Felt

Today I am going to talk about FELT. Felt is used in sewing for all different projects. It can be used to make a hair tie, a toy, a pocket book, a feltie, etc.

There are different types of felt, such as described in the image below. Here are some: Hand dyed wool, recycled eco felt, 3mm Wool felt, tough felts, soft felts, craft felt, blended wool felt, 100% wool felt.

What type of felt should I get?

That is absolutely up to you. I suggest getting eco friendly felt to be a friend to the environment.
However some projects may require a specific type of felt, so I will let you know when that requirement must be in place for projects.

If you have not purchased felt before or would like some for an upcoming celebration of yours, buy or ask someone to buy a felt pack. They are good to start with and come with the basic colours. I have
one that is similar to the image below.

Where do I purchase felt?

Felt is available at craft shops and sewing shops.

Elastic

Elastic is used in sewing mainly for making clothes. You usually find it in the waistband of a garment. To make a waistband tighter, you put more elastic in. This is usually how elastic is used for hand sewing.

I recommend that you have elastic in your sewing tool box. It will come in handy and especially has I put more posts up on how to make clothes.

What type and size of elastic should I get?

It doesn't really matter what brand or type your elastic is. but it is best to purchase it at a proper craft store, however you can but elastic at a discount store as well.

The size of your elastic depends on what you are going to make. Obviously your elastic length will be long as it comes in rolls, but it depends on the width of your elastic.

I find it best to use wide, woven elastic for garments like skirts and leggings. It would be a tad stronger than a thin strip and would be less likely to fray.

Basically, you can use a thin strip of elastic for all other projects.

If you are having trouble deciding what width you should get, just tell me your project and where you plan to buy your elastic from and I will tell give you the answer.

Note: Quality of elastic may vary between stores. Choose a brand that you trust and think is good quality.

Woven or Braided Elastic

Strongly woven or braided elastic is the strongest type, I recommend you choose this. Look on the package label to be sure.

Note; Always check how long the elastic is before you buy some! This is critical to your sewing!

Up Coming Post: How to make a Waistband Tighter using Elastic

 

 

Courtesy of Google Images

What is a good seam and what is a bad seam?

Do you know what a good seam is and what a bad seam is? It is important to know this when sewing because, like most things I have talked about, it can affect the presentation of your work.

Also, the quality of your work depends a lot on your seams.

Let's start from the start: What is a seam?

The definition for a seam is a line where two pieces of fabric are sewn together in a garment or other article.

A good seam is a seam that:

- is strong when you pull it [ meaning it does not fall apart ]
- is hard to see the stitches
- has no gaps/looseness

A bad seam is the complete opposite of this.

Right Side, Wrong Side

When sewing, it is important to know which side is which. Yes, that sounds confusing but believe me, it is important!

Basically, all fabric has a wrong side or a right side.

The wrong side is the side with the light, faded print of the fabric. Mostly, we do not use this side as it isn't as fuller or as brighter as the right side.

The right side is the side with the bolder, more fuller colours of the print. This is the side we use the most for sewing.

Sometimes we can have trouble deciding which is which, as some fabrics sides are really similar.

If you have any trouble deciding, take a photo of both sides and show me in the comments.

Fortunately, as you deal with more fabrics, you get used to telling which side is which.

Advice-Posture

Correct posture is extremely important when you are sewing. If you have bad posture, you will most likely damage your back and find sewing tricky.

When sewing, keep your back straight. Keep your project near the end of your rib cage. Relax your shoulders and hold your sewing 2 inches away from your chest { roughly } . Avoid straining your eyes. Have good light coming over your right shoulder.

This will feel better and is good for your body.