Feeling Sentimental

Inheriting someone’s fabric feels like inheriting someone's photo albums.

Fabric is a keeper of memories. It encapsulates the whole season of life while the fabric was in use as a shirt, skirt, curtain.

My friend, Marcia, recently asked if I would like to look through her fabric stash. After 30 years in a turn-of-the-century home on a colorful acreage, she and her husband are in the process of downsizing to a new location.

She turned on the warm light. We knelt on the hardwood closet floor. She pulled out a box and sighed disapprovingly when she brushed away a small spider web with her fingers. It made me smile. Her house is so clean. It’s always clean. I didn’t even notice the small web. I selected all the floral cottons. She told me all their stories.

Through the boxes of knits, wovens, and miscellaneous, she shared stories about hamsters eating through flannel, daughters learning to sew, grandmothers hand stitching quilts, the making of wedding veils.

I suspected the day would come where I feel caught off guard by my parents’ generation moving into their late chapters. It’s been looming, but now it’s here. And as predicted, I do in fact feel caught off guard.

By the end of looking through the closet of fabric and memories, I was equally determined to use these floral pieces for something special as I was reluctant to cut them at all. My mom told me recently I am becoming more sentimental. I guess she’s right.

I asked Marcia if my camera and I could take a walk around the yard with her while she brought in the last of the year’s produce.

The way Marcia is handling this move is a lesson to me in how to age gracefully.

After walking around the gardens, we sat on her wooden bench while the sun set. I asked how she was feeling about selling the property. She reminisced about what a good place it was to raise her children, and then finished by saying she wants it to be a good place for the next family to raise their children.

It’s hard for me to confront the reality of parents and friends growing older and selling houses. It’s hard for me to use this fabric because it’s a representation of that reality.

But I’ve been thinking it over. It occurred to me that as Marcia is honoring her property by wanting it to enjoy the games of a new batch of children (when I was young, her yard was filled with quicksand and cowboys. I wonder what villains the next batch of kids will find there), a good path to honor this fabric is by helping it to continue writing stories.

Maybe the best way to honor the past is to enable its possessions to enjoy the future.

There is room yet in this fabric’s photo album of memories.

Is there something you are having a hard time processing lately? Send me a note if you’d like to share.

How to Join Bias Tape Mid-Project

If you’re sewing bias tape in a situation where you can’t sew the ends together before you start, or you aren’t sure how much bias tape will be used, you can still join the ends together mid-project in a neat way.

If you’re new to bias tape, check out this post on how to sew bias tape and other ways to join bias tape together!

How to Join Bias Tape Mid-Project

Step 1: Leave a few inches of working room on each end.

Step 2: Fold the bias tape so the tails are 90 degrees out from each side. Hand press the folds firmly so the fabric is visibly creased.

Step 3: Keep the creases aligned and sew directly in the furrow of the creases.

Step 4: Trim the seam allowance. Press seam open. Continue to sew the bias tape as usual.

This method is useful for projects that use a long length of bias tape and you start sewing before knowing exactly how much it’s going to take. Like sewing all the way around the outside perimeter of a quilted jacket. That’s a long way around!

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy…

How to Sew Bias Tape

Step by step tutorial and discussion on bias tape.

Juniper Quilted Jacket Digital Sewing Pattern

Instant PDF pattern download with step by step instructions to make your own quilted jacket.

The Easiest Way to Sew In-Seam Pockets

Step by step illustrated tutorial to add pockets to all your dresses.

How to Sew Bias Tape

Learning how to sew bias tape efficiently and beautifully is one of the best ways to improve your sewing. Bias tape is so useful for finishing seams that it’s worth spending lots of time playing and experimenting with it.

Here’s to bias adventures!

How to Sew Bias Tape

Step 1: Place the bias tape right sides together with the item you’re sewing (shirt, quilt, bag, etc.) and clip in place.

Step 2: Sew in place. Press the seam toward the bias tape.

Note: Seam allowance depends on the width of bias tape. I often like to sew with 1 1/4” (3.2 cm) wide bias tape and use a seam allowance of 3/8” (1 cm).

Step 3: Fold the edge of the bias tape over the seam allowance. Press in place with a steamy iron. Then fold over again flush with the seam. Press in place.

Note: Depending on your seam allowance, you may want to trim the seam allowance before this step.

Step 4: Stitch along the folded edge of the bias tape.

Here’s how it looks on the wrong side and right side.

What Does Bias Mean?

In sewing, if a pattern is oriented and cut at a diagonal angle, it’s referred to as being cut on the “bias.”

Bias tape is cut diagonally across fabric because it has more stretch than fabric cut straightly on the grainline or cross grain.

