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Olga Balasa (Ageberry)

Hi, I am Olga. I'm passionate about sewing, quilting, and embroidery, and I want to share my knowledge and enthusiasm with others who are interested in learning how to sew.
Thank you for making me part of your day - I'm so very excited to have friends like you by my side. Feel free to comment or reach out with any questions - my email is [email protected]
If you want more information about me or my site please visit my About page

How to sew straight

I often get a question from my readers – how to sew straight? In this guide, I will show you how to easily keep stitching lines straight. I will talk about topstitching mostly because keeping seam allowances equal is a different topic. Have you ever had problems with crooked stitching lines? I bet you had. Even intermediate sewists are struggling sometimes to do it and had to rip and redo stitching. But sewing in a straight line is much simpler than you think. And I want to help you to sew straight every time.

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Sewing room lighting ideas

I think we all realize that good sewing room lighting is very important.
In this article, I tried to create a summary of what we really need to know about lighting in a sewing room. It is kind of tricky subject though, and I got a little bit too technical sometimes. If you would like to improve your current lighting situation here are some ideas to consider.

I don’t have an unlimited budget, otherwise I suspect finding professional lighting equipment – and people to set it up – would not be an issue. Therefore this article attempts to discuss ways of lighting your sewing room on a budget.

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Quilting with an embroidery machine – be amazed!

In this short post, I would like to show you how we can quilt with an embroidery machine. Creating quilt blocks has never been easier – modern sewing and embroidery machines are new wonders of the world. Spend 5 minutes – and you are done with your one of a kind quilting design. Another 5 minutes – and your wonderful block is ready. Make as many exactly the same blocks as you want.
I am still new to quilting but I can make nice quilts in no time at all with my Destiny 2.

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How to sew a lettuce hem – 10 best sewing tutorials on the lettuce hem

Have you ever heard of the term “lettuce hem”? If not, you’re probably not alone. I’ll give a hint as to what it’s not – lettuce hem is not a new type of vegetable that you’ll be planting out in your garden this year. In fact, it has nothing to do with anything outdoors or any type of real vegetable.
You’re probably not surprised to hear that it’s a type of sewing technique that’s actually really not all that uncommon. If you’ve ever looked at the bottom of a shirt or at the bottom of a dress and saw a “wavy” look, there’s a very high possibility that you’re looking at a lettuce hem.
In this post, I’m going to go over some facts about a lettuce hem and also showcase some top products and tutorials that you should attempt to try on your own. (It’s actually a fun look if you can get it down!)

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How to upcycle an old dress

I see that more and more people and companies are supporting upcycling: the process of creating something new from old items that would normally be destined for trash or recycle. This process uses fewer resources to create new things and helps keep used old items out of the waste. This is latest and continuously growing trend and one of the most sustainable things people can do in the fashion industry. So, I got hooked and decided to turn one of my ideas into reality.

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How to cut and sew a dress: step-by-step tutorial

In this article I want to take you into my workshop and describe in detail how I made this blue dress. I will discuss how to get inspired, how to choose fabric and patterns for sewing projects, how to cut and sew the dress. I can’t bring it down to “5 simple steps” or “a 3-hour sewing project”; there are plenty of such posts out there, but this is not one of them. I didn’t strive for simplicity with this project.

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