May Martin’s Sewing Bible: 40 years of tips and tricks. May Martin
Find a bra that fits you really well and pad the cups. Put the bra on the dummy and check that the bust is in the right place. Measure from your shoulder to the bust point, then loosen or tighten the straps on the bra to match.
3. Gradually bind the body of the dummy with 70g (2oz) wadding, adding those extra layers of flesh that determine the shape of our bodies. Measure at every stage as you do this, stopping when the dummy matches your measurements. This is a really flexible way of changing the shape of your dummy and you can add more in one area if required.
4. Now take some stockinette – the stretchy tubular cotton fabric you use to cover foam for upholstery projects – and cut a 1.5m (1⅝yd) length. Unscrew the neck of your dummy, put the stockinette tube over the top of the dummy and pull it down over the body. Tuck the stockinette into the neck and tighten the neck screw. Pull the fabric right down and tie under the body of the dummy.
Stockinette is quite flimsy, however, so I bought a close-fitting cheap T-shirt and put this on as the top layer. I then tried one of my dresses on the dummy to check for fit. Perfect! (And no, she hasn’t got a name yet!)
The Raw Materials
Fabric for Craft or Home-Furnishing Projects
For my craft projects you’ll see I’ve mostly used cotton, for its weight and texture as well as its wide colour range, but you can use any fabric you like, within reason, as long as you sew together fabrics of a similar weight where more than one is needed. Cotton is also ideal for making curtains, blinds or other home furnishings, especially if you’re just starting out. My students buy whatever catches their eye and whatever they think will best fit their overall colour scheme. The main thing to bear in mind is pattern matching, which I explain in detail in the section on making curtains.
Choosing Fabric for your Dressmaking Project
My students frequently ask my advice when it comes to selecting fabric for a dressmaking project, so here are a few pointers to help you make your choice.
First purchase your pattern and look at the back of the envelope for fabric recommendations and quantities. Decide whether your garment is going to be worn in the winter or the summer – this will determine the weight of the fabric and the sort of colours to go for.
Fabrics are usually grouped in weights: lighter-weight cottons and silks and heavier-weight woollens. Information about the fabric is usually given on the end of the roll: the fabric type, width and content (the proportion of natural and synthetic fibres), along with care instructions. If you are making clothes for small children or are in constant contact with small children and their sticky fingers, it’s best to go for a washable fabric – you don’t want a huge dry-cleaning bill!
When you’re shopping for fabric, apart from your paper pattern and what’s written on the end of the roll, it’s your eyes and hands that are your best tools. Cast your eyes along the shelves, homing in on colours or patterns that appeal. Now use your hands – this is where you will gain the most information about a piece of cloth. These are the important factors to bear in mind:
Comfort: Feel the cloth: is it rough to the touch? If so, it may benefit from a lining so that it does not scratch your skin.
Modesty: When you hold the fabric up, can you see the outline of your hand through it? If so, other people will be able to see your silhouette through the fabric when you stand against the light! You will either need to line the sections of your garment before sewing them together or drop in a loose lining.
Creasability: Take a small amount of the cloth in your hand and squeeze it gently. How well does it bounce back? If it retains a crease when you crush it with your fingers, it will crease when you wear it.
Stability: Is the end of the fabric on the roll unravelling? If so, the cloth will fray like fury and may be tricky to handle.
Mobility: Does the fabric move about if you drape a couple of metres over your arm? This could be a good thing if your pattern requires drape in the design. It could be a nightmare if the fabric is so mobile that it stretches in every direction!
Fabric with a nap or one-way pattern
Another factor to bear in mind when choosing fabric is whether it has a nap – a slightly raised or textured surface that looks different depending on which way up the fabric is. Fabrics with a nap need to be cut out with pattern pieces all laid in the same direction. How do you tell if a fabric has a nap? Take a length of the fabric and fold it back side by side against a piece going in the other direction. If there is a difference in sheen or colour, you will need to position pattern pieces in one direction. If in any doubt, treat as a napped fabric. There is nothing more heart-breaking than nearing completion of a garment and noticing that a section is not quite right. Other factors to bear in mind are:
Pile: Velvet and corduroy both have an obvious pile, which can be challenging to sew as it creeps on seams (one bit walking on top of another). As with any fabric with a nap, it needs to be cut out with all the pieces of the garment lying in the same direction.
Sheen: Silk, satin and other fabrics with a sheen all need to be handled with care and pattern pieces cut out in the same direction.
Pattern: Does the fabric have a distinctive pattern? If so, you may need to allow more fabric as you’ll need to consider the positioning of the paper pattern on the fabric when you cut out your garment. Just as you would for fabric with a nap, you will also need to position your paper pattern with the pieces all laying in the same direction.
Lining
If you’re making a garment out of a heavier-weight fabric, especially one with a rough texture such as wool, then it’s best to line it. Lining also gives a better drape to a garment, and you’ll see I’ve suggested inserting one in my Pencil Skirt. For either purpose, you’d select lining made from a silky polyester or acetate. Garment pieces can also be underlined – where you attach lining to individual sections of a garment before sewing it together, as I’ve done for the Boned Bodice. Polyester and cotton curtain lining is ideal for use in craft projects, as it does not shrink or change shape when it is washed. I have used it in the the Patchwork Place Mat and Christmas Stocking. For curtains, I prefer to use cotton lining.