The Essential Guide to Sewing With Sheers

April 25, 2023 by Shellie Wilson Leave a Comment

I recently came across this video series over on Craftsy.com the “Essential Guide to Sewing with Sheers” and I have to say, it’s a game changer! I’ve always struggled with working with sheer and lightweight fabrics, but this guide has made it so much easier. Sara Alm, the instructor from Apparel Arts, does an amazing job of breaking down each step in a way that’s easy to understand.

From stabilizing to marking, seaming to finishing, Sara covers it all. I love how she shows you how to manipulate patterns to add some seriously cool design details. And the best part? She helps you cut and stabilize these finicky fabrics with confidence.

I also really appreciated learning about all the different types of sheer fabric details like pintucks, pleats, gathers and ruching. And let me tell you, the seam finishes Sara teaches are on another level. French seams, enclosed seams, bias tape necklines and armholes – she covers them all. And the hems! Clean-finished hems, picot hems, baby hems and wide-finished hems – they all look amazing on sheer fabrics.

If you’re looking to up your sewing game and work with sheer and lightweight fabrics, I highly recommend this guide. The techniques taught in this guide will unlock all the elegance of garments made with these exquisite fabrics. Trust me, you won’t regret it!

Get the book here: “Essential Guide to Sewing with Sheers”

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Sew a Pincushion for Pins, Needles, and Fabric Clips

It doesn’t matter whether you sew by hand or by machine, you need a pincushion. You need a spot to parks pins and needles and keep them within easy reach for when you need them again. There are a lot of styles of pincushion to choose from. Some magnetic, some fabric. Some cute, some purely functional. This “little bit extra” pincushion has a spot to store all the different types of pins and needles you might need while sewing. Polka Dot Chair has a free sewing pattern you can use to make one for yourself.

This handy little pincushion has a circular shape and is divided into sections to store different types of pins. The bottom section is for your regular straight pins. Just poke them in and they’re ready for when you need them. The top has one section with a felt flap perfect for holding your sewing needles. I don’t know about you but I don’t like mixing my hand sewing needles in with my pins on a pincushion. It makes it hard to find the needle when I want it. So having a separate section for the needles is a great idea.

This “little bit extra” pincushion also has a spot to hold a few fabric clips. Fabric clips have become popular alternatives to a traditional straight pin. They hold fabric pieces together without piercing the fabric, which is important when sewing leather, vinyl, or other materials that will show permanent holes from pins.

You can sew the “little bit extra” pincushion from large fabric scraps or small fabric cuts (fat eighth). You probably already have all the supplies you need to sew one in your sewing supplies already.

Get the free pattern for this “little bit extra” pincushion over at Polka Dot Chair.

[photo credit: Polka Dot Chair]

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