Elise's Sewing Studio

Category: Sewing Tutorials

  • How to sew darts on the back of a dress

    Why would you sew darts on the back of a dress? A skill you will want to master if you are interested in altering your own clothing is pinning and sewing darts on tops and dresses. I like to have my clothes darted in the back, and this tutorial goes over how to sew darts…

  • How to sew a front pocket on pants

    I was recently sewing myself a pair of shorts from my own pattern and wanted to share how to make a front pocket. This will walk you through how to do a basic pocket and pocket bag. YOU WILL NEED Fabric for pocket bag Small amount of main garment fabric Pins Rotary cutter and mat…

  • Sew a cuffed hem on shorts

    Sew a cuffed hem on shorts

    One of my favourite ways to finish shorts or cropped pants is to sew a cuffed hem. I’ve used it to save pants that were a bit too short in the leg by turning them into cuffed capris (I’m on the tall side, and if pants shrink in the wash at all, I end up…

  • How to sew a corset back dress

    Changing a zipper to a corset back in a dress makes a well-fiting result It’s happened a number of times while doing alterations: I get a call from someone who has ordered a dress, they love it but the zipper won’t go all the way up. “Is there anything you can do to let the…

  • How to sew a Euro Hem on Jeans

    How to sew a Euro Hem on Jeans

    What is the Euro Hem? Essentially, a Euro hem is when you cut off the original hem and sew it back on as discreetly as possible, so you can only see the original manufacturers’ stitching. Sometimes when you hem jeans, a simple double-turned hem is fine. But other times….hey, the stitching on your sewing machine…

  • How to make a skirt narrower

    A little while back I picked up a dress from a charity thrift shop. The only thing was it was a bit too big over the hips and I wanted to make it narrower -but that is a relatively easy fix! In this case the skirt was a little loose on me, but you could…