This is the last show in the 1200 series. Have you gathered some travel tips that you can use the next time you head out on a trip? I know I have, but I've also seen many garments and accessories I could happily use every single day at home, away, or traveling about town. Show 1213 and the last three segments in the series are as good as it gets! Follow along as I give you a brief preview.

Kay is back on the show with another valuable sewing tutorial. This time she walks you through the basics of binding a sleeveless dress with bias trim instead of standard facings.

It's likely you'll be mesmerized by the beauty of Kay's sample dresses.  These are all designed from her wonderful Serendipity Studio pattern line and stitched in beautiful fabrics. Just gazing at these will inspire you to sew something pretty! 

I’ve been a fan of substituting bias for facings for a very long time. While standard facings do have their place, whenever it's possible or appropriate I use some alternative method.  This may mean self-lining the garment, using a turn and top-stitch finish, some form of binding either on the inside or the outside of the garment, or simply increasing the size of the facing so it has a better chance of staying tucked inside the garment. I use all of these techniques regularly. 

One thing to consider is the fact that bias binding does take more fabric than facings do. If you are looking for a way to cut a large amount of bias from a small amount of fabric click on the image above for a super method. My photo is from a previous project that featured piping on potholders but this method will work anytime you need to make continuous bias from minimal amounts of fabric.

Sew Caroline (Caroline Hulse) is up next, with a super simple tank dress with options for shaping the garment for a sleeker fit. Tank dresses are popular and so comfortable to wear. Not happy going sleeveless? Just add a sweater, wrap, or a shrug, and you can confidently wear this bare shouldered style. 

Caroline highlights two helpful techniques in this segment. One involves using the edge-joining foot for stitching the waist casing. This foot is available for most machines. Check with your local sewing machine shop for more info.

Shirring with elastic thread is another trick she shares for shaping the waist. Crazy as it sounds, I think this is one of the first decorative machine embellishment techniques I tried when I began playing with machines so very long ago. I made a tunic top that had shirring at the neck and literally wore it out. Want to know how long ago? To give you a hint at the era . . . it was a McCalls pattern and Marlo Thomas, known as "That Girl" was on the cover of the envelope! Thought you would get a laugh out of that bit of trivia!!! CLICK HERE for my short tip sheet for setting your machine to sew shirring with elastic thread.

The show closes with a demonstration on serger flatlocking by Angela. Learn about loops and ladders and see how this popular serger stitch looks on layers of fleece. Flat locking has been in my serger repertoire almost as long as my Marlo pattern :-). Well, not quite that long but it is something I've used for many, many projects over the years. Watch for a future tip sheet on this on. I just need to iron my stored samples and take some new photos. Flat locking is how I hemmed the t-shirt in this recent Brother blog project. CLICK HERE to view instructions for this shirt. Learn to flat lock on your serger and you'll find there are many uses for this stitch, from seams, to decorative accents, to hemming and more!

Are you ready to go watch the show? CLICK HERE. Show airs until June 23 at noon EST. Enjoy!

This week is full of wonderful, artistic pieces that will  leave you dreaming about spicing up your wardrobe! Frequent travelers have seen so many great ideas from Series 1200. By now you're probably eager to sew and go! There's more to come in the final two episodes and of course a variety of ideas you can use in your everyday life.

My friend Kim is back with ties, trims, and lots of ideas for re-vamping your wardrobe! She never ceases to amaze me with her ability to take something ordinary and incorporate it into a work of wearable art. Watch this and you'll be hunting for trims, scavenging for men's ties, and popping off buttons so you can replace the old with new finds form your travels. Click on the picture above and you'll have access to Kim's easy instructions for embellishing, up-cycling, and giving garments an eclectic new look!

Next, Louis Carney presents a virtual closet full of accessories that will turn you into a quick-change artist!

Learn to craft accessories for day to night style with embroidered appliqués for scarves, belts, shoes, and purses! These stunning items expand your wardrobe and give you options for dressing up while away, or for many occasions close to home!

At the close of the show Angela continues her quick serger tip series with guidelines for serging knit-wear. If you took my previous advice you have been making some serger samples and mastering many serger techniques along the way. You can watch this show again and again on the It's Sew Easy Youtube channel. Just CLICK HERE to find this segment and many more from past TV shows.

Ready to go watch show 1212? CLICK HERE. This show is on till noon EST June 16th.

This week you'll learn to turn your vacation memories, or any special day you want to remember, into a project that is long lasting. You'll also see how to make a keepsake notebook to use as a journal for your travels near and far away. 

​The first part of the show starts with a lively presentation by my friend Kim Montagnese. She'll show you how to print and then stitch a few photo memories from your favorite trips. You’ll be able to re-live those happy moments over and over again!

Take a look at these artistic blocks! Would you believe they originate from a photo of a gate in Glasgow Scotland?!? Turning ordinary images into something suitable for big blocks opens up a world of creative opportunities. It's all possible with an ingenious computer software program called the Kaleidoscope Kreator. This is Kim's chosen tool to easily turn her photo memory into patchwork pieces for a wallhanging. Kim is an expert at showing the options found in this program. Watch the show and then CLICK HERE to explore more and see projects and variations designed by the inventor of the software, Jeanie Sumrall-Ajero.

Eileen Roche, Editor of Designs in Machine Embroidery Magazine appears in the second segment where she builds a clever notebook using an "in the hoop" embroidery technique. 

Angela has a few more quick serger tips to round out the show at the end. Hopefully you are making some samples of these as the series continues. They'll serve you well as samples for future projects. This week it's all about the ins and outs of corners.

Don't forget to check out the Projects and Instructions section of the It's Sew Easy  TV website. You can click on the image above to find everything that's posted. Ready to go and watch the show? CLICK HERE. This show is online until noon EST, June 9th.