WEBVTT 00:00:00.429 --> 00:00:03.620 There is a box, in the corner of my sewing room. 00:00:03.620 --> 00:00:07.419 It is a box whose contents have not seen the light of day for many a month. 00:00:07.419 --> 00:00:10.630 Many crafters will be familiar with this box, in all of its forms: 00:00:10.630 --> 00:00:14.590 There’s the ever-growing amorphous lump that lies underneath your desk… 00:00:14.590 --> 00:00:18.730 The monster underneath your bed… The stuff you vacuum-packed in a fit of organization 00:00:18.730 --> 00:00:21.810 and stuffed into your garage in the hopes that you’d never have to deal with it again… 00:00:21.810 --> 00:00:35.300 This, my friends, is the UNFINISHED SEWING PILE. 00:00:35.300 --> 00:00:39.380 The item that I’m going to work on today is a new addition to the pile – this rust-coloured 00:00:39.380 --> 00:00:44.079 crop top. Now, it’s cut apart at the sides already because, uh… I tried it on the other 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:48.760 day and it was too small and I literally had to be cut out of it so that I could breathe. 00:00:48.760 --> 00:00:51.610 You might remember this being mentioned if you watched my vlog the other day. 00:00:51.610 --> 00:00:56.219 Katie: "And yeah, I had to cut you out of that shirt the other day, so there was that." 00:00:56.219 --> 00:00:56.399 Annika: "Yep." 00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:00.600 Anyway, I thrifted the top of weeks ago, even though I knew it was probably too small for 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:03.329 me, because I REALLY liked the colour and style. 00:01:03.329 --> 00:01:07.820 As you can see, it really doesn’t fit. But that’s not a problem because I am going 00:01:07.820 --> 00:01:08.700 to make it fit! 00:01:08.700 --> 00:01:13.400 So my plan is to add a new back to the top. The first thing that I do is to remove these 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:17.390 two bits that make up the back. To do that, I seam rip it – which is, cutting through 00:01:17.390 --> 00:01:20.890 and ripping out the threads at the side seams, because I don’t want to lose any of the 00:01:20.890 --> 00:01:23.150 fabric. Cutting through all the threads takes a while, 00:01:23.150 --> 00:01:26.150 but I eventually get there. And at the very top, I snip through the bias 00:01:26.150 --> 00:01:27.979 binding. And the front piece is free. 00:01:27.979 --> 00:01:31.880 Now, I’m going to use the old back piece as a kind of template for my new back piece 00:01:31.880 --> 00:01:35.540 – which is basically just going to be a lot WIDER than this original piece. 00:01:35.540 --> 00:01:39.799 So for the new back piece, I chose this rusty red colour as I thought it would give the 00:01:39.799 --> 00:01:44.170 top kind of cool colourblocking effect, but also match the orange at the same time. The 00:01:44.170 --> 00:01:47.689 new material was also a ribbed jersey, so that the texture would also match the front. 00:01:47.689 --> 00:01:52.450 I measured how long the original back piece was, and then I added an inch up the top and 00:01:52.450 --> 00:01:56.220 an inch down the bottom, so 2 extra inches all up, for seam allowance for the hem. 00:01:56.220 --> 00:02:01.310 I also added about 4 extra inches to the width. Now I added 4 inches basically just by guessing 00:02:01.310 --> 00:02:05.869 – because I figured that I needed around 2-3 extra inches of width on the back piece 00:02:05.869 --> 00:02:10.379 to make it fit, and about an inch for a generous seam allowance, so, all up - 4 inches. If 00:02:10.379 --> 00:02:13.950 I've added too much and it's too loose, I can always adjust and take it in more. Anyway, 00:02:13.950 --> 00:02:15.689 here's my new back piece. 00:02:15.689 --> 00:02:21.129 Now I am going to fold and pin these top and bottom edges of the new back piece, so that 00:02:21.129 --> 00:02:25.779 it becomes the same height as the original, using the original nearby as a guide. 00:02:25.779 --> 00:02:30.400 On the original piece this top bit actually curved down a little bit towards the centre, 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:36.260 so I also copied that onto my piece by adjusting this hem so that it also has a curve in the middle. 00:02:36.559 --> 00:02:39.889 Next, I’m going to sew the hem down like this. 00:02:39.889 --> 00:02:43.689 To sew the hem, I am actually going to be using this new twin needle that I just got! 00:02:43.689 --> 00:02:47.639 And this is the first time I’m ever using this twin needle, so fingers cross that it works! 