Classic dress ideal for petite women

Dear Readers: This is another answer for Marla P., who wrote requesting dresses and skirts for very small women.

Butterick 6240 is another pattern that is just right for slender or very short people. I love that it has darts so you can achieve a nice fit. It also has tiny cap sleeves and a view with long sleeves.

It has a very interesting drape from the shoulder across the bust, so it’s not a plain dress, but I think it’s best for those who are not busty. The skirt has a mock wrap skirt, so there is a lot going on, but still a classic dress that could be a little black dress or a fabulous print dress for fun. Just be sure to use fabric that is very lightweight.

Dear Vicki: I got a beautiful new machine for Christmas. The one I always dreamed of, yet I am afraid to use it and I keep going back to my old one. Help! How can I get comfortable? Thanks. — Leslie K.

Dear Leslie: One point I think I have stressed is that when buying a sewing machine your attention should also be on just what lessons and support the shop offers. This is one of many reasons to buy at a sewing shop and not a big-box store, even if you have to drive a considerable distance.

But here you are, and I think a great exercise to help you get familiar would be to take several pieces of plain fabric backed with sheets of copy paper to keep things firm and then just begin stitching. Sew four or five inches of every stitch on your machine. Also when in plain straight stitch mode, try changing the stitch length, then reverse and back tack. Then try zigzag, and change the stitch length.

In other words, play for an hour or two — just push buttons and test everything. Now when you want to sew a real project, maybe you will not be so timid.

Each week I share a reader’s tip and thank him or her with a set of 100 fine English handsewing needles. This week the tip is from Augusta Domeny-Anderson, of Artesia, N.M. She writes:

“When sewing fabric with a nap, I make long, running arrows with chalk near both selvage edges indicating which is the top so all pattern pieces can then be placed heading in the same direction. This heads off what is potentially one of the great disasters of sewing when one piece has the flowers upsidedown or the color changes because of a different direction. This is old but still very relevant!”