Thread: What sewing tips have made your life easier?

A lot of us here sew--both costumes and street clothes. What tips and tools and products have made things easier? I'll start this out with this one:

Thread racks. Hung on the wall with thread organized by color families. I leave the bottom row of pegs empty and use them to hang my shears. I put a ribbon through the hole at the end of rules and curved template tools and my rotary cutter and hang them too. Quick to find and easy to put away. Also have a plastic bag for bits of thread and snippets of fabric that are inevitable.

You can buy thread racks online or at Joanns (good thing to use a 50 percent off coupon for). My husband actually found FOUR of them, brand new with price tags attached, in the woods while hunting. Someone had dumped a bunch of household goods illegally. He didn't hava a clue what they were but they looked interesting so he brought them home.

My sister who is a quilter told me that when you take thread off the spool to do some handsewing that you should always put the beginning part of the thread through the needle. I had been pulling off the thread, cutting it, and picking up the cut end and threading the needle. Something about the fibers of the thread that it is smoother one directon than the other and your thread won't tangle as easily. Have no idea if this is actually true but it does seem to work better doing it this way.

Buy a sewing machine that automatically adjusts tension and has a good stretch stitch. The investment was worth it!

beeswax on the thread for hand sewing...it makes things tangle less

to insert tissue paper between two pieces of lycra when sewing them together. I have learned that from Bhuz and really made life easier for me.

I also realized that a gather - decoration on the bra and belt really saves time, money and makes the costume look pretty. Kind of like the Pharaonics Egyptian empress costume, and a lot of others. This can be done out of left over fabric (chiffon, lycra, whatever).

Probably the sewing tip that has reduced the most sewing stress for me is to always start a new project with a new needle! Needles are cheap, and starting with a nice new one with no nicks or burrs means smoother sewing and fewer tangles. It also means you have purposefully chosen the right needle size and type for your new project... you might have forgotten that you had a ballpoint in when you need a sharp now, for example.

Good suggestions! I always try to clean my machine after every project and change the needle before starting a new one.

Pattern weights! Especially when cutting slippery or fragile fabrics. Another one of those things I get at Joanns when the notion wall is 50% off!

Originally Posted by Souzan

Good suggestions! I always try to clean my machine after every project and change the needle before starting a new one.

Pattern weights! Especially when cutting slippery or fragile fabrics. Another one of those things I get at Joanns when the notion wall is 50% off!

Yep, pattern weights! they are great!

Also -- a friend got me a roll of the paper used to cover exam room tables in a medical clinic. It's tough paper but thin enough to see through. I use it to trace pattern pieces, particularly when I have to do alterations. It is WONDERFUL stuff, easy to work with, and just wide enough for 80% of the pattern pieces I work with.

Along with the pattern weights, I like to use my rotary cutting boards to cover my cutting table and use my rotary cutter to cut pieces out whenever possible. Generally I find it more accurate.

Originally Posted by tigerb

Yep, pattern weights! they are great!

Also -- a friend got me a roll of the paper used to cover exam room tables in a medical clinic. It's tough paper but thin enough to see through. I use it to trace pattern pieces, particularly when I have to do alterations. It is WONDERFUL stuff, easy to work with, and just wide enough for 80% of the pattern pieces I work with.

Along with the pattern weights, I like to use my rotary cutting boards to cover my cutting table and use my rotary cutter to cut pieces out whenever possible. Generally I find it more accurate.

Same here. One of the best investments I made was a cutting table and cutting matts. How did I get along without a rotary cutter for so long?

my grandmother got me an ironing board cover that was checkered. Never had to measure a hem fold again!! Just follow the lines......

I figured out how to make ruffles on my simple sewing machine by setting the tension really high and putting it on the longest stitch setting. This trick has saved me so much time on gathering.

Surida - Yes, it's true.

I have lots...but right now all I can think of is:

Buy clear tubing (I think 1/2" INSIDE).
Cut the tubing the inner width of your bobbin, cut the tube open.
Cover the thread with the tubing.
The clear tubing allows you to see the color, and it keeps the thread clean from dust, and from tangling!
:-)

You might want to take a full bobbin with you to the hardware store.
I'm not sure at the moment about the size of tubing; and I'm not home to check the size (sorry).

I also use candy boxes (or similar) to sort my bobbins in the little nooks.

I didn't know there were pattern weights out there - I always have just used cd's placed on top of the pattern with maybe a pin here or there.

Originally Posted by caasious

my grandmother got me an ironing board cover that was checkered. Never had to measure a hem fold again!! Just follow the lines......

Oooooh! .w.: Have to surf on the Net to find where I can get one of those in Quebec!

Thx

Qamar

Not realy a sewing tip, but I would trade my sewing machine and two boxes of gadgets for a large cutting table!! My appartment is too tiny to fit more furniture, so I end up cutting on the floor, crawling after pins and sewing on the coffee table!
Oh my aching back!!..c::

Originally Posted by gothique

Surida - Yes, it's true.

I have lots...but right now all I can think of is:

Buy clear tubing (I think 1/2" INSIDE).
Cut the tubing the inner width of your bobbin, cut the tube open.
Cover the thread with the tubing.
The clear tubing allows you to see the color, and it keeps the thread clean from dust, and from tangling!
:-)

You might want to take a full bobbin with you to the hardware store.
I'm not sure at the moment about the size of tubing; and I'm not home to check the size (sorry).