To test this, grab some non-stretch woven fabric and pull it every which way.

Since the diagonal pull has a bit more stretch, tape cut on the bias is nifty for sewing around curved things like armholes and neck openings.

Here you can see it being used around a tight curve of a fabric scrap. See how flatly it lays despite the outside edge being stretched and the inside edge being compressed?

Sewing Bias Tape Together

There are a few ways to sew bias tape together. Here’s how I like to do it.

Step 1: Cut the ends of both pieces at the exact same diagonal angle.

Step 2: Place the bias tape strips right sides together. Where the two pieces meet together in that little elbow, stitch across. From elbow to elbow. (More explanation on this below.)

Step 3: Press seam open. Snip off ends.

If you want a 1/4” (6 mm) seam allowance, slide the pieces along the diagonal angle until the little elbows are 1/4” (6 mm) distance from the angled edge.

If you want a 1/2” (12 mm) seam allowance, slide the pieces toward each other until the distance from the little elbows to the angled edge is 1/2” (12 mm).

Whatever seam allowance you choose, the important parts are:

1) Line up the angled edges.

2) Sew from elbow to elbow, illustrated by this red line.

Here’s what happens if the elbows are missed. The bias tape won’t line up. Sad.

Another Method for Sewing Bias Tape Together

Step 1: Square up the ends and place bias tape right sides together. Sew from corner to corner.

Step 2: Trim the seam allowance and press seam open.

How to Sew Bias Tape Together Mid-Project

If you’re sewing something where you can’t sew the ends together before you start, or you aren’t sure how much bias tape will be used, check out this tutorial.

A Note on Bias Tape Makers

Some people find bias tape makers useful. Pull bias tape through the maker and follow close behind with a steamy iron.

Here’s a side by side comparison of flat bias tape and pre-folded bias tape.

I personally don’t enjoy fighting the ironed fold. To me, flat bias tape is faster and easier to line up and clip in place, faster and easier to sew.

Play around and see which method works best for you!

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy…

How to Sew Ruffle Picture Frames

Step by step guide to fill up your walls with cool ruffle picture frames.

5 Ways to Sew an Elastic Waistband

Step by step tutorial with photos for each method.

How to Sew a Lined Vest - Two Easy Methods

Step by step photo tutorial for two different ways to sew a lined vest.

How to Sew Ruffle Picture Frames

To continue the tutorial series on ruffles, here is a step by step guide to sew ruffle picture frames. This idea emerged while daydreaming about how to redecorate my sewing room, which is now a delightful dusty pink (see photos below).

If you’d like to see my other fun ruffle tutorials…

• Ruffles 101 - How to Gather Fabric

• How to Sew a Ruffle Pillow

• How to Sew a Ruffle Tote - Photo Tutorial

• How to Sew a Ruffle Tote Bag - Video Tutorial

Let’s jump in!

Step 1: Grab a bamboo embroidery hoop. (This is a 10” hoop from Walmart for $2.97.)

Step 2: Use a pliers to pull off one side of the closure and flatten the other side.

Step 3: Measure the outside circumference of the hoop. This one is 33 1/2”.

Step 4: Cut three strips.

Width: 3” (7.6 cm)

Length: The length of the circumference, plus 1 1/2” (2 cm) for seam allowance.

In this tutorial the hoop circumference is 33 1/2”, so these strips are 3” x 35”.

Step 5: Sew two strips together into one big loop. Sew the ends of the remaining strip together into a smaller loop. 3/8” (1 cm) seam allowance. Right sides together. Press seams open.

Step 6: Fold the big loop wrong side together. Sew a loose line of stitching 3/8” (1 cm) from the raw edges. Sew a second line of loose stitching halfway between the first line and the raw edges.

Step 7: Gather gather gather. Pull the bobbin threads to gather the fabric until it is the same circumference as the smaller loop you sewed.

Check out my post Ruffles 101 - How to Gather Fabric for some tips and tricks if you’re new to gathering!

Step 8: Evenly distribute the ruffles and clip to the right side of the smaller loop. Lots of clips are always helpful when sewing ruffles.

Step 9: Sew the ruffle with 3/8” seam allowance.

Step 10: Time to bring in the hoop. This is kind of a tricky part. Just go slowly and again use lots of clips. Place the seam allowance of the ruffle on the side of the hoop. Wrap the fabric around the hoop, tuck the raw edge under, and fold up over the ruffle seam allowance. Clip clip clip.

By the way, it’s hard to see in these photos, but keep both hoops together to make the frame wider. You could separate them and make two frames, but I like the look of the slightly wider frame. It also serves as a handy nifty mechanism for pinning a picture in place.

