10!? Steps To Prep Before You Sew

Yes, I know ten step to hurdle over are seemingly quite a lot, but sewing is actually 80% preparation, 10% ironing, and only 10% of actual sewing.

But First, Productivity

   It goes without saying that having an organized sewing space is of the utmost importance. And at times this is something that I really struggle with. I'm grateful for the two bedroom house we live in, but it's tight on storage space. Our second bedroom, you know like a spare bedroom that people who don't hoard craft supplies would normally invite people over to stay the night in, is my craft room. The way the house was designed, the craft room is actually supposed to be the master bedroom, with a decent sized closet. The spare bedroom only has a small "hallway closet" sized closet for clothing storage. Because of the size of the house and how the main hallway is in the shape of a letter L, I wasn't going to be able to get my large blue desk into the spare bedroom. Because I wasn't willing to get rid of the desk, the master bedroom was the only place it was going to be able to fit. Also, I can't say it wasn't an appealing prospect to have the larger closet for storage for my craft supplies, I mean, hoard. As far as closet storage for our bedroom, we've been able to make-do with other solutions. But whether you have a few shelves in a hallway closet, a small corner of your dining room, an entire attic, or if you are fortunate to have a s
ewing "she shed" in your back yard, I just can't get motivated to sew or craft if every available surface is cluttered.   

    So the big question for me is how can I muster enough motivation to be productive, when I don't feel motivated to sew? Part the equation is simply stepping over the threshold into the craft room, even if it's only for a few minutes. Believe it or not, just a few minutes can accomplish quite a bit. The second part is keeping on top of myself with discipline, having the discipline to clean up after myself as I go, or at the very least, after I've finished a project. If I'm feeling low on energy to dive into a complicated project, the simply tidying up is still being productive, but at least stepping over the threshold is a step in the right direction. 

   I've compiled at list of steps to prep your projects before you start sewing. 

10 Steps To Prep Before You Sew

A simple sketch

   It's a good idea to sketch out your design. It doesn't matter if you can draw or not, nobody has to see your starting idea, but as least get it down on paper. It's good to have a visual representation of what your end goal is, even if it were to change at some point along the journey. 

The paper pattern

   If using a paper pattern, I'll go ahead and purchase all the notions and fabric listed on the back of the envelope, collect them in a bin or box, until I have all the things needed for the project. But when it comes to purchasing fabric for your projects, it's always best to buy more yardage than is suggested on a commercial pattern, especially if you are going rogue and using a self-drafted pattern. There can also be unforeseen mistakes made during the sewing process where you may need to recut something, purchasing extra yardage can save your butt if you get into a pickle where you think you might run out of fabric. Okay, I know what you may be thinking. Why not just go back to the store and buy more? Well, there's a few problems with that.

   First of all, we HOARDERS like to hoard, that's what we do.  

1. The best case scenario is if you've recently bought the fabric within in the last few weeks or months. But you may have purchased that fabric years ago, when you were in a different state or country, or that store may have gone out of business and you can't get more.
2. Another reason is dye baths. If several moths have passed since you've bought the original fabric and want to repurchase it, hoping that it will match perfectly, there's a chance that the fabric you originally bought came from a different dye bath than the fabric you newly purchased from the same shop or company.    

   So what do we do? 

   HOARD! 

   No, just take a look at the back of the envelope and where it "suggests" the amount of fabric needed. That's where you add or multiply. As a safety precaution, I always order at minim 1-2 yards more that the envelope says. If I don't end up using all the fabric in the project, I can always use it to make an accessory for the project. Or I will squirrel it into my fabric pile where I know I will use it someday, because I don't have the heart to get rid of it.        

 

Trace or cut our your paper pattern. 

   You can decide whether you are on team trace or cut, but when my husband and I decide to have a stay-in date-night, and I don't feel like sitting on the couch wasting what precious time I do have to be crating, I like to take that time to cut out paper patterns, work on some hand sewing, or edit videos without sacrificing quality time with my husband. 

   

The Mock Up

   Next is one of my least favorite steps of all! The dreaded mock up! I can't even tell you how much I dread doing them. But I've ruined many an expensive cut of fabric by not doing a trial run beforehand, so it's an essential step that shouldn't be skipped, you'll never understand the struggle until it happens to you. I think the reason I don't like, is I typically view them as a large hurdle to get over before I can even start sewing, especially if it takes multiple mock ups to get it right. Perhaps it's one of those things that I should view it more as a tool that is helping me, rather than hindering me. 
 

