Tips to make you a quality sewer.

I was asked to be a contributor to the plus size blog, The Curvy Sewing Collective.

Here is my cross post.

Hello lovely people.

You know over the years I have primarily focused my skill set on vintage sewing and all the tips and tricks that sewing 'old school' can offer. Paying attention to detail, taking your time, and just feeling out the quality of your work is a given. Often we find ourselves so hyped up in finishing our projects that we don't take the time to, 'smell the roses' of the progress. It is often that progress, or journey, that lends itself to great discoveries in how you go about doing your sewing.

Notches Demystified.

I remember when I first started to sew. 

I'd make my stitch, let's say, on a sleeve seam, and be puzzled as to why it felt tight around the arm. I sewed it correctly, the sleeve fit, and I'd matched the appropriate notches for what the pattern called. That's just it. Often, people take the placement notches of matching a pattern piece with the actual notches that are used to help the drape of a garment. A lot of times, new sewers (and some of us seasoned ones, lets be honest) don't see the value in notching a seam that calls for it. A lot of us don't know what seams to notch and which ones not to notch. Some of us notch them all, and that is just a whole world of hurt. I figured it was time to talk about this simple and rather mis understood sewing technique, explain how I use it, and give you all some insights into why its a valuable simple tool in garment construction.

First off, lets define a notch.

In this post, I'll refer to a notch as a subtraction of the fabric from the seam allowance that allows for the stitched seam to lay unobstructed. Hey, what's unobstructed? I'll get to that later.