Sew Savvy: How to Find Time to Sew

We all have different commitments and responsibilities in our personal lives and although we have every intention to sit down and start sewing, this can be difficult because other things take priority. The tips I’m going to share are what I find useful when I need to have sewing time and let my creativity roam free. I stay at home with two small children, run my own business, and university beckons as part of a career change, so I can completely relate to having limited sewing time. However, it’s really important that we look after our mental health and wellbeing and we find time to sew for pleasure, if at all possible.

My happy place, sat behind my sewing desk

Batch Cutting

Gather together the patterns for your projects, your chosen fabrics, then start cutting. To make this process worthwhile, I batch-cut 2-3 projects at a time, over the space of up to a week. Once the week is over, I have piles of ready-cut fabric, and when I next have time to spare, I can get straight into sewing. The amount of projects you batch-cut and the time you allocate yourself to complete the process is up to you. I understand that it isn’t the most exciting of tasks, but it can be an efficient and effective way to organise your projects. Knowing that your projects are ready and waiting to go may give you extra motivation to get started.

The renamed ‘Nova Coat’ by Papercut Patterns was completed in stages

The cutting process

Pre-cut and ready to sew for the next day

The completed ‘Nova Coat’ by Papercut Patterns

Allocate Sewing Time

This is definitely easier said than done and is often sacrificed for other things, but when you become more intentional about protecting your sewing time, it becomes easier to find it. There are several steps you can take to do this:

1) Allocate your sewing time in advance, so that you can honour it and avoid the temptation to replace it with other things. Put it in your diary/calendar as a visual reminder. You can even go a step further and set yourself a notification for when it’s nearing time for you to sew.

2) Make it a regular occurrence and it will become habitual. How regularly you want to sew is completely up to you. It’s about choosing a time that best suits your schedule. For me, sewing time happens most evenings, once my children have gone to bed. I set aside a few hours to dedicate to my creativity. Of course, there are times when sewing time has to be cancelled, but because I am accustomed to regularly setting the time aside, I reschedule and then commit to keeping that time for myself. 

3) Set aside a realistic amount of time. Decide on the minimum amount of time you will need and hold yourself accountable. When you’re starting out, small increments of time are best. When I first made the decision to allocate my sewing time, I began by putting aside 15 minutes at the end of every evening. I knew I would be too tired to do any longer than that after the children went to sleep. I was less likely to exchange that 15 minutes for something else because it was a short period of time. I would find myself looking forward to having those 15 minutes to myself every evening, doing something that I loved, and I started making it a priority. Eventually, without me realising I started taking 30 minutes, then an hour, etc. Before long, I had found a sewing routine that worked well for me.

4) The act of sewing needn’t be involved. There is so much that goes into the process of sewing, whether that’s creating a mood board, searching for fabric, choosing patterns, and much more. All of these things count, which means that you can enjoy your allocated sewing time wherever you are.

Join Sewing Groups

Whether they are online or in-person, sewing groups are a wonderful way of meeting other sewists who share your passion for sewing. You can use the groups and the sewists in them as a form of accountability. Seeing what everyone is making can inspire and motivate you to get creative and keep sewing. You will also have people on hand to ask questions of, and who can share in the trials and tribulations that are a part of our sewing lives. The act of sharing your sewing journey really does spur you on to take time for yourself and your creativity.

You’ll feel this happy once you develop a sewing routine that suits your schedule

I really hope that you find these tips useful and can implement one or two of them. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll establish a sewing routine that suits your schedule, and allows you the opportunity to be creative and to progress in your sewing journey. I’ll be back soon with more tips on how to sew savvy.

Sew Savvy: 5 Tips on Choosing Your Fabric As a Beginner

When I first started sewing, I thought that fabric stores, both online and in-store, were daunting places. There were so many types of fabric to choose from and I didn’t have a clue where to start. You needn’t feel daunted. Here are some of the things to consider when you are choosing which fabric to use, as a beginner. They will help you to make the best fabric choices for your individual sewing needs.

