ASG Sewing Blog – Page 16

November 10, 2023

Couture Sewing: Working on the Bias Grain (preview)

You can take advantage of the bias grain in couture garments in two ways:

Garment sections or entire garments can be cut on the bias grain to create interesting effects in the drape, fit, and visual design of the garment, or
Bias-cut fabric strips can be used to bind edges and to create piping for both decorative and functional purposes.

Madame Vionnet said, “There are three grains: lengthwise, crosswise, and bias. We must understand them all.”

The fear of working on the bias was ingrained in many of us at an early age. Some sewing teachers spoke of it as the enemy, never to be understood and to be kept at a distance. The bias is not a disease—it is a grain of cloth that when respected, can be used to your advantage to produce remarkable results.

The bias does, at times, have a mind of its own, but with understanding comes control. Couture is about bias. When you can handle bias, you are couture!

Bias hangs “thinner” than both straight and crossgrain.
Bias doesn’t ravel.
Bias doesn’t wrinkle.
Bias is soft and rounded.
True bias is the grain that runs at a
45-degree angle to the lengthwise and crosswise grains.

When working on the bias, the fabric must be perfectly grained up and the bias line established.

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November 3, 2023

Stabilizers: Not Just for Embroidery

Firming Things Up

Embroidery Stabilizer — View on Amazon. We may earn a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you.

If you own an embroidery machine, chances are good you have a drawer full of various types of stabilizers needed for your embellishing. However, if you don’t have an embroidery machine, you may not think you need stabilizers—but think again!

What is stabilizer?

Simple answer—something to put behind or over fabric temporarily to well, stabilize it, while stitching. Because machine embroidery uses dense stitches and lots of thread, stabilizers help to eliminate puckering.

Stabilizers come in a variety of constructions—from woven and non-woven to mesh, film and liquid. They have a variety of application methods, from sew-in to fusible to self-adhesive. And, they have a variety of removal methods, from cut-away and tear-away to heat-away and water-soluble. Check out your store’s offerings for a multitude of mix-and-match construction, application and removal methods.

Note that most stabilizers are designed to be temporary, while similar products called interfacings are meant to be permanent. Stabilizers can also become permanent additions to your project.

So, even if you don’t do embroidery…you need stabilizer too! Here’s why:

Decorative stitching can cause some fabrics to pucker and distort, and if the stitches are especially wide, they can cause “tunneling” which means the edges of the stitches pull in toward each other. Using a stabilizer underneath can help eliminate these issues. Another option is to use liquid stabilizer to stiffen the fabric prior to stitching, then wash it out after stitching.

Appliqué, especially on lightweight fabrics or knits, can also cause puckering, so place stabilizer under the area you’re working with to keep the appliqué and the base fabric pucker-free.

Beading and sequins can cause distortion due to the added weight, so adding a stabilizer under the area will help with support. This is one area where a stabilizer can be left in permanently.

Add stabilizer to support the weight of beading

Off-the-edge stitching can play havoc with your sewing machine, as well as the fabric edge, so if you’re trying to stitch scalloped or picot edging, lay a piece of wash-away stabilizer under the edge and extending about ½”. After the stitching is complete, remove the stabilizer, leaving only your delicately stitched edge.

Picot Edge (image compliments of Bernina)

Serger rolled hems sometimes leave pesky fabric threads poking through the serger threads, but if you wrap the edge in a narrow strip of water-soluble stabilizer before sewing, those troublesome threads will be contained. If you’re serging a regular stitched edge, liquid stabilizer along the fabric edge will help keep it flat.

Buttonholes sometimes stretch, despite our best interfacing efforts, but adding a strip of stabilizer on the top and bottom of the fabric can help minimize distortion. A clear film stabilizer is ideal for this purpose. This technique also works well for buttonholes and seams on a textured fabric, like bouclé or loosely woven suiting, where the fabric threads or nubs may catch on the presser foot toes. Stabilizer makes for smooth stitching lines by compressing the surface texture.

Sewing sheer fabrics can sometimes be a wrestling match, as they tend to slip, slide and stretch during construction. But with the addition of a liquid stabilizer, seamlines can be stable for stitching, and edges firmed for hemming. Stabilizing the fabric itself can also make for easier and more accurate cutting. This assumes your sheer fabric is washable to remove the stabilizer after construction.

Couching—the addition of yarns, ribbons and trims with either controlled or free-motion stitching—can also cause distortion in the base fabric, but adding a stabilizer firms up the surface for easier attachment.

Creating your own free-form fabric or scarves using just yarns is easy–just sandwich the fibers between layers of clear wash-away stabilizer. Stitch in place, then rinse away.

Hemstitching with a wing needle can sometimes damage the fabric as the needle “wings” can catch on fabric threads, pulling them into the needle hole. Liquid stabilizer can eliminate that and create well-defined holes for your design.

Wing Needle (image compliments of Bernina)

Die-cutting is a great place to use stabilizer for cleaner edges on lightweight cottons. Some stabilizers come in pre-cut sheets specifically for this purpose.

Paper-piecing is an ideal place to use an inkjet-printable stabilizer. Just print multiples of your quilt blocks and you’re ready to stitch on clearly printed lines.

So, even if you’re not a machine embroiderer, you will need a drawer of various stabilizers—trust me!