Wash Your Fabrics

   I'm on the "wash all the fabrics no matter what" team, and before y'all roast me, I don't mean silks or taffetas that by washing them, can change the "hand" or "feel" of the fabric. Typically I deal with natural fibers, and most commonly cottons. I won't get into how damaging on the environment cotton production actually is, but when it's produced in a factory, it's treated with dyes, pesticides, starches, and sizing chemicals before being wrapped onto bolts, packaged and shipped to distributors. My skin isn't overly sensitive, nor do I have very many skin allergies, but if you do, then I'd think twice about not pre-washing your fabrics before starting your project. It's not necessarily my intention of being all doom and gloom about germs, but if I didn't take the time to wash the fabric beforehand, I'm taking a great risk of producing a fabulous garment that has a very high probability of shrinking in the wash.
You probably just shrugged at this information, and that's okay. I'd prefer to be safe rather than sorry. But until it happens to you, you'll never understand.   

Ironing

   Ironing your freshly washed fabric is important. Cutting your pattern out of deeply creased fabrics can and will skew your fabric pieces, with a high probability of the seams not matching up correctly, and just all around causing you more headaches than you really need, please trust me, just iron it.   

Pin To Fabric

   When pinning your pattern to you fabric it's important to pin it on correctly. Yes, grain lines are important. The grain line is essentially the weave of the fabric, which direction the threads are running. It's important to understand how you cut out a garment will effect and change how the finished garment behaves. There are three grains: 

1. The straight grain or lengthwise grain are the threads going parallel to the selvage edge of the fabric. The salvage edge is the bound, uncut or factory edges that doesn't unravel.
2. Cross-grain is the direction someone cuts it at a shop. The cross-grain are the threads running the width of the fabric, from salvage to salvage or perpendicular to the straight grain. 
3. The bias is at a 45 degree angle between the straight and the cross grains. When the grain is at a 45 degree angle to the warp and weft threads, it's referred to as the "true bias". Every piece of woven fabric as two biases, perpendicular to each other.        

Cutting the fabric. 

   Cutting the fabric is relatively easy and straight forward. The only things you need to pay attention to are the pattern markings. 

   Pattern markings are symbols printed on the paper pattern. These symbols usually mean the same thing across all the large commercial pattern companies, but can be a entirely different symbols or mean something entirely different in patterns produced by independent pattern makers. 

   Arrows (I call them), others call them notches, I do believe notches is the correct term, can be found on the very edge of the pattern. It's important to cut these out, these marking ensure that when you pin and sew the pattern together, the pieces line up properly. There are also markings to indicate which way you should lay the paper pattern on the fabric, so that it's on the correct grain line. Or whether or not the pattern needs to be placed on a fold, sometimes the instructions will indicate that you'll need to gather the fabric between two dots on the pattern. 

   After you've cut the fabric, if there are any important markings on the pattern, you'll want to transfer them in chalk to your fabric. I'd use caution when using ink pens or sharpies to transfer these markings because the inks can bleed through your fabric, ruining it. Ask me how I know... 

Pinning 

   Okay, this is the last step before you sew! I usually start assembling my garments by pinning the darts, working in an assembly line fashion. (demonstrate different ways to use pins)  

Sew! 

   I know this seems like a long list of things to accomplish before you even get the fabric under the sewing machine. There's nothing that says yo have to bulldoze through all these steps in a single day, but accomplishing 2-3 of these "chores" so-to-speak, will have you well on your way to a completed project.  

Edwardian "Skirt-Knickers" and Camisole

 What are Skirt-Knickers? Drawers? 

    The divided skirt is the name for knickers with wide “skirt legs”. Knickers, “skirt-knickers” or French Drawers could be made of mull muslin, washing silk, or of course, cotton, which is what I’m using. For those who like a bit or frillies and froth beneath their skirts, skirt-knickers often times had a flounce with rows of insertion lace, were threaded through with baby ribbons and were worn under lace or silk petticoats.  

   So, I went about researching drawers and found several options. I knew I wanted the design to be as simple as possible, because after all, they are only underwear. I began searching for patterns and I found several really good options. I fell in love with the drawers from Century Patterns, a pattern in which I don’t own. In the illustration, I love the way “skirt-legs” a so full and fluffy. But I decided I wanted to use a pattern I already had in my stash. So, I pulled out TV-E02 and started making the drawers.  

   Starting with the inseam facing, inseam is just a polite way of saying crotch, anyway I pinned the facing to the drawers' matching notches, repeat for both pant legs.

   After deciding on a design for the insertion lace, I basted it onto the pant leg of the drawers with a contrasting thread. With white thread, I top-stitched the lace to the drawers, sewing closely to the edge of the lace.  

   Carefully I cut the fabric behind the lace, taking extreme care not to cut the lace. And after being this far into the project I'm so glad after all of the cutting open of the fabric, that I never managed to cut the lace. I can't even fathom what I'd do if that happened, crawling into the corner and cry most likely.

