by Dave | May 31, 2016 | About
Lucy’s First Year (Sewing Lab)
Below is a post originally released in November 2015. I was so proud of my subscription rate, especially since it was Lucy’s First Year. I never dreamed in a million years I would have more subscribers than my email program would find impressive! They actually think the number is troublesome! RUDE, isn’t it?
I LOVE MY subscribers!
You all are so loyal and dedicated! I love you for hanging in there with me. Since April 2015 when the site launched and I started my first real serious blog, 3,000 of you wonderful readers have enjoyed my space on the internet enough to subscribe. THANK YOU SO MUCH! We are growing so rapidly I’ve had to upgrade software. We are growing, keep coming back, you can look forward to a members only area soon with paid tutorials as well as FREE tutorials of my own designs.
So, it’s almost six months later and I haven’t accomplished everything on my to do list, but my site does look amazing, I think so anyway! “The Lab” has 8 current categories
Pages
Inspiration
Lab Journal
Newsletter
Pinterest
Lucy’s Photo Journal
I really look forward to sharing more with you as the years pass. ENJOY
by Dave | Apr 30, 2016 | Beginner Tips, Blog, Lucy's Sewing Lab, Tools and Technique
The Serger
I’ve been reading, and reading, and reading about the this toy/machine. I read so much I decided I can’t live without one. So, I purchased this beautiful piece of machinery. [envira-gallery slug=”juke-serger”] I threaded it, on my own, and actually sewed some old Levi jeans as a test run. Do not try to sew over the seams. I broke my needle and to replace it, which I’m working on right now; you have to use the teeniest allen wrench known to man.
I would recommend getting a Bachelor’s degree in sewing with a serger before doing anything fancy. While studying I found you some really great sites:
Crocheting with Your Serger This is a bit advanced, but since it’s my favorite I had to post it first.
How to unpick Serger Stitches I promise, this is the best part of owning one!
Gathering on a Serger Some sites tell you how many feet you need for your already expensive machine. This one does NOT!
Four Signs you should Invest in a Serger
Flat locking One of my very favorite posts!
MUST Print I promise, you will be so thankful you printed this. Every word you need to know, and it is FREE, well expect for the ink and paper.
Best Stitch Guide EVER
TEN best Serger Tips
National Serger month Great make and takes and wonderful advice.
Please before you embark upon this journey, read up on the machine and make it less scary. This list is less intimidating than you may believe at first. Just relax and soon it will be your friend and you will wonder how you ever made anything without this machine. Do not listen to those telling you how many feet are needed to properly use this machine. I promise there are ways around everything.
by Dave | Apr 9, 2016 | Blog, Lucy's Sewing Lab
Where are the Newsletters?
I am really feeling bad about my subscribers. I feel like the newsletter programs out there just do not do the job. I have a suspicion they use our subscribers as their new spam list. If this is happening, please understand I have nothing to do with that.
One program I used, sent out two emails. It was months before my husband told me he wasn’t getting emails. This site thrives on visitors. I guess my subscribers must follow my Facebook or million other social media networks. My numbers did not begin to drop until this week. WOW!
Again, I am working as hard and fast as I can to fix this issue. If you need anything at all please contact me at lucyssewinglab@gmail.com.
I would love to give you the names of the plugin I used, but that is just not good business. I assure you Lucy Lou is working day and night to fix this problem. I hope, like you, my subscribers the problem is fixed soon. ENJOY some sewing!
by Dave | Apr 7, 2016 | Beginner Tips, Lucy's Sewing Lab
I had no idea how easy it was to learn to sew learning from your television. The longest running show Nancy Zieman is on PBS for learning to sew. I have apple TV. There is a choice for PBS television. It’s Sew Easy Sewing show on PBS. Fit to Stitch is on the channel but, an easier way to watch this show is to use You Tube, which is also tv compatible. The video series with Peggy Sagers is complete on the Fit to Stitch YouTube channel. It’s incredible the topics that are covered in this show. I’ve listed just a fraction of the topics covered.
Another great TV tool for learning to sew is the It’s Sew Easy Sewing show on PBS as well as the videos the videos are on Vimeo and located on the site is a chart
![Anthropologie and Victoria’s Secret on the Cheap]()
by Dave | Mar 29, 2016 | Blog, Lucy's Sewing Lab
I sew therefore I refuse to pay for ready to wear! So, I’ve been working on a few Anthropologie and Victoria’s Secret hacks. Anthro has some of the best fashion out there. They must, everyone is trying to hack it. Well, I jumped on the bandwagon too, why? The styles are really pretty straightforward and pretty easy to duplicate on the cheap. Thank you again Anthropologie. 🙂 
This is a perfect example! Let me break it down for you, it’s a yard of fabric, folded in half, with side seams and a v neck. There are several tutorials out there. It’s made out of rayon spandex jersey. Which can be found here for about $6 or $7 a yard.
Anthro seems to have a love affair with peplum tops. Just do a pinterest search. I found this one 
I love it! It’s too early here for tank tops so I’m working on a short sleeve version out of knit. I’ll hopeful finish it today and post the finished product and some hints on how to do it. For a little teaser….hint number one is find a bodice pattern you love and make it fit you perfectly! From there the options are endless!
One of the new trends for 2016 is a high cut bra. The lace shows through the top of your tank. Check it out. They are calling it the new eyelash lace collection. The bonus here is you can make your own tank to display this sexy bra on the cheap. I found some free patterns at Sew City. They seem to be the Victoria’s Secret of the sewing world. I imagine these can be created for under $10. ENJOY!
