Why we should all have a sewing box in the home.

Regular readers to this  blog will know I'm very lucky. Not only do I work for the best fabric shop in the world but I also have my own dedicated sewing room at home. This saves me a lot of time and hassle when I want to start a sewing project as I don't have to clear a table or floor space and dig around a cupboard  for sewing equipment. However, fortunate as I am, even I still have a sewing box downstairs for emergencies. I personally think everyone should have a handy little box for quick repairs, even if your such an extreme stitcher that you have a dedicated room, or if you hardly ever sew at all.

  We all know the saying "A stitch in time saves nine" trust me it's not without merit. I've put off  doing a quick repair because I was just about to leave the house. I've then  had to throw away a perfectly good garment at the end of the night. By having the basic necessities at hand you are more likely to tackle a repair as soon as you notice the lose thread or lost button. So it becomes a matter of making life as easy as possible for yourself. A simple sewing box kept in a kitchen drawer or under  the stairs can save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

  There are many sorts of sewing boxes out there, from little mini kits with a small set of snips and a couple of needles to larger boxes which you can keep your sewing projects in as well as your equipment.

Commercially available sewing kits  normally contain the basics that you need for a quick repair. Many go as far as to have spare buttons as well as snips, needles and thread. These kits are perfect to keep in the glove box of your  car, or in your caravan. I even keep one in my rucksack if I'm having a day out in London, or some other "stay-cation" venue. I've only had to perform an emergency repair when out a few times, but I was very grateful for my sewing kit when I needed it. (and yes I didn't have one the first time I needed it and wasted 2 hours of my grand day out having to hold my trousers up whilst hunting high and low for a sewing shop- top tip the safety pins sold in newsagents aren't very strong).

For the home we recommend equipping your own sewing box. We sell some lovely patterned boxes with separate drawers and capartments. One advantage of these dedicated sewing boxes is they are easily recognised from other storage boxes and no-one has any excuses for putting other bits and bobs in with your sewing equipment. However an old biscuit tin will do to begin with.

I've gone through my own sewing box, and those of friends , to give you  some clue of what you may like to put in yours.

Scissors- There are many different sizes available. For your sewing box I'd recommend a small pair of embroidery snips in a case, and then a medium sized pair of scissors. I'd also recommend making a case for your scissors, a simple project to stop the blades damaging anything in the box (or your hand) Until you make a case for them though use some elastic bands to keep them shut closed.

Sewing Needles -get a pack that are in a plastic case. You get many different sorts of needle in one handy pack, and the pack will stop them getting damaged and stop you from getting a nasty injury if you are rummaging around in your sewing box. Keeping a few needles in sponge  or in a pin cushion is not advisable as they often come lose and roam around your box.

Pins- Handy for keeping a tear in fabric closed whilst you stitch it up. Again I'd advise the pins that come in a small box, or use a metal tin to keep your pins in. I prefer glass headed pins as they are easier to find if I drop them.

Magnet- handy for finding lost pins and needles, but also I use a magnet as an emergency pin cushion.

Selection of thread- Black, White and your favourite colour.

Buttons- I keep all the spare buttons that come with my  clothes in a special jar in my sewing box. However I also keep a few black, white and other colours in different sizes for emergency repairs.

Tape Measure - I've tried guessing how much I need to bring something in before, or using thumb spaces to judge how much of a hem to remove. It never ends well. A tape measure means you will only have to sew and cut once.

Chalk or Fabric Marker  -I'm a big fan of old fashioned triangular tailors chalk in my sewing room. However it's brittle and messy if left alone in a sewing box. We sell a handy pack of four rectangles in different colours in their own case, or a convenient chalk pencil.

Thimbles- Even though I have leather like man hands I can still get stabbed whilst sewing. Thimbles not only save you from pain, but also stop blood ruining your sewing.

Instant Hemming Tape or Wundaweb- an iron on tape  for fixing hems on trousers, skirts dresses and coats. Perfect if you are in a rush but still want to look immaculate.

Ball Point Snag Repair Needle- An excellent tool for repair woven and knits. Helps stops your things from unravelling.

Darning Needles easily threaded needles for repairing  wool fabrics.

I think these cover most repair and small project jobs that I can imagine. However if you've found any other tools useful in the past please post them in the comments below, maybe even include pictures of your sewing boxes.

Furnishing Fabrics, more than just curtains and cushions.

