Susan Khalje 6/11/2002
Sewing chat6/11/02 HGTV: Welcome to HGTV's hosted chat room. Susan Khalje, sewing expert and host of Sew Much More, is here to answer your questions. Good morning, Susan!. Susan Khalje: Good morning, it's great to be back. I love these chats! Question: Is there a pattern for the quilt that is show behind you on some of your shows that looks like ladies shoes? SK: Everyone loves that quilt! If you go to Alex Anderson's quilt show chat room, you might be able to track down a lead. Our set designer ordered that from a catalog, but we don't know which one. Believe me, I wish we did. HGTV: FYI -- High-heeled quilt pattern: http://www.quilting.about.com/. You'll see a link to it on that page. It might not be exactly the same as the one on the show, but it can probably be modified to match it. Good luck. Q: I love the featured artist segment on your show. How do you get on the show in that segment? SK: Go to hgtv.com and click on the "on tv" page, then look for a link that says "be on hgtv." The producers find guests there occasionally. Q: Susan, I have learned "sew" much from your program.....thanks for sharing your expertise! I'm wondering what your first sewing project was and when you did it? SK: I can remember making some sort of a striped top for myself one summer when I was with my grandmother, who was a wonderful sewer and actually my inspiration. I can remember sewing buttons on it and cutting slits in the fabric for the buttonholes, and I do remember wearing it in the street in front of her house. I must have been about 6 or 7-years old. And I'm so glad you're learning things from the show. Q: I am sewing two years- sometimes I have difficulty understanding patterns. Do you have any tips or suggestions to get better at this? SK: I think like all things it's just a matter of experience, and I think the more you do it the clearer things will become. I always used to study the drawings very carefully, and I think I relied on them as much if not more than the printed instructions. Q: Any tips/tricks for adding heavily padded bra cups to bridesmaid dress I'm altering -- fitted strapless dress with embroidered bodice -- 2 layers to outside layer and 1 layer for lining? SK: I think one important element is to get the bridesmaids into really good undergarments. It would probably be easier to pad a bra than to pad the dress. The major department stores and Victoria's Secret have good longline foundation undergarments, and you also might look in your Yellow Pages to see if there's a good lingerie shop in your area. A good bra can enhance the figure much better than a padded-out dress. In addition, it will also improve the wearer's posture, and she'll look much better in whatever she puts over it. Q: [in reference to the bra sewn into bridesmaid dresses question] The bride chose your method and will look perfect. The bridesmaids do not want to wear a bra. SK: Sewn-in bra cups are never as effective as a separate undergarment, but I would just apply them in the standard manner. Usually they just sew in along the side seams. I know it's difficult to convince young women sometimes that a bra will benefit them, but if they insist I'd just sew the bra cups in along the side seams of the dress. Q: Susan, how did you get started? SK: As I said earlier, my grandmother was an early inspiration and I also took home-ec classes in high school and discovered a real affinity for sewing. Then a lot of my learning came from my own efforts, I was largely self-taught until I was lucky enough to land a job at a small couture shop in New York City. Q: Hi Susan. I'm still fairly new to sewing and have a question about attaching cording to pillows. Do you have any tips/tricks for hiding the initial stitch line from sewing the bias strips around the cording itself? SK: If you're making your cording or your piping, when you first enclose the filler inside the bias strip, don't make the stitches too close to the cording. That is, leave a little bit of play. When you join the strips to the pillow for the second time, your stitches can be a little bit closer to the cording. Then you won't see your initial row of stitches. Q: Sleeve is too tight under the arms... SK: Well, you can either cut a larger sleeve, which may not be an option. Or you can add a gusset, which is a small piece of fabric, sometimes football-shaped, sometimes triangle-shaped, which can give you a little more movement under the arm. The way to find out where to place it is to open the underarm seam, both the underarm seam and the sleeve seam itself. And the opening will spread, and the gusset almost serves as a little patch over that opening. This is one way to give yourself a little ease in a sleeve that's too tight. Q: My sewing machine is not working right, and I am wondering if you know a type of place where I could get it fixed. SK: Your first thing to do is look in the phone book, you might also check at your local fabric store to see if they have any suggestions. For some reason, sewing machines and vacuum cleaners are often sold and repaired at the same establishment. You might look under vacuum cleaner shops as well. Q: Any suggestions for altering a dress shirt pattern for a man with a hump in back? SK: I'd first make a copy of the shirt in inexpensive fabric, and it probably has a yoke in the back. Many men's shirts do. So you could add a little to the bottom of the yoke/body of the shirt seam. And you could also try putting a center seam in the back of the yoke to give yourself some room to play with there. You might also consider back shoulder darts. Q: What are the most important things to look for in purchasing your first sewing machine for a beginner? SK: Actually, I think in their next issue Threads magazine is going to do an overview of sewing machines. You might also look for a good used machine. Used Bernina's are wonderful machines. You might look for one of those. A friend of mine recently found one online and is very happy with it. I wouldn't be too concerned with all the bells and whistles, I'd just look for a machine that is strong, reliable, does beautiful straight stitching and is user-friendly. Q: Where are some of YOUR favorite places to shop for fabric and supplies? SK: New York. I love BNJ fabrics, Lace Star is incomparable. M and J Trimmings is fabulous and down near Chinatown I adore Mendel-Goldberg for exquisite European wools and silks. Q: Susan, other than bridal attire, what is your favorite garment to sew? SK: I love eveningwear. I think that's probably my favorite thing to sew. Q: Where do you go to learn to make patterns? SK: That's tricky. If you're lucky enough to live in San Francisco, for