#SewTalk - Your sewing questions answered!

HI Darlings!

So excited to bring back #SewTalk, where I answer your questions about sewing. This time I'll answer questions I received on my Instagram stories.

How do you do the bottom of an invisible zipper? I struggle with this.

That is a great question - I used to have the same problem for years, ughhh! It wasn’t until very recently that I learned to master it (and yes, I will brag about this - I am so proud I now make invisible zippers invisible, lol :))

There are a few crucial things you need to know, to get to nice bottom of an invisible zipper: (1) Make sure both sides of the zipper start and end at the same point; (2) don’t stretch out the fabric when sewing the zipper, because it might end up with one side longer than the other, hence ‘bumpy’ zipper bottom; (3) don’t sew zipper past the seam of the clothing (hence, part where zipper end and seam starts).

This might be a bit complicated to tell by words only, but I shared a detailed technique on installing invisible zippers in video tutorial here - feel free to check it out to solve this issue!

How can I achieve professional finishing on my garments if I do mass productions at home?

Dear, I checked out your page and you are doing a great work, I love your creations!

While I don’t do mass production at home, I have observed many professional seamstresses that work at home. All of them have industrial sewing machines at home (I also have one, you can check my review here) - these machines play a huge role when you are sewing a lot and work fantastic with even heavy-duty fabrics. People often think industrial machines are pricey, but in reality, a straight-stitch industrial machine costs even less then some domestic machines (I paid around 500 Euro for mine and it will probably last a lifetime). They are reliable, high-speed tools and if you don’t have one, I would recommend checking them out.

Second thing I notice, is that seamstresses - whether working at home or studio - must pay big attention to ironing. Good pressing has huge impact on how the finished garment will look like and in all honesty, getting myself a steam iron (I use this one) took my sewing to the next level.

I have seen many seamstresses that create fantastic things with just these minimum tools - at the end of the day, it all depends on your skills and sewing is definitely a field where you must always continue to learn!

How to get a high end look when you are a beginner? I sew for a year now.

Two years ago, I enrolled to sewing school, because I wanted ‘up my game’. After first day there, I went on to buy a steam iron (ended up buying this one, as we use them at school + it was on promo). After my first week at school, I knew I have to have a 4-thread overlocker and so I went on to get myself one. Neither one of these items were expensive, but they changed quality of my sewing tremendously and really took it to the next level. Once I had these items at home, I started sewing for others, because I knew I can make a good quality item, instead of a home-made looking item.

Other than steam iron and overlocker (and a sewing machine, of course), there is nothing more that you need item-wise to achieve good results and rest depends on your skills. Don’t be afraid to rip-off seams and redo them, if you feel quality is not where you want it to be - skills grow with time+practise and patience is key when learning to sew!

Slashing. How?

Slashing isn’t a technique I use often - I mainly use it to make puffed sleeves and asymmetrical skirts from patterns that fit me well. Looking at other sewists, I notice that slashing is also often used to create a tent-type dresses.

Blogger Isn’t that Sew has a great tutorial in pattern slashing here and this is same technique I use!

Can you draft waistcoat patterns for ladies?

This might come as a surprise, but I only made one waistcoat in my life, ha! It was this model, made using Burda Style Waiter's Waistcoat 11/2012 #111 pattern. I loved LOVED the pattern and the look, but honestly, I am just not a waistcoat person and not really an expert on them.

Here is a waistcoat pattern instructions, that might help you - it’s for men, but with a few simple adjustments, this pattern drafting tutorial can be used for women waistcoat as well!

It feels soooo good to jump back into #SewTalk! If you have any question about sewing, feel free to let me know in the comments below or drop me an email! And if you missed previous #SewTalk's, here they are:

SewTalk: How to react if people ask you to fix things?

SewTalk: What to do if I lost my sewing mojo?

SewTalk: How to avoid making “home made” looking clothing?

SewTalk: Where to start if you are a beginner?

SewTalk: How long it takes to learn to sew?

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

Julie