Category: Blog

How to plan embroidery ….     There are so many lovely ways we can augment our clothes and embroidery can feature beautifully by using cloth which is embroidered to add texture and interest.  Or, we can add our own embroidered motifs and/or designs.  I love adding embroidery to garments and find it extremely therapeutic.…
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How to avoid unpleasant pinching across your upper arm! This is Rosie the Riveter, an American cultural icon from the Second World War.  Rosie represented women who worked in factories and shipyards throughout the states, many producing arms and munitions. Rosie is the epitome of strength and style from this period.  I dare say she also…
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Mrs Bowden’s top tip – is your machine haunted? Have you ever though devilment and mischief is at play and that your sewing machine might be haunted?   Has your sewing machine ever wailed or moaned over a bulging seam? Has your bobbin ever run out at a critical point – as if it knew…
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Mrs Bowden’s top tip – unpicking stitches Occasionally we have to unpick our work…the stress this can induce is formidable so this week’s top tip deals with how to unpick successfully. When unpicking lots of people like to use a seam ripper which are jolly useful.  You can use the lid to extend the handle…
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Mrs Bowden’s top tip – being an awful dressmaker I am very lucky that the lovely people that come to my classes often bring me gifts or bits of sewing history that will be of interest to me.  On Monday this week a lady brought me a book that had belonged to her Grandmother entitled…
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Mrs Bowden’s top tip – scissors v rotary cutter I cannot emphasise the importance of accurate and tidy cutting.  Some of you may already be fluent in ‘scissor’ and/or ‘rotary’ cutting but they have advantages and disadvantages! Above all, make sure you look after equipment – the biggest no, no, is using your fabric shears…
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Mrs Bowden’s top tip – WALE The weather appears to have taken a turn towards Autumn and I am already planning various warm winter garments for the coming season.  When I think of clothes for the chilly weather I veer towards corduroys, wool and flannelette.  This week’s top tip is a little guide to corduroy…
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          A commercial dressmaking pattern will sometimes mention WITH OR WITHOUT NAP in the layout diagrams.  The layout diagram tells you how to place the paper pattern on the fabric in order to cut it out correctly and within the amount of fabric that has been recommended to buy for the…
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How to clean your iron   Keeping your iron clean is essential for sewists.  Not only does it prevent dirty marks being transferred it also helps the iron glide over the fabric so it can be used to press accurately.  The feeling of dread one can experience when interfacing curls and sticks to the plate…
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