Welt Pocket Technique
Posted on 10. Feb, 2010 by Gail Yellen in Blog
If you think creating a welt pocket is too hard–it isn’t. A bunch of years ago, Judy Barlup taught this Japanese tailoring technique at a local sewing center and I was lucky enough to be in the class. I loved the method so much that when I designed the Berkshire Jacket pattern, I emailed Judy and asked for permission to use it. She graciously said yes. I made some modifications to the original instructions because they were for a lined jacket and mine can be used for either lined or unlined ones.
You’ll notice that the shape of the welt isn’t a rectangle and there’s a good reason why. This shape eliminates side seams that can be bulky and hard to hide. Very cool. The photos are from my step-by-step welt pocket kit used in classes, so you won’t see a jacket front. Beige linen represents the jacket fabric. The pocket bags are 10″ x 10″. They are larger than the finished bag to make the finishing easier. For better visibility in the photos, a Sharpie marker was used. For your jacket, chalk or a wash away marker is the way to go. Very accurate stitching is required and it’s a good idea to practice on scrap fabric before embarking on your jacket. Use a press cloth. Just go one step at a time and don’t be intimidated-you’ll love the results!
The steps indicated in the photo captions refer to the Berkshire Jacket pattern instructions. Click on the photos for a larger image.
Here are some useful tools for professional results. A 6″ clear ruler is handy for a million different things. A point presser/clapper makes pressing hard-to-get-at points easy.
And a point turner eliminates those holes you’ve poked in your corners using a pencil!
Mark the pocket placement line and its center point on the jacket front. I draw the line longer than the welt to insure that the welt stitching line matches perfectly on the left and right edges.
Here are the components. (The interfacing is fused to the wrong side of the welt. Bemberg rayon was used for the pocket bags.)
Wrong side of welt. Interfacing is outlined in green with hatch marks.
Right sides together, fold the welt and stitch. (Step 4b)
Press the seams open. Don’t clip the corners-the fabric will help retain the shape of the welt corners.
Turn right sides out and press. Serge or zigzag the raw edges together. From the underside you can see that the seam is diagonal, so no lumps and bumps on the welt edges. (Step 4c)
Measure 1″ down from the top fold and draw a line on the underside of the welt. This is the stitching line. (Step 4d)
Right sides together and with the top edge of the welt toward the bottom edge of the jacket (the opposite direction of the final position), place the welt stitching line on the jacket front pocket placement line. (Step 4e)
Be sure that the center mark on the welt aligns with the center of the pocket placement line on the jacket. Use a very short stitch length (0.6 – 0.8). Begin and end stitching exactly on the welt edges. You may need to adjust your stitch length to end exactly on the edge. Check your accuracy by turning the welt up to its finished position. Make any necessary corrections. (Step 4f)
Serge or zigzag the top edges of the pocket bags.
With right sides together on the jacket front, center the pocket bag on the welt with the top edge of the bag even with the serged or zigzag stitched welt edge. If the pocket fabric isn’t the same on both sides, place right sides together. The pocket bag is in its finished position, except outside the garment rather than inside (to be turned later). Stitch from the wrong side of the jacket over the previous line of stitches. (Note the double row of stitching.) (Step 4f)
Here it is from the right side. You can see that the stitching begins and ends at the welt edges. If your stitching extends even 1 stitch beyond the welt end, you’ll have a pucker. If it’s 1 stitch too short, you’ll have a hole. Make corrections if necessary.
With right sides together, butt the inner pocket bag serged edge against the outer pocket bag serged edge. Stitch 1/4″ from the edge through the inner bag and jacket, beginning and ending 1/2″ shorter than the lower row of stitching. (I like to mark the start and stop points for stitching.) By making this stitching line shorter, it eliminates the chance of the seam extending past the welt edge. From the right side, turn up the welt to be sure that the stitching line is completely concealed. Correct if necessary. If you flip the inner pocket bag down, it won’t match the outer pocket bag precisely and both bags will probably hang below the bottom edge of the jacket. This will be corrected at the end of the technique. (Step 4g)
Here it is from the wrong side.The top line of stitching is clearly 1/2″ shorter on either end.