Project Type

Firstly, consider the project that you are undertaking and the fabric requirements. Do you need it to be durable and hard-wearing? Is it important that it’s lightweight and breathable? Do you have a specific project in mind? For example, if your project is going to be a curtain, you will want to choose fabric that is suitable for curtain-making. If you are making a garment, the pattern will provide you with a list of fabric types to use, for the best possible finish to be achieved. Your fabric choice will be dependent upon the design and the fit of the garment. Most online stores will list the suitability of their fabrics for particular types of sewing, i.e. dressmaking, crafts, quilting, etc. When shopping in-store, there will be people on hand with a wealth of knowledge, who will be more than happy to provide guidance on the best fabric to choose for your project.

Canvas and cork are great fabrics for bag-making as not only do they look aesthetically pleasing, they are also hard-wearing and durable.

‘The Teloujay’ by Country Cow Designs, made by me.

Fabric Type

When you are new to sewing, it will understandably take you more time to complete your projects. The last thing you want to do is add to a project’s complexity or completion time by using fabrics that will be challenging to sew. The properties of the fabric you choose will have an impact on how it behaves while you are sewing. A good place to start is to choose a woven fabric, such as cotton. It comes in a variety of weights, patterns and colours and is easy to handle. It won’t stretch out of shape or move around much while you are cutting out your patterns, pinning, or sewing. Once you grow in confidence and ability, you can start to experiment with the type of fabrics you use. 

Fabric Preference

Do you have a particular type of fabric you feel comfortable sewing with? Maybe, you only like to sew with woven fabric. Perhaps using fabric with a bit more stretch, like jersey, is your preference. Has your confidence in your sewing increased and you like the challenge of taking on trickier fabrics, such as silk or satin. There is a lot to be said for choosing fabric that you feel most comfortable or competent using. While it’s great to challenge ourselves in our sewing, and learn new skills and techniques, sewing should be fun. When you choose fabric that you like to work with, the experience is much more enjoyable, the finish of your projects are better and overall, you are more likely to continue on your sewing journey.

Cotton is my favourite fabric. I mostly use it for quilting but also when making garments

The same cotton (above) used to make a quilt top, that was turned into a quilted ‘Unfolding Jacket’ by Wiksten

Budget

Setting yourself a budget for your fabric purchases will help you to prioritise which fabric you need and what can be left for another time. Purchasing fabric doesn’t have to break the bank. It’s very easy to overspend, especially if you have multiple projects to complete. Speaking from personal experience, when I first started sewing I did not regularly set myself a fabric budget and I would get carried away buying fabric that looked aesthetically pleasing. Then, when I was ready to use it, I’d realise that I either had no idea how to sew with it, or that it wasn’t suitable for the projects I wanted to make. I ended up buying more fabric and essentially let the other fabric go to waste by not using it. 

Make sure that not only are you getting your money’s worth out of the fabric you buy, but that you are actually using it. I also found that if I bought anything that was expensive, I’d become fearful of using it, in case I ruined it. The most important thing is not to let fabric become a barrier that prevents you from sewing as often as you would like. If that means choosing the cheaper option because you won’t be worrying about making mistakes, then so be it. It’s much more beneficial to be practising your sewing and learning from your mistakes, than hardly sewing at all and having gorgeous fabric that you’ll never use.

Fabric Sustainability

Sustainability is an important topic and definitely worth taking into consideration when choosing fabric. Upcycling is a sustainable way to be creative and build on your basic sewing skills. We all have items of clothing that we hardly wear, or the fit isn’t quite right. Instead of throwing them away, you could turn them into different garments, or into something else completely, such as a memory quilt, or a cushion. The possibilities are endless! Bedsheets and duvet covers can be used for your sewing projects. If you’d prefer to purchase new bedsheets to use for your sewing projects, they are relatively inexpensive to buy. Old ones can be upcycled and used for toiles, or you can give them a new lease of life by dyeing them and turning them into items of clothing. 

Making use of an old bedsheet

A toile made using fabric from the bedsheet

Using outgrown baby clothes to make a king-size quilt

Summary

I hope that these tips have been useful. They are the things I wish I had taken into consideration as a new sewist, and they now play a significant part in my decision-making process when purchasing fabric. I’ll be back soon with more tips on how to sew savvy.

Sew Savvy: How to Find the Right and Wrong Sides of Fabric

There comes a time when all sewists can be found asking themselves this question, “Which is the right side of this fabric?!” As someone who regularly quilts, I often ask myself this question when using solids (plain coloured fabric). It makes me think back to when I first started on my sewing journey and I didn’t even really understand why there was a ‘right’, or ‘wrong’ side of fabric. I also struggled to tell the difference between the two when using different types of fabric, and it took a lot of trial and error before I felt competent at figuring this out for the majority of fabrics I encountered.

