Reader Question: Learning To Sew

"How did you learn to sew?" is the question most frequently asked by readers, strangers, and friends alike. In a way sewing seems to have become a lost art and yet I know tons of gals who are getting back into it for one reason or another. I have no idea who actually reads this blog but I have this suspicion that there are one or two of you out there who are beginners or are eager to start but don't know where to begin. It's time to overcome those fears!

But first, story time.

My earliest memory of sewing dates back to second grade. A classmate of mine had a crafty mom who came to school one day to give my class of 14 a sewing lesson. Brave woman! There I am, in the middle of my last seam on my yellow pillow and *zap*! The power goes out. My mom comes to pick me up and all I can think is "I didn't get to finish my project!" This may have been the root of my obsessive need to check things off my list of to-dos. Catherine, the nerdy second-grader more eager to finish a school project than have an unexpected day off.

Years after the yellow pillow came a few other home dec projects with help from my own crafty mom. I got bored of sewing rectangles so I moved on to skirts and things, eventually working my way up to fancy schmancy gowns. Anyway, from this we get my first sewing project: a pillow. And you, closet wannabe sewists, can start here too!

Items needed:

- about 1 yard of fabric

- thread

- pillow form or filler

- zipper that is 4" smaller than your pillow size
- scissors

First, determine a pillow size and purchase a ready-made pillow form or a bag of polyester fill. For my basement couch pillows I went with 18"x18" pillow forms. Next, select some fabric and cut your material to size, adding anywhere from 0.5" to 1.25" to the overall square to allow for seams. My pieces are 19"x19". I cut them using pinking shears so that if I throw the pillow in the wash the edges won't ravel, but regular scissors will do. The "right side" of my fabric is on the right side of the picture and the "wrong side" is on the left.

After you cut out the fabric, take your zipper and place it face down in the middle of the bottom edge of one fabric piece. Since my pillow is 18" wide I'm using a 14" long zipper. This will allow for plenty of space along the side seams. Before anyone runs off I promise that zippers aren't as scary as they seem.

Open the zipper and pin it to the fabric, then sew along the bottom edge using a zipper foot if you have it. Here again, the regular model will work just fine too.

Since your presser foot won't go over the actual zipper you'll need to take the material off the machine, zip up the zipper, then finish the bottom section of the tape just as you did the top. Hooray! One half in!

Now you'll need to get the other piece of fabric and pin it to the other side of the zipper tape. Place the second fabric square on top of the first with right sides facing each other. Pin the bottom corners together (temporarily to hold things in place) and then pin the unsewn side of the zipper tape to the second fabric square.

This will probably appear backwards and that's good! When all is said and done the zipper tape will be folded beneath the fabric.

Take your pinned fabric back to the machine and be careful to place the fabric pieces smoothly so your needle will only go through one layer.

Stitch along the edge just as you did the first time. Now stand up and high five yourself! The worst is over and it wasn't even that bad, was it?

With the zipper in you can now sew up the sides of the pillow. A 5/8" seam is standard. Don't forget to open the zipper before you sew otherwise you won't be able to turn it rightside out!

I think it's a good idea to do a little extra stitching at the corners for reinforcement. Also, you may want to clip your corners so they'll be sharp and not chunky from extra material.

Once everything is stitched turn the pillow rightside out and fill with your form or filler. Zip it up and admire your handiwork!

How great is this? A new pillow with a removable cover, perfect for keeping things clean and allowing you to change up your decor when you get bored or when the seasons turn.

And, what's more, if you can put a zipper in a pillow you can put it in just about anything. Beginners, I hope this was helpful! And as for the pros, how did you get your start in sewing?

Reader Question: Shopping for Sewing

I've been meaning to do this for awhile because it appears I have more than just one fan out there who's interested in knowing how I make magic (ha!) happen at my trusty Brother machine. A few of you have written emails with some very specific questions but the majority seem to focus on starting a project and, more specifically, getting just the right fabric. There have been some other questions too so I think I'll do a weekly/monthly entry to tackle them, depending on demand. So here's my answer to fabric acquisition (and really, I'm flattered that you've asked in the first place! Always ask more!)

