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Material Cut With Wrong Sides Together

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?

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How to Change Seam Allowance on a Serger

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?

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Tips for Hemming Jeans: Keep Hem From Flipping

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…

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Trim Close to the Seam?

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…

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Neatly Finished Bias Binding

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…

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Off the Rack Sizing vs. Pattern Sizing

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…

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How to Fix a Warped Cutting Mat

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…

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