Sewing Tips - Be a super successful handsewer! HEMS & SEAMS

The good news is that whatever our financial status, and wherever we live, we can always dress and look wonderful! As the talented Gok Wan has shown on television shows and in books, stitching and personal creativity are the golden paths to being beautifully dressed.


My grandmother was a fashion icon, a dressmaker and master tailor of note. Sisters Ottmar and Gebhard who taught me sewing at school were amazing teachers. They gave great sewing tips to me, and here are some for you today.


Stitching and the way you press or iron a garment inbetween stitching are very important to the final look. If you press/iron a seam with a damp cloth or steam iron inbetween each line of stitching, the eventual look of the garment/clothing will be tailored, and look as if it was designer bought. If you live in a squatter camp or shanty town and don't have access to electricity or steam irons, an old fashioned iron (made of iron and with a wooden handle) placed on a wood or coal burning stove to heat it up, works fine. Please be very careful with wood or coal burning stoves, as there is always the risk of fire. In the last camp I visited, the coal burning area was outside the hut for safety. Only let adults handle the iron.


HANDSTITCHING
There are many times that 'a stitch in time saves nine'. If your children are growing out of their schoolclothes and other clothing very fast, let down the hems of their trousers - dresses - shirts, and iron them. Rehem the hems with a very small hem, and do this by hand. You can get extended use of our clothing in this way. Also, keep the clothing once your child has grown out of it, for the next child in line to use when he/she grows tall enough to fit into the clothing. Alternately, get an agreement going with a brother or sister, cousin or friend who also has growing children, so swop your clothing with each other as children grow out of their clothing.


Other times to use handsewing are when a button comes off (buy another button, and sew it back on. Sew the other buttons more tightly on by means of handsewing, because when one button comes loose, the others often start coming loose too). If the stitching in a seam comes loose and the seam gapes open, a quick line of handstitching can save the day. Another tip is to sew all existing buttons on tightly when you buy a new garment to ensure good wear.


If the top of a dress or top is too loose and gapes open, a few stitches and possibly a dart or too can make the top better fitting. If you put on weight or lose weight, and your clothing becomes too tight, or too loose, a few stitches or a let out seam can save you having to purchase a whole new wardrobe.


At maternity time, you will be able to let out clothing. After baby is born, you can take in the seams again. All this freedom to keep on looking great is by means of the humble needle and thread, and your amazing and creative sewing.


WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Thread
I personally find that cotton thread in the colour of the garment/clothing you wish to sew is the easiest for handsewing. Match the colour of the thread to the garment.
Acrylic thread is great for overlocker machine sewing.
Use a black thread for a black dress or trousers; dark blue thread for a dark blue garment. Use white thread on a white garment, and a pink thread for a pink top. Any sewing shop will be able to help you learn how to match your thread to your garment.
Take the garment along, or if you are sewing a new garment from material, take a swatch (a small piece) of the material along with you. This will be helpful when you wish to match your thread to your clothing (there can be twenty different shades of pink or green, for example).


Needles
You will need needles.
There are four different types;
Sharps - long general purpose needles
Betweens - shorter general purpose needles
Crewel - these have a large eye for embroidery
Darning needles - these are large needles with large eyes, and are great for e.g. darning woollen socks, elbows of jerseys, and blankets.
The sizes of needles range form 1 to 12. The higher the number of the needle, the finer the needles will be. Number 7 or 8 is a useful size for general handsewing. I find myself that I now know after years of handsewing exactly which size I find best to sew with. You will also find the same.


Thimble
Wear a thimble on your middle finger. My ouma and my sewing teachers always used to encourage me to use a thimble, and a tomboy at the time, I kept on losing my thimbles. Sewing without a thimble can lead to skin being pricked by a needle. Always use your thimble - it protects your skin and the material you are sewing. If you are diabetic, please be aware that it is a health risk to use sharp objects such as needles.


Scissors;
A small pair of scissors for trimming thread is important. Don't use your teeth to bite thread - it's very bad for the enamel.
A large pair of dressmaking scissors is needed for cutting material. Keep this as your best pair, and don't let the children use this to e.g. cut paper, this will blunt them. Keep the scissors clean and dry. Sharpen them occasionally if necessary. Keep the scissors locked away. Children can hurt themselves with the scissors if they find them lying about. If you live in a squatter camp or shanty town, invest in a small suitcase or box which you can lock.


Pins
Fine stainless steel pins are great. I like the ones with little coloured bobbles on the top - they are easy to see and keep track of. Make sure you remove the same number of pins from your clothing that you put in. It is easy to get a deep scratch from a forgotten pin when you try on your clothing, or to stand on a pin when you've let it drop on the floor and forgotten it - painful and dangerous to those with diabetic skin.


Tape measure
Get a good tape measure.


An ironing board
An ironing board is helpful. If you live in a squatter camp or shanty town, and have neither the funds nor the space for an ironing board, you can iron on a blanket on a hard surface such as a table.