~Linda Griepentrog is the owner of G Wiz Creative Services and she does writing, editing and designing for companies in the sewing, crafting and quilting industries. In addition, she escorts fabric shopping tours to Hong Kong. She lives at the Oregon Coast with her husband Keith, and three dogs, Yohnuh, Abby, and Lizzie. Contact her at .

October 27, 2023

Pin Weaving (preview)

Pin weaving is a form of small-scale weaving traditionally done on a frame made of pins with the warp and weft wrapping around the pins. Pin-woven textiles have a selvage edge all the way around.

The equipment needed for pin weaving is minimal, consisting of straight pins; a padded, pinnable board; a rectangle of fusible interfacing; pearl cotton to make the loom; and a tapestry needle which you will use to weave an assortment of textural yarns and perhaps fabric strips into your finished piece.

The Loom

The size of the weaving determines the board size. You can purchase the padded board in a retail shop, or you can make your own.

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October 20, 2023

Project: Doris’s Adult Bib

Is there ever a day that goes by that you aren’t thankful for your sewing skills? Not here.

Doris When I first moved to my small coastal town, I discovered that the post office does not deliver mail to the town’s residents. “What?” But the more I thought about it, there was an opportunity for exercise and walking the mile-and-a-half circuit to the post office with at least one of our dogs, to retrieve the mail. Along the way early on in the adventure, I passed an adult care home and a lady was sitting on the covered porch in her wheelchair calling out “doggie, doggie!” So, I went up to the porch with the dog and we started to chat. I asked her how many people stopped to talk to her, and she replied “no one, but you.”

Over the four years I’ve lived here, on the morning walk to get the mail, I always wonder if Doris will be out on the porch…some days she’s there, other days not, mostly dependent on the weather. One day we were talking and I asked her when her birthday was—turns out it’s 10 days after mine! Hmmm…what can one do in celebration for someone who is not mobile and living in an adult care facility?

I had an “aha” moment and decided to sew up 10 fleece hats, telling her to keep her favorites and share the others with the staff and other residents (who occasionally sit on the porch as well). Those were a big hit and she’s been sporting several throughout the months when there’s a chill in the air. But I decided my next project for her would be an adult bib—winner, winner, chicken dinner as they say! I’m currently making her third bib, this year to celebrate her 81st birthday.

It takes less than an hour to make and choosing fun prints is easy as pie. You probably have everything you need in your stash. So, today I’m sharing with you how to make Doris’s bib! Think about reaching out to someone in your own community who may need a bit of cheer—the project is super easy, takes only a yard of fabric, and you can make it up in less than an hour.

Doris’s Bib

Choose a washable and colorful busy print in a darker color to hide food spills, etc. There can be a theme to the fabric, like food motifs, or a sports print, or simply a favorite color that you’ve learned of through chatting. Doris’s favorite colors are pink and purple, and she has Crocs in both hues.

What you’ll need for each bib:

1 yard print fabric
1 package of double-fold bias tape (at least 3 ½ yards)
1” hook-and-loop tape
Matching thread
Pattern tracing paper
Bib pattern (PDF format)

Making the bib

Trace the upper bib shape from the bib pattern (link above). Continue the center front line so it’s 27” long, then draw a line perpendicular to the center front line at the bottom. Extend the side edge straight down to match the bottom line. Using a saucer, round the lower outer corner for easier binding. Label the center front.
Refold the fabric to the width of the bib and pin the pattern center front to the fold. Pin the remaining pattern edges in place and cut out.
Starting at the back tab, bind the bib edges. Use a narrow zigzag to ensure catching both the upper and lower bias tape edges. Place the needle in the down position to make it easier to adjust the bias tape around the narrow tab curves. Be sure the bib edge is inserted all the way into the bias tape.
Press the bib edges to shape.
Sew the hook portion of the fastener to the wrong side of the overlapping neck tab, and the loop section to the right side of the underlapping tab.

Some options:

Add a pocket from the extra fabric.
Choose a second print and make the bib reversible.
Make the bib from terry cloth fabric, but be sure to pre-shrink it. Choose an extra-wide bias tape due to the fabric thickness.
For a waterproof version, use vinyl fabric. It’s easy to clean with just a wipe.

This bib is also suited for groups needing a community service project—even beginner sewers can make it up easily. Set up an assembly line of cutters, binders and fastener attachers for mass production.

October 13, 2023

The Italian Flap (preview)

Known for their high-priced ready-to-wear and timeless tailored designs, Armani, Gucci, and Valentino frequently accent their impeccable jackets with this decorative flap. The flap is easy-to-sew and since all the raw edges are completely enclosed at the top, it is also very neat. It’s used on fine wools, silks, and linens in medium and light weights, but is also suitable for washable garments in similar weight materials.

Make the Flap

When making these flaps for fine garments, always make a sample to be sure the measurements given here provide the best results for your particular fabric and design.

1. Block fuse a very lightweight interfacing to the wrong side of the flap fabric.

2. For each flap, use the flap pattern to cut one flap and one flap lining. Cut the flap from the interfaced fashion fabric. Cut the flap lining from a piece of self-fabric (without interfacing) if the fabric is lightweight or from a lightweight lining material if it is medium weight.

The complete version of this article is available on the ASG Members Only blog and requires member login.
CLICK HERE to read the full article. Not a member? Join online!