I love hearing from my customers and learning the tips that they have discovered whilst making my doll clothes patterns. I thought I would share one of those tips with you today.
Debbi emailed me with a great idea to make the straps on my Summer Nightie doll clothes patterns even easier. Make the tubes and turn to the right side the same way I do then…
1. Sew two rows of stitching to make a casing down the centre making sure that the casing is wide enough for the elastic.
2. Thread elastic through this casing
3. Secure the beginning of the elastic with some stitches
4. Then pulling to the required length, secure the other end with more stitches before cutting the elastic.
Attach the straps and complete the summer nightie following my instructions. The gathering will move along the strap a little with play but the effect is the same and may be easier for the beginner sewer. Great tip Debbi, thanks.
Happy Sewing
Great idea to try a different way to make the straps. I had a little difficulty with the first nightie I made, but will try this technique.
Rosie, how great that you welcome everyone’s ideas to help make sewing even easier. Love your site.
Even happier sewing… :))
Ann
Thanks Ann. I am a great believer that there is always more than one way to do something and what one person manages quite easily, another person may find tricky. So I am always happy to hear other ideas on how to do something. I guess because I make doll clothes to sell on my other website, and have to make lots of them, I tend to try to find the quickest way and stitching the elastic into the strap is quicker than making a casing but yes, it may be a little trickier than using Debbi’s method.
Kind regards, Rosie
I am so glad to see this alternative method. My daughter can now make the straps herself, I was making them for her before because she had so much trouble. Thanks!
Hi Rosie, I am a beginner sewer as I mentioned before. The biggest problem I had with the straps is at the end when you have to sew across to secure edges. My ends kept getting caught in the feeder. It happened 3 times.
What is the cause of the material getting hung up in the feeder?
I just love your video instructions. You are so thorough, it’s hard to mess it up. But some how I manage to, lol.
Regards,
Judith
Hi Judith, I’m glad you are enjoying my video instructions. You may find my blog, ‘Is Your Sewing Machine Eating Your Fabric When You Sew?’ helpful. You will find a link to this and other blogs that may be helpful on my Free Resources page. Let me know how you get on. Happy sewing, Rosie 🙂