This page contains the following solutions.
This, as with most of my tips was born of necessity. I am too old to be crawling around on the floor with a flashlight trying to retrieve straight pins that I have dropped.
I have two sewing machines both of which have a variety of stitches for fancy work. In order to better see what each stitch looks like on fabric. . .
I have been sewing for many years now! I used to get so frustrated trying to add set in sleeves until I came across this helpful tip; first stitch with regular stitch length from underarm area of sleeve to the notch.
You can stick your needles and pins in a bar of soap to make them slide into your material easier. I use the little bars that you get at the motel.
When the spool only has a little thread left on it, it is not worth putting on the sewing machine, as it will be gone after a few stitches. I save these almost empty spools and give them to my senior friends.
Most of us carry a first aid kit in our cars or trucks. The other day my daughter ripped her coat while we were out shopping.
If you sew a lot and do mending or alterations, use invisible thread for the top thread and change bobbins for different colors. You will save a lot of time by not having to re-thread the needle every time you do a different colored garment.
My most recent sewing machine has a transparent plastic bobbin cover plate. When I would take it out to replace a bobbin, many times I had trouble seeing it.
This is for all you sewing machine sewers. If you are like me, one of the most frustrating things to do is when you are trying to remove thread from a bobbin that you want to put another color on, it seems like no matter how tightly you hang on to it, the bobbin falls from your fingers onto the floor.
With cats at our house, I try to be extra careful that they don't get ahold of the threads and scraps from my sewing projects. I went to a fundraiser recently and bought a decorative handmade bowl that I didn't have a use for yet.
Wear fingers of medical gloves to keep from snagging delicate fabrics with rough fingertips when sewing or crafting.
If your diaper pins or straight pins get dull from over use, run them through your hair and they will work every time.
To make a pattern piece yourself, if you use the "non-iron" interfacing it makes a great pattern and doesn't rip as easy. By wiseinhimmer
If you are using a rotary cutter with a marked ruler and a marked cutting mat, use one or the other to measure your cutting line. Never switch between the ruler marking and the mat marking, they may not be exactly the same.
I have one of those cutting mats for sewing, laid out on a large table. This morning I went down one side to mark the size of the tote bags I am making.
When I make sweaters for myself or family, I mark the front of the sweater on the right side with a small safety pin. I use safety pins for holding sweater pieces together for sewing them. They are small and easy to spot.
I've been sewing on my kitchen table without using a pin cushion because I couldn't find it, LOL! So I took a lint brush, the sticky kind, to gather up the straight pins instead of sticking my fingers.
To stop getting knots in the thread when you are hand sewing, pass the thread through beeswax. You can purchase a beeswax notion at fabric stores. This just works wonders! There will be no wax residue left behind.
Take the small pieces of soap that are left over in the shower, dry them out and presto, you've got a great marking tool for fabrics and quilting.
Make your next mending project a little faster by pre-threading your needles. I have needles already threaded in all the colors I use. I have two or three needles threaded for each of the most popular colors, like black. At the end of a mending job I make sure my needles are threaded for any future job.
Use transparent tape, like Scotch tape, for quick basting of seams. By Lynn
To knot thread: hold your thumb on the thread as it lays across a needle facing you, cut end to the right, then with your left hand wrap the thread around the needle two or three times.
If you would like to trace off a craft pattern and don't have any tracing paper, just take a pencil and shade the back side of the paper with the pattern below it, and then trace around the pattern. The pattern will be duplicated.
Be prepared: Gather and purchase all of the supplies necessary to complete your sewing or craft project ahead of time. Having to stop in the middle of the project in order to run out and get a forgotten essential item is time consuming and irritating. Read more...
Keep 2 needles threaded with black and white thread in your bedroom or bathroom. You can stick the needles into a bit of sponge or cork. Then when a button pops off you can sew it on quickly! By Linda
I use my vintage (1970s Stylist, and a 1930s treadle) Singer sewing machines to sew, for home sewing and crafting. I also teach sewing, specializing in teaching home sewing newbies.
I was doing some sewing today. I am making some crafts to sell. I had labels made to sew inside and I hand sew my labels.
When hemming up a new pair of pants, I use the original thread from the pants to re-hem them. If you cut and pull the right piece of thread from the beginning (seam area) of the hem, you will wind up with a very long piece of thread.
I like to sew, so to save time I cut out my patterns apart while watching television at night. When I am ready to sew, they are all set to lay out and cut.
I have a large sewing box and was always pricking my finger on loose needles! So to solve this problem I hot-glued a large magnet to the top that I had received free from a local business. Voila! No more needle mishaps and they are always where I can see them.
I am beginning to cut out a robe for my granddaughter. The pattern has several views. I am going to take the pattern pieces which go to one view and fold them together and secure with a paper clip or safety pin.
I use hydrogen peroxide (3%) on a cotton ball to remove blood spots when quilting or sewing, from the needle sticks. Removes with no trace of stain. I use it on other spots on clothes.
While you're working with cording, some endings can come unraveled. End that by putting a tiny drop of super glue on the end of the cording.
When sewing heavy fabrics (e.g. jeans) on the sewing machine, keep the little box the needles on a piece of Blu-tack on the front of your machine. That way you will know at a glance where the right needle for the next job is.
I use safety pins to mark the right side of material when it's hard to tell because straight pins will fall out. This saves time and I know at a glance which side is which!
Plackets are used in shirt and blouse construction to create an opening either at the neckline or at the sleeve cuff.