What is the Right and Wrong Side?

If you are new to sewing, you might be wondering what the right side and the wrong side of fabric are, and why they are important. The right side of the fabric is the side that will be visible once you have finished your project. The wrong side of the fabric is the side that (in most cases) no one will see and contains the seams. The reason why you need to find out which is the right side of the fabric, and which is the wrong side of the fabric, is to make sure that your completed project has the best possible finish. Your project should showcase your chosen fabric in all its glory.

Finding the right and wrong sides of solids is difficult but the results can be amazing. My project, ‘Vase and Flowers’ foundation paper pieced pattern by Pride and Joy Quilting. 

Fabric Appearance and Colour Saturation

Looking at the appearance of your fabric on both sides is a really good way to determine which side is the right side, and which is the wrong side of the fabric. I understand how vague that sentence appears to be, so I will get into the specifics. Here is some fabric with a print. You can clearly see that the print is bright, bold and clear on one side (this would be the right side of the fabric). Then, when  it is turned over, the print is significantly faded (this would be the wrong side of the fabric). With fabric where the print is bolder and clearer on one side and faded on the other, it is easy to tell which is the right side of the fabric, and which is the wrong side of the fabric. 

Right side of fabric with a pattern

Wrong side of fabric with a pattern

There are exceptions to every rule. You can get fabric that is printed on both sides equally as bold and as bright. A perfect example is African wax print fabric, also known as Ankara fabric. Here, you can see that the pattern is bold and bright on one side, and just as bold and bright on the other side. There will be a slight difference in the surface texture between the right side and the wrong side of the fabric. The right side of the fabric will have a shinier, slightly waxy look to it. This is not always easy to recognise, especially if you are not used to using such fabric. Another method of finding the right and wrong sides of this type of fabric is to look at the selvedge. The selvedge often contains writing and on the right side of fabric, the writing will be legible. 

Right side of fabric, with legible writing on selvedge

Wrong side of fabric, with mirrored image of the writing on the selvedge

When examining the appearance of plain coloured fabric, you may find that the right side of the fabric has a deeper colour than the wrong side of the fabric, which can look slightly paler. This is not always the case, as in the example below. 

Solid fabric with the right and wrong sides both showing.

Fabric Texture

Using the appearance of your fabric to determine the right or wrong side of fabric isn’t always easy and that is definitely the case when using plain coloured fabric. At times, it is nigh on impossible. It is sometimes possible to feel a slight difference in the texture. It can feel smoother on the right side of the fabric and coarser on the wrong side of the fabric, however this is not always the case.If you’ve tried your best to find the right and wrong side of the fabric but you’re left feeling confused, I would suggest picking a side that you think looks the best. Be sure to stick to that side consistently because it could affect the appearance and finish of your project. 

Fleece

Fleece can be difficult at times to determine which side is the wrong side  and which is the right side of the fabric. Here is some Sherpa fleece. It is easy to tell the difference between the right and wrong sides of the fabric. The right side is fluffy in its appearance. The wrong side looks very textured.

Right side of Sherpa fleece is fluffy and soft

Wrong side of Sherpa fleece is rough and noticeably textured

On this polar fleece it isn’t always easy to tell the difference between the right side of the fabric and the wrong side of the fabric. A trick that can help is to gently pull the fleece at either side. By giving it a slight pull, it will roll over to the wrong side of the fabric, curling away from the right side of the fabric. 

Fleece rolling over towards the wrong side of the fabric.

Knit, Satin and Velvet

When it comes to single knit fabric, such as jersey, the right side of the fabric will have rows that look like the shape of a ‘V’ and the wrong side of the fabric will have what looks like small curves/bumps. This can be difficult to see if you are not used to working with this fabric, or if the stitches are particularly small. In this case, you can use the same technique that was mentioned for fleece. With Jersey, gently pulling it on either side will result in the cut edge curling towards the right side of the fabric. The selvedge will curl towards the wrong side of the fabric. If you have a knit fabric with a pattern that is bright and bold on one side, that is the right side of the fabric. The side where the pattern is faded will be the wrong side of the fabric. 

