Book Review: Fine Machine Sewing by Carol Ahles

As stated in the introduction, "This book is for all sewers who want high-quality machine stitching, finishing, and embellishing without headaches, whatever their level of expertise." The book is an excellent reference and should not be considered as having value only to those interested in heirloom sewing.

Ms. Ahles covers such basic topics as fabric preparation, thread, needles, presser feet, stabilizers and tension, among others. She encourages sewists to maintain sample notebooks of their favorite techniques that include fabric swatches, presser feet used, stitch width and length, tension adjustments and any other information required to produce excellent results. Chapter 2, Easy Ways to Achieve Precision in Your Sewing, alone is worth the price of the book, discussing cutting and marking techniques and creative methods for guiding your fabrics to the needle.

Each chapter ends with a few frequently asked questions that expand on the topics discussed. Realizing that the same stitch might be given a variety of names by different sewing machine manufacturers, each stitch mentioned is diagrammed in the sidebars. The sidebars also include tips such as "Some machines have more than one feather pattern. The feather pattern with a straight stitch down the middle is usually the easiest to learn.

Aside from the wealth of how-to information, Ms. Ahles makes it clear that home sewists need not settle for mediocre results, when today's sewing machines are capable of so much more. The book encourages you to challenge your machine and yourself to achieve beautiful results.

Index/Chapter headings
Chapter 1: Getting the Best Results
Chapter 2: Easy Ways to Achieve Precision in Your Sewing
Chapter 3: Decorative Edges and Creative Applique
Chapter 4: Twin Needle Stitching
Chapter 5: Hemstitching
Chapter 6: Replicating Vintage Lace and Entredeux Techniques
Chapter 7: Fagoting
Chapter 8: Hemming and Re-hemming, Plain or FAncy
Chapter 9: Narrow Hemming
Appendix A: What to Look for in a Sewing Machine
Appendix B: Machine Settings for Decorative Techniques
Appendix C: Caring for Your Sewing Machine

PaperBack or HardBound? Paperback (199 pages, including appendices).

Does this book have clear illustrations or photographs? Yes.

Piecing the Contrast Band

I spent the better part of today finishing up Simplicity 4721 the Lizzie McGuire dress intended for my granddaughter. Most of that time was spent piecing in the contrast band.

If you're new to this project, let me bring you up to speed. The short story is that I had expected the contrast band to be pieced into the skirt. In actuality, it was appliqued onto the skirt. I was dissatisfied with how that was going to look and had all but decided to use jumbo rick-rack instead when Bunny, of La Sewista! suggested piecing the band using hemstitching. Which is what I did, after referring to Carol Ahles excellent book, Fine Machine Sewing (my review). For those of you who are interested, this is how I did it.

Warning: This procedure is neither for the rushed nor the faint of heart!

First, I pressed under the seam allowance on the contrast band.

Then I pinned the band to the dress, placing the bottom of the band on the placement line.


Next, I stitched the band to the dress, using a straight stitch and stitching very close to the pressed edges of the band.


The next step was one of the most nerve-wracking things I've ever done; seriously, I thought I was going to hyperventilate. From the back side of the dress, I slit the base fabric between the lines of stitching. This was the point of no return.




I pressed the raw edges of the base fabric away from the contrast band and basted the seam allowances down, well away from the seam line. I wanted to make sure they stayed in place while I was stitching from the right side of the fabric.


Next, from the right side, I hemstitched the edges of the contrast band using the Parisian hemstitch, Sulky machine embroidery thread and a 100/16 wing needle. The Parisian hemstitch looks like a blanket stitch, but it stitches in and out of each hole in the main row of stitching five (count 'em!) times. This step alone took nearly two hours.

After I finished hemstitching, I trimmed away the seam allowances very close to the stitching.

Here's a detail shot of the contrast band.


And here's the finished dress*:



*I apologize for the poor photo; my model lives far, far away.

Contrast Band Revisited

I was all set to use jumbo rick-rack for the contrast band on the dress I'm making for my granddaughter, Simplicity 4721, when Bunny suggested pinstitching as a solution to my problem.

It was perfect timing as I had Carol Ahles excellent book, Fine Machine Sewing on loan from the library. Hoping that pinstitching and hemstitching were the same thing, I pulled out the book, read up on the technique and started practicing. I selected Parisian hemstitch and a wing needle.Bunny suggested a very large needle rather than a wing needle but a wing needle is what I had on hand, so that is what I used.

This is a close-up of my best practice swatch so far. I think it looks pretty good. If this were an heirloom dress made of handkerchief linen, I might feel differently, but I think this is quite adequate for a (not so simple after all) sundress made of quilting cotton. Even the back looks good, as all the excess fabric is trimmed away, eliminating the problem of how to keep the seam allowances from showing through.

I'm still undecided whether to use rick-rack or the hemstitching. Opinions, please.