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November 27, 2020

Fast and Easy Fringed Edge Finishes

If you’re looking for a fast and easy edge finish, there’s nothing easier than fringe! It works on single-layer placemats, scarves, patches and pockets, or with a little more effort, you can insert fringe into a seam or hem.

The results of fringing are not always what you expect, as some fabrics are woven with different color threads going lengthwise and crosswise, so you get totally different colors in one direction from the other. Denim is a good example, as white threads are usually used one way and indigo the other.

The Basics

Select a woven fabric (knits cannot be fringed using this technique). Fabrics like linen, burlap, gauze, wools and bouclés are ideal candidates. The looser the weave, the easier the fringing process.

  • To create a simple fringe, be sure your project edge is cut parallel to the fabric grain. Sew a line of stitching where you want the fringe to stop, then start pulling threads up to the stitching line. The stitching thread can match the fabric or contrast with it.
  • For easier removal, use a needle or a large pin to help separate the fabric threads and gently pull them across the fringed area. Note that if your project has a right-angle corner (like a scarf), there will be a gap in the thread fringe at the corners.
  • If you want to knot the fringe, either singly or with thread groups, allow extra length for that process. Test-fringe a sample to see how much length you need for either a square knot or an overhand knot.
  • For a top-fringed pocket, cut the pocket top on the straight grain and extend it the desired fringe length (no hem). For a fringed sleeve hem, determine the sleeve length, then extend the lower edge the desired fringe length, being sure to keep a straight grain edge.
  • Single-layer scarves can be fringe-finished on all edges or just the ends, like on a muffler.

Inset Fringe

  • Inserting fringe into a seam allows for more placement flexibility and allows for placing it on a curve as well.
  • To make a fringe strip, cut a straight grain strip the desired width of the fringe, plus the requisite seam allowance. Stitch and fringe as noted above. On very loosely woven fabrics, layer two strips for a denser fringe.
  • Use the fringe strip as you would a piping, basting it along one layer of the seamline with the fringe facing the bulk of the project. Then top with the second layer of the project, and sew just inside the basting line. When you turn the project right side out, the fringe will extend beyond the seamed edge.
  • For long fringe strips, simply abut the ends of multiple fabric strips as needed. If you need a bulkier fringe, layer two strips atop each other and treat as one layer.

Design Tip: inset fringe can be made from matching or contrasting fabric.

Trim Tactics

If desired, you can add a ribbon or trim along the stitched edge of fringe as an accent, whether it’s single layer or inserted into a seam.

Don’t forget to check the selvage of your fabric, as some have fun fringes that can be used as is, and they already match!


~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 .

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Tagged With: fringe, fringed edges, jacket, jeans, knotted fringe, learn to sew, placemats, scarves, sewing tip

September 25, 2020

Rise of the Sew Bro

Why Men Have Been Crafting Their Own Clothes Over Lockdown

by Nick Pope, adapted from a story on esquire.com/uk/ on 8/18/20

It all started with a pair of old curtains. In late March, as Colorado crept into lockdown, 23-year-old Jonathan Simanjuntak began his search for a new hobby. “Quarantine was getting really serious,” he told me from his home in Aurora, a city spread across two of the state’s hardest hit counties. It didn’t take him long to land on sewing. “If I’m being super honest, the fact that I can’t afford Gucci and APC [a French RTW brand] had a lot to do with it.”

Before the local government could stop him, Jonathan raided thrift shops for fusty fabrics, damaged clothes, and any rag that might prove useful. Three months later, after a lot of trial-and-error and YouTube tutorials, he uploaded his first big project to the 260,000-strong Reddit community /r/sewing: a Dickies-inspired work jacket, upcycled from a blanket and some floral curtains he found at Goodwill. It immediately shot to the top of a subreddit almost entirely dominated by dresses. “Thank you everyone for the nice comments,” he wrote at the top of the post, which gained seven thousand upvotes. “I’m smiling a lot!”

Fusty: smelling stale, damp, or stuffy

It should come as no great surprise that /r/sewing has grown in popularity. As stringent lockdown measures loomed, the world got busy keeping busy. Google searches for “sewing machines” jumped by 400 percent in the U.S., and John Lewis [a British department store] reported that sales of them had risen by 127 percent over April. What might come as a surprise, however, is the number of men who began posting their own creations—from face masks to full outfits—on the forum, a real rarity before the pandemic hit. “I see a lot of new seamsters like me popping up in the subreddit every day,” Jonathan told me. “The first time you put your own work on your body feels like magic—it’s wild addicting.”