With satin, you will notice a shiny sheen on the right side of fabric, whereas underneath, the surface will have a duller appearance and that will be the wrong side of the fabric. It is important to know the right and wrong side of velvet because traditionally, you cut from the wrong side of velvet. The right side of velvet feels fuzzy and hair-like. This is the velvet pile. The wrong side of the fabric has a textured feel.

Selvedge Construction

Now, this next bit of information is controversial and can spark heated debates amongst sewists. Some sewists say that if you run your finger along the small, punched holes in the selvedge and it feels smooth, you’ve located the right side of the fabric, and when you turn it over and the punched holes are raised and feel rough, then you’ve located the wrong side of the fabric. There are others who will tell you that it’s the opposite way around. That if you run your finger along the punched holes and it feels smooth, you’ve located the wrong side of the fabric, and when you turn it over and the punched holes feel rough, then you’ve located the right side of the fabric. Personally, I’ve found this technique to be inconsistent. I have purchased fabric and found both theories to be true. Besides, sometimes, selvedges don’t have any holes! For this reason, I no longer use this advice to help me locate the right and wrong sides of fabric.

Punched holes are rough

Punched holes are smooth

Fabric Shop Storage

If you buy your fabric in-store, take a look at how it is displayed. The right side of the fabric is what will be displayed because the fabric store wants to showcase the fabric in its best light. When getting your fabric cut from the bolt, you can ask that it be written on the selvedge which side is either the right side or wrong side of fabric. This way, it will cut out the investigative work, and you will easily be able to determine which side is which when you return home.

Summary

Please don’t worry if you’re struggling to find which is the right or wrong side of the fabric. If you’ve tried some of these techniques, there is no distinguishable difference, and you cannot be certain, just pick a side that you think looks the best. Be consistent and use the same side throughout your project and all will be well. I really hope that you have found this information useful. I’ll be back soon with more tips on how to sew savvy.

Memory Quilts

This month, I’ve had quite a few commissions for memory quilts. These are created from the sentimental clothing of a loved one. The commissions I receive are largely from parents wanting a way to use and preserve the baby clothes of their children. I always enjoy making these quilts, because I’m creating heirlooms that will be treasured for many years to come.

My daughter’s baby clothes

My daughter’s baby clothes, interfaced and cut into squares

Arranging the quilt rows

All of these commissions got me thinking about the memory quilt I started for my daughter in 2020, while I was 7 months pregnant with my son. I began to quilt it, then had to stop part-way through. It was so heavy (I used a thick batting and then had fleece as the backing) and I couldn’t focus (courtesy of baby brain), so I put it aside until after I’d given birth, for fear of ruining it.

Ready for pin basting

My quilting set up back when my sewing space was a corner of the dining room

I decided it was finally time to finish off the quilt, so that it could be used by the children. It wasn’t a task I was particularly looking forward to because it was heavy and huge! It meausres a little over 80” x 80” and it was quilted on a domestic sewing machine. It gained the name ‘Goliath’ and I’m proud to report that it was defeated!

Quilting time

The finished quilt nicknamed ‘Goliath’

Goliath is being put to good use

It brings my heart so much joy to see the quilt being used. The children play on it, snuggle under it, run/crawl around on it. They get so much pleasure from this quilt, which makes all of the effort it took to create it well and truly worth it. My daughter will have a keepsake quilt that she will cherish for life. It’ll soon be time to make Goliath 2.0 for my son, but that’s a challenge for future Corrine to worry about.

The Gift That Almost Never Was

My beginner’s luck has run out. Or maybe I was getting a bit too confident and big for my boots with the Cricut project I chose to do next. I’ve been seeing a lot of Spotify frames around and I really wanted to try out my newly found Cricut skills to make one for The Hubs as a Valentine’s Day gift.

I must stress, this was made as a gift, I’ve no intentions to sell it, or make any to sell. Not least because it was so difficult to complete this project (more on this point later) but I don’t want to be guilty of copyright infringement, or any such thing. There are lots of tutorials on how to make this and there are also lots of sellers online making this for a profit, so if you want to make or buy one, the opportunity is there.

The weeding for this project was an absolute nightmare. I only heard of reverse weeding (placing transfer tape on top of the vinyl BEFORE weeding, placing it on the object and carefully peeling away the excess material, leaving your design in place and intact) once I’d finished the project.

