Favorite Sewing Books

If you are looking for excellent sewing instructions, there are a variety of wonderful books that have incredible amounts of information, including photos and tutorials, for just about anything to do with sewing.



Some of my favorite books are listed here-

Singer Sewing Library- step by step photograph tutorials & education! Over 30 titles!
                                       Sewing with an Overlock
                                       Sewing with Knits
                                       Sewing for Fit
                                       Sewing For the Home
                                       More Sewing For the Home
                                       Sewing Activewear
                                       Sewing With Difficult Fabrics
                                       Sewing Pants

Palmer & Pletsch           Sewing With a Serger
                                       Creative Serging
                                       Mother Pletsch's Painless Sewing
                                       Pants for Real People

Claire Schaeffer books (college textbooks as well as Fabric Sewing Guide)

Bernina Footworks
Bernina workbooks or manuals

Serger Secrets
Sewing Secrets from the Fashion Industry
I literally don't have time to list them all! There are more than I have in my photograph, but this is just to give you an idea, there is a lot available.

                                     

Muumuu dress design ideas & sewing tutorial information and photos

My wedding dress photographed on me in October 2005, but designed, sewn, and worn for my wedding in 1987. McCall's Pattern 2537 , but altered right from the beginning, making the yoke more modest, and choosing different sleeve lengths & types, adding the long cuff, for my wedding dress, and a puffy sleeve from another pattern, and having fabric under the lace, not just see through areas. We also made the dress the 3 tiered long version, and put flat lace above each ruffle.

Rick and I on our wedding day, these are our best wedding photos, we only have a few, relatively dark, blurry photos. My dress is the muumuu, but I wore a self fabric belt covered with the flat lace, that had the same crystal buttons as my cuffs.  I can wear the dress still, without the belt, or I could make the belt longer, and still wear it that way. I prefer my muumuus loose, though. The other photos is our son David, & daughter Jamie, she had just stolen his binkie right out of his mouth, because she had lost hers, the little rascal! (The 2 photos were together when I photographed them, and my blog doesn't have a crop feature, so it is included, lol!)

My McCall's Pattern which was my first muumuu pattern. The other photos are catalog photos I use as inspiration for designing my own dresses.

My newest muumuu dress, the pink gauze with flat white lace, and the white satin ribbon I twin needle embroidered with my old Sears Kenmore 158.18033, in light green and dark green, then used it to edge my lace at the yoke.

Navy blue crinkled rayon muumuu with a white front collar, that I appliqued an embroidery strip to. The embroidery strip or ribbon, had been a "second", damaged, from the factory, where some stitches had been skipped, so I satin stitched with the same color of thread, to finish it, so it wouldn't unravel in the laundry, appliqued it to my yoke, and LOVE it! I have one more white yoke with the last piece of this embroidery ribbon, that I am going to cut out a brown crinkle rayon muumuu dress to sew it onto. I LOVE getting to personalize my dresses! Photo of me holding Max, at hospital in 2018, then me holding Cassie, 2019.

Yoke design idea as I created my blue and white muumuu design. Coverstitched "belt loops" formed into criss cross pattern, on white background. Once I determined how I wanted it to look, I topstitched them down, and assembled the rest of the yoke. This type of perfectly parallel stitching can also be created with either a bias tape maker, and sewing twin needles, if you can find one for your machine, with the correct distance between the needles. Only zigzag sewing machines, with the top or front access bobbin can do this specific type of twin needle sewing, that has a zigzag of the bobbin thread, although Necchi's Supernova and BU have twin needle capability, one needle in front of the other, though they are a side loading bobbin zigzag machine.

The blue and white fabric does fade pretty badly in the laundry, but I still love this cool summer muumuu dress. I have sewn this fabric into the muumuu dress twice, once just with the regular blue and white fabric, no fancy  yoke, just a plain yoke, I wore it until it was see through, then made this one with the pretty criss crosses of  "coverstitched belt loops", sewn to the yoke. You can really see the difference in the fading, when comparing the design photos to the dress I've been washing and wearing for at least a year!