Merchant & Mills Foreman Jacket pattern
Merchant & Mills Foreman Jacket pattern

According to Merchant & Mills, a former warehouse-turned-sewing emporium in Rye, East Sussex, England, more men than ever are taking to the craft. The British draper received a month’s worth of orders each day at the start of lockdown, but it was their template for a men’s workwear silhouette that reigned supreme. “The Foreman Jacket shot through the roof. It was the best-selling pattern by miles,” says Carolyn Denham, who co-founded the company ten years ago. Even before lockdown, she noticed that men were finally beginning to see the value in producing their own clothes with long-lasting materials. “Sewing doesn’t have to be this mumsy, cutesy thing with pink scissors,” she told me. “Men relate to it being a ‘quality’ thing. I think they hook straight into that.”

Redditor Mehedi Sarri, a 32-year-old librarian from Toulouse, France, learned to sew when he lost his job back in 2017. “When you start sewing, spending six to eight hours on a garment, you realize the value of your clothes.” he says. A new job in 2018 meant that Mehedi’s hobby fell by the wayside, but lockdown presented the perfect opportunity to get back on the horse. A fan of Japanese fabrics like Kokka and Nani IRO, he crafted his own shirts, coats, trousers, and of course, face masks. “Three of my friends expressed their will to have some training sessions with me.That made me so happy,” he says. “I also taught one friend how to sew right after confinement, and he made a bunch of masks.”

Ishmael Jasmin, a 20-year-old Redditor from Los Angeles, has even started selling his own streetwear pieces crafted with woven blanket materials, including a pair of Space Jam-themed shorts. “Sewing has been very beneficial to my mental health,” he told me. “Don’t get me wrong, some projects can be draining and annoying. But when I’m creating something, I don’t have to really worry about any outside noise. Just me and my machine is a perfect combo.”

Original article on esquire.com/uk/


~Betty Watts, ASG member
Betty was the publisher of the print edition of ASG Notions for 20 years. She says, “I like Jonathan’s word ‘seamsters’ much better than sewers or sewists.”

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Tagged With: jacket, men sewing, repurpose, seamsters

June 12, 2020

What I’m Sewing: Tabula Rasa Jacket

Tabula Rasa JacketQ. Item Created 
A. Fit For Art Tabula Rasa Jacket

Q. Independent Pattern Designer
A.
Rae Cumbie and Carrie Emerson

Q. Fabric Used:
A. Kanthi cloth (from a spread)

Q. Special Embellishments/Notions Used
A. Buttons painted to coordinate

Q. Skill level required?
A.
 Intermediate

Q. Are the instructions easy to follow?
A.
The written instructions are very easy to understand, especially since the unique sleeves seem confusing at first. The instructions eliminate any confusion.

Q. Are you pleased with the finished result?  Did it meet your expectations?
A.
I was happy with the result and took my time daily to get the fit just right. The more difficult part was a fabric for the band and finding buttons during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Q. Did it look like the picture?
A.
 Yes.

Tabula Rasa JacketQ. Did you make any modifications in the pattern?
A.
 Yes, I did some adjusting as I went and changed from flare to straight to help the fabric hang better. Took in the sides (I’ll choose the one dart front next time). I added a contrasting turn up cuff to match the band. I added in seam pockets.

Q. Are there any changes you would have made?
A. The chosen fabric, though a nice pattern, in places has several layers of patching, etc. and I’d not use that particular fabric in the future for this. I still may remove a bit from the side back seams, but will wear for a while to decide.

Q. Did the pattern teach you any unique or special techniques?
A.
 I was tempted to make the insertable piping but glad I did not due to the adjustments I made.

Q. Would you make this again?
A.
 Yes, lovely pattern. I do like the sleeve design.

Q. Would you recommend this pattern to others?
A.
Yes


~JoAnne Lowe, Boston Chapter of ASG

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Tagged With: jacket, pattern

May 22, 2020

Tailoring Tricks Part 3: Hong Kong Seam Finish

Tailored jacketNot all tailored garments are lined so that the interior seams are covered. Some are unlined, either because of the construction or style—think lightweight wool jacket or loosely woven wool wrap coat for spring.

Without a full lining to cover the interior seams, they’re subject to abrasion and potential fraying, depending on the fabric weave. This can affect longevity and certainly the appearance of the garment. One solution is a Hong Kong seam finish.

This finish can also be used on fully lined garments, just to neaten and keep seam allowances from potentially fraying under the lining. And it’s ideal for sportier garments too, like denim.