The Hub’s Valentine’s Day gift

You may have noticed with my crafting posts that there are no progress photos, only finished results. This is because, for the most part, I’m winging it and my sewing room just looks like utter chaos!

I’ve used two different colours of card stock for the background (black and dark grey). The image of myself and my husband was created using the print and cut option and printable vinyl. Each and every letter and shape was painstakingly applied individually. Not something I’d recommend! There are small parts that are slightly wonky but overall I’m thrilled with the finish, all things considered.

The Hubs was given the honour of scanning the Spotify code (the wave pattern) and much to his excitement, and my bewilderment, the correct song started to play. For that alone, I’d say that the project was a win! It’s no coincidence that I’ve not touched my Cricut Maker since. I haven’t got any further projects in mind but I know it’ll be sewing related. I just need to find the right one to try. Any suggestions?

The Bettine 2.0

This sewing project was filled with nostalgia. After taking a deep dive into quilting, giving crafting a go, and trying my hand at making a bag, it was time to put my garment sewing skills to the test. Where better to start than right back at the beginning, using my very first garment pattern: ‘The Bettine’ by Tilly and the Buttons.

Set up and ready to go

As a sewist, I’d rather not pigeon-hole myself into a specific faction of sewing. I adore quilting, with quilts being my favourite items to sew, but I want to develop sewing skills that are versatile and allow me to express my creativity in any way I choose. It’s been years since I flexed my garment sewing muscles, so this project has been a very long time coming!

Bodice construction

It was eye-opening to realise just how much my sewing skills have improved since starting my sewing journey in 2017. When I completed my first ‘Bettine’, I struggled with every aspect: the placement and cutting of the pattern on the fabric, the terminology, the actual sewing (sticking to the seam allowance was a nightmare). This time around, the project was completed within two evenings and without a hitch. I was impressed, to say the least, and I’m usually one to downplay my sewing skills.

Completed bodice

This project was a welcome confidence boost and has brought me full circle in my sewing journey. It’s inspired me to allocate more time to sewing garments and has highlighted to me that my sewing skills aren’t half bad. Yes, I still have lots to learn (particularly where garments are concerned) but I’m certainly not the rookie I once was. I’m proud of my self-taught skills and will keep working on improving them further.

Front

Back

There are no photos of me wearing this. I’m not ready to show off my postnatal jelly rolls to the world just yet. However, I can assure you that the fit is great and it’ll be frequently worn. I used some lightweight cotton fabric I purchased during my honeymoon to Mauritius, so wearing it gives me so much joy. I made it slightly shorter so that I could wear it as a tunic top, which makes it much more versatile and gives me more opportunities to wear it. Hurrah for my Bettine 2.0!

Project Information

Pattern: ‘The Bettine’ by Tilly and the Buttons.

Difficulty: Beginner.

Fabric: Part of ‘The Deep Stash’. Cotton from a fabric market in Mauritius.

Assembly Time: 1 evening cutting. 1 evening sewing.

Greetings in Card Form

Not too long ago, I revamped my sewing machine case with a giraffe mandala. I also briefly mentioned my desire to create some greeting cards using my Cricut Maker. In the spirit of being held accountable, I am pleased to report that I achieved this goal, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

I ordered a pack of card stock, chose my design and let the Cricut Maker do the work. I even gave the fine tipped pen a whirl, and it did the writing for me inside of the card. So impressive! I don’t have the scoring tool, to I folded the card myself, which wasn’t too much hassle. I was very worried about wasting card stock and making a mess of the project, but I took extra care, re-read the instructions on Design Space multiple times and things turned out ok.

A card for The Hubs (left) and my babies (right)

There are so many designs to choose from on Cricut Design Space. I currently have a subscription for it, while I navigate my way around the world of Cricut. This does mean that I have access to a lot of projects but there are also a lot of great designs, fonts and projects available on Design Space for free. I do hope to learn how to make my own designs in Design Space, then I can be less reliant on a subscription.

The cards were well received by their recipients and I even used the cuttings from the designs as table confetti at lunch time. My daughter also had a lot of fun playing with them afterwards. Waste not, want not! A very straight-forward project with good results. I feel ready to take on something more complicated.