People ask me all the time about buying a sewing machine. “How much should I really spend on a sewing machine?” “Can I get away with using my mom’s old sewing machine?” They also want to know what to look for when buying a sewing machine. I show Tracy Moore and the Cityline audience three types […]
I just counted, and I have 14 pairs of cutting utensils in my sewing room! Yowza! Snips, embroidery scissors, rotary cutters, paper scissors, dressmaking shears, and even a couple vintage pairs of fabric scissors that belonged to my grandma. I love having a variety of cutting tools because, because like marking utensils, I will usually switch […]
It was the manager of Vancouver‘s ultimate fabric store, Fabricana, who showed me this sewing technique. And my life has never been the same! LOL! Seriously. It’s the best. How do you sew a sharp corner? It’s not what you’d guess. And if you think your corners are already pretty good, this simple sewing technique […]
I love giving homemade gifts for the holidays! But let’s be honest. Time is precious, and it seems there’s very little of it to go around these days. So what’s a good made-from-scratch alternative? Adorning! For this segment on the Marilyn Denis show, I took plain, store-bought Christmas stockings (from the dollar store!), and personalized them […]
I forget when or where I learned this technique of hemming sheer fabrics and delicate fabrics. It could have been 10 or even 20 years ago. But I’ve always felt like it’s one of my best techniques. A secret stitch! One of my super expert tips! It’s just so easy to do and it looks […]
Guilty pleasure: I watch Kathie Lee and Hoda Kotb on The TODAY Show every chance I can! Their show kicks off my day with a fresh, happy start, and I just love their energy together. (I also love Hoda’s playlist!) It was such an honour when they asked me to come on their show to […]
I had the great pleasure of visiting the Frank Lloyd Wright’s School of Architecture‘s western lecture series location, Taliesin West, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Not only were the buildings (all designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, of course) a visual buffet of gorgeousness, they were full of historic fun facts as well as firsts in the field of […]
An original hem is THE way to hem your jeans properly. It keeps the store-bought distressed hem of your jeans in tact, and it doesn’t look like you’ve done a home-sewing hack on your pants. (Hello Grade 6 flashbacks when my mom used to do a topstitch hem on my cords. OUCH!) Some people call this hem […]
I’m secretly addicted to embellishments on clothes. I love the edginess of studs and mirrors, beading is beautiful, and don’t get me started on sequins! Ahhhh! LOVE! Whether you get your embellishment on by adorning garments you sew from scratch or by adding to store-bought clothes, you need a product that will glue embellishments to fabric without budging […]
I love love love my old Janome sewing machine! My mom gave it to me as a gift for graduation, and I seriously abused this poor thing. But it stayed strong and powered through, no matter what I sewed with it! Alas, it’s time for me to finally move on and upgrade to a machine […]
