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Abifae - Ciao Babies!
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abifae
Abinormal Butterfly
I've discovered the trick to zippers.
Hand sew them in.
Once I quit using the machine until after it is fully sewn in (just for extra stability), I have had zero issues. WOOT!
I'm gonna be so good at couture. LOL. I already prefer handsewing a goodly portion of my stuff to get it to fit right.
Hand sew them in.
Once I quit using the machine until after it is fully sewn in (just for extra stability), I have had zero issues. WOOT!I'm gonna be so good at couture. LOL. I already prefer handsewing a goodly portion of my stuff to get it to fit right.
calendula
Lovin' The Homestead
Oooh, zippers are one thing that I haven't sewn yet. I know who to ask for adivce when I finally do!
snapshot
Farmwife
Zippers and sleeves! 
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abifae
Abinormal Butterfly
Yep snapshot, hand sew both 
Anything I need more than 2 pins per inch, I hand baste, remove the pins, then run it through the machine. No puckers!!! So any tight turns get hand basted.
Calendula, I didn't even try for YEARS! But now that I've realized how perfect they look when I don't waste my time on pins and the machine (actually SLOWER than handsewing, since I then have to take out the sewing, repin and resew and 5 times and it still looks like crap!!).
And on really fancy stuff, you sew the zipper into your strong base first (like like the muslin bodice) and then you add the drapey stuff on top of that and already have the zipper stable. (So like for evening gowns)
Anything I need more than 2 pins per inch, I hand baste, remove the pins, then run it through the machine. No puckers!!! So any tight turns get hand basted.Calendula, I didn't even try for YEARS! But now that I've realized how perfect they look when I don't waste my time on pins and the machine (actually SLOWER than handsewing, since I then have to take out the sewing, repin and resew and 5 times and it still looks like crap!!).
And on really fancy stuff, you sew the zipper into your strong base first (like like the muslin bodice) and then you add the drapey stuff on top of that and already have the zipper stable. (So like for evening gowns)
kcsunshine
Almost Self-Reliant
My mom taught me to machine sew up the seam you're putting the zipper into - Lengthen your machine stitch to a basting stitch. Then pin the zipper in place and stitch. After it's in, take a seam ripper and rip out the seam where the zipper is. Easy, peasy. Works really well if you're sewing a long zipper into the back of a dress. This way you don't have to worry about the fabric slipping and one side of the zipper being wider than the other.
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abifae
Abinormal Butterfly
Oh! NEAT! Especially for an invisible zipper. I wanted this one to show, so it's part of the design.
Zippers are fully hand sewn. About to machine tack 'em, then I just have the bottom hem. Serge around the full circle, then tack with machine.
One dress needs its sleeves.
Oh. I should hem the sleeves. *laughs* I usually remember to do that before I close the round. Oh wells.
ETA: Okay sewing peoples. How the F$CK do you do sleeve?? I used a pattern for the armhole and the sleeve. So it would match. It is off by over an inch when I put it together. What am I doing wrong? Other than basic incompetence because I still don't know why the wavy thingy fits into the circle >.>
Zippers are fully hand sewn. About to machine tack 'em, then I just have the bottom hem. Serge around the full circle, then tack with machine.
One dress needs its sleeves.
Oh. I should hem the sleeves. *laughs* I usually remember to do that before I close the round. Oh wells.
ETA: Okay sewing peoples. How the F$CK do you do sleeve?? I used a pattern for the armhole and the sleeve. So it would match. It is off by over an inch when I put it together. What am I doing wrong? Other than basic incompetence because I still don't know why the wavy thingy fits into the circle >.>
kcsunshine
Almost Self-Reliant
Abi, you have to gather the upper part of the sleeve until you no longer have the extra inch. There are usually marks on the pattern to show where you start and end your gathering thread. Once the gathers are evenly distributed, pin the sleeve to the dress and sew them together.
Farmfresh
City Biddy
What she said .. almost all sleeves (unless they are like T-shirt material) have some gathering toward the point of the shoulder. That allows more movement in the garment. 
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