Sew-along and Sewing Questions

Ok finally looking at my pattern and came across this

I have this which I assume won’t work because 1) too narrow, 2) double sided, 3) not bias?

Would cutting bias strips of this work?

If so, any issues just cutting it with my rotary cutter?

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  1. too narrow

  2. yes and yes, that’ll work… I mean, no issues that I see, go for it

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The second on is just what you need! I prefer cutting my own because stay tape is a bit stiff. You are just going to need this so your curved areas won’t stretch out of shape. I think you have enough to make a zillion outfits!

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Thank you both!

:joy: I always use SF101 to interface my handwoven fabric whenever I want to sew it into something so I ordered a bolt of it during lockdown. I’m glad it will work for garments too!

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How do I tell which side of this is the front? I’ve marked which way the stretch goes/across the selvedge.

Is the stripe side the front or the back? My guess is the stripes are on the back. I’m assuming I can use either side I want so more asking out of curiosity.

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I love working with ponte knits! Beautiful fabric!

Yes, you can pretty much use either side, but just be sure you use the same side for all the pieces. Sometimes one side is shinier. I like the smoother side on the outside but a lot of people like the rougher side better. Ponte realy is great for any kind of topstitching. Did you buy it online or at the store?

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Thank you! It’s one of the fabrics we bought at the store last weekend. That place is dangerous!

I should take pics the next time we’re there. My husband took this one while he was waiting with the cart while I rummaged the isles.

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Those carts are smart! I’ve never seen high carts like that in use here.

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Hi, it’s me, I’m back with more beginner sewing questions :slight_smile:

How do you store your self drafted/traced/printed patterns? In class last night we traced the jogger pattern onto light brown paper we got to take home so we could make it again later if desired but I don’t know the best way to store it. Right now I’ve got the pieces loosely rolled up but that’s going to quickly become a storage nightmare once I have more than a few. Any reason not to fold them for storage? Can I use a cool iron to flatten the paper pieces when I want to use the pattern in the future? Pics would be helpful :slight_smile:

Any recommendations for paper to use for pattern making/altering? I can see myself wanting to iterate on patterns and paper is way more intuitive to me than trying to do it on the computer. I know there’s crazy expensive pattern making paper and some people use wrapping paper but I’m probably looking for something in between. I have a lifetime supply of 24” wide brown Kraft on a roll from weaving but it’s pretty heavy weight (75lbs). I think I’d want something a bit wider and thinner?

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I use gallon size ziplock bags and write the info on the front with sharpie. Fold the pattern similar to a packaged pattern. Also include any notes, adjustments, or instruction in the bag.

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I use see-through pattern paper but it’s not crazy expensive. My sewing teacher bulk buys A0 size paper in bulk and sells them at cost for €0.15. A 10 meter roll is €3 - ish.

I usually keep the patterns folded up and in a sheet protector, inside a binder. Usually I include a scrap of the fabric and my scale draft or a picture with it so I can easily recognize which pattern is which. I have heard you can iron pattern paper but I’ve never tried, i just smooth the pattern out a bit with my hands and pin it on to the fabric.

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I don’t know why I didn’t think of tracing paper :woman_facepalming:. I’ve got some that’s about 12” wide and just tested writing on it with lots of different pens/markers, pinning it, cutting, folding, unfolding, etc and I think it’s exactly what I’m looking for. They sell a 36”x 50yd roll so I think I’ll get one to try out.

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In school we drafted & altered drafts on brown paper, then traced & added seam allowance to tracing paper. Folded into craft envelopes with sketch & details on the outside. Warm iron folded paper for use, retrace as needed.
We used oaktag card basic pattern blocks to trace for everything, those are hung up flat.

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Making blocks seems like such a useful tool. I’ll keep an eye open for the next time this class runs

Part of me sees the “advanced tag” and thinks I should wait until I’ve sewn way more garments but the other part of me thinks I could handle it. Personally I’d consider myself a beginner sewer but I feel like I’m more at the intermediate level for their sewing classes.

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Sewing & pattern drafting are related like embroidery & weaving are related. Same fam, but cousins not sisters if ykwim.
Slopers/blocks are for creating patterns. You can do it once you’ve got a handle on construction basics, I believe in you!
Buy some second hand sheets for inexpensive fabric & practice altering patterns.

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My self-made patterns these days are usually on repurposed brown packing paper or muslin if it’s something that involved a bunch of fitting. They usually get stored in 9x12" envelopes, which makes them easier to unfold again than commercial patterns. Ironing is fine so long as you don’t have bits taped together.

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Stay tape question, should my stitching be on the stay tape? It called for 3/8” or 1/2” stay tape and 3/8” seam allowance so when I’m stitching at 3/8” it’s only catching sometimes.

Should I unpick and bring it in slightly to catch the tape before I serge?

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Are you sure you stitched from the right edge? The purpose of the stay tape is to keep from stretching and is usually then caught again when you stitch the seam or put on binding. What part is that? It looks like it is way too far into your actual garment. Check to be sure that it shouldn’t be 3/8 from the seam, not 3/8 from the inside edge of the tape.

I’d need to read the instructions for that section to figure that out.

Is it the angle? Looks like a huge seam allowance, but, yeah, we need more info @photojenn .