When it comes to using fabric I'm mainly a dressmaker, well actually a waistcoat maker. However I love finding new uses for fabrics and the skills I've picked up working in the world of textiles. I have done some furnishing projects, such as lining curtains and making cushions and even though I may have nothing in particular in mind I will grab some furnishing fabric if it's going in the sale. Often this thicker durable fabric will get turned into a stylish jacket like this one I wore to the Forbidden City in China.  This said a good stock of fabric can really be handy if you suddenly find yourself with a problem to solve.

I have been trying to redecorate my sewing room without spending too much cash. A friend donated a pair of bookcases which were solid, however the backs of them were damaged.  At first I thought I'd have to have them without the backs, which is highly  annoying as I  was planning on putting sewing bits and bobs on them, and could just imagine them getting lost or damaged as they fell behind the shelves.  Another options would be having ugly mis-matched bookcases.  The walls of my room looked very distinguished in their ox-blood red and I didn't want to spoil the over all Victorian abeyance they had given my room with tacky looking bookcases. It was then that I had an idea.

I patched up the bookcases as best as I could with Duct tape. Duct tape is like the Force from StarWars, it has a light side, a dark side and it holds the universe together. I then removed the panel from the book case and rummaged through my stock of furnishing fabric which I picked up in the sale last year. I then cut out a rectangle of fabric to fit the panel, leaving 1 cm around for seam allowance and then staple-gunned it to the panel.

All the was left to do was to use panel pins to reattach the back of the book case, and then add the shelves.

  I then repeated this with the second book case (in this case I had to use some hardboard for the back as the original back was too damaged). I also cut out a corner of the book case so it would fit into my room's support post.

And so there we have it. Furnishing fabrics used for furnishing, just in a different way than most people use them. This fabric was bought in a sale at a very reduced price. I stored it away with my other fabrics sure that I'd find a use for it one day, and I was very glad I did so. We don't need to be constrained by what we THINK a fabric should be used for. You can use a fabric for a wall hanging, or to pad a shelf, line draws or the inside of a cupboard, in fact anywhere that you just want to add a touch of luxury.

How to line your curtains

In our last blog we talked about the different types of curtain lining available, and the benefits each one has to  offer.
  In this blog I want to show you two simple methods to line your curtains. The first is VERY quick and does not involve sewing or unpicking seams in your existing  curtains. This method will provide thermal insulation, light proofing if a lightproof lining is used and help protect your curtains. As you do not have to alter your existing curtains this method is also useful if you are not confident enough  to take a seam unpicker to your drapes. It is however not suitable for adding body and depth to your curtains.

A few points for both methods. At no time do you need to unpick the hem at the bottom of a curtain. As a result you don't have to worry about blind hemming (the type of hem that is normally used in curtain making), you can just use a regular hem for the lining.

When we refer to the right side of the lining we mean the side you well see when you look at the back of your finished curtain.

Curtain sewing is actually pretty simple, BUT there is a LOT of fabric involved. Take your time and double check you are  not sewing the side of the curtain to the top of the lining (or the other way round). And yes, I've made that mistake a few times.

You will need;
Scissors
Pins
Sewing needles and thread
Curtain header tape
Tape measure
Curtain Lining 
Measure  your curtains, taking the width measurement from the bottom of your curtains (taking the width from the top can be difficult as your header tape has probably caused the fabric to become pleated or gathered).

The first method, leaving your curtains intact. 
For the width of lining required take the width measurement and remove 2 cm, then add a hemming allowance for either side. For the length take the length measurement and subtract the height of the hem of the curtains, then add an allowance for the hem you wish to use on the lining), Thus your lining will be slightly narrower and slightly shorter than your curtain.

 Hem the sides of your lining and the bottom of your lining.

If you are in a rush and your lining fabric is non fraying (like a lot of light proof fabrics) you can skip the hemming (and just cut the lining smaller) However hemming adds very little time indeed.

Along the top of the lining fold 1 cm of the fabric from the right side to the wrong side.

Pin the hemming tape just below the start of this fold and sew along the top edge.

Then sew along the bottom  of the hemming tape

Tie one end of the hemming taps cords together, then gently pull on the other and spread the gathers out until the width of your lining matches that of your curtain.

Using curtain hooks attach your lining to either the header tape of your curtain, or to the sliders attached to your curtain.