example, you could study with Suzy Furrer at the Academy of Patternmaking and Design. Her program is superb. There's also the New York Fashion Academy in Seattle. And there are others throughout the country, but it's difficult to find that sort of training. There are also classes at FIT in New York. Q: Hi Susan: I need some advice on hemming a handkerchief linen blouse. What I have tried so far does not give me the smooth even edged on the bottom of the shell or its sleeves. SK: You could try a narrow machine hem. Sewing on the wrong side, apply a row of stay stitches, about one-quarter of an inch below your intended hemline. Then press the seam allowance up, along that stitching line. Then apply a second row of stitches in the same direction, just to the left of the first. Then carefully trim away the seam allowance, and narrowly press up the two rows of stitching that you've already sewn, creating a very narrow seam allowance. Press and apply a third and final row of stitches. The final row of stitching is the only one you'll see from the right side of the garment. Q: How many workshop do you do a year? SK: I do five or six, the next one I'll be doing is in San Francisco in the middle of July at the Sewing Workshop. It's six intensive days of couture sewing. We always have a wonderful time. There's more information on the class at www.susankhalje.com. Q: Where can I find sewing machine needles? I see where specific needles are recommended for certain fabrics, and I can never find the recommended needle. SK: I would think even the chain stores these days have good needles. My favorites are Schmetz needles, and I bet you could find them in the Clotilde catalog or on her website, www.clotide.com. Q: Any tips for keeping different interfacings organized and separate from each other? SK: I do have a friend who clips them with clothespins to hangers, which keeps them from getting wrinkled, and she also clips the appropriate directions to the hanger as well. You might try that. Q: Which is the best stichless sewing product? I used a few of them and they are not good. SK: I'm the wrong person to ask, because I tend to do a lot of hand basting, which probably takes the place of those sorts of products. Q: Susan, we appreciate having the instructions available to print off. Usually our current project in completely different from what you are working on. I do not live where the unusual fabrics are available. I'd like to see some projects using wool. SK: Actually, we're about to go into production for next season's programs and we are using wool in some of the garments. Thanks for watching! Q: Hello Susan, I love your show! I was wondering if you could suggest another stretchy fabric for making a swimsuit? I have not been able to find a print I like in lycra. SK: Knits are all so different. The stretch is different, the opacity is different. Go to a good department store, look at some suits and see if you can find any Gottex suits. They always use beautiful fabrics. You might also get a few construction ideas at the same time. Q: What is the best way to keep chiffon material even when cutting and sewing a garment? SK: Well in the first place, get yourself a pair of Gingher micro-serrated shears. They look like ordinary shears, but they have tiny serrations on the blade, which allows them to grip the chiffon as you cut. Some dressmakers like to pin the chiffon to another layer of fabric, something inexpensive, and cut the two layers out at the same time. Just to stabilize things. And as for sewing with it, I like to baste it to control it. And when I'm hemming it I use the narrow machine hem that I described earlier. By the way, that hem treatment is explained in more detail in my Linen and Cotton book. Q: Any tips on starting a home based sewing business, also, is your program next season still only going to be at 8 a.m.? Will there be any prime time shows? SK: I'm not sure what next season's schedule is going to be, and as for getting started in a home-based sewing business I suggest you contact the Professional Association of Custom Clothiers at www.paccprofessionals.org. It is a nationwide group of people who do just what you're interested in doing. You'll find great encouragement, support and advice from them. Q: Susan, I watched this morning's show with Sandra Betzina, but am still unclear about how to do the shoulders on the reversible blouse can you clarify instructions for a beginner? Thanks SK: There are more directions on the hgtv website. Just look up episode number SMM-144. Best of luck! Q: I need advice. I am looking for curtains for my windows. I currently have mini blinds and I would like to get rid of them. I have looked at the old fashioned roll up shades also. I am looking for something that blocks light, heat as well as for privacy. If I were to make curtains, what fabrics would you recommend, or the type of lining? I appreciate your help :) SK: There are a lot of great curtain linings that both serve as insulation and light-blockers. I would suggest going to either your sewing store or the library and getting one of the many good window treatment books that are available today. They can tell you all you need to know about fabric choices as well as design and construction suggestions. Q: My sister-in-law has an interior design business and gave me left over sample books of upholstery fabric. Do you have any ideas as to what I could do with loads of sample books, with colorful pieces of fabric. I am a beginner with the sewing machine but I will try anything. Thanks for any feedback. SK: I guess the first thing that comes to mind is to make a quilt. You could also make a patchwork vest, pillows would be great. I also remember using some beautiful fabric samples that I got from my sister, who is also an interior decorator, as placemats. If these are decorating fabrics you may want to wash them first. Decorating fabrics are often heavily sized with stain-repellants and so on. So you'll want to wash those out before continuing with your project. Sounds like fun! Q: I have made a chenille jacket and am trying to get the fabric to fluff up where I cut into the layers. I have repeatedly washed the finished product, but it won't fluff up. What am I doing wrong? Thanks. SK: Actually there is a brush that's used to fluff up chenille. You can find it at www.fabriccafe.com.. HGTV: Well, everyone, our chat hour has ended. Thank you for joining us today. And thank you, Susan, for answering our questions this morning. Susan Khalje: Oh my pleasure as always, I hope you've enjoyed this as much as I have! I hope to see you next time.
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