The allure of the classic French jacket – its mystique has captivated for years. Long before rediscovering garment sewing several years ago, I admired this garment for its timeless elegance on the outside, never understanding that the magic on the inside is the real story. Quilting lofty bouclé to silk lining with rows of stitches […]
Community Service Around the Country
It’s a forgone conclusion that if you are a member of the American Sewing Guild, you obviously love to sew. Why else would you be a member? But in addition to a general love of sewing, one of the hallmarks of ASG has always been a love of sewing for the benefit of others. Over […]
Celebrate National Embroidery Month with ASG
High Top Sneaker Bags When American Sewing Guild member Donna Fleming brought her “high top sneaker” bags to an ASG Princeton Chapter meeting, she certainly caused quite a stir among those who were there. Everyone wanted to check out these adorable bags she created for her granddaughters. The bags feature great detail, yet are very […]
The Dior Exhibition
On a beautiful, sunny day in January, the Colorado Springs ASG garment group toured the Dior exhibition held at the Denver Art Museum. I had heard glowing reviews from other friends who had attended, but I was not prepared for the scope of the offering. A selection of more than 200 couture dresses was on […]
An Easy and Precise Technique for Hand Quilting
This easy technique for hand quilting requires limited skills and mimics the precision of machine quilting. 1. Load the machine, both top and in the bobbin, with water soluble thread. 2. Set the machine stitch length for the desired hand-stitch length. For the stitches to show up in this demonstration, the stitch length will be […]
Sew Fun Tour: Go to Hong Kong? Are you kidding me?
I’d never been to more than four states and I was thinking about going to the other side of the world, all by myself. Was I crazy? The caveat was that I ‘d be with other sewers and two experienced guides. What was the worst that could happen? Maybe I’d get lost in a foreign […]
Make Your Own “Sampler” Pack of Sewing Favorites
Like most sewing enthusiasts, I have sewing and embroidery supplies that I use over and over because they work well for many different applications. This is especially true for interfacings and embroidery stabilizers. To keep track of my supplies, I normally take the label off the outside of the roll and insert it inside the […]
Learn to Sew: What Does Right Sides Together Mean?
What does it mean when a sewing pattern says to place the “right sides together”? Watch this 2 minute video to learn the meaning.
Learn to Sew: What is Seam Allowance?
What is a seam allowance? Watch this 2 minute video to find out.
Learn to Sew: Backstitching
There is more than one way to secure the ends of a seamline. Watch this video to learn three ways to secure seam ends.
Learn to Sew: Sewing a Plain Seam
Learn how to sew a plain seam in this video.
Learn to Sew: Threading a Sewing Machine
In this video, we will walk you through how to thread a sewing machine. Please check the manual for your machine for detailed instructions.
Learn to Sew: Easy Tucks
Learn how to create professional looking tucks in your sewing project the easy way!
Learn to Sew: Gathering
In this video, we share some simple tricks that will make gathering fabric simple and easy.
Learn to Sew: Zig-Zag Seam Finish
Learn how to create a zig-zag seam finish on your sewing project.
