fitting and pattern alteration

Shorten Jeans and Keep Original Hem image

How To Hem Jeans AND Keep The Original Hem

Did you know that you can shorten a pair of jeans AND keep the original hem? Well, you can! And I’ll show you how to do it. If you hem a pair of jeans with a traditional hem, even if you match the original topstitching thread color, it will usually be obvious that the jeans were hemmed. There’s a way to keep the original hem, so you can keep the original look of the jeans, but tailor the length to fit you better. […]

Shopping Guide: How to Pick the Right Dress Form

This quick guide will help you decide which kind of dress form is best for your needs and answers some of the basic questions such as What are the differences? and What should I look for? Guest post by Cara Pierce from The Shop Company. […]

How To Keep Bra Straps And Tank Top Straps In Place For Good!

Here’s an easy way to keep your straps in place under a sweater or shirt. I’ve found this especially helpful with keeping tank tops and bra straps in place. […]

How to Lengthen or Shorten a Sewing Pattern

Adjusting pattern length is easy to do on purchased patterns from one of the more popular pattern companies such as Mccalls, Butterick, Vogue, and Simplicity, but these tips can help you to lengthen or shorten ANY sewing pattern. […]

How to Transfer Sewing Pattern Markings

If you are going to sew anything, the chances are likely that you’ll have dots, squares or lines that need to be traced onto your fabric. But these markings are there to help you sew your project! Knowing how to transfer them properly can make all the difference. […]

Alter and Sew Ladies Empire Waist Tie Back Top

For this shirt project, I used Vogue pattern 7743. The fabric is a green crinkle gauze with metallic threads and it is embellished with seed beads and sequins. […]

Pin sewing pattern to cutting board image

How to Straighten Out a Wrinkled Sewing Pattern

Sometimes you find a pattern you REALLY like, but it never folds up like it did when you first bought it! The result? A wrinkly mess crammed in the envelope. Here I show you how to straighten those pattern pieces back out quickly and easily! […]