If you've sewn a garment before, you may have encountered a basting stitch. And, if you keep sewing, you'll be sure to use it with most projects. Basting is a fundamental sewing technique because it's so useful. Even better, it's a very easy stitch to sew. In this post and video, I'll talk about what a basting stitch is, when to use it and demonstrate sewing a basting stitch by hand and by machine.

In today's video, I'm going to be showing you how to understitch. Understitching is a technique that is most often used when sewing woven fabric garments but occasionally with knit fabrics as well. It's mostly used when you are sewing a facing, a lining or an in-seam pocket. The purpose of understitching is to keep those parts of the garments hidden and out of view.

Today, is the final video in my series of how to adjust the length of different parts of a pattern. I hope that this will be a useful series for you as you move through your sewing journey. Today’s video tutorial will teach you how adjust the length of a skirt or dress. In the video, I’ll be using my Lou Box Dress 1 and an example A-line skirt to demonstrate both how to lengthen and how to shorten a skirt. If diagrams and written text are a better way for you to learn, I have those below the video. Happy sewing!

Today’s video is a big one! I share my top reasons why pdf patterns are awesome (just in case you’re not already convinced). Then I share my top tips for how to successfully print pdf patterns (including the printer settings you need to make sure the entire pattern prints on the page). And finally I show how to efficiently assemble and cut the pattern. I even show you the techniques I learned in design school for safely using an exacto knife or blade. I’ve never cut off a finger using these techniques so hopefully it will help you and keep your fingers safe too!

Today we will be sharing our tips for how to sew a narrow curved hem. We will be sewing View A of the Lela Skirt pattern but this method can also be used for View B. The curve of the Lela Skirt hem was designed in such a way that it is possible to turn the hem twice to the wrong side and does not require a facing or bias facing. (By the way, if you’re curious about how to sew a hem facing, check out this post from the Lou Box Dress 1 sewalong.)

Today I’m sharing a few of my favorite ways to style the Lela Skirt. This skirt is so versatile and can easily be dressed up or dressed down. I first designed this skirt four years ago at the height of summer to be a comfortable garment that was easy to sew and a little more dressed up than shorts. The style definitely lends itself to warmer or transitional months. I prefer to wear my Lela Skirt in a way that shows off the waistband and creates a bit of shaping at the waist. Read on for my top six favorite ways to wear it.

In today’s sewalong post, we are sharing a video that takes you step by step through the process of sewing the elastic waistband of the Lela Skirt pattern. This skirt is very beginner friendly because it’s easy to sew and easy to fit due to the forgiving elastic waistband. If you haven’t read it yet, check out yesterday’s post about selecting your size. And then click through to watch the video and learn all of our best tips for sewing an elastic waistband.