What is a Hong Kong finish?

It’s like a bound seam, with individual seam allowance edges encased with lightweight fabric, like silk or other lining material to hide the raw edges. A bound seam uses a double layer of fabric to encase the edges, but a Hong Kong finish uses a single layer. The lightweight fabric can match the garment or contrast for a bit of fun, and can be solid or print.

The technique works on straight and curved seams. Because there’s a single fabric layer covering the fabric edge, cutting the finishing strips on the bias prevents fraying and allows for curved shaping.

The Hong Kong finish is ideal not only for seam allowances, but also for encasing facing edges and hems. Use this technique on seams that are already sewn and on completed facings before attaching them to the garment.

« ‹ 1 of 3 › »

Creating a Hong Kong Finish

  1. Cut (and seam together, if needed) 1”-1 ½” wide bias strips of lightweight fabric for the total length needed for all seam edges to be finished. If the fabric needs a little more body, gently press it with some spray starch or starch alternative, but be careful not to stretch the bias as it will narrow.
  2. With right sides together, place the strip along the single garment seam allowance or edge, matching the raw edges. Sew with a scant ¼” seam.  (image 2 of 3 above)
  3. Press the seam allowances toward the bias strip.
  4. Wrap the seam allowance edge snugly with the strip and pin in place.  (image 3 of 3 above)
  5. To finish, stitch in the ditch of the seam, catching the fold-over strip portion on the underside in the stitching.
  6. If needed, trim the fold-over portion of the strip evenly next to the stitching.
  7. Repeat for all seam allowances that need finishing.

~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 .

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Tagged With: hong kong finish, hong kong seam, jacket, sewing

May 8, 2020

What I’m Sewing: Pamela’s Patterns Jacket #121

For nearly a year, we have been featuring articles on independent pattern designers and their companies. Now it’s your turn to tell us who you are sewing and share your experiences. In this first article, Princeton Chapter President, Joen Venitsky, tells us about her experience making a jacket from Pamela Leggett’s collection of Pamela’s Patterns. She used a knit animal print which is so popular this year.

If you are an ASG member and have a favorite pattern from an independent designer, we would love to hear from you. Go to the Members Only area and complete the What I’m Sewing pattern review form. We are looking forward to seeing your creations and hearing of your experiences!

What I’m Sewing

JoenVenitsky - Pamela' s Patterns #121
Pamela’s Patterns #121

I have attended a number of classes with Pamela Leggett and have loved every one of them. When her new Cascade Cardi or Blazer pattern came out, I knew I just had to try it. I was not disappointed.

Q. Item Created 
A. Jacket

Q. Independent Pattern Designer
A. Pamela’s Patterns

Q. Name and Number of Pattern
A. #121 Cascade Cardi or Blazer

Q. Fabric Used
A. Ponte Knit

Q. Special Embellishments/Notions Used
A. Gold Button and Interfacing

Q. Skill level required?
A. Intermediate to Advanced Beginner

Q. Are the instructions easy to follow?
A. Yes, Pamela’s Patterns have great fitting and pattern adjustment tips to help you get the perfect fit. The pattern includes a full bust pattern piece, which I used and was happy I didn’t have to do a full bust adjustment. You Tube video references are also included throughout the instructions for certain pattern details.

Q. Are you pleased with the finished result?  Did it meet your expectations?
A. Yes, I was very pleased with the results and how the jacket looked.

Q. Did it look like the picture?
A. I believe it did with the exception of the contrasting sleeve and collar detail.

Pamela's Patterns #121

Q. Did you make any modifications in the pattern?
A. No, thankfully the full bust pattern piece was included with the pattern.

Q. Are there any changes you would have made?
A. I would like to try the tapered sleeve on my next blazer for summer when I would wear a cami or tank underneath.

Q. Did the pattern teach you any unique or special techniques?
A. Wrapped corner technique, which I did not know was taught by Nancy Zieman, and as Pamela states is life changing!

Q. Would you make this again?
A. Absolutely! It’s a great way to add to my wardrobe.

Q. Would you recommend this pattern to others?
A. Yes, if you are looking for a comfortable knit jacket or cardi to add to your wardrobe, this pattern is for you!

This pattern may be purchased at PamelasPatterns.com. Don’t forget that Pamela offers ASG members a discount which can be found on the Special Offers page. Not a members? Join today!


~Joen Venitsky, Princeton ASG Chapter President

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Tagged With: blazer, jacket, pattern, sewing

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