Starting at the midpoint, through the jacket fabric only and between the pocket bags, carefully cut to within a 1/2″ of the end point of the shorter line of stitching. Clip diagonally to within 1 or 2 threads of each stitching line to form irregular triangles. (Very scary.) Check by flipping the pocket bags to the inside of the jacket and turning up the welt. If you see a pucker, clip another thread or 2 and recheck. It’s better to see a pucker on the jacket that you can correct. If you clip too far, you’ll have a visible hole on the jacket. If you do clip too far, don’t despair–I’ve done it. Just consider it an opportunity to be creative! My solution was to choose a built in decorative stitch on my sewing machine and embellish over the boo-boo. (Step 4h)
Turn the pocket bags to the inside and turn the welt up. Press the bags and welt in their final positions. (Steps 4i and 4j)
Turn the welt down to expose the triangles. Position them toward the center of the pocket and zigzag stitch over them. This step strengthens the corners and reduces bulk. (I didn’t like the idea of leaving the triangles the first time I tried this technique. It seemed messy. However, once the welt is stitched in its final position, you’ll never even notice them.) (Step 4k)
You can also see that I’ve zigzag stitched through the pocket bag and jacket fabric after pressing. This step isn’t absolutely necessary, but it does hold everything flat.
Position the welt in its final position and beginning at the bottom edge, lock stitch or leave thread tails and stitch close to the side edges using a 1.5 mm stitch length. When you reach the top edge, with the needle down, pivot and stitch right next to the first stitching line to the bottom. Lock stitch or pull the thread tails to the wrong side and tie off. If you prefer, the welts can be hand stitched to the jacket. (Step 4l)
Lay the jacket front right side up on a flat surface. Fold the bottom edge up to expose the pocket bags. Don’t try to force the bottom edges to match. Pin them as they lay. You can see that the pocket bag hangs below the jacket bottom edge.
Determine the desired length and mark with chalk. Be sure they don’t hang below the jacket bottom edge. If you’re using a zigzag stitch, stitch first, then trim close to the stitching. (It’s easier than trying to stay exactly on the fabric edge.) Beginning at the bag’s top edge, serge or zigzag the bags together. It’s a good idea to curve the bottom corners to eliminate lint traps. (Step 4m)
Aren’t you proud of yourself?!
DIY – Make custom-dyed ribbon from rayon seam tape
Posted on 24. Jan, 2010 by Gail Yellen in Blog
Sometimes a great embellishment idea is as close as your laundry cabinet. Am in the planning stages for making a Counterpoints black wool crepe jacket and want to use my “Un-beweavable” woven beaded ribbon technique. Didn’t have any hand-dyed black ribbon but I bought a large spool of rayon seam tape a while ago and decided to experiment with a 5 yard piece.
Using the fine point end of the bleach pen, I drizzled the bleach randomly along the seam tape and let it work for about 15-20 minutes, then rinsed it and let it dry. The areas bleached out to an orange-y amber color.
I spritzed the ribbon with water and applied a variety of Tsukineko fabric ink colors (also randomly) with small paint brushes. If the color didn’t bleed enough, I gave the ribbon another spritz of water before the ink dried. The best features of Tsukineko inks are they don’t need to be heat set, dry very quickly and don’t change the hand of fabric. It’s fun to work with them.
Here’s the “hand-dyed” ribbon!
The Glastonbury Piecemakers
Posted on 22. Jan, 2010 by Gail Yellen in Blog
Had a great time last night presenting a lecture/demo “It’s All About Embellishment” to a talented, wonderful group of quilters in my hometown–The Glastonbury Piecemakers. I even met a woman who was a junior high school classmate of mine. Haven’t seen her since we were in 8th grade together in 19#@%&!
Thank you to Karalee Casazza and all of the Piecemakers for such an enjoyable evening.
How to put a shank on a flat button
Posted on 30. Nov, 2009 by Gail Yellen in Blog
Three years ago, I purchased a vintage collection of buttons at a local historical society fund-raising auction. It contained hundreds ranging from ordinary to extraordinary. And added to the rest of my stash, provides a great source for finding the perfect one as a cool focal point on a jacket. Quite a few of my favorites are flat and if the jacket fabric is heavy, a shank button usually works better. The shank lifts the button off the fabric and provides more clearance under the buttonhole and keeps the fabric around the buttonhole from puckering when the jacket is closed. I’ll show you 3 different ways to put a shank on a flat button. Waxing your thread helps prevent the thread from tangling, but it’s not absolutely necessary.
1. Make the shank from thread.
This is a traditional method that you might already know how to do. Using a hand needle and thread, take a stitch over 2 toothpicks to hold them in place on the right side of the fabric. 
Position the button holes directly over the toothpicks and the attach the button by continuing to sew over them.
When the button is secure, remove the toothpicks. Pull the needle and thread to the underside of the button (between the button and fabric) and wrap the thread around the stitches 8-10 times to create a shank.