I also use candy boxes (or similar) to sort my bobbins in the little nooks.

I have a bobbin box made of clear plastic with compartments to set the bobbins in. I like the tube idea. Makes it portable.

Originally Posted by Leilah28

Not realy a sewing tip, but I would trade my sewing machine and two boxes of gadgets for a large cutting table!! My appartment is too tiny to fit more furniture, so I end up cutting on the floor, crawling after pins and sewing on the coffee table!
Oh my aching back!!..c::

My cutting table has wings and gatelegs with casters. When not in use it folds up for storage. I have also folded it, put a tablecloth over it and used it as a hall table. A friend of mine bought a small folding table for her sewing machine. Its like a folding cafeteria table but two person sized. She folded it up when not in use and put it under her bed.

My mother always kept an old fruit cake tin for buttons. It was very handy for finding a close match when losing one from a garment. I save the tins from Altoid mints and use them to make a portable sewing kit for my dance bag, my desk drawer at work, my car, my luggage. And I've used the Crystal Light and Arizona Tea canisters for buttons.

Originally Posted by Leilah28

Not realy a sewing tip, but I would trade my sewing machine and two boxes of gadgets for a large cutting table!! My appartment is too tiny to fit more furniture, so I end up cutting on the floor, crawling after pins and sewing on the coffee table!
Oh my aching back!!..c::

I bought a folding banquet table from Target. Stores flat against the wall. It's a little low for cutting, so my husband found me bed risers to put under the legs to raise it up for me. I can't cut 60" wide fabric on it too well, but folded 45" wide fits perfectly. ..g.:

Originally Posted by Marianna

I also realized that a gather - decoration on the bra and belt really saves time, money and makes the costume look pretty. Kind of like the Pharaonics Egyptian empress costume, and a lot of others. This can be done out of left over fabric (chiffon, lycra, whatever).

I'm not familiar with the term "gather-decoration" -- is there an image or link I can check out to understand better?

TY

Originally Posted by moxie_raqs

I'm not familiar with the term "gather-decoration" -- is there an image or link I can check out to understand better?

TY

I think she means ruching or shirring. When you cover a bra cup with ruched swath of fabric instead of cutting and clipping and handsewing various pieces of fabric to the cup to cover it completely.

Originally Posted by Souzan

Same here. One of the best investments I made was a cutting table and cutting matts. How did I get along without a rotary cutter for so long?

I need all three of those things! ..g.:

+1 on rotary cutter and cutting mat.

I use it way too infrequently, but pressing open seams and in general ironing the pieces to be sewn always makes a big difference for neat, uncrumbled results.

Always keep an iron at hand to flatten seams. It makes french hems and neat hems on rounded edges (Circleskirts!) so much easier!

Another one: make/buy a pincushion that fastens around your wrist. Thsi makes my boyfriend very happy, hugging me when I have used my clothes as a pin cushion is not a good thing. Putting the can with pins on my sewing table ends in disaster.

Do not use your couch as a pin cushion if you expect company that will sit on the couch.

One thing that helps me a lot with sewing: having my machines at the right height and angle.

My sewing machine sits in a well in my table, so it is low. I can look down upon it and see what's happening without strain.

My serger sits on a tilted surface:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Ergonomic-Advantage-20010-SergerTilt-Serger/dp/B00181GWFC]Amazon.com: Ergonomic Advantage 20010 SergerTilt, Serger Tilt Table: Kitchen & Dining[/ame]

Because it's tilted towards me, it's much easier to control the fabric and see where things might be going wrong.

I saw a tip in Threads magazine recently about using a bare lightbulb to press under edges for hems. Lightbulb turned on and shade off, obviously. You turn under edge with your fingers and you move the edge over the bulb. Haven't tried it yet.

Measure once, cut twice; measure twice, cut once. :)
Addressing the sewing table problem:
I'm addicted to wire shelving, so this may not be your cup of tea, but:
I built a 3 x 6 sewing table on wheels using wire shelving. The top is covered with a rotary cutting board. There are three shelves underneath. 3' wide means that I can use both sides separately. One 6' side holds small plastic drawer units that house notions, threads, sewing machine parts, zippers, buttons, velcro, etc. The other 6' side hold most of my patterns in bankers boxes. The top shelf holds large items like quilt hoops, smaller cutting boards, rolls of paper. I have wire baskets hanging from the sides to hold stuff that is WIP.

I would give up my bed first and sleep on top of my table if I had to choose :)

Personal life/sanity savers:
1) I don't use a sewing machine and sew everything by hand.
2) A duct-tape body double on which to drape patterns and make adjustments.

I read on Shira's web site the little trick on using "Sewer's Aid". It's a needle lubricant and is invaluable for sewing with glitter dot and foil covered fabrics.

Clean your machine often. Take the bobbin and the bobbin race out and clean with a soft bristle brush getting into all the nooks and crannies. A little machine oil on the brush helps pick up stray threads and lint. Take the presser plate off and clean around the feed dogs with your brush. Take off any pieces that let you get