccurate blocks.... in my humble opinion. :)
Remember that a scant 1/4" seam is nothing more than an adjustment. Everyone's scant is going to look different based off of the factors listed above. The biggest piece of advice that I have is to make a test block. If the pattern calls for 8 seams in one block, recreate that with some test fabric and make sure that it measures what it should.
If the test block is larger than what it should measure, then your seam allowance is too scant. If the test block is smaller than what it should measure, then your seam allowance is too big.
If you would like to follow along in an exercise, cut (10) 1.5" x 4" pieces of fabric. Sew the pieces of fabric together lengthwise to create a unit, as seen below. As you are sewing your ten 1.5"x 4" strips together, measure your strips. If a strip is in the middle of two strips, it should measure 1". Outside strips (only one sewn edge) should measure 1.25". If your middle strips are larger than 1", your seam allowance is too scant. If they're smaller than 1", your seam allowance needs to be more scant. This may take some trial and error, so repeat this exercise until you find the sweet spot. After sewing all 10 pieces of fabric together, the finished unit should measure 10.5".
Remember that measuring the final block, rather than the inside of the individual seam will give you a more accurate depiction of what is going on, but take a look at the photos below to see approximately where your seams should be.
If your block measures *smaller* than what it should be then your seam allowance was too large. You will need to make your seam allowance smaller (more scant). You can do this by moving your needle to the right, or moving your fabric to the left.
If your block measures *larger* than what it should be then your seam allowance was too small. You will need to make it larger (less scant). You can do this by moving your needle to the left or moving your fabric to the right.
If you use a 1/4" seam presser foot, pay attention to your needle position. You may need to adjust it a little to achieve a scant 1/4". The fabric might need to be right up against the guide bar, or only lightly touching it. While a 1/4" presser foot is helpful, it is not the end-all be-all for accuracy. You still might need to make small adjustments. For example, with my 1/4" presser foot, I have to move my needle all the way over to the right. If your sewing machine needle does not move from left to right, then you may not benefit from a 1/4" presser foot. You can find a 1/4" presser foot on Amazon. This is a universal presser foot, so be sure to check and make sure that it will work with your specific machine. 041b061a72