Step 11: Hand stitch the fabric in place all the way around the hoop. Stitch right in the seam of the ruffle to hide the stitching as much as possible.

Baby stitches.

Back view.

Front view.

Step 12: Trim a painting to size. Push thumb tacks in between the two hoops to keep the painting in place.

Step 13: Tie a short length of thread into a loop. Sling it onto a thumb tack to hang on a wall nail.

That’s it! Well done.

Details

Fabric: Quilting cotton found on sale at Joann.

Embroidery hoop: Walmart craft section.

Painting: A group of friends and I got together this spring and painted pictures of flowers by candlelight while listening to an audiobook outside. I had to chop off part of the painting to make it fit the frame, but I’m happy I hung onto the painting because I really like how the colors coordinate with this yellow fabric.

If you enjoyed this tutorial, you may also enjoy…

Ruffles 101 — How to Gather Fabric

Everything you need to know to get started with ruffles.

How to Sew a Ruffle Tote — Photo Tutorial

Step by step photo tutorial.

How to Sew a Ruffle Pillow

Step by step photo tutorial to fill your living room with ruffled pillows.

Rebrand 2024

Time for a Rebrand

After going on blog sabbatical, I was ready to return with something new that matched some fresh energy.

I took a break from posting for awhile, but my reasons for sewing and creating useful blog content are still the same.

Here are some thoughts that went into rebranding.

Website Colors

My old website color was gray. I loved how simple and clean it was — the same color as this font, which I kept the same. Simple and clean are enduring elements in my work, so it was a good expression of that ethos at the time.

The older I get the more I appreciate femininity. Growing up I only wanted to wear cutoff jean shorts because they were the best for climbing trees and ropes.

But now you can actually find me wearing floral dresses and painting my sewing room a dusty apple blossom color. And this dusty apple blossom feels like the perfectly fresh tone for this space right now. Isn’t it lovely?

Font Colors

At first I was thinking the new website color would be orange. The gentleness of this dusty pink just felt right though, so it wasn’t a hard decision once I compared the two. But I also love orange with pink. So now I have some orange font headers.

Photo Colors

Some blogs have nicely matching photo colors and backgrounds for each tutorial. It’s an appealing idea to make the whole website cohesive. I, however, am someone who gets bored of doing the same thing.

I decided to move ahead without feeling the need to have every photo match throughout the website. Then pretty quickly I realized mismatched photos were actually a key to making it fun for me to take and post photographs on the blog. If I feel trapped into editing all the photos a specific way or only taking photos in certain rooms of my house, it wouldn’t be nearly as fun.

My hope is that even though the photos have different characteristics, they feel cohesive because they come from the same creator.

Photo Character

Should the fabric be neatly ironed or cozily wrinkled? Should the background be smooth or have shadows and floorboard cracks? Should the photos be simple and clean or cluttered and detailed? Should there be illustrations and photos or just photos? How much character should the photos have?

My house contains all of these things, and I enjoy each room for its own character. I enjoy wrinkled fabric and ironed fabric. I enjoy photographs and illustrations. I decided to say yes to all of it.

Self Portraits

At this stage in life, I’m not particularly drawn to posting photos of myself. I love seeing photos of people who own the blogs I read and the patterns I buy. It’s compelling to see someone. I feel more restful spending time on their website if I know what they look like for some reason. It makes me feel like I know them a little bit more.

Since I’m not feeling compelled to post many self portraits though, I decided to be okay with that for now. Maybe I’ll grow into it slowly.

It helps when I happen to take some photos I enjoy. For reference, and in effort to grow comfortable with self portraits again, here’s what my living room and I are looking like these days.

Blog Topics

I love sewing and I love photographing. In thinking it over, I decided it was okay to publish both sewing tutorials and sewing photographs in various posts. I hope you enjoy that, too!

So far I’ve decided to keep the overall topic mostly on sewing expressed in a variety of ways, but sometimes I toy with including other fun, useful, or interesting craft projects.

Thank youuuuu

For reading my blog, following my tutorials, buying my patterns, and sending lovely emails my way, thank you. I’m grateful, so grateful to be doing this. Thanks to you, I’ve been designing and selling patterns for over 7 years. Thank you for being here.

If you’d ever like to get in touch, feel free to send me a note.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy…

Hi there… I’m Sarah

Here’s why I sew.

Pocket Placement Really Does Make a Difference on How Your Bum Looks

Photos of different sizes and placements of pockets.

How to Sew a Ruffle Tote Bag Video Tutorial

Step by step video tutorial.