   Then I trim down the seam allowance, roughly cutting it down to a 1/2 inch. With the point of my scissors, I snipped the fabric up to the pointed design on the lace.  By now I'm guessing that you are wondering how in the heck I'm going to be able to flat fell these seams now, well I've got a plan!

    By eye, I trimmed down the seam allowance, leaving it about a half inch wide. I fold the excess, lining up the raw edge with the stitching line, then fold it over once more tucking in the raw edge.

   And now for lots and lots more flat felled seams. Even though I've folded over the seam allowance, because of the angled raw edges, I still have to tuck into the corners in an effort to encase all the raw edges to prevent fraying. Needless to say, this was an extremely tedious fiddly project to work on!  

   I ended up working on this project over the duration of 8 days working pretty close to 10 hours every day until I got it finished. Please heed my advice when I suggest you go with a more simplistic lace design. (internally screaming!) Also sorry for this awkward angle, I had a difficult time positioning the camera to get a clear shot.

   Okay, after I got over my fuming, I turned the raw edge of the fabric of the drawers up using a turn and turn 1/4-inch hem for both pant legs.  

   After I hemmed the pant legs, I decided to add lace to the bottom edge. If I had been thinking clearly in the 100th hour of griping at myself for wasting so much time on all them confounded felled seams, I should have hemmed and top-stitched the lace trim on at the same time. (still internally screaming)

   I filmed the making of the drawers and camisole out of order, I actually prepared this waistband after I'd already finished the camisole. And you may be wondering why I've put it off so long. The truth is, making clothes for a body that is plus sized can have it challenges. Up until now, I haven't tried on the drawers and I'm fearing that they won't fit. There is supposed to be some gathering in the back of the drawers at the waist band, and I'm not even sure I will have enough extra fabric to do so.

   My mind is already reeling with plan B,C,D or E with all the ways I can add width to the drawers without disturbing all the work I've done to the insertion lace. So, it isn't like I don't have options on how to fix it, but, if possible, I'd like to avoid plan Z at all cost, which would be to completely start over from scratch. And if I do have to start over from scratch, I'll probably be huddled in the corner bawling my eyes out, well in the very least I'll have a seriously twitchy eye. And yet I always ask myself why I don't ever do a mock up. And when starting the next project, I probably won't do a mock up, and will be giving myself this same amount of grief once again. When will I ever learn?!

   Okay, so I did a quick fitting and discovered that I needed to take a few extra inches out of the waist. And all this time I was worried that it wouldn't fit at all. I didn't want to sew gathering stitches across the lace insertion, because it would create too much bulk under the waistband. So, sewed two rows of gathering stitches across the cotton sections to adjust the waist edge of the drawers.

   As for the waistband, I cut it out extra-long and folded over one long edge a 1/4 inch, sewing it down. I know this seems strange, but I do have a method to my madness.

   After assembling the basic pattern pieces of the camisole, I mapped out where I wanted the lace, then pinned and top-stitched it into place. 

After top-stitching on the lace, I flip the camisole over to the back and cut open the fabric behind the lace, being extremely careful not to cut and portion of the lace.

   For the bottom of the camisole, I hemmed it with a double rolled hem. I may have to attach some beading lace to tighten it around the waist.

   And...this is a video clip of me frantically searching for enough buttons for the closure of the camisole. I seriously didn't think I'd find enough in this mishmash box of vintage buttons, but I succeeded. But in hindsight, I think I'll buy some more that actually match, perhaps some pretty natural shell of pearl ones.

   After testing my first button hole on a scrap of fabric, I mapped out where I wanted to the rest of the buttons to be. I decided on the button holes to be one button width apart, resulting in six buttonholes in total spanning the length of the placket.

   Because the button placket is so narrow, I embroidered the buttonholes vertically.

   I did a final fitting of the camisole, and I thought it needed a drawstring at the waist. After adjusting the front gathers, I attached the leftover beading lace from my Teal Edwardian Corset project, and stitched it on. Later, I will run a colored ribbon through the lace to make the waist even more adjustable.

   For the side of the camisoles that has the buttons, I simply removed the

Pic courtesy of the Met.

last button, stitched the remainder of the lace down and reattached the button back into place.

   I folded inward the raw edge or the lace, wrapping it around to the back side of the button placket and stitched it down.

   I used upholstery needle, one with a large eye, to weave the ribbon through the design of the lace. Then tied the loose ends into a bow. I also wove decorative ribbon into the insertion lace for a fun pop of color.

   If you'd like to check out my video detailing the process of how I made my Edwardian camisole and drawers, please check out my YouTube channel VintageVignettes. Or you can go click on the link. 

YouTube link to Edwardian undergarments: 

 https://youtu.be/LOtKTlDbh6E