Winter has been cramping my style lately. It gets dark at approximately 4 p.m. each day, making it impossible to snap blog-worthy pics without resorting to hideous artificial light. That said, I don’t want to jump ship from posting for the next four months, so this post marks the official lowering of my standards for photos. Sorry, y’alls, but it had to happen sometime. (I feel the need to confess here that 99% of my photos have been taken with my Samsung Galaxy S 3 camera phone…)

I haven’t had time to take proper photos of a couple items I’ve recently sewn (men’s Strathcona T-shirt and a super-easy knit skirt), so I wanted to share a few detail images of my favorite new finishing/hem technique: the twin-needle stitch!

Here, a twin stitch is used on the neckband of a nearly finished Strathcona tee for Marc.

Here’s the opposite side of the hem of a knit skirt.

Why was I so terrified of using twin needles for so long?! It turns out they’re just as easy to use as a regular needle (just takes an extra second the thread), and they provide knit garments with a hem that looks less homespun and more RTW professional. I’m excited to have this simple finish in my small but growing bag of tricks. How do you use twin needles? Any tips?

Stay tuned for sewn garment posts, and try to stay safe on the road this holiday weekend! We had a slight mishap on our way out of the Chicago:

This year, I’m thankful for my friends, family, and that we got out of that little accident completely unscathed. Happy Thanksgiving!