Busy girl sews a patch

No Comments »

I have a few exciting things to announce, but first I wanted to share my latest project.

I blew out a pair of my favourite jeans, and the store no longer carries them. In the past, I would have just thrown these out, but now, equipped with my newfound sewing knowledge, I decided to fix them myself.

20120415-203121.jpg

First off you want to get a patch that matches the stretch, thickness and colour of the jeans as much as possible. If it’s new material, you want to wash it first to get the extra ink and stiffness out.

20120415-203210.jpg

Then trim the loose threads since they’ll just get caught up in your machine. It’s better to start with a clean cut

20120415-203313.jpg

Then pin the patch to the inside of your jeans like so

20120415-203354.jpg

Using a zig zag stitch, move the fabric through the machine in a W pattern. You want to make sure you fully cover the area and reinforce it well

20120415-203457.jpg

When you’ve given it full coverage, flip the jeans inside out and trim the patch inside. Note my beloved Kai 7230 shears <3 20120415-203609.jpg

When you’re done, you should have a fully reinforced patch!

20120415-203710.jpg

As you can see, I made a few mistakes with this, but overall am happy with the end result. When I fix the other pair I blew out, I’ll use thread that matches better (although you can’t see it/I don’t care)

Hooray for fixing stuff yourself!

Posted on April 15th 2012 in Sewing

The big reveal

No Comments »

Before the holidays, I posted sneak peeks of the gifts I’d made for xmas. The first was a set of embroidered, monogrammed hankies for my mom’s bf. I decided to use white thread on the white fabric, and I’m thrilled with how they turned out. Luckily, the recipient loved them as well!

The second gift was an apron I made for my mom from a vintage pattern. I made the bias tape by hand (an exercise in frustration, but a useful one) and learned a lot from this project. Mom loved it, and I hope to make another one soon.

Otherwise, life in the Busy Girl Design household has been quiet. I’ve signed up for the Wed By Hand mailing list, so hopefully I’ll be applying for a show in the near future 🙂

Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season!

Posted on January 5th 2012 in Sewing