A whole new world of Sewing
Recently I have been trying to expand my sewing skills to include clothing. It’s a bit of a scary thought because every time I’ve tried in the past it’s always been so complicated. That’s why I decided it was time to face my fears and attend some of the sewing classes offered by Thread Den. I’ve already posted on the Wide Leg Pants & Simple Shift Dress classes. So this week I want to tell you all about their class for making a 3/4 sleeve top using stretch fabrics.
I have to admit I’ve always viewed stretch fabrics as my version of Kryptonite. I’ve never had to sew with it before. So I didn’t understand that this fabric needs to be treated differently to woven fabrics. When I was searching Thread Den’s website and came across the 3/4 Sleeve Top class and saw it involved sewing with stretch fabric I signed up straight away.
I realise now just how clueless I was when it came to stretch fabrics. I was completely unaware that you needed to use different needles and stitches. And that you also need to use special ball point pins! This class teaches you all this information. Plus you learn how important it is to cut out your fabric pieces correctly. It definitely explains why some of my t-shirts loose their shape after a couple of washes.
Another really interesting skill I learnt in this class was how to use a double needle. I received one when I purchased my sewing machine (years ago!) but have never used it. I didn’t even know how to thread it! It was a lovely surprise that this class also included this sewing technique.
The knit fabric you need to buy for this class has to have a two way stretch to it. So it needs to stretch both horizontally and vertically. When I visited my local Spotlight store they didn’t actually stock any of this type of fabric. So instead I found a very cool store in Fitzroy that stock a lot of different fabrics – including designer offcuts! It’s called ‘The Fabric Store’ and they have an amazing collection. The one I chose for this project is a Mark Jacobs offcut!
Overall I just loved this sleeve top class. It was so informative and I learnt so many new sewing techniques. It’s definitely a class you should take if you haven’t worked with stretch fabric before. It has made me so much more confident that I’m ready to move into the big scary world of sewing clothes. Thanks so much to Danielle and all her team at Thread Den!