This method will help insulate your home or block out light, it's very quick and easy to do and a perfect way to protect your home from the cold and drafts in the winter months.




The Second Method

If  you want to use an interlining to give your curtains a more luxurious look, or if you want your lining to be more securely attached to your curtains then you will need to use the following method.

Unpick the side seams of your curtains and the curtain header tape. It's possible the header tape's cord has been cut short once the gathers have been pulled into the curtains so this will need replacing. There is no need to unpick the bottom hem!

The sides of the curtains wrap around to the wrong side by a few cementers. So measure the width of lining you need from this edge to the edge of the fabric on the other side and add your seam allowance  For the length of lining required measure from the top of the curtain to the start of the hem of the curtain, then add a hem allowance.

Hem the bottom of your lining.




Check the length of your lining by placing the bottom of your lining next to the top of the hell of the curtain. The top of the lining should now meet up with the top of the curtain.

Open up the side hems of the curtains. With right sides together sew the sides of the curtains and lining together.

Pull the curtain right side out. The curtain fabric should be wider than the lining,  so the back of the curtain looks much like it did before, with the curtain fabric wrapping around to the back as in the picture.

Fold over the top of the curtain and lining along the fold line originally in the curtain. Pin the new header tape just below the top of the fold. Sew along the top edge of the header tape and again along the lower end.

Tie one side of the header cords into a knot and then gently pull the cords on the other side to gather the now lined curtain to the desired width.
If you are using an interlining tack the lining to the interlining and use as if it's one piece of fabric.

This may seem long winded but once you get going you will develop a feel for this sort of work. Even if you just use the first method to quickly back your curtains you will feel the benefit of your labors straight away.

Lining Curtains, A New Year's Project

I always return to my sewing room invigorated after the Christmas break. I always enjoy working on a project that will give me real long term benefits when the new year starts. So in a bid to cut down on my heating bills and to enhance my sewing room I've decided to line my curtains.
There are several very good reasons to line your curtains;

1) To make your curtains last longer. The reverse side of your curtains can spend a lot of time exposed to the sun. This can lead to the pattern on the curtains becoming faded, or the fabric weakening.

2) Protecting your home from drafts and lowering your heating bills. Whilst any barrier between your room and window is beneficial to your heating bills, a special thermal lining can dramatically cut down on drafts and help keep your room cosy and warm.

3) To add body to your curtains. Pleats and folds in the fabric of your curtains look more pronounced with the correct lining or inter lining. The result can be quite dramatic, making your curtains and indeed your room look far more luxurious.

4) Blocking out the light. Whether you need a room dark in the day time due to working shifts or watching television, or if you have a street light right outside your bedroom, the correct lining will help any curtain block out the light.

Here are some examples of the linings available with  their properties, to help you choice the right lining for your needs.

Basic curtain lining  comes in both ivory and white. This is the cheapest lining available and will help towards insulating your curtains and protect your curtain fabric.  However this lining will not add much body to your curtains.

Curtain interlining  adds depth and body to your curtains. It also adds much greater thermal insulation than regular lining. A soft fuzzy fabric, the interlining is sandwiched between your curtains and a lining fabric.

Blackout curtain lining is a synthetic fabric. it has a rubber or plastic feel to it and provide fantastic light proofing. It's also a very good thermal insulator  however does not provide the extra body that the interlining does.

Bonded interlining provides a simpler way to interline your curtains. The fuzzy warm interlining is bonded to a lining fabric all ready for you to sew onto your curtains in one easy step. This provides protection for your curtains as well as insulation and adding body and fullness.

Next week we will  show you several different ways to add lining to your existing curtains  to help keep you warm in the coming winter months.

A Non-Sewing Cushion Cover

Half  Term Holiday is here.The blog already has a few projects suitable to keep the kids occupied  or ones that could be useful for the  up coming Halloween festivities. These include :
Pirate Shirt
Harem pants (or Pirate Pants)
Kindle Cover
Carrier Bag Holder
Plushie Pumpkin
and Hosting a Halloween Party

Some of these have a fair bit of sewing involved, others have less but here is our totally Sewing Free Cushion Cover. Perfect for those new to crafting, and something you don't need a well stocked sewing room for. This can be done sitting on the floor watching television, or on the kitchen table.  This project exploits an interesting property of Fleece. It does not fray. Thus we can cut a fringe of strips into the fleece without fear of it unraveling. Some fun furs have this property as well however the wrong side of fun fur would be on display and is unattractive.

