ABOUT ME

I am Angela and I love to sew. I started sewing as a child and by the time I was a teenager I was wearing the very latest fashions to go out in. All me-made. I am passionate about reducing the amount of textiles sent to landfill, and encourage you to repurpose fabrics and clothes I started this blog in order to have a way in which to pass on my gained knowledge, and my professional knowledge to you, Sewing is empowering, you can save money by making items, make money by selling then, You can pass your knowledge on to others. What is there not to love? Interestingly I am a direct descendant of the Flemish weavers who came over to England in the 1300's. I find that fascinating especially as most of my family from as far back as I can trace are somehow involved in the manufacturing of fabric . . I have a degree in tailoring with a special interest in WW2 fashion.

Saturday 26 May 2018

The Brother Adjustable Bias Binding Foot

A mini blog all about this incredibly useful and easy to use foot.

The Brother adjustable Bias Binder Foot


Labeks

Bias binding foot
Hong Kong Seams 


This is my favourite foot at the moment, I love the way it makes adding a binding to an edge so incredibly simple. I have had a binder foot before, but nothing so easy to use as this one, so if you want to treat yourself I really recommend ordering one.  The Brother adjustable Bias Binder Foot   is available from Jaycotts, the current price is £24.99.


If you are making your own bindings as I normally do then ensure that the finished width is between 5 to 20 mm. Any wider and it will not fit into the foot.

Once you have made or purchased your binding simply press it in half.




Feed the tape through the guide with the folded edge to the right. Then turn the screw on the foot and align the edge of the tape with the left side of the guage. You may also want to adjust your needle position so that the stitches are as close to the edge of the binding as possible. Don't forget to tighten the screw.
When you are happy then pull an inch or so of the binding through to the back .

Saturday 19 May 2018

Using the Fringe Foot to embellish almost anything

The Brother Fringe Foot


Label

Fringe foot


I was going to use this foot to embellish a dress but I changed my mind and want to decorate ithe dress another way, but I still thought it worth while demonstrating how to use this foot as I absolutely love it. I fully intend using it to embellish a Chanel type jacket where the fringing will look fabulous.


The foot I used is the Brother FRINGE FOOT  (Ask Jaycotts for other makes)
This foot is not only perfect for embellishing pockets, lapels, table linen etc but also sews tailors tacks in a jiffy. This is fabulous for tailoring projects when I want to sew tailors tacks down all of my seams, it is much quicker than doing them by hand. Ask me if you want to know how to adjust the settings for tailors tacks.
You can see that there is a raised bar down the centre of the foot which you need to  zigzag over to form loops which are then cut into a fringe.


It is so  easy to use. Snap the foot in place, select a wide zig zag stitch and select the settings. You need a very wide stitch but make sure that the needle position is such that it does not hit the metal foot anywhere. Try the stitch very carefully to make sure it is ok.
Then you need to select a very short stitch length because you need the stitches to be very close together so set the stitch length to about 0•6  then loosen your tension to 2 or 3.
Stitch a row of stitches  - or a pattern ( heart, flower, etc) and fasten off.

Then take your normal foot and a short straight stitch and sew the fringe down close to the top.
With your sharpest scissors snip the threads on the reverse and then using your finger nail loosen the threads on the right side
The fringing can be trimmed if necessary

You can make several rows or just one, you can make a frame for an initial or emblem, above all this foot is FUN so treat yourself to one and have a play with it, it is so very easy to create eye-catching and different effects with it.



There is a video on my YouTube channel showing you exactly how to use it, the link is here The Brother fringe foot if you subscribe to my posts by email.

Whilst you are in my page do subscribe. I fully intend making a lot more video's for you to watch as I think it is always much nicer if somebody shows you how to do something.

Don't be afraid to experiment with your sewing, there are a lot of different feet available to fit most sewing machines, doing something a bit different really adds to the fun of sewing and you will be surprised at how quickly you become expert.


For details of sewing machines, feet, or indeed anything sewing related do contact Jaycotts. They are extremely knowledgeable and friendly and enjoy explaining how to use their products.

Please Contact Jaycotts here or just give them a call during opening hours on 01244 394099

Thank you for reading this post

Angela


#sewing #sewingmachine #machinefeet #fringefoot #embellishing

Sunday 29 April 2018

The Brother Multi-Purpose Screwdriver

Introducing the Brother Multi-purpose Screwdriver


I love Machine embroidery on my Brother machine, but I have been having problems hooping my fabric and stabiliser .

This is a story about how a tiny gadget saved my sanity.




I  love machine embroidery, who doesn't, but  the results I was getting were so disappointing, all this puckering, it just doesn't look nice.

Saturday 28 April 2018

Explore some different Brother Sewing Machine feet and make a fab blouse


This is a Jaycotts.co.uk blog post

Starting to explore different machine feet.


