neat hemlines

Hems need to be marked from the floor up! :) Get a pal to mark the hemline for you, measuring from the floor up to where you want the hem. if possible, stand on a low but sturdy surface to do this. I have an amazingly strong coffee table... Others I know of crouch on the stairs and mark the hems standing on the landing. :)

I have to agree with Kate, she's absolutly right. You have to mark from the floor up, using a friend to mark or using a dummy. On another note, I am amazed at you buying a machine from Walmart. It's your choice, but in my experiences, these machines can be pieces of crap, and are not worth your money. However, you may end up loving your machine! But, I gotta tell you, it's not likely. Plus, if your machine gets messed up and needs repair, good luck finding someone who can fix it.

Tahirih, sewing extrodinare, of Florence, AL

Most of us criticize the Wal-Mart machines, but I have a niece-in-law who has bought 2-3, all upgrades, and she likes them. She just purchased an embroidery one and loves it. Emily

Or, in the alternative, there's always one of the chalk thingies you can use all by yourself. That's what I do. Some people string a line between two door jambs, chalk it and stand up against it, turning until the dress is marked with chalk in enough places. I have never tried that myself but I saw it in Threads IIRC.

Phae

Sounds like you need to make a pattern alteration for a protruding bottom before you cut the fabric. You may need to add a little width to the hip area at the back, but the real problem is length: the skirt needs to be slightly longer over the bottom, rather than from hip to hem. For a 4-gore skirt, just slash the pattern across at the hip line and add an inch or two of length in the back seam, in a long narrow wedge. Then just true-up the side seams.

They won't, if the fitting problem us further up than the hemline! :)

Sandra Betzina's book 'Fast Fit' has some of the best quick fixes for simpler patterns. Not a cheap book at $24.95 list, but well worth the investment.

Once... and only once.... did I ask my DH to do that for me. Pretty funny...

Me too. And It Wasn't Funny.

Several times during the fitting of my bridal gown I thought I was going to faint. Pins and needles all over, roaring in the ears, darkening vision. It has something to do with standing absolutely still for extended periods, as I understand it.

So the one time I ever asked himself to help me hem a skirt it took him so long, and he was such an anal-retentive pill about it I came very close to passing out.

Some things just ain't worth it. Never again.

Kathleen

Sandra Betzina's book has the best. I'd scan you a taster page, but my scanner's off line.

Many used bookstores have sewing books for sale. I've bought several at stores over the years, and some of them are online. If you saw it in a book, there is nothing to prevent you from making yourself a few notes from looking at the drawings, as long as you don't trace them. Which of Sandra Betzina's books are you talking about? If I have it, I can scan the page, next week. There is too much going on at my home right now. I will need the correct online address. It can be sent to mine. Emily

I got my DH to help me with the fitting of the mockup of my wedding gown. I had draped my pattern on a dress form and mocked it up in a lavender fabric that had the same hand as my gown fabric. As he zipped me up, he looked at the dress intently and asked, "so you're wearing purple for your wedding gown?" I know I had explained to him 20 times beforehand that the dress I was fitting was not the wedding gown itself. *sigh* He still doesn't listen to me very well. :-)

lisa

you have my complete sympathy! Sometimes the people who have the thickest heads are the ones we end up falling in love with! I myself know the feeling!