00:02:47.639 --> 00:02:50.090 I bought this because twin needles are really 00:02:50.090 --> 00:02:55.419 useful for sewing stretch fabrics. When're only using a normal needle and normal sewing 00:02:55.419 --> 00:03:00.699 foot on a material like ribbed jersey, it likes to do this - which is not a super good 00:03:00.699 --> 00:03:04.459 look. Using a twin needle stops this from happening, and it also gives hems this super 00:03:04.459 --> 00:03:07.529 professional double-stitching on the outside. 00:03:07.529 --> 00:03:11.419 To thread a twin needle, you will need to use two spools of thread on the top of the 00:03:11.419 --> 00:03:15.549 machine. For my machine, both the threads are threaded through together like normal, 00:03:15.549 --> 00:03:19.669 and then separated into each of the two needles. The bobbin is threaded just like usual. 00:03:19.669 --> 00:03:24.309 Also, you when you’re using a twin needle you need to sew on the top side of the material 00:03:24.309 --> 00:03:28.129 that you're sewing, because these two lines of straight-stitching will appear on the top, 00:03:28.129 --> 00:03:30.400 and on the underside it'll appear as zig zags. 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:34.599 So, on the back piece that I just pinned, I actually had to move all the pins around 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:39.699 to the other side. Now I am going to sew across like this, using my twin needle, to hem the back piece. 00:03:40.290 --> 00:03:44.760 While sewing, I also use my walking foot to make super dooper sure that the hem isn’t 00:03:44.760 --> 00:03:48.900 going to ruffle. A walking foot is another weapon in your arsenal against that ruffly 00:03:48.900 --> 00:03:53.239 hem. It uses these little “feed dogs”, which kinda look like little walking feet, 00:03:53.239 --> 00:03:57.329 to pull the fabric through evenly on both the top and the bottom, and this prevents ruffling. 00:03:57.859 --> 00:04:01.790 When you’re using both a twin needle and walking foot together, you should also sew 00:04:01.790 --> 00:04:03.099 really slowly. 00:04:03.099 --> 00:04:07.109 And, there it is! My super nice, professional looking, completely flat hem! 00:04:07.109 --> 00:04:10.989 Now I just have to attach these front and back pieces together, which I do by placing 00:04:10.989 --> 00:04:14.209 them right-sides together and matching up the edges at the sides. 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:19.580 Then, I pin and I sew like this. 00:04:19.580 --> 00:04:23.919 Again, I’m using my twin needle for this seam but if I didn’t have one then I would 00:04:23.919 --> 00:04:27.819 be using just a regular zig zag stitch. That extra line of stitches that a twin needle 00:04:27.819 --> 00:04:31.030 provides does give the seam a bit of extra strength. 00:04:31.030 --> 00:04:36.080 As well as stopping that ruffly hem, the twin needle SEEMS to be pretty good on SEAMS as 00:04:36.080 --> 00:04:40.419 well! See what I did there…? Seams...? Yeah...? 00:04:40.419 --> 00:04:45.330 And here’s what the top looks like on! It fits! Which is much better than before! I 00:04:45.330 --> 00:04:48.990 can actually breath in it, and it’s really comfortable. But, it's still tight enough 00:04:48.990 --> 00:04:52.610 that I don’t have to wear a bra with it either which is great for me because I absolutely 00:04:52.610 --> 00:04:57.550 hate wearing bras in summer! I also feel like with the orange and red it has this kind of… 00:04:57.550 --> 00:05:01.840 superhero-costume sort of feel to it, kind of like the Incredibles, because of the two 00:05:01.840 --> 00:05:07.260 colours being colourblocked like that? Am I the only one who’s getting that vibe? 00:05:07.260 --> 00:05:09.020 Yeah? Oh well. 00:05:09.030 --> 00:05:12.370 Anyway, that’s it for today’s episode and I’ll see you all in my next video! Bye! 00:05:12.370 --> 00:05:16.419 Thank you to all of my wonderful Patreon supporters who helped to bring you this video! Check 00:05:16.419 --> 00:05:21.250 out these two wonderful clothing stores, littleguntank - who makes the most gorgeous upcycled kid's 00:05:21.250 --> 00:05:25.569 clothing - and Sarsparilly - who stocks a whole range of vintage-inspired and handmade 00:05:25.569 --> 00:05:29.090 dresses. I guarantee you'll love them, check out the links to these stores in the description 00:05:29.090 --> 00:05:30.219 box below. See ya!