Fabric grain refers to the direction in which the threads run. It’s important for the lengthwise and crosswise threads to meet at right angles, or the project will twist or hang crooked. Do you understand fabric grain, why it is important and how to work with it? This video will tell you everything you need to know to begin building your understanding.
Meet Pamela Leggett of Pamela’s Patterns
Always a favorite at ASG conferences and other sewing events around the country is this month’s independent designer, Pamela Leggett, owner of Pamela’s Patterns.
Pamela’s tag line is “Designed to fit and flatter women with REAL figures.” Her patterns are designed for women with curves and fluff and scallops, not the slender 14 year old frame that commercial patterns cater to. Instructions are carefully written and crafted, and there is even YouTube support from her channel to assist with pattern altering, sewing, and fitting. If you go to PamelasPatterns.com and check out the photos of her garments, you will see the hint of a waist in all of her designs for tops. This gives even the “fluffy” figure the illusion of an hourglass shape. This flattering aid makes her patterns a favorite among many ASG members.
Pamela’s Patterns started in 2005 when she realized the need for patterns that fit mature figures. But that was not the start of her career. Pamela recalls, “My parents owned their own business and encouraged me to do the same. I started sewing to earn money at 14. I did alterations and made bags and clothes from jeans. At 16, I started doing custom work in clothing and home dec. At 20 I opened a boutique in an artist/tourist town with vintage, retail, and my own designs. At 24 I started in the retail sewing business and teaching, continuing with custom work and a short delve into small manufacturing of my designs.”
Childhood Sewing Memories
Her first recollection of sewing dates back to when she was around 4 or 5 and used her grandmother’s treadle machine to draw pictures, which was after she had no luck with knitting. She made her first dress with her mom when she was 7 or 8 and then couldn’t make enough clothes in junior and senior high. Along with her mother and grandmother, Pamela credits Stretch & Sew classes for shaping her sewing aesthetic. “Even though Stretch & Sew classes were expensive, my mother let me take many. She said she thought that would keep me out of trouble. I grew up in a family of makers. My mom and both grandmothers sewed beautifully. And they also were involved in many other crafts – pottery, painting, upholstery, needlework, knitting – even engine repair! My dad is an amazing recycling artist, leatherwork and scrapbooker.”
Pamela explained that she apprenticed for two years with a Japanese tailor who taught her a lot about alterations and fine handwork. Her biggest mentors have been Ann Person from Stretch & Sew (sewing and designing for knits), Pati Palmer from Palmer/Pletsch (pattern fitting) and Nancy Zieman from Sewing With Nancy (teaching). She says, “These women were incredibly generous and giving with their encouragement and sharing knowledge.”
When asked where she finds her inspiration for her designs, she explained, “I look at trends in ready-to-wear shops, catalogues, pinterest, online stores, and on the women around me. My students are also always happy to share a particular garment they love and hope that I will make a pattern for it. I keep everything rather classic – my best selling patterns are the patterns that are almost 15 years old! Some of my patterns take a little break in popularity, and just when I think I will discontinue them, they come back in style! This season it is the funnel neck – I created that pattern in 2007, and it is everywhere this season.”
In addition to her pattern company, Pamela is the East Coast director for two Palmer/Pletsch schools – Connecticut and Philadelphia. She said, “I am honored to carry on the excellence of teaching started by Pati Palmer and Marta Alto.” Other highlights she talked about included, “Being on two episodes of Sewing With Nancy was like a dream come true. My work with Taunton Press Publishers and Threads Magazine has been a wonderful experience. Creating class material for Bluprint/Craftsy was a great learning experience, they have such a high standard of production and work well with instructors. I have also sold my patterns on The Shopping Channel in Canada (the U.S. version of QVC) – live television is crazy!” (Be sure to check out Pamela’s book and DVD on serging produced by Taunton Press and reviewed in a previous Notions article.)
A Love of Teaching
When asked what her favorite aspect of her career is, she replied, “I LOVE teaching! It is what inspires me to do everything else. I love working with women who share the common obsession of sewing. So much more than sewing happens when you gather caring and creative women together. The networking and support is unstoppable and addictive. Women who sew are the most generous women in the world.”