Notice the white lace inset strip down the center of the sleeves, keeps this cool, despite the 3/4 length sleeves.

Green polyester "crinkle" dress with white embroidery sewn at yoke front, and around neckline, and flat white lace above the ruffle, and at the end of the bell sleeves. I don't like too full of sleeves, so vary the length and fulness to my own comfort. I am holding my new granddaughter Cassie, at the hospital in this photo 2019.

Blue and white muumuu with short bell sleeves, white yoke, navy blue flat lace, and a white ruffle. It is heavier fabric, except the ruffle, so is comfortable in winter, as well as summer in North Carolina.

Brown double knit, difficult fabric to sew, due to spongy texture, works best with walking foot, or a roller foot) muumuu dress, the inside details, sewn with pink serger thread, you can see the seams are all finished with a 3 thread overlock stitch, then the yoke shoulder seams are stabilized with a woven scrap fabric selvage (if you don't have seam tape, or other seam stabilizer aids, you can use strips of selvage cut from fabric of your choice, the selvage is more tightly, firmly woven than the body of the fabric), then sew the square neckline, you then turn it right side out, and use the burrito method to sew the gathered front and back bodice of the dress onto the yoke. 

Brown doubleknit muumuu, it is actually better for winter, it has the patch side pockets, and tucks instead of gathers at the yoke, and for hems, I used a rolled hem on my serger, even for the pocket tops.

My first pink muumuu with white lace, I used a sheer cotton batiste, for puffy sleeves, with a gathered lace ruffle cuff, white flat lace on the yoke overlaying the pink, and then white lace at the top of the ruffle on the skirt of the dress. I wore it during my pregnancy with my daughter Jamie, and later gave it to my sister, Michelle, Higginson, when she was pregnant. I had underlined the bodice of the dress, so no slip was needed. This was taken at a little dairy farm Rick and I lived and worked at in Meridian Idaho, for a few months before Jamie was born.

2 different photos of more muumuus on me, the green muumuu I made before I got married, when I lived in hot Yucca Valley, California, but was very grateful for my muumuus, when I was pregnant, with our daughter, then our son. This photo on the left, is about a week before David was born. The photo on the right is 2001, I'm wearing one of my favorite turquoise muumuu dresses I made, it lasted about 15 years, with a bit of patching here and there, before I had to retire it, finally! I'm just cutting out a new one, I miss these 2 dresses! Two of my favorite colors and fabrics!

My black muumuu dress in a crinkled poly cotton, is so old and worn, it is almost gray! I am holding my grandson Max here. You can see I actually sewed bias trim over the center front of the neckline, because it had frayed to threads, but I still wear it, so I added the bias trim, to ensure it would last maybe another year, lol!

SEWING TIPS JUST SEW YOU KNOW!

DO NOT LEAVE STEEL PINS IN FABRIC, for years at a time. Moisture in the air, causes them to rust,
 and as they rust, the fabric fibers actually attach to the rusting metal. Note the 2 different rust holes, the pin held them together, but the rust actually damaged the fabric, several yards of it, because the person we bought the batch of fabric from, had left steel pins in the fabric, possibly for decades.

Professional electric rotary cutter, 110 electric (always make sure you get the correct power setup for your work area, some are 220, but if used in your home, you want 110. Note the shiny silver button, this holds the whetstone against the blade, to sharpen it, without having to stop your work.  A small wick is kept oiled, to help ensure cool, fast rotary movement, despite long hours of use.

Specialty cutting tools for sewing, beginning with left front, above L squares, Pattern notcher (for paper only, not fabric ), rotary cutter (small) buttonhole chisel with 2 knife bits, and a wood block, snips, Gingher Duckbill applique scissors, pinking shears, Tailor's shears 12 1/4", dark gray handle above buttonholer chisel/knife is larger rotary cutter, tall corded electric professional rotary fabric cutter, capable of cutting several layers of fabric all at once, very quickly, has built in whetstone for sharpening blade, this is a 110 electric rotary cutter. The L squares, or T squares are helpful for marking and cutting straight lines, as well as making sure fabric is properly aligned, with the grain at a 90 degree angle.

