Fabric Center's Sewing Tips and Tricks: French Seams

We get a lot of visitors to the store who come to us looking for help, tips and tricks for their sewing and quilting needs and projects. But what about our beloved customers who can't make it to our store in the Salt Lake Valley?

Furthermore, we have incredibly talented employees who have such a passion for sewing and quilting, they've decided to spend a large chunk of their time surrounded by quilts, projects and beautiful fabrics  AND STILL go home and continue to work in their sewing rooms -- all for fun!

We've realized we have a wealth of knowledge to share and want to share it with you. We've asked each employee to think of their favorite tips or tricks they've learned over the years that have helped to make them a more skilled sewer/quilter.

Our first segment: Maquel and why she loves to use French Seams! 

French seams are great for when you need a clean, professional and impeccably finished seam or if you want a clean seam but do not have a serger. French seams are especially important to use when working with high-quality, fine fabrics like delicate bridal and apparel fabrics like chiffon, georgette, charmeuse, satin, etc. 

With this tutorial, we're going to show you not only how to make a french seam but give you an idea as to how to use it beyond just a seam and add a cute detail to your next project. 

We have just two square pieces of apparel knit fabric for this example as well as 3/8" wide elastic which we'll use to give a seam a nice ruffled look. 

For your actual project, you want to make sure your elastic is around half the length of the seam you intend to ruffle in order to get a nice, full look. 

To create the actual french seam, you are going to place your two pieces wrong sides together (make sure and line up any designs like stripes!). 

Make a small seam in from the edge, in this case 1/8". 

Iron the seam open (choose the appropriate setting on your iron for this - most delicate bridal and apparel fabrics can't stand up to too much heat. It doesn't hurt to also use a pressing cloth with those kinds of fabrics).

Next, use the tips of your fingers to roll our your seam and realign your pieces, this time right sides together. 

Quickly press to ensure your seam stays completely out and in place. (Just because we aren't using pins in this tutorial doesn't mean you shouldn't. Shame on us. It's a good idea to use pins to keep things in their place.)

Sew your seam again, still rights sides together, this time in a width that is the difference from the original seam allowance minus the amount used for the first line of stitching. For example, if your pattern or project calls for a 5/8" seam allowance, and you used a 1/8" seam when sewing your pieces wrong sides together, you are going to want to use a 1/2" seam for this step. This ensures you still use the same amount of fabric and your project will continue to fit properly. 

If you choose to make a french seam to use with elastic to give a ruffled look, make sure you use an elastic size that fits in your seam allowance! We are using 3/8" elastic and are making a (theoretical) project that calls for 5/8" seams. 

Iron your seam so it lays properly. 

Next, you are going to iron the seam so that is lays flat to one side of the two pieces. 

Top stitch the seam laying to one side, very close to the edge. 

If you'd like, to make your seams appear uniform and balanced, you can then top stitch again on the other side of the seam very close to the edge. 

You now have a completed french seam! What's great about french seams is that the raw edges are completely enclosed in the seam. You get a clean and polished look both outside AND inside!

At this point if you want to use a french seam as a guide for elastic to create a ruffled look, you will want to take your elastic and feed it through the seam with a safety pin. 

Once through, pin both ends of the elastic to the fabric so it doesn't get pulled inside the seam -- remember, the elastic is cut shorter than the seam length. 

You'll get an early preview of what your seam will look like; adjust to how you like. 

For the last step, you are going to want to pull your project and the elastic taught as you sew! This will keep the elastic in it's place. 

Do not pull so hard you are pulling your fabric through the machine faster that it naturally feeds with the feed dogs. You want to just keep the fabric from bunching at this point, while simultaneously guiding the fabric through the machine.

While this is a raw example, you get the idea that by creating a french seam, you not only get a professional, clean appearance both inside and outside of your garment, but you also have a ready-to-go option to add more detail to your projects.

Here is an actual example of how this process was used to create an elegant gather at the seam on the bottom of a dress sleeve. While it is a small detail, it creates a big impression on the dress and your sewing abilities! 

Happy Sewing! If you'd like more tips and tricks or have a request for how to do something, send us an email to info@fabriccenter.net. 

Tutorial: Fabric and Tulle Carrot Goodie Bags for Easter

Easter is this weekend and if you are still looking for a cute way to gift some treats, we have an adorable carrot goodie bag tutorial designed by Peggy using fabric and tulle! You will need to click here to print out the instructions and the pattern.  Once you've printed out the instructions and pattern, cut out the triangle piece and lay it on the fold of an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper. Trace and cut out (without cutting the fold side); this will become your template.

