This month in both Stitchers Collective and Sewing Club Tuesdays, we've been talking about pants and pressing. I recalled in one of the sessions how I was taught in my college tailoring class to "stretch press" or do "ironwork" after cutting and marking, but before doing any stitching. The purpose is to mold and shape the fabric to make the trousers hang and fit better. 

I have done a few tailored garments but not to the extent to make me an expert by any means. I found a series of videos by "Cutting Room Tails" that speak to all parts of doing ironwork on trousers. Grab a cool beverage and take some time for yourself to learning more about this technique used by master tailors. There are five short videos in this series and well worth watching. If needed, turn on the closed captioning to read along as the master speaks.

Our gratitude to Tina for sharing her journey as a quilter and explaining the key elements of modern and traditional quilts to us today. The replay of this 90 minute class will be available on demand for anyone who is interested in learning more about quilting. In addition, her presentation / PDF is attached below and includes hyperlinks for each image if you would like additional information about the beautiful quilts featured within.

You can connect directly with Tina on our Group Facebook Page. Our next Explorations in Quilting meeting is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 6, 2021 at 9 a.m. MT / 11 a.m. ET and will cover the essential elements of quilting.

Please let Tina or Andrea know if you have special requests for this presentation or future quilting meetings. 

All the attendees are sure enjoying our Tuesday morning Sewing club through E3H! This is a group that is sharing and learning together; and best of all, everyone contributes whatever their skill level. 

Each month the group decides on a new sewing "theme" for two months out. For the month of September, the theme will be JACKETS.

The jacket can be anything you’d like. Do you live in a warm climate and just need something simple like a sweatshirt turned into a jacket for chilly restaurant dining? Perhaps you’d like to try your hand at making an easy-to-sew fleece jacket. Maybe, like me, you’d like to take your favorite (albeit worn out) jacket and make a pattern to make some new ones—that is my FAVORITE thing to do. I know they fit as I like and when I use the same weight and type of fabric; I usually find little to no alterations are needed—maybe just a change in some details would be nice. Others mentioned perhaps they’d make an outdoor jacket, an overcoat, a trench, why whatever your wardrobe need is, September will be the time to join us and share with us what you are stitching.

Our Tuesday Sew Club meets at 9:00 MT (DENVER time). Sign up through Element3 Health Clubs and join in our FUN by clicking the button below (web page will open in a new window).

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Wednesday July 7, 11:30 a.m. MT
Stitch Lengths
Having the correct stitch length is crucial to sewing. Many times, on the same project and for different fabrics, stitch lengths are adjusted. Let’s start a discussion on which stitch length to use where, and why.

Wednesday July 14, 11:30 a.m. MT
Fabric Grainlines 
The correct---or incorrect---use of grainlines will make or break any project. Grainlines can also be used to incorporate beautiful details in garments and projects. Let’s look at the importance grainlines play in our sewing.

Wednesday July 21, 11:30 a.m. MT
Directional Stitching
Grainlines (last session), coupled with directional stitching, produce professional results. Most sewers don’t take advantage of directional stitching. We’ll look at why it should be done and what happens if it’s not followed.

​Wednesday July 28, 11:30 a.m. MT
Previous Sessions Q&A
We’ve had eight sessions now. Hopefully you have had time to do some practicing of zippers and flat felled seams, made some mitered corners, learned more about stitch lengths on your machine and analyzed the grainlines of different fabrics. There are sure to be some questions so let’s open up our mics and have a give and take. I’d love to see how you are applying what you are learning and share your experiences. 

Wind your bobbin and join us Thursday, June 24 at 7:30 a.m. MT / 9:30 a.m. ET to sew a lightweight Summer Sling Bag that is ideal for vacation! 

In advance of our meeting you will need to precut the following fabric panels:
(width)x(height) 
(4) 18″ x 18″ Body Panels - 100% cotton quilt weight material 
(2) 18″ x 18″ Interior Pockets - 100% cotton quilt weight material
(4) 18″ x 9″ Exterior Pockets - 100% cotton quilt weight material 
(2) 6″ x 42″ Straps - 100% cotton quilt weight material 
(2) 2.5″ x 20″ Tie Closures - 100% cotton quilt weight material 

Making mitered corners is really quite simple if you know one little trick. Mitered corners show the world your sewing prowess and marks you as one of those who likes to strive for perfection in your stitching. Do we always achieve it? Of course not! Even I have less than stellar results every now and again.

Please join me tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. MT (Denver) during the Stitchers Collective session as I show my fool-proof method to create a mitered corner.

Please sign up here.

Do you have problems setting in zippers? You should have joined us June 9th when I showed how I do lapped and invisible zippers. Excerpt below or catch the replay here. 

P.S. Sewing keeps us socially engaged, our minds sharp, our fingers nimble and gee...can even keep our muscles strong by lifting that iron up and down pressing...my doctor is impressed!

~Ramona 

Join Ramona Baird and Sewing Club Friends on Wednesday, June 9 at 11:30 a.m. MT / 1:30 p.m. ET for the Stitchers Collective: Zipper Techniques 2
Continuing on--because I know you want more information on zippers--I’ll show you two of my fool proof favorite applications that I learned by studying ready-to-wear clothing over the years while doing alterations—with tips that take the scary out of zipper insertion; honestly, it just takes practice so take the challenge! The first is an invisible zipper with one hint that honestly takes it from home sewn to professional. The second is my favorite lapped zipper application; my gosh, you’ll truly learn to love doing zippers and wonder why they ever scared you in the first place. There will be downloadable PDF instructions to help you can practice.

​Register for this and more here.