There are other items you can use for sewing, but these are sufficient to keep you sorted. I keep my sewing items in a small plastic resealable box which I bought years ago for a few pence, and which travels with me on all my field trips. It means that if I am out and my hem comes out, I can quickly sew it back in and look neat again.


HOW TO HAND STITCH SUCCESSFULLY
- I like to use double thread - I find a double thread properly knotted never ever comes out, especially if used for a seam or hem. Some people prefer a single thread. The choice is yours.
- Use the thread, and do not make it too long as it will then twist and knot.
- Stitch from right to left if you are right handed. If you are left handed, stitch from left to right if this is easier for you.
- Before you handsew e.g. a hem or seam, pin it in place first. Put your pins facing the same way, e.g. the bobbins on the end of the pin should all face either left or right.
- Then tack your hems or seams in place before stitching. This keeps it super neat and straight.
- Make a secure stitch to start off. I do this by placing a secure knot in the end of the double thread I use, and place my first stitch through the underside of the seam/hem I am sewing, so the knot is on the inside and cannot be seen on the outside of the garment.
Then I do a double stitch after the knot, this keeps the first stitch securely in place.
- Keep stitches even and do not pull too tightly. Stitches should be small and neat.
- Finish off securely ( I do this by making three small stitches next to each other, then passing my thread through a small piece of the hem, and then cut off the end of the thread).


I'll shortly make photographs of how to sew a hem, and how to use stitching we used to call 'magic stitching' because it never came out for us, and was not visible on the outside of the garment.
Watch this space!


* Great video on handsewing, with thanks to The Crafty Gemini
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2mfJweh8a0


*Photo taken by Catherine Nicolette - please feel free to use copyright free for any worthy purpose

Lumiere English Academy - A Basic Grammar

Lumiere English Academy

To all those who are interested in learning or teaching English, Dr. Luky Whittle has made her Basic Grammar available in serialised form for use. The blog will make each consecutive lesson available from time to time - so watch this space!

A Basic Grammar, Comprehension Guide and Letter Writer for

 Second Language Students

Foreword to Second Language English Students
These lessons purport to be no more than a brief and basic grammar crammer, comprehension guide and letter writer. Aimed at the second language English speaker, it also contains a section on pronunciation. The student is cautioned to give slang a wide berth for the purposes of official letter writing and conversation. Nevertheless, current expressions such as "shifting the goalposts" and "hidden agenda" which have become such a part of our modern speech, have been included in the special list of set expressions in which common ordinary expressions are freely intermingled with time-honoured idioms.


To paraphrase the poet, English is a language of "infinite variety" and a lifetime of study will still leave the student marvelling at its beauty and scope. Like the woman to whom the quotation refers, she is an unreasonable and fickle lady and it is hard to keep up with her moods. Hence no attempts have been made to explain apparent inconsistencies.


Enjoy your studies,
Luky Whittle
1 May 2002
Virginia, South Africa


Copyright Dr. Luky Whittle. Please feel free to use freely for any educational purpose


*Photograph taken by Catherine Nicolette

Teaching English? Why not use a translator

Are you teaching English as a career, or offering your services voluntarily to assist others in disadvantaged situations learn the language? Why not use a translator as we in Lumiere English Academy have done with great success! I have recently returned from a field trip where Congolese children speaking French were struggling to learn English. I brought a translator to the teacher, and within minutes the children were laughing delightedly as they were able to translate French into English, assisting their studies. The teacher was laughing no less delightedly as she was able to translate words from English into French.


Lumiere English Academy has been offering free classes online and telephonically since January 2011 with great success. However, to be honest with you, so many people are in need of free lessons that our Academy is struggling to meet the demand. In the spirit of Lumiere, if you are a teacher of English, would you consider giving free English lessons to those in disadvantaged areas? There are many in need of this wonderful gift.


Why not consider becoming an online English school offering a number of free English lessons weekly? It is easy to give telephonic or online lessons to someone in another country. In squatter camps, contact can be made with a principal/ minister/ social worker/ volunteer of honest reputation and good heart, and a second hand computer can be fundraised for or donated to that person. A generator or link to electricity can be organised, and lessons be made available in that way. Another option is to tape audio classes or organise webinars and place them online. Or your can burn CD's of your English lessons and then post them to outlying areas, with a tape recorder and batteries. The wonderful challenge of teaching the great medium of English is to find a way to make classes available to outlying areas.


Interested in learning more? Why not visit our website (link below this article). Lumiere English Academy offers services in the following fields;
- Free telephonic and online classes internationally to students requiring gratis English lessons
- Sponsorship of free education in English for children and disadvantaged
- Establishing and ongoing support of village libraries
- English educational empowerment projects
- Provision of donations of English books, globes, stationery, paper, school books, educational DVD's to
  children in shanty towns, squatter camps, outlying villages and disadvantaged areas
- Online computer classes to disadvantaged areas
- Liaison with English teachers and donation of schooling provisions to disadvantaged areas


Another option for a translator if you have access to electricity and a computer is to use an online translator.


