Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Neck Treatments for Knits (Achieving nice necklines)

I found a couple of videos on the Threads website which illustrate neckline bindings and turtleneck finishes for knits:

A Neckline Binding for Knits

Video:
Sarah Veblen, teacher and author of Sparks, Maryland, recommends you try her techniques on assorted samples to get a feeling for the amount of stretch as it varies from knit to knit and experiment with various types of neckline finishes.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1911416549/bclid0/bctid1917486352

A Turtleneck Finish for Knits

Video:
Many sewers are intimidated by knits, especially when it comes to sewing a pucker-free neckline. Because they must stretch over your head, and then lie flat, necklines present a unique set of challenges. Sarah Veblen shows you how to achieve success.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1911416549/bclid0/bctid1917449964

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Goals again

I continue to work towards those goals.

  • I completed another garment this weekend (PJ bottoms) and have the hem to do on a t-shirt (all for Elliott)
  • additional stash reduction of 3 yards-- 5.66 yds. to date!
  • I continue to resist the fabric sales, although my birthday is coming!
For learning to sew better, I've started my serger class and after just 2 days, it is already proving to be worth every penny. She had an excellent tutorial on how to adjust tensions for the 3-thread overlock stitch with color pictures illustrating problems and solutions. LOVE her classes.

My next project is to work on the UFO contest, since it only runs through January. I will return to the stash contest by cutting a blouse from the Palmer/Pletsch professional blouse pattern I have in early February (unless I show incredible speed in the UFO completion!).

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Meeting those 2009 Goals

I am thrilled to report the following accomplishments:

  • near-complete inventory of pattern stash (just those Vintage patterns to go)
  • near-complete inventory of stash
  • completion of 1 garment
  • reduction of stash by 2.66 yds.
  • so far, I've been able to resist the fabric sales!
For learning to sew better, I've signed up for two classes:

  • Serger class by Shannon Gibson
  • Underlining class by Sarah Veblen (her facing class was great!)
So far so good on meeting the goals.