Secure the thread by pulling it to the wrong side and knotting it. Clip the thread.
2. Make the shank from a small button.
Another way to make a shank under a flat button is to position a smaller one under it.
Just line up the holes and sew through both buttons simultaneously. If your button requires a longer shank, stack 2 small buttons underneath.
Done!
3. Make a bead shank.
A 5-6 mm bead makes a terrific shank. A word of caution: be sure that the bead isn’t made from paper. It will either disintegrate or become a gooey mess when the jacket is laundered or dry cleaned. Sew the bead to the under side of the button.
Position the button on your fabric and sew in place.
I’ve used all 3 options and like them. You can decide which method works best on your project.
Stay tuned for more informative how-to’s and tips!
Serger Holiday Decorations
Posted on 25. Nov, 2009 by Gail Yellen in Blog
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I love decorating the house for the holidays and when I learned how easy it is to make wire-edge ribbon, I just had to share it with all you serger enthusiasts (or wanna-be’s). Here’s the link to my “Wire-Edge Ribbon” clip posted on YouTube. It’s from my Cosmetic Serger-y™ DVD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3iuo08QSB4. I purchased the wreath (all decorated) and added the bow–very quick and easy. 
The bow is made from (2) 2 1/2″ strips of quilting-weight cotton and a heavier weight decorative thread (YLI Jeans Stitch™) was placed in the upper looper.
One of the wonderful things about sewing and serging is that you can make decorations in the exact colors you like. Here is the coordinating table runner. 
This table runner was made using my serger–no sewing machine at all!
The top row is a reverse flatlock stitch with a narrow ribbon woven through it. And the bottom row is (what I call) a shadow flatlock stitch. I serged over a strip of ribbon to completely encase it under the flatlocking. It’s subtle, but adds a little more complexity to the design. YLI Pearl Crown Rayon™ thread was used for both the flatlocking and reverse flatlocking. These techniques are also included on Cosmetic Serger-y™. The edges are finished with a wide 3-thread overlock stitch. Pearl Crown Rayon™ was placed in both the upper and lower loopers.
(I feel like “Hints from Heloise.”)Here’s a quick tip for removing all of the gravy and cranberry sauce stains on your tablecloth. Before taking it off the table, survey the aftermath. I run around the table, find the stains and hit them with Stain Stick (or any pre-treatment). It’s much easier to find all of them while the cloth is spread out. Toss it in the washer as soon as you have a minute. The faster you can get at the stains, the better the chances for removing them.
Have a safe, fun weekend and be careful on the highways and byways! Gobble gobble!!!!
No Muss, No Fuss, Ease Plus!
Posted on 15. Nov, 2009 by Gail Yellen in Blog
I was helping my friend Jennifer with some muslins of her jeans pattern this afternoon and ran into a dilemma. As I approached the end of the waistband on the size 24 jeans, it wasn’t even close to the end of the body of the jeans. There was no way it would fit. It’s almost impossible to ease muslin–denim is much more “ease-able”. Then I thought about the “ease plussing” technique used to ease sleeves into an armhole.
Basically you press your left middle finger against the back of the presser foot to hold back the fabric causing it to bunch up and crowd the back of the foot as you stitch. 
When the foot can’t move forward anymore, release the fabric in back and start the process again. 
This technique causes the fabric to gather slightly. I never used it on anything but sleeve caps before, but it worked very well and the end of the waistband actually met the fly front edge!
This was a bigger victory since I discovered that I sewed the smaller top edge of the waistband to the yoke! Needless to say, the correct lower edge eased in even more easily. After “ease-plussing”, this 28″ strip of muslin was 26 1/2″. 
Remake, Reuse, Restyle ASG Contest
Posted on 26. Oct, 2009 by Gail Yellen in Blog
I’m very proud to announce that my Collage It! Composition 1 jacket was chosen as one of the top 3 entries in the 2009 National Sewing Month contest. Remake, Reuse, Restyle was the theme for this September’s contest. American Sewing Guild issued the challenge for sewers to submit projects that employed creative, eco-thrifty ideas. My jacket was made from 4 of my late mother’s wool sweaters and vintage buttons purchased at the Glastonbury Historical Society auction.
