Sarah J. Doyle | September 2, 2010
We’re going to be starting a new category here at SewingBusiness entitled “Thursday Tips”. We’re collecting sewing and craft tips from everywhere to pass along to our readers, and we’d love to have you send in your favorite tips as well to pass along. Today’s tip is no surprise — September is National Sewing Month, [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | August 30, 2010
If you’ve had a website or blog for any length of time, you’ve probably realized by now that it hasn’t grown overnight, nor has it grown without a lot of effort on your part. You could have a blog or website online for years, but without promoting on your part and getting the name out [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | August 19, 2010
After the post last Monday saing “School is starting today”, and talking about the fact that it isn’t too late to let people know you can sew for those hard to fit plus size children, we’ve been swamped with emails asking about our plus size children patterns and pattern making classes. We were very moved [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | August 4, 2010
Today’s garments are designed with a wide variety of sleeves, which differ greatly in look and in the method of construction. A garment, for example, may have armholes that are merely finished, producing a sleeveless look, or it may have sleeves, either set-in or raglan, that are separately made and attached to the garment, [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | July 28, 2010
Darts are one of the most basic structural elements in dressmaking. They are used to build, into a flat piece of fabric, a definite shape that will allow the fabric to conform to a particular body contour or curve. Darts occur most often at the bust, back, waist and hips. It is very important [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | July 26, 2010
Motivation killers are those “little” things that we let build up inside us that can literally kill our desire to get something accomplished some days, and if let go can actually kill our business. “Attitude” is probably the greatest motivation BUILDER or motivation KILLER. It is absolutely essential that you keep a positive attitude about [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | July 19, 2010
I would think that older children (pre teens and teens) would be less likely to interfere with sewing projects, but the younger children (toddlers through 6-8) always want to “help”, which can make it difficult to keep your mind on what the sewing project is. I’ve found that when our 4 year old quadruplet grandbabies and [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | July 14, 2010
Depending on their location or shape, some seams require additional steps, other than pressing, to give them the desired professional look. When doing any of these techniques, consider the fabric type carefully. One that doesn’t ravel can be trimmed closer to the seam line than one that does ravel. Keep clipping or notching to [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | July 12, 2010
Well, I’ve gotten a few comments about my recent post, “How Productive Are You Now That Summer Is Here?” – including a conversation with my friend who informed me that there are some days that she couldn’t “add an additional hour” no matter what would happen if she didn’t. The suggestion was made that, instead [...]
Sarah J. Doyle | July 7, 2010
Working on the actual seam lines – cross seams, bias to bias seams and bias to straight seams can sometimes cause a problem. This post addresses those types of seams and how to handle them. Cross Seams: Seams that cross, such as at the waistline, shoulder or underarm, should be pressed and seam finished [...]