Layout your template on orange fabric and cut out. Use scraps to get a bunch of different printed carrots, or you can get 6-7 carrots out of a 1/3 yard. Alternate your top and bottoms when laying out and cutting from your fabric to maximize your fabric use (refer to first illustration on printed instructions page).

In this picture, the carrot has been folded on the left and sewn on the right. You can see the serger seams on the right at the bottom of the carrot. A serger may be used instead of a sewing machine for this step. 

Once your pieces are cut out, fold them in half right sides together and sew along the straight seam 1/4". Pink the top edge of the carrot. Cut out a 3" x 11 1/2" piece of green tulle or netting and place on the wrong side of the carrot 3/4" down from the top. Attach with a zig zag stitch in green thread about 1/2" from the carrot edge. Zig zag stitch should be wide enough to thread ribbon through. Sew over the top of the beginning zig zag about 4-5 stitches (these steps are all visible in the picture below). 

Can see the top of the carrot has been pinked and the tulle overlaps the top of the carrot about 3/4". The zig zag stitch is about 1/2" down from the top and has been overlapped about 8 stitches just to the left of the side seam.

Turn your carrots rights sides out and, using a needle, thread 1/8" or 1/4" green satin ribbon through the zig zag stitching. Overlap at the beginning about 4 or 5 stitches to make it strong. Stuff carrots with little treats like jelly beans and chocolate and pull on ribbon to cinch the top together. Tie a lovely little bow and you have a delicious carrot to give to your little bunny this Easter! 

Peggy had a great idea to also decorate with them by using a bunny basket. You can also stuff them with poly fill and use them as decorations around the house, but personally I think they are best stuffed with chocolate eggs! 

We hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend and we'll see you in store soon! 

*This tutorial and pattern Copyright by Fabric Center 2014. Pattern and tutorial is intended for personal use, not to be made for sale or profit.* 

Pre-pleated Satin Trim Flower Tutorial

We have a new tutorial for you today. We recently got a new item into our store; about a month and a half ago Lisa discovered this fun pre-pleated satin trim and it has been flying off our shelves. We have placed two orders of it already and are awaiting shipment. At first we were making blankets using it to trim the edges, but we started thinking about what else we could use this cute trim for...

We had a small piece left over which I started playing with and that is how I came up with making a flower out of it! Here is what you'll need:

-- Scrap piece of pre-pleated satin trim (my piece was 3/4 of a yard and it ended up making a flower 4" in diameter. Gauge accordingly to what you would like your finished flower to measure).

-- Decorative button or gem

-- Scrap piece of fabric (I used a scrap piece of canvas to give the flower some stability)

-- Fray Check (you can also use a lighter)

--Unique Stitch, fabric glue or hot glue

-- Scissors

*Make sure and read through all instructions before beginning your flower. 

To begin, take your scrap backing fabric and lay down facing up. Take one end of your trim and seal the raw edge either with the Fray check or using a lighter by quickly passing the raw end through the flame. Using fabric glue, Unique Stitch or a hot glue gun, start leaving a bead of glue along the bottom seam. If using hot glue, be careful not to burn yourself; allow the glue to cool down a bit before handling the trim. 

Starting from the edge start to adhere the trim to your backing fabric, guiding the trim in a circular shape. 

Continue to apply a bead of glue and gluing your trim down in a circle around the outside perimeter of your scrap fabric. Once you come back to where you started, gradually move the trim inward, overlapping with the outside loop slightly. Press firmly until the glue has taken hold. 

Continue in such fashion, going around the entire scrap fabric.

As you start to get to the center, measure off how much more trim you will need before placing your glue to the back. Cut off any excess trim and seal the new raw edge in the same fashion as before. Here you can see the edge of the trim in slightly wet from the fray check. 

Apply glue to the last portion of the trim and press it in the middle firmly until the glue has taken hold or is dry.

Add a dollop of glue to the back of your decorative button or gem and adhere it to the center of your flower. 

If you started with a square piece of scrap fabric, trim off the corners and any other excess fabric around the outside line of glue. At this point you can attach a broach pin or alligator clip to the back of your flower if you intend on using it as a pin or as a hair clip. 

Attach where you desire and be prepared for all the compliments you'll receive!  

