Dear Constant Reader,
Sewing is a big part of my life. The first project I can remember was making a gown for my Barbie out of some scraps from an outfit my mother had sewn for herself. By high school I was sewing clothes for myself and once I was in college I was making costumes for historical reenactment and science fiction conventions.
However, lately I’ve been feeling a little stalled out in my sewing. I tried to inspire myself by creating a page on my website highlighting my burlesque costume work. Mostly that served to remind me that I don’t have good pictures of most of my best costumes. (Hint to photographers: I’m available to shoot…)
I have all sorts of fabulous fabric in my stash which is doing no one any good just hanging around in bins. If you look to the right you’ll see some of the nifty stuff I really should be using, like that gold paillette and ruffle fabric or the striped peach net, the owl feather print and the artsy flower print. I have no idea what I want to do with any of them, but I want them all to become SOMETHING.
I’m going to dedicate July to getting back to sewing. Most of my posts are going to be about costuming, which will probably included Friday tips. My goal is to reduce my fabric stash and end up with some new clothes and costumes. Although I’m not going to try something like my Dress Me project, I may ask your for your input on some things through out July.
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The center gore of a well-fitting bra should be snug against your chest.
If using a front-closing bra, replace the plastic closure with something sturdier.
Zipper sewing needs a zipper foot.
In the past I’ve used Velcro and 
Attach a tassel or other decorative item to your zipper pull to make it easier to grab.
The bra to the right, isn’t the best example of this, but it’s the one I had to hand. And I know how much you love pictures. I think it took 3 decorating sessions, with performing in between, to get to this point. Betty is really terrific at this form of incremental decorating.
If you need a lot of strips of fabric, like for can-can ruffles, corset binding, or quilts, a rotary cutter is the way to go. It’s fast, easy, and accurate. you will also need a special cutting mat and acrylic ruler, but the investment pays off in saved time. Use the lines on the mat to line up your fabric. Set the ruler as a straight edge and run the cutter along side it. Before you know it, you’ll have heaps of fabric strips (or squares or triangles). Just be careful — those cutters are sharp — and close the safety cover when you’re not actively cutting. And replace the blade (it’s easy) when it starts getting dull.
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 