How I Sculpted the Pockets On Butterick 5646

If you look on my other blog, you'll see View B of this pattern (B5646)made up.




The fabric was very drapey and the pockets which had two side pleats were difficult to shape into the square they're supposed to be.

Well, I got the idea of cutting out the shape and size of the pockets out of wash away stabilizer and that worked just fine.

In this pic, you see that I've formed the facing of the pocket at the top so I cut the stabilizer to fit below that.




I just forced the cut piece of fabric to take the shape of the stabilizer and sewed around it.




I trimmed away the bulk of the stabilizer ,then turned it to the inside and pressed. I probably should have turned it first before cutting away the stabilizer, but my way worked just fine.




I positioned the pocket in place and stitched around it with no trouble.



I then tore away as much of the stabilizer as I could. The rest will wash out later. It's not noticeable at all from the outside in any case.

The pleated drapey pockets are a nice feature of this design ,IMO.



So there you have it. A simple solution to difficult pocket.

Funky Bound Buttonholes

I made fun buttonholes for this jacket and I thought I'd share how I made them.



Here is a close-up of the buttonhole....



and the facing....



I first decided on the shape and drew it on rectangles of silk organza....



I positioned these on the jacket front. ( I forgot to take a photo but here's one for the facing)and sewed around the shape....



Next step was to cut through both layers....



I then turned the organza to the inside and pressed....






For the lips of the buttonhole ,I took two rectangles of linen and sewed them together down the middle....





I then pressed them like this....



and positioned them behind the buttonhole opening using Wonder Tape to hold them in place and top stitched them in place....



This is what the back of the buttonhole looks like.....



I trimmed off the excess....




This is how I faced the buttonholes.... It's self explanatory so I'll let the pictures do the talking








I used Wonder Tape to hold the facings in position while I stitched around them....



I hand stitched around the buttonhole.





I added a rectangle behind the buttons to support them.



I love these buttons! I stole them from this jacket and will have to replace them this fall.



So that's it. Now you try it!!

More later from

A Set IN Sleeve Method That Really Works

Years ago, I watched Sew Perfect with Sandra Betzina faithfully and I learned so much that helped me to sew more professionally. I taped many segments and still watch them on occasion.

One of the things I learned is that when sewing a set-in sleeve, it helps to put the sleeve down against the feed-dogs because they eat up the extra length for you. I used that method and still do with great success but one time Margaret Islander was a guest on Sew Perfect and this is what she did.I'm explaining it as I remember i tand hope I'm not misquoting her

1.Run a line of moderately longer stitches all the way around the sleeve at exactly 5/8".

2. Pull the thread as usual to distribute the fullness but distribute it all the way around and not just between the front and back notches.

3. Work the gathers with your fingers so they don't form any pleats or puckers.Take your time with this step as it will be worth it in the end.

4. Pin the sleeve to the armhole at the center top and under the arm. Those are the only two points that really need to be exact. Perfect the distribution of fullness if needed.

5. Sew as usual but on exactly the line of basting.

If you've made sure to smooth out all puckers in advance your sleeve should turn out perfectly set and pucker free!

I used this method on this jacket for my grand-daughter because the sleeves had too much ease and it really helped. I blessed Margaret Islander for showing this wonderful way of solving the set-in sleeve issue.





Now go ahead and give it a try. You'll be glad you did!

My New Love...Wonder Tape

For years,I've been looking for Wonder Tape by Dritz everywhere I've gone..Montreal,Ottawa,Vancouver, Paris (well not really.Wonder Tape was the last thing I thought of in Paris ).But I've searched in vain for this much coveted notion.

I first heard about it on Sandra Betzina's Sew Perfect on HGTV many years ago. Can you believe it that I found it finally at of all places Fabricville!!They certainly didn't have it when I worked there part-time for 6 years!

And even more delightful is that it washes away! Oh my goodness! You have no idea how I'm loving my wonderful Wash Away Wonder Tape.I've only had it for a week and I've already used more than half the package. I love it even more than Steam-a-Seam which ,like Ron Collins of Power Sewing Web TV Show fame ,I use all the time.



I used it on this little cardigan to hold the hem and facings in place before sewing them.Afterwards I used Steam-a-Seam to add grosgrain ribbon to cover the serged edges.




On this jacket,I added a 4&1/2 bias cut piece to the bottom because it was too short. I used the Wonder Tape to hold the facing in place before doing the top stitching .





Oh MY! The sky's the limit for this little gem!! Maybe they'd let me make a commercial!Lol.

Invisible Stitch Patch Pockets

First of all, I want to give credit for this method to Sandra Betzina and Ron Collins of Power Sewing. I learned to do this by watching their Web TV video. I highly recommend this site and enjoy my subscription for the web shows immensely.

I used this method on this jacket and enjoyed learning the process. I really encourage you to try this couture touch.



Step 1- Sew your pocket lining to the pocket at the top.



Step 2-Press seam and fold at top of pocket.(My pocket facing isn't as deep as it should be.)

.

Step 3-Pin pocket lining in place on garment and carefully mark a seam allowance of a little more than 5/8".



Step 4-Sew around lining.


Step 5-Press seam towards middle for both the lining and the pocket.



Step 6-Fold pocket over lining, pin in place and hand stitch the pocket in place over the lining carefully from the inside of the jacket.






This method is so much easier than the method described in Threads January 2011 issue.

I'm really sold on this way of sewing patch pockets and I think you will be too. So go ahead and try it!

Please let me know what you think and thank you for looking in on my sewing lessons!!

Helpful Hint #12 What to do About all those Bobbins

I was tidying my Sewing Room the other day and fighting with all those half filled boobins that get tangled together. Suddenly,Eureka! It hit me like lightning out of the blue. I don't know why I've never thought of this before! Have a look!



In case it's not clear,the solution is to stick long pins in the bulletin board and to hang the bobbins on the pins. I grouped the colours together where I had more than one bobbin with a particular colour. I also hung extra empty bobbins for easy access when needed.

Isn't that a great and hopefully helpfulhint?

Cowl Collar Improved

The patterns with cowl collars leave a lot ot be desired, IMO. The collars never look or behave like those in RTW (Ready to Wear).

A few years ago, using a RTW cowl neck collar sweater, I drafted what I think is a much better collar.My version requires two seams however.

Here is my cowl collar lesson told with photos.I used Vogue 8597.

FirstI measured the back neck from Center Back (CB) to shoulder seam The back neck was 4 3/4".To this I added a seam of 5/8"for a total of 5 3/8" ( Of course this is only a half of the back neck line).



2.Next, I measured the front neckline from Center Front (CF)to the shoulder seam. The front neck was 8" +5/8" seam allowance (SA)



I decided I wanted the collar to be 7" deep so this is the piece for the front collar. It measures 8 5/8" by 14" (that's twice the 7" as the collar is doubled.)This will be cut on the fold for a total width of 17 1/4".



To make the collar fold and roll down nicely,this is what the back piece looks like.



The bottom measures 5 3/8". I added about 2" to this measurement as you can see in the photo and this is what makes all the difference from the regular rectangular shape that was in the pattern. ( I wanted to show you this pattern piece but I can't find it but that's Ok because my method works so much better). So the width at the top of the collar is now 7 3/8 ". The piece is cut on the fold for a total of 15".

Because the slanted line is longer than 7",I cut off a bit at the bottom so the front and back collar pieces would be even.



Here is a look at the two pieces together.



Here is the collar sewn and folded.



And here is the finished top.



I do hope this helps someone else achieve a great cowl collar!

Happy Sewing !