You will need:
a cushion to cover (or a pillow, or a  pillow sewn in half)
Fleece
Scissors
Chalk
Pins

Cushions pads suitable for this project can now be found in your local Fabric8 Shop

 Place your cushion on a section of fleece right side up and draw around it. Then decide on the length of fringe you want, add a bit more for the knots and draw this added length around your cushion  Finally draw a square on each corner of the larger rectangle that reaches to the cushion (see picture, click on it to enlarge)

Cut out the larger rectangle and then remove the corners you drew on the inside of the rectangle as well. Use this as a template to cut out a second piece of fleece.

Place one of the fleece shapes on top of the other, wrong sides together and pin  together on the INSIDE of the small rectangle (the cushion sized middle of the shape).

 Cut a fringe from the outside of the fabric to the line marked where the cushion will be. Try to make the fringes of uniform thickness (I went for 1 cm) you CAN mark out each individual cut but to be honest by the time you take into account  where the scissors actually cuts you may as well do it all by eye. You DO need the same number of fringes on the top piece of fabric as on the bottom. This is why we cut the two layers of fabric at the same time. to make the fringes line up.

Place the cushion between the two layers of fleece. At one corner tie the last strip of one side of the top  layer to the first strip of the other side of the bottom layer.  This makes the fringe criss cross at the corners. Repeat for the other three corners.

Tie the strips of the fleece of the top layer to the bottom layer's strips as shown, going around the cushion  Try to make the knots of even size and done up the same way each time. This gives a nice neat finish.

From start to finish this project takes less than an hour (depending on size of cushion).
This is a quick, cheap and easy way of making a cushion to match a room, and of pulling together different colours in a room.  You could make these as a gift for a sports fans using the teams colours. This is also a fantastic project to introduce textile crafts to the kids if they are stuck at home during the holidays. Being able to make something for their room in colours they like (for example, to match a football team) can give children a  real sense of achievement

Although in my case my cat  has claimed my cushion as her very own.

Tutorial: Making the Christmas train Advent Calendar

 Last year I talked of the advantages of making an advent calender. Since then we have had requests to create a tutorial for those perhaps new to sewing and quilting for making these calenders  I'm mainly a dressmaking and pretty new to quilting and craft projects myself. As a result this is a true beginners step by step guide. As ever with these little projects I've chosen a festive film to keep time with. In honour of the Christmas Train Calendar, I picked Polar Express.

To begin with you will need

An Advent Calendar Panel
Scissors
Thread Snips
Sewing machine needles
Pins
Ribbon
Wadding
Craft Cotton or Calico for the backing.

The panel actually has sewing instructions written on them which is a great help to begin with.

Step one. Cut out the main panel AROUND the holly edge of the boarder. Top Tip. Always cut so the panel is on your left and the excess is on the right (if you are left handed reverse this) That way you can see the edge of the boarder clearly as you cut. The Panel is cut out by the time the Polar Express shows up

Step Two. Cut out the Calander pockets for the treats. These are in blocks of three. Here it is VITAL to read the instructions carefully to make sure you cut the correct line. In this case it's the SOLID lines, the dotted lines are used later for pleating. The instructions on the panel will tell you which to cut.  When cutting out small sections it's advisable to check the following

1) That there are no other pieces of your sewing project UNDER what you are cutting that could get caught up in your scissors  and cut where they would not want to be cut (yep, I've done this before)

2) If cutting by your computer always ensure your mouse cable is not UNDER what you are cutting (yep, cut the 'tail' off my mouse before as well)

Step three. Put on some Hot Chocolate for the Hot Chocolate song

Step Four. Press over the seam allowance for each pocket (or group of pockets). In this pattern   the seam allowance is at the solid gold boarder.  This takes time, it is better to do it correctly than to do it fast (and possible burn yourself in the process) This takes a good chunk of the film.

Step Five. Press in the box pleats.  Place  one solid gold line to the center dotted line and press. then do this for the second line.
And the Polar Express is at the North Pole. The visuals on the screen are inspiring, helping me to decide on metallic top stitching and beading.

Decisions!. At this point you can sew the pockets in place, and line and back of the calendar. However if you want to embellish things NOW is the time to do it. You can add beads to the design of the pockets. You can also add a wadding to the back of the calendar and top stitch along the designs of the pattern.

