October Event Demonstrations
Bringing Lauren's Sewing Tips to LifeLauren’s Hints & Tips videos are what make our dressmaking kits truly special, offering extra support to help you refine your skills and build confidence. For our October Sewing Society event, we brought these videos to life with interactive demonstration stations in the sewing studio, allowing customers to practice techniques hands-on.
If you couldn’t join us or want to revisit those skills, you’ll find the top tips shared during the event and links to Lauren’s Hints & Tips videos to help with your projects.
Stretch Fix
Stretchfix makes hemming your knits super easy and adds stability to the hem, whilst keeping the fabric’s stretch. It is best applied before starting construction, so you can pre-press your hems.
Tip! Stretchfix is available to buy as 3cm wide tape or by the metre from a 30cm wide roll.
Step 1
Once you have cut your Stretchfix to size, place the strip glue side down onto the wrong side of the fabric, matching it to the raw edge.
Iron in place using a dry iron that is on a heat of 2-3 dots. Like interfacing, press and hold for 8-10 seconds.
Step 2
Keep the paper on and press the hem up, using your strip as a guide.
Step 3
Allow to fully cool before removing the paper.
Step 4
Re-press the hem. Again you want to use a 2-3 dot iron setting but this time with a little steam.
Once cool, your hem can then be sewn without the need for pins - YAY!
If you need a little extra guidance for your next project using Stretchfix, take a look at Lauren's hints & Tips video.
Covered Buttons
Give your me-made garments a couture finish with perfectly matched buttons.
Tip! If you’re using a very lightweight fabric or one that frays easily then it’s much easier to handle if you apply a lightweight interfacing to it first.
Step 1
Find a bit of the print you like and draw around a 10p piece on the wrong side. This is the right size for an 11mm button.
Step 2
Starting from the wrong side, thread a hand needle and sew a running stitching close to the edge all the way round. Leave a long tail.
Step 3
Pull the tails a little to start to gather the fabric and place the button inside face down.
Step 4
Then pull the threads tighter to gather the fabric more and keep a tight hold of them.
Step 5
Place the back plate raised side down onto the button and press hard until you feel it secure.
Step 6
Trim off the thread tails and admire your work!
If you need a little extra guidance for your next project making custom covered buttons, take a look at Lauren's hints & Tips videos:
Turning Loops
The Prym Turning Set
For the Turning Set you need to start with a tube that has one short end sewn shut and one open. You can use it on pretty long straps!
Step 1
With your fabric tube wrong side out, place the ‘straw’ part of the set inside it.
Step 2
Holding onto the straw, turn the tube round and use the pointy end of the wooden part to push the end in and feed it through the straw.
Step 3
The fabric will magically follow!
Step 4
Use the pointy end of the straw to gently push out the corners.
Prym Loop Turner
The Loop Turner is great for making tiny tubes, such as those used for button loops. Both ends of the sewn tube need to be open.
Tip! The loop turner works best with fabric that has been cut on the bias.
Step 1
With your fabric tube wrong side out, feed your loop turner all the way through the tube.
Step 2
Using the moveable arm, pierce through the fabric. Do this a little down from the top so the fabric doesn’t fray.
Final Steps
Close the arm and start to pull down. It’s important to keep tension as you’re pulling so that the arm doesn’t flap back open
If you need a little extra guidance for your next project with loop turnings, take a look at Lauren's hints & Tips video.
Tailors Clapper
Clappers help to give a professional, crisp press. They’re great for thicker fabrics like wool but also fabrics that can’t tolerate a lot of heat.
Step 1
Press your seam open and apply a nice shoot of steam.
Step 2
Take the iron off and immediately replace with the clapper.
Step 3
Leave the clapper on the fabric while it cools, before removing to reveal a beautifully pressed seam!
If you need a little extra guidance for your next project using a tailors clapper, take a look at Lauren's hints & Tips videos:
Stretch Percentage Measurer
If you’re using a pattern which is designed for jersey fabrics then it will probably tell you the stretch percentage that the fabric you use needs to have. This is different from the stretch content, which is how much elastane or lycra is in the fabric.
Tip! The upcoming My Fabric Stash Binder from https://patterntrace.com/ has a built in stretch percentage calculator.
Step 1
Hold a 10cm section of your fabric, stretch it as far as it will comfortably stretch, without over stretching
Step 2
Every centimetre over 10 will correspond to 10% of stretching. So if your test piece stretches to 14cm, then the fabric has 40% stretch.
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