Labels

Gathering foot
Scalloped edge
Monogram foot
French seam
Buttonhole foot 
mcCallPatternUk


As you know I recently started to use the Brother Innov-is 1300 .If you have not yet read my first impressions of this incredible machine then I urge you to read the blog post. Introducing the Brother Innov-is 1300




I do have rather a lot of Brother machine feet to get through so I am going to go through them all for you one or two at a time, showing them being used on a garment or other project.


The pattern I chose to make is McCalls M7657
The fabric is Plain combed cotton Lawn from MinervaCrafts
This top is tunic  style which pulls over your head. There are two sleeve options but I adapted the pattern to make the sleeves in a different style.
You will need Gutterman Sew All thread in white
You also need a new Sewing machine needle For Lawn I would choose a Fine one. This link is to a large box of machine needles which is great value but they are also sold in smaller packs.




Wednesday 18 April 2018

Introducing the fabulous Brother Innov-is 1300

The Brother Innov-is 1300 from Jaycotts.co.uk

An introduction.

This is one of the most amazing domestic sewing machines I have ever used, and of course it is by my favourite brand Brother from my favourite store Jaycotts.



 The Brother Innov-is 1300 ticks all the boxes both for versatility and ease of use. It is packed with so many features that I cannot hope to go over them all in this one post, so I am going to concentrate on getting you up and running.
It is fabulous for both dressmaking and quilting having just over 8" workspace to the right of the needle, quilters will know the importance of this.

Thursday 12 April 2018

Vogue 1246 Designer shirt by Lynn Mizono in Linen Fabric



 This is a Pattern review for this fabulous designer shirt/ jacket by the American designer Lynn Mizono.

Labels 

Tacking, marker pens, tailors chalk,


I am delighted with this fantastic Vogue pattern and with the whole outfit



The pattern is from Jaycotts and can be purchased here Vogue 1246. The fabric is quite old and I have been longing to use it for ages but never could decide what to do with it. I thought it perfect for this jacket though, and even though there wasn't enough fabric for the entire garment I decided to go ahead anyway. It is an embroidered linen with flower applique on it, purchased as I said several years ago.There was just enough to cut out the main body of the jacket and a small piece was left over for the contrast panel on the top. I had another piece of linen in the same weight but plain. This went into making the sleeves and collar and the trousers. My final piece of linen went into making the bulk of the top. It was a bit of trial and error with pattern placement bit in the end the fabrics go together very well.





Friday 23 February 2018

The Simplicity 8258 Amazing Fit Denim Dress

This is a MCBN post for Minervacrafts


The pattern is one of the Amazing Fit range by Simplicity 


This lovely dress is so versatile, it can be worn all year long too, in summer with pretty sandals and in winter with a Polo underneath and boots.
Best of all it will an Amazing Fit Pattern by Simplicity so your perfect fit is guaranteed.

Do read the post by clicking on this link My Amazing Fit Simplicity Dress


#sewangelicthreads #denim #dress #MCBN #embroidery #machine embroidery #simplicity #simplicity8258




Sunday 18 February 2018

The Personal Embroidery Design Software System for your Brother Embroidery Machine

Introducing the Brother PE Design 10 software 


Just suppose that you have had your Brother Embroidery Machine for a while now and you have been downloading additional Embroidery patterns from the internet, and everything is going fine but where do you go from here?
You may want to create your own designs from a photograph or clip art, perhaps you want to add lettering to a design and create your own logo, with this software you can do all that plus add colours, change colours, change hoop size, arrange several patterns to make one design and much more 
If this appeals to you then this software is for you.




 
The software is easy to install and there are full instillation instructions in the box with step by step pictures showing each stage. You cannot go wrong.

Friday 16 February 2018

Sewing tutorial - very easy Tailoring for beginners on a spring or Autumn coat

I wanted a lightweight coat for slightly warmer days and came across this fabric in my stash which is perfect
This post was actually started a year ago and since then the pattern which I used is no longer in the current Vogue catalogue. However I still feel that there is value in releasing this post as the techniques remain the same no matter what pattern you use
In this post we will discuss

Labels

Basic tailoring using fusible interfacings
Buttonholes
Lining
Fitting
Pressing




This is my coat pictured today before its first outing.


Saturday 20 January 2018

Let's talk some more about Machine Embroidery

Talking about machine embroidery 

Labels

Machine Emboidery, embroidery stabiliser, ,Hong Kong seams, Bias binding foot, pressing, 

Machine embroidery is such a massive subject that I will be coming back to it frequently.
In this post I wanted to talk more about it because I know that some of you are still undecided if an embroidery machine is something you will use.
I will be honest and say that Embroidery machines are only as complicated as you want them to be. They come with designs built into them so you are ready to go as soon as you take it out of the box. Furthermore if you are reading this then you have enough computer knowledge to download and use designs off the internet too. You may then want to further your new passion and create your own designs using specialised software - more about that later.


In this post I am making a dress and simple unlined jacket in black cotton, but you will excuse me for not going into detail about the construction of these garments as there are plenty of instructions elsewhere on my blog and the instructions inside the pattern are excellent too. If you do want more detailed information then please let me know.