Lumiere Academy - Education Today for a Brighter Future tomorrow


Lumiere Charity website page for English Academy;
http://lumierecharity.tripod.com/lumiere-english-academy.html

Link to example of pocket translator (unfortunately deal expired at present) which has been a resounding success in Lumiere English Academy teaching. This translator has been a blessing in our in our charity work to assist in the volunteer teaching of pupils from disadvantaged areas and squatter camps. Thank you so much to the manufacturers.
There are also other great deals online or if you look through your local shops.

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/pocket-translator-6-languages-7-99-lidl-1093091


Online translator example is Google's fabulous and free Translator;
http://translate.google.com/
As always, thank you Google! This benefit has helped Lumiere English Academy teach pupils of other languages such as Hindi, Russian and Lithuanian to become proficient in English.

A candle has been lit for all suffering from floods in Britain

A candle has been lit by Lumiere Charity in remembrance of all those suffering in the floods in Britain.
Recent television footage has shown devastation resulting from the torrential waters.
In the spirit of Lumiere, for those of us blessed at present with safe streets, dry houses and the safety of our family and friends from raging water - is there any way you could help?

Lumiere Charity remembers Bangladesh

A candle has been by Lumiere Charity in remembrance for all who have been recently affected in the devastating floods in Bangladesh. It is reported that seventy people have gone to final rest, and 200,000 people are stranded in the floods. People are feared trapped in the mud, and rescue operations continue. May strength and safety be with all who are helping those affected by the floods which set off landslides. In the spirit of Lumiere, is there any way you could help?


With thanks to the reporter who reported the plight of our Bangladesh brothers and sisters in our human family, in the link
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/thirty-dead-150-000-stranded-bangladesh-floods-050039361.html?nc 

Sewing Circle Tips - Making curtains easy!

Gathering tape sewn onto curtain, with hooks

For years when funds were tight in mission areas I used to make extremely cheap curtains swiftly and easily in the following way;
I purchased two single sheets in a pretty cotton fabric at the local store selling cheap linen. 
Then I would buy some cheap heading gathering tape and white plastic cotton hooks from the local sewing store.
 Measure the heading gathering tape to fit the top of each sheet exactly with 1cm to spare on either side, then cut off the gathering tape. 
Note there is a right side, and an underside to the gathering tape.
The side you want facing upwards on the back of the curtain is the side which has extra pieces of tape where the hooks go in.
Turn under the raw ends of the gathering tape to the length of 1cm of the heading gathering tape, and pin and tack the tape to the top of the sheets on the wrong side (the back of the sheet with the underside of the pattern). 
Pull out the cords at the end of the curtain which will be at the middle of the window, 
and knot them together. 


Sew the tapes on. If you don't have a sewing machine, sew them on by hand. I have done this when I didn't have a sewing machine, it takes a long time and you need both patience and a thimble. 
A sewing machine gets the job done quickly. 
Sew along the top of the gathering tape, and the bottom of the gathering tape in order for the tape to be firmly fixed to the curtain; it will last well.


Take care when stitching not to stitch over the loose cords. 
When stitched, gently pull up the gathers by pulling at the loose cords which were unknotted, at the end of the curtain which will be at the end of the window. 
Do this until the curtains measure the correct width. Knot the cords together. 
Space your gathers evenly. 
Insert curtain hooks fairly closely together and mount the curtains on the track.  
You make this kind of curtain for curtain pelmets with tracks suited for hooking the hooks through.


You can line the curtains if you wish, to make them even stronger and to let less light in. Curtain linings help to protect the main fabric from dirt and direct sunlight and to provide additional insulation, handy in winter. We will show you how to make curtain linings in a later post.


Another option to buy curtains is from your local Charity store. Beautiful curtains are often on sale there, cleaned, pressed and ironed for use for a small sum of money. 


*Photograph taken by Catherine Nicolette
*Please sew carefully. Get someone to show you how to use a sewing machine properly if you have never used one before. Never pull on the sewing machine needle while sewing on the machine, as it may snap. Always sew safely! Good luck with your curtains

Give a child a cup of food

Do you want to give a hungry child a cup of food? Here is an easy way.
1. Click into the website www.thehungersite.com
2. Enrol to receive a regular email
3. When the email comes, click on the button marked 'Click'
4. Sponsors pay for cups of food


You can shop in the fabulous online store if you wish and give more.


The Hunger Site has given over 832,518,338 cups of food since June 1999 on this date. Why not add to this   wonderful number? We can make a difference - why not wipe the tears from a hungry and vulnerable child's eyes by the simple click of a computer mouse.


"We ourselves
feel that what
we are doing is just
a drop in the ocean
But the ocean would be
less because of that
missing drop."
      Mother Teresa


Want to register to help? 
You can register by clicking on 'Register' in the 'Free Ways to Help' box  on the left upper side of the website page on the following link;

http://www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=1

Want to know more about the Hunger Site?
http://www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/aboutus.faces?siteId=1&link=ctg_ths_aboutus_from_home

*Photograph taken by Catherine Nicolette