My big problem is that I can never seem to find the right fabric at my local JoAnns or Hancock Fabrics, but I noticed that you often seemed to order fabric online. What are your favorite sources?

This is the #1 question I get asked from friends and strangers and here's the breakdown:

BASICS: I actually do get a tremendous amount of fabric from Hancock's or JoAnn's but the stuff I get there is usually limited to the basics: muslin, linings, interfacing, solid colored cottons and other wovens. This is what they excel at and if you are a consistent online researcher, you can time your purchases with one of their million 24-hour-because-we-felt-like-it sales. Never pay full price at these places! However, next time you're at either one take a minute to dig through the clearance piles (particularly at Hancock's) because they tend to stash the little gems there. And one last tip for the big boxes is to consider home dec fabrics for some garments. I've made formal dresses out of drapery fabric and I've made jackets out of some sort of upholstery stuff. It just takes a little creativity...

FANCY SCHMANCY: Now outside of the basics I adore Gorgeous Fabrics (www.gorgeousfabrics.com) because the items there are, indeed, gorgeous. This labor of love was crafted out of the most luxurious silk chiffon that was a splurge in my world and yet truly reasonable price-wise. I would suggest purchasing from a site like this once you're comfortable with fabric types, like knowing the difference between silks and polys or chiffons and crepes, before jumping in. Return policies vary and so it's better to feel confident in knowing that you're selection is appropriate.

FANCY SCHMANCY SUPPORTING ACTORS: My wedding dress lining and underlining came from Thai Silks, as did the lining for the CAB dress. Thai Silks has this great bridal sample set that is worth every cent if you're thinking about buying from them. Their offerings tend to be solid colored silks of every kind so it's a good resource for linings as well as fashion fabrics.

HOME DEC: Occassionally I get into home dec projects, like curtains and such (you'll see some when I get the house tour pics together). What happens in those situations is I find something I like at one of the big box stores but I don't really like the price and I don't have a coupon. Or, I see something on someone else's blog but, again, don't want to pay the designer price tag. Honestly, home dec projects need to be done on the cheap if you're really going to go to the effort, otherwise why not just visit Ikea or Target? So once I've picked something I like I go to Fabric Guru because chances are, if it's a hot item, they've got a good-sized remnant of it and you can get someone's leftovers for cheap. Nice, huh?

GENERAL APPAREL: When the J's or H's don't come through for me I turn to Fabric.com or Vogue Fabrics. Fabric.com was home to the cotton duck used in my spring trench. Vogue has starred in many items, especially when we talk about the remnants, which have been used for lots of things and even in our wedding!

Unfortunately, unless you're in Chicago I'm afraid you won't get to partake in the craziness that is Vogue. Their online offerings aren't really even worth discussing; it's the store that gets all the credit. The reason I like Vogue for apparel is most of their fabrics are clearly labeled with material content. This is important because once you get beyond sewing a-line skirts you'll want to understand how your fabric is going to perform when you're wearing it. Will it cause you to sweat, and will the sweat show? How will it launder after someone spills a drink on you? Will wrinkles show up within seconds of donning the item? These are important things to consider and we're not even talking about how the material will drape (a whole other issue!) So I like Vogue and fabric.com for their clear labeling of material content. Sometimes polyester is just peachy and other times it's rotten. Your call.

PATTERNS: Here's where I am 100% loyal to JoAnn's or Hancock. They almost ALWAYS have a sale going on for patterns and when the retail price is north of $25, you'd be insane to pay full price. If you wait another week, chances are you can get the same pattern as part of a 5/$5 or $2/each sale. And let me just say, when I went through 20+ patterns while designing the wedding dress, I'm really glad I always bought them on sale. Out of print patterns can usually be located on either the manufacturer's site or on eBay and Etsy. Hunting them down is easy if you know the pattern number - a quick Google search will turn up more than you could imagine!

I think that wraps it up on the fabric finding question. Got other things you're dying to know? Drop me a line!