Answering Comments

First, the "bad" news is that I won't be showing the costume from yesterday. It left the sewing room after the ruffles were done and DS's girlfriend will be finishing it. It's a baby outfit (big size), for a play she's working on. She's a drama major and it's another student's original play for which she's doing some of the costumes. Nothing for Halloween, even though I did post on Halloween. That was just a coincidence. But really, it wasn't that exciting. Trust me. ;-) A pink Walmart tee with ruffles around the bottom and around the sleeves. It just took a LOT of flat strips to get enough length of ruffled strips to go around it and when she was here one day talking about it, we brainstormed together and ended up doing the ruffles on my machines.

Onto the questions …

What would I look for from the Ebay gadget guy in generic fellers for my Janome CS?

Keep in mind that I've never actually used any of these generic fellers since I bought actual Babylock fellers before finding the Ebay guy, but this looks like the equivalent, even though it's described as a Juki sewing machine attachment. When looking at all the choices from this seller for fellers/folders, the important features to note are whether the folder/feller is downturn (like I showed), upturn (which flips the edge UP), single (one fold under or up) or "clean finish" (two folds down). I like the swinging out feature of his generics, which would let me move the attachment out of the way without actually removing it. Also, I don't think his prices for these particular attachments are any great savings over what I paid for mine, which I think was in the neighborhood of about $20 per. They're reasonable, just not a big bargain.

Do you have any tips for using a hemmer on a regular sewing machine?

You have to start with the leading edge pressed under twice, the same width as the hemmer will fold. You stitch for about an inch with the edge not yet in the hemmer foot. Then you stop with the needle down and work the edge into the hemmer. After that, you've got to hold the fabric feeding into the hemmer at a slight angle (toward your left) and up, and keep even pressure on it as it feeds into the hemmer. It takes practice. And patience. ;-)

On your latest Ottobre top, looks perfect for the season....where do you purchase your bindings?

Thank you! For the binding, I just cut strips of knits I have on hand. Nothing that is specifically a "binding." Those knits come from all over.

When you do the wedge alteration, and the grainline *is* thrown off, then what?

You have to redraw it. Fold the bottom hem in half to find the center and then square a line up the leg from the hem.

(About my cat) DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT! You heifer! :D I just KNEW he was going to die (LMAO at "he wasn't going to off himself" tho!!)

Angie, you always crack me up! Gizmo is doing great. No more limp at all. Nothing to show he was ever injured. He's back to his usual routine of hanging around outside, sleeping in the garage, drinking the dogs' water, and eating yummy (not!) cat food.

I have a question about your sewing dummy. Have you padded it or how do you make it work for a full bust?

Yes, I've padded it. For the bust, I stuffed one of my bras with fiberfill and she wears it under a camisole. I took photos of the process, here, but since then I've removed the lower padding because it looked strange and lumpy under some tops and skirts. I've been meaning to re-do it smoother, but I haven't gotten my round tuit yet. But that's because I've been sewing mostly TNT (tried-n-true) patterns lately. When I need a better fit model, I'll be more motivated to re-pad.