Ask a Sewing Expert Archives | National Sewing Circle

I Bought Fusible Web Instead of Fusible Interfacing – Is It the Same?

April 14, 2020 By Editor & filed under Ask a Sewing Expert, Blog.

I was out of fusible interfacing, and purchased by mistake fusible web. I figured they were similar. When I went to sew my pieces, even though the web was between two pieces of fabric, it entirely coated the needle and jammed my bobbin several times. Can web not be sewn at all, or was I doing something wrong?

Material Cut With Wrong Sides Together

January 10, 2020 By Editor & filed under Ask a Sewing Expert, Blog.

I’m just starting sewing again after 40 years and when I laid out the pattern for my shirt and cut it out, I realized I had the material folded with wrong sides together as opposed to right sides. How much of a difference will this make and what do I have to do differently, if anything, when putting the shirt together to sew?

How to Change Seam Allowance on a Serger

October 1, 2018 By Editor & filed under Ask a Sewing Expert, Blog.

I am a new owner/user of a serger. I want to entirely use a serger to make my next project, specifically learning to sew and cut off fabric using the 1/2″ seam. Is there an easy way for me to edit the instructions so they are 100% serger friendly? Or maybe the serger instructions are available somewhere else?

How Do I Line Up My Buttons With the Buttonholes?

September 6, 2018 By Editor & filed under Ask a Sewing Expert, Blog.

I have sewn all my buttonholes using my machine, and now need to sew the buttons using the foot that came with my machine. How can I make sure the buttons are accurately placed to correctly line up with the buttonholes?

Tips for Hemming Jeans: Keep Hem From Flipping

December 21, 2017 By Editor & filed under Ask a Sewing Expert.

Because my daughter and I are both short, I have been hemming jeans for decades. Nowadays we are wearing jeans that have stretch. I am finding that after they are hemmed, the hem tends to flip up instead of laying flat. It is especially noticeable with the bootcut style of jeans. What do I need…

Trim Close to the Seam?

December 21, 2017 By Editor & filed under Ask a Sewing Expert.

Hi. Thank you for the Advancing Your Sewing Skills class! I am a self taught sewer and therefore am unaware of the finer points of the skill. I have always been told that when trimming the edges of a piece that you are going to be turning to the right side, that it was okay…

Class 15 vs. 15J Bobbins: Are They Interchangeable?

December 21, 2017 By Editor & filed under Ask a Sewing Expert.

Are all size 15 bobbins interchangeable? Metal and plastic? 15J vs. plain 15? My machine manual does not have the bobbin size anywhere. I watched two different instructional videos on that model – one said 15J and the other said 15. I called the company and also got an ambiguous answer. 15J came with the…

Neatly Finished Bias Binding

December 21, 2017 By Editor & filed under Ask a Sewing Expert.

Thank you for creating the “Using Bias Tape for a Professional Finish” video! I didn’t know that one part of the bias tape was wider than the other! How do I finish neatly if I use bias binding on the hem of a doll dress? The bias binding is going around the hem, but I…

Off the Rack Sizing vs. Pattern Sizing

January 24, 2017 By Editor & filed under Ask a Sewing Expert, Blog.

I am sewing costumes for my entire family (15 total costumes!), and I am having problems with sizes. I bought patterns according to off the rack sizes for each member, but when I went to make the muslin patterns, they weren’t even nearly big enough. I now look at the waist and hip measurement, and…

How to Fix a Warped Cutting Mat

December 26, 2016 By Editor & filed under Ask a Sewing Expert, Blog.

Help! My cutting mat is buckled up and warped on one side now when it got accidentally too close to some heat. I paid $50 for this mat. I laid some heavy old machines on it for days to see if it would force the mat to return to its original flat surface, but no…