Industrial rotary cutter has small wheels (special bearings) that allow it to slide easily, under the layers of fabric. There is a spring loaded blade which is held under tension, against the bottom of the rotary blade, it acts like a pair of super sharp scissors. No mat is needed under this type of rotary cutter, this bed slides under your plies of fabric, without sticking, for accurate cutting.

tailor's chalk is excellent for marking seamlines, or pattern pieces onto fabric, before cutting them out, hems, and other sewing marks before sewing

Spandex & Lycra tank tops TIPS with bound neck & armhole

Tank tops are a staple in most American wardrobes, whether for workout wear, or as "shells" under jackets, sweaters, bigshirts, coverups, or similar clothing, and if you want a designer tank top, with a beautifully coordinated, but contrasting bias binding, you can pay ridiculous amounts, even $300 for some designer tank tops!

I live in North Carolina, where it is very hot and humid, at least 50% of the year, so comfortable tops, which allow your skin to breathe, are necessary, and a loose overshirt is often the best way to avoid a sunburn, but still stay comfortable.

The blank tank top is a Spandex ribbed knit, which I really had to use Thread Heaven to dip the needles in, especially, before trying to sew the polyester crepe bias binding on. Knit, or ballpoint stretch needles are essential to avoid tearing holes in the threads, which will cause your fabric to run.

For best results, use a serger to sew a stabilizing 4 thread overlock stitch (possibly with a clear elastic, if you need to ensure the neck & armholes won't gap), before you attempt to add the bias binding, or the ribbed binding.

I used  Sears Kenmore 158.18033 (Model 1803) to sew my seams straight, before I took it to the industrial serger, to serge the seams and shoulders, and to sew the bindings in place, before wrapping them to the back, and coverstitching them. My industrial sergers are incredibly fast, so you have to be able to "steer" well, or you can accidentally trim off too much fabric, and wind up with a tiny, weird garment.

I used my Babylock Evolve coverstitch to do the bindings, at first, using the double fold binder, trying to sew them on in one step, but due to the differences in stretch, between the bindings, and the tank top fabrics, this was a NIGHTMARE! I had to remove them, and try again, 3 times, before using the Kenmore to sew the bindings on, then using the Evolve to coverstitch the bindings down. I have learned to use basting tape, for best results, in sewing down bindings, without puckers, it makes a HUGE difference!

Basting tape is also a huge help in coverstitching the hems, especially of stretchy knits, because it prevents puckers forming, and holes them neatly in place, so you can stitch them, without getting stabbed by pins.

While these tank tops wound up being finished without my bias binders, or folders, I did purchase an actual professional 1/2 inch knit binder that can be used on my coverstitch machine, as well as on lockstitch sewing machines, both home & professional, which have the 2 screw holes in the bed, for attaching them. I did try out the stretch binding, and it does work MUCH better than the double fold bias binder, when using stretch bindings. The double fold bias binder is great for regular bias binding, especially if it has been starched, for best results, but for dealing with super stretchy fabrics, I do recommend buying the industrial knits bias binder. I will post a blog about that binder, later, when I get time.











Coming soon, a tutorial on using the knit bias binder, versus regular bias binder

Kenmore 1803 with 1/2 inch industrial knits bias binder, attached on a fold away attachment. I am applying a rather thick Spandex rib knit binding, to a cotton tank top, which I plan to turn into a sports bra.

To see my Vintage Sewing Machine Blogs about finding, fixing, and using Vintage Sewing Machines, here is a link to that blog, which has close to 100 posts!

https://tumorfarmer.blogspot.com/2019/06/sears-kenmore-1803-sewing-machine.html

Pink Muumuu dress with Embroidered ribbon Sewn with Kenmore 1803

Completed Pink muumuu dress before I made patch pockets to sew on the sides, for my cell phone.