*This tutorial is for personal use only and is not to be used for sale or profit. © Copyright of Fabric Center 2014

Sewing Tutorial: DIY Valentine's Pennant Banner

We recently got a new arrival at the store from Riley Blake: a holiday banner panel for Valentines Day! This panel comes complete with already made pennant shapes with each triangle featuring a different print and in colors synonymous with the holiday of love. This presented the perfect opportunity for a fun and easy project to share and which results this absolutely adorable banner to hang for Valentines Day:

To make this lovely banner you will need--

Supplies:
1 panel of Riley Blake Valentines Banner
1/3 yard RJR broadcloth in color of choosing (we used navy blue)
1/2 yard Wonder Under
Quilter's Invisible Nylon Thread
Ribbon or Rick Rack (optional)

Tools:
Sewing Machine
Computer and Printer -OR- Accuquilt
Paper Scissors
Pinking Shears -OR- Cutting mat and rotary cutter with pinking blade
Pen
Iron and Ironing Board
Pins

You will first want to decide what phrase to feature on your banner and make sure there are enough pennants included in the panel (each panel comes with 18 pennants). Remember to also count spaces as using up a pennant. We chose "Be My Valentine". If you have an Accuquilt, follow your cutters directions and cut out the letters you need for your phrase. If you don't have an Accuquilt, using a computer and a word processing software like Microsoft Word, type up the letters you need to complete your phrase. Set the font on a sans-serif type like Ariel or Helvetica. You can play with the different font faces you would like to see on your banner, but just remember the more detailed and/or complicated the font face, the more difficult it will be to cut out and sew onto your banner! Set your type face to a large size; we used 220 point font size but you could still go even larger than this. Print out some test pages to see which size you would like. Once you have the font face and size selected, print out all the letters you need and cut them out.
 

Cut out your pennants from the panel with pinking shears or with a rotary cutter using a pinking blade. By using a pinking blade or pinking shears, we don't have to worry about finishing our edges while simultaneously giving us a fun yet carefree look to our banner. If you want your banner to have a more polished, finished look you can finish the edges with a narrow hem or with bias tape. Don't forget to cut out the two strips from the panel as well; these will be used to sew our pennants onto. 

You may choose any applique method you prefer to attach your letters to your pennants; we chose to use Wonder Under and top stitching. For this method, iron the Wonder Under to the back of the broadcloth following manufacturer instructions.

Trace the outline of the letters onto the back of the Wonder Under, making sure to have your letters backwards so they are ironed onto the pennants front facing. Cut out your fabric letters while keeping the Wonder Under paper backing on.

It might be helpful to do a quick layout to get a rough idea of how you want your finished banner to look. I found this was helpful for me in deciding which prints looked best with the small navy blue letters on top of them and which prints were best used as space pennants in between words. Once you are happy with your layout, applique your letters onto your pennants.

To do this with Wonder Under, be sure to follow manufacturer instructions by first carefully removing the paper backing from your letters and positioning them in the middle of the pennant. Then with a damp pressing cloth, iron the letter onto the pennant with the fusible webbing side (or the wrong side of the letter) onto the right side of the pennant. Make sure your iron is on "Wool" setting and keep pressing until the pressing cloth is dry. Quickly press over the letter without the pressing cloth for a couple seconds to ensure all moisture is gone.

Sometimes it takes a couple tries to get a letter to completely seal itself to the fabric. Make sure your cloth is damp enough to cause steam when the iron hits it. If all else fails, make sure it is at least stuck enough until you can top stitch it on. 

Once all your letters are adhered to your pennants, using a small zig zag stitch and the nylon invisible thread, top stitch around all the letters to ensure they are securely fastened to their pennant. Make sure that your zig zag stitch pierces the letter fabric on one side and the pennant fabric on the other side. 

Next, join your two strip pieces right side together on one of the short ends to make one long strip. Then fold your one long strip right sides together hotdog way (remember elementary school with that reference!) and sew with a 1/4" seam to form a long tube. Turn your tube right side out and give it a good press. Finish the edges with double fold, narrow hems. 

Finally, rearrange your pennants as you had them on your rough draft layout and pin them to the wrong side of your strip with the top of the strip aligned with the top of the pennants. Even though we combined the two strips into one long strip, I found it was still not enough to accommodate all my pennants without overlapping them. If you do not want to slightly overlap your pennants, as seen below, then use ribbon or rick rack to attach your pennants to instead and make your banner as long as you want!

Sew your pennants to your banner and voila! You have a cute and festive decoration to hang in your home or office! This line of banner panels comes in more holidays; we cannot wait until these become available so we can make more of these festive decorations for each holiday of the year! 

If you have any questions or need help, feel free to email us at info@fabriccenter.net. For more on what Fabric Center offers, visit our website at www.fabriccenter.net and keep checking back for new ideas and projects!