Based on my Counterpoints Jacket pattern, I designed the collage motif, felted the sweaters and cut them into the pattern pieces. Seam allowances were eliminated. Using a 3-step zigzag stitch, the seams were butted to reduce bulk and stiffness. Because there were no side seam allowances, I devised a “wrap-around” pocket technique to insert side pockets. And a variation of this technique created the buttonhole. The 2 lower buttons are closed with serger-embellished elastic button loops, (one of my Cosmetic Serger-y™ workshop techniques.) The lining is Bemberg rayon and linen bias binding finishes the edges. Creating this jacket was a creative way to celebrate my mother’s life and her love of tone-on-tone clothing. Every time I wear it, it feels like a hug from her!
How to Make a Stacked Button Closure
Posted on 12. Oct, 2009 by Gail Yellen in Blog
When you have several button choices for your garment, but they’re not very exciting by themselves, combine a couple, add a few beads and voila! you’ve created an eye-catching closure. We all have lots of basic buttons in our stash and “basic” is fine when you don’t want the closure to steal the show. But when you’re looking for a focal point to make your garment pop, turn up the volume by stacking buttons together.
The top row shows all of the elements of a stacked button. Below are 2 possibilities using these elements. The best way to start is to pull out your stash of buttons and start to play. Choose different colors, sizes and shapes. They can either contrast or blend with the colors in your fabric. Stack lots of options right on the fabric. You’ll be amazed at the different looks you can achieve. There are lots of ways to sew these stacked buttons onto your garment. I like to tack the bottom button to the fabric as an anchor, then add the rest of the buttons. Thicker decorative threads such as YLI Jeans Stitch™ can make a bold statement while securely fastening the buttons to the garment. To add another level of wow, attach a few beads after the button stack is sewn on. Below are some examples.
The black base button is blah and the maroon button has a flower shape that echoes the floral motif of the fabric. Neither looked great by itself. And it didn’t look finished until I added a few small black beads.
I wanted a smaller scale button to finish the end of the decorative detail on the lower front of the jacket. Not having a smaller scalloped maroon button, I selected 2 “plain janes” and added the same beads.
This is a fun one! I stacked a “chopstick” on top of a large round button to echo the triangles and circles in my Collage It! jacket.
Stay tuned for more fun embellishment ideas 
See You in Chantilly Virginia October 1-3
Posted on 15. Sep, 2009 by Gail Yellen in Blog
Greetings!
I’m looking forward to another Original Sewing & Quilt Expo in Chantilly, Virginia October 1, 2 and 3. Last year was my first Expo in Chantilly and it was a wonderful 3 days. It was terrific meeting all of you. Stop by Booth # 905 and say hello.
Cosmetic Serger-y™ (Friday Oct. 2 12:30-3:30 pm)
Presented in a lecture/demo format last year, Cosmetic Serger-y™ is even better this year. It’s a hand-on workshop! I’ll show you how to make your serger an important tool in your embellishment arsenal. Did you know that you can make your very own wire-edge ribbon using a serger? All of the techniques you’ll learn are great for quilters, garment sewers and home décor artists. And you’ll explore a variety of decorative threads that you can’t use in a sewing machine but are very serger-friendly.
Texturize Your Fabric! (Thursday Oct. 1 4-5 pm)
Don’t think of solid-color fabric as plain. Consider it a blank canvas. I’ll show you ways you’ve never thought of to jazz up, pucker up and texturize any fabric. Have you ever sewn with “shrink thread?” Armed with loads of samples, you can check out all of these techniques up close. It’s a whole new day for embellishment!
Collage It! Template Set 1 with the Counterpoints Jacket pattern
I’ve devised a whole new and very cool way to up-cycle wool sweaters. Whether you love to scour your local thrift shop or want to use no longer worn, but can’t part with favorite old sweaters, I’ll show you how to collage them into a wearable art jacket. Using my Counterpoints Jacket pattern as a starting point, I’ve created two (so far) Collage It! Template Sets to create the “fabric” from felted wool sweaters. All seams are butted so there’s no bulk or stiffness. I made a tone-on-tone version from 4 of my mother’s sweaters and it was one of the top 3 entries in the 2009 National Sewing Month Reuse, Remake, Restyle contest. Check it out at:
The Great Gored Skirt (Saturday October 3 2-3 pm)
Ever wonder why some flared skirts are more flattering than others? This skirt looks absolutely beautiful on every figure. And the best part is–it’s comfortable! If you’re worried because elastic waistbands usually add unwanted bulk, this one doesn’t. I’ve devised a technique to eliminate excess thickness and I’ll show you how to fit the skirt for a smooth, slimming hipline. You’ll make this skirt over and over in every fabric from denim to silk. (I have!) And it’s the perfect backdrop for a wide variety of embellishment techniques.