All posts filed under: Tutorial

How to sew knits with a straight stitch thedreamstress & scrooppatterns.com

Sewing knit fabrics with a straight stitch: ‘stretch-as-you-sew’ stitching

Following on from last week’s post breaking down the benefits and drawbacks of 4 ways to sew knit fabrics for the Scroop Miramar dress & top, here is a quick little video tutorial* on how to do ‘stretch as you sew’ sewing, where you build the stretch into a straight stitch by stretching the fabric as you sew it: It’s a great technique, and does work well if done right – the fabric stretches beautifully, and the seam is lovely and smooth from the outside, and can be pressed completely flat and open if needed. The drawbacks are that the stitches are really small and hard to unpick, and it can be hard to control the fabric and to stretch it evenly. You can mitigate the first by lengthening your stitch slightly, but this tends to make the control issues even more of a problem. The stress of stretching the fabric as it is sewn can also cause ripples in the fabric, but these can almost always be fixed with a bit of steam ironing. …

Four ways to sew with knit fabrics, thedreamstress and scrooppatterns.com

Sewing Knit Fabrics: the pros and cons of the 4 most common options

Published by The Dreamstress

There is much debate in the sewing community about what the ‘best’ or ‘proper’ way to sew with knits is. It’s my opinion that the ‘best’ way to do any technique is the way that works for you – as long as you don’t find it too hard to do, like the result aesthetically and in terms of wear, then it’s good! I suggest four different ways to sew knit fabrics in the Miramar Dress, Top and Tunic pattern (buy it here!), and give a little information on their benefits and drawbacks, to help sewists new to knits choose a suitable one to start with. Here is a more in-depth look at the four main techniques used for sewing knits, and when, and why, I choose to use one, or not use one. These are my observations based on my own experience sewing with knit fabrics, and my experience in teaching hundreds of students how to work with knits as they have made leggings, T-shirts, cardigans, knickers, camisoles and the Miramar Dress, Top & Tunic. …

How to add an elastic waist to the Scroop Henrietta Maria dress thedreamstress.com

How to add an elastic waistband to the Scroop Henrietta Maria dress

Published by The Dreamstress

It’s the tutorial you’ve all been waiting for! How to add an elastic waistband to the Scroop Henrietta Maria dress. It’s not hard to do: you mark your waistline, sew a piece of elastic in a circle, and sew it on while stretching it to fit the dress. You’ll need: A piece of narrow 1cm/3/8″ wide elastic as long as your waist measure A Henrietta Maria dress, finished except for hemming. Chalk or fabric markers for marking A french curve (helpful, but not necessary) Put your dress on inside out: Pin or tie your elastic so it sits snuggly and comfortably at the line where you would like it to sit on the dress: Using chalk or a fabric pen, mark the line of the elastic, front and back: >>> Tip: You can just use the waistline marked on the pattern, but trying it on and marking ensures the elastic will sit exactly where you want it. Take the dress off, and use a french curve to draw over your marked line, smoothing out any …