Each year Pamela teaches at Camp Workroom Social, a conference that pulls in sewists and instructors from all over the world, the majority of which are young professional women. She says, “Sewing is alive and well with young women; they are as obsessed as we are. Young people who sew, design, and teach have a different way of learning, shopping, and marketing than we do, but it is still rich and flourishing. We may see the demise of some of the “old” ways of doing business, but new ways will take over.”
Pamela began as a member of the Philadelphia chapter of ASG and since her move to Connecticut, has joined the Connecticut chapter. You can check out Pamela’s website at https://pamelaspatterns.com or find her on Facebook and Instagram. ASG Members receive a 10% discount on online orders and can find the discount code in the Special Offers section of the ASG website.
~ Rosemary Fajgier
The American Sewing Guild is truly fortunate to be able to count many gifted sewing designers and instructors among our friends, members, and supporters. Throughout this coming year we will be featuring some of them in our Notions Blog. We hope you will enjoy reading about them and take the opportunity to get to know them better and explore their many talents by visiting their websites, taking their classes, and discovering the wide variety of designs they bring to the home sewing market.
How to Sew Bias Strips Together
Our short video on using the Bias Tape Tool will show you how to make your own bias tape, but do you know how to join your fabric to create the bias strips? This video will show you how.
~© ASG; Sheryl Belson, Plano Chapter
Serger Rolled Hem
Perhaps you use your serger only for making neatly finished seams—but there’s so many other things you can do with it. One of my favorites is a rolled hem.
Whether you’re creating beautiful edges on napkins or silk scarves, or delicate hems on lingerie, the rolled hem is perfect to hide any “pokies” of thread along the edge. It’s also ideal for quickly finishing ruffle edges.
On a Roll
Used with permission
Before you begin the rolled hemming process, read your instruction manual for setting adjustments. Some brands of sergers utilize a different needle plate, others a separate foot or attachment, but common to all is altering settings so that the fabric edge rolls under. This is usually accomplished by making adjustments to the tension settings and stitch width, and using only one needle.
Narrow rolled hems can be stitched with regular serger thread or a novelty thread, like Woolly Nylon or a texturized polyester that fills in the stitched area. These threads will produce more of a satin stitch look to the edge, covering the entire fabric edge. Using rayon thread in the upper looper will produce an edge with a sheen, while texturized polyester thread creates a matte finished edge.
If your serger has a standard setting for a rolled hem, follow the instructions for its use. If you need to manually adjust, begin by using a narrow stitch finger for a perfect roll. Tighten the lower looper tension so that the fabric edge rolls under and is encased by the upper looper thread. You may need to adjust the needle tension to perfect the stitch. Shorten the stitch length to produce the look you want. It’s all a matter of testing on the fabric you want to hem, as each fabric reacts differently. Softer fabrics roll easier than stiffer fabrics which may not roll at all.
Change it Up
For variation, try using a variegated thread, but note that you might produce a striped edge depending on the thread brand, as some threads are dyed in regular intervals, while others are dyed randomly.
In addition to creating a lovely edge finish, a narrow rolled hem can also be used to stitch a seam in delicate fabrics like lingerie tricot or sheers. Only the width of the stitch shows, creating an almost invisible seamline. To use as a seam, leave the stitch length slightly longer than for edge finishes to keep the seam soft and subtle.
~Linda Griepentrog
Linda 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 two dogs, Yohnuh and Abby. Contact her at .
Learn to Sew: Knowing the Nap
Napped fabrics are normally cut so that the nap runs down the garment, from the top down toward the lower hem. This feels softer, and the fabric tends to pill less and wear better. However, when the nap runs up, the color is richer.
Short-nap fabrics, such as corduroy and velour, can be cut with the nap running up to achieve a richer, deeper color and a more interesting texture.
Outerwear fabrics with heavy and longer surface fibers, such as fleece and camel’s hair, should be cut with the nap running down, so the pile is smooth and the garment repels moisture better.
~ Thank you to www.sewing.org for this tip (reprinted with permission)
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