In this case I've added a red nose bead  onto Rudolph And padded the outline of the train.
To have a padded outline on the train sew wadding onto the back of the panel and then top stitch over any lines you wish to emphasis. I used Metallic Thread for this. IT is Vital to use a metallic thread sewing needle for this. Metallic thread requires a larger eye than normal. Using a regular needle will make the thread split.

The film is almost over, however the hard parts of the project are complete. I would have been much faster but I liked the padded outlines of the train.

Step Six. Top stitch the pockets onto the panel. With single pockets just top stitch the sides and bottom. On groups of pockets stitch along the bottom and the outer edges. Spread the box pleats apart for a moment and top stitch along the dotted line.

Step Seven. Cut calico to back the panel. on what will be the outer side of the calico or craft cotton  sew ribbon to the edges. Then right sides together sew the calico and the panel together. Pinning the ribbon to the calico (or craft cotton) will stop it getting sewn into the side seam by accident. Leave a gap at the bottom to turn the calendar right side out and finish with a ladder stitch

And you're finished :) You can embellish  this project as much or as little as you like. Beading  sequins and glitter can be used as little or as much as you like. It's worth noting the holy part of the boarder on the panel is 5/8 of an inch, perfect seam allowance guide. This then leaves the other layers of the boarder on show. Now all you have to do is fill it with nuts and treats, or if giving to a crafting friend little bits of Haberdashery.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and feel able to have a go yourself now. I must stress I am very new to craft sewing but enjoyed this immensely and I am very  proud of the end result. IT must also be said I am gifted with the grace and dexterity of a baby hippopotamus .  If I can create something like this, anyone can
 :)

If there are any other tutorials you'd like to see then please post a response or find us on Facebook or Twitter

Making a soft toy from free online patterns

At Fabric8 we ran a  Toy Making Competition some tinme ago. I've been inspired by some of the entries to make a little stuffed toy of my own. Although I've made stage costumes, wedding dresses and other wonderful things I've never made a teddy. I decided to use a pattern thats freely available to download off the net from http://www.wyrm.org.uk/cuddly/index.html . After reading the instructions I assembled the materials needed.

Scissors and thread snips  

Pins

Toy Stuffing

Machine Needles

Hand Sewing Needles

Thread 

 and fabric 50cm x50cm 

The pattern I downloaded was the beanbag Dragon and I have to admit I'm very impressed. The instructions are very clear. I used the seam guide to find the seams are 1/4 of an inch. The first step as ever is to cut out the pattern pieces and to lay them out on the fabric. I decided to recreate the dragon from my childhood back in Wales, "Magon the Dragon".  I used red fun fur for the top of his body and pink for his underbelly and the inside of his ears. 

Some pieces such as the wings need 4 copies cut instead of two. When working with such small pattern pieces it's easy to lose a piece  when you clear out the scrap fabrics, so make sure to keep all the pieces safe including the wing and ear pieces which you had to unpin from the pattern paper so you could cut out the second copies (yes I DID accidently throw my wings in the bin when tidying away the scraps).

The head is the first piece to be assembled and I think looks very cute. I found it amazing how much shape the neck piece adds to the face. This picture was taken BEFORE the head was stuffed which I think goes some way to showing how much shaping the neck piece does. 

The wings are made next, and the lines of the wings are top-stitched on. This gives them a lot more definition. The two top sections are then tacked onto their wings and then the top sections are sewn together, leaving a small gap  for turning out. One of the two tail pieces is sewn on the top section as well. 

Next the inside of the back legs are sewn onto the bottom of the body. Care must be taken to make sure the right leg is on the right side. Here you can see that I didn't take enough care and thus the feet wouldn't not match up when sewing the top to the bottom. (never learn from mistakes, learn from someone else's :) ) 

Once the top and bottom of the dragon are sewn together you need to sew the head on. I found it easier to push the head into the neck cavity and sew along the neckline by hand. (right sides together of course). I always use a machine were possible but even I found it much quicker to do this short bit of sewing by hand. 

And there you have it, one very cute fuzzy dragon. Of course this one wont be in the toy competition as I'm a staff member. But anyone else can download a patterns and make one for the competition. You can express your creativity in many ways with these and other patterns. Try different fabrics, add embroidery, maybe use beading as well. You have 3 more weeks to get an entry into us and this little fella only took a few hours to make. Surprise us, and maybe yourselves as well.