Completed dress with twin needle embroidered ribbon sewn over the cut edge of my lace. I used light green polyester thread and dark green polyester thread with a twin needle, on my Kenmore 1803 sewing machine.

To help plan my design, after I embroidered the 3/8 inch wide satin ribbon, using a paper backed iron on basting tape as a stabilizer, I pinned the lace and completed ribbon, onto the dress, the way I thought I might like to sew them, to see how they looked. This is how I test my miters on my lace corners, to ensure they look pretty. This is part of my design testing. The dress is already completed, before I sewed this step, on this particular muumuu dress. If I use an embroidered yoke, I embroider the yoke, first, or apply the embroidery to the yoke before sewing the dress.

Kenmore 1803 Super High Shank Shirring Foot, I used it to gather the ruffle and the caps of the sleeves, for my pink muumuu dress. I discovered that using a seam guide on the machine bed, butted against the edge of the shirring foot, helped me get my fabric to feed more evenly. I lowered presser foot pressure, and used the longest straight stitch on my machine, 6 stitches per inch.  

Kenmore 1803 does not come with a foot to use for a binder or folder, of the sort which attaches to the sewing machine bed, but I had a broken Kenmore Super High Shank Q foot (knit & stretch fabric foot), which is clear, and has a tunnel, like a satin stitch foot. It had the prong on the right side broken off, but I had kept it anyway. I filed the jagged break smooth, so fabric could feed well, and it works just like an industrial or Bernina binder foot! I did lower presser foot pressure, to give more room for the folded hem to feed well, and when I got to a seam, I pulled the hem out, and just sewed without the folder, until I got past that seam. Then I tucked the hem back into the folder, and continued. The swing away bed attachment makes it much easier to do this, than a rolled hemmer foot does.

3/16" folder I used to hem sleeves and ruffle on pink muumuu dress. This is from an old sewing factory, I bought a batch of various folders after the factory closed. Sewn on Kenmore 1803

Holding the fabric in a cone shape, as it enters the rolled front of the folder, is the key to even, perfect hems. If you feed too much fabric in, you will have ragged edges peeking out, and it will be wider than it should be, if you don't feed enough, it won't get caught in the stitches. Practice.

Lace looks best, if not cut on a straight line, but if you cut along the gorgeous floral or decorative designs, then over lap them with a matching section, so it is difficult to see your seam. This is how I matched the lace on the skirt area, above the ruffle. My dress was slightly fuller than a perfect match, but it came out beautifully, I think!

Kenmore 1803 I think this is type C cams, the cam is # 41 I used 2 different colors of polyester sewing thread, for extra pop.

Kenmore 1803 twin needle embroidery on 3/8" satin ribbon, backed with paper backed iron on basting tape. The paper tears away, after you embroider the ribbon. If you have the correct size of paper backed basting tape, you can use the iron on adhesive to attach your ribbon to your fabric, before sewing it. It helps avoid the puckers, that pins would cause. The embroidery may cause small amounts of waving in your ribbon, especially satin ribbon, but it doesn't affect the end result negatively.  The paper backing is what prevents the needles from pushing the delicate ribbon down into your needleplate opening. Make sure your stitch width is just below 2 for twin needle stitching, to avoid hitting the needles on the edge of your foot.

Sewing ribbon on with stiletto to keep my fingers safe. Notice zigzag over the corner of the lace, is how it is secured in corners.

Zigzagging the lace down, using the embroidery foot, before I sew the ribbon down. I used basting tape to attach the ribbon over the lace edge, on top of the zigzag stitches. It made it super easy to sew the ribbon with no puckering.

To see my Vintage Sewing Machine blog, with over 100 posts, check this link here-
https://tumorfarmer.blogspot.com/2019/06/sears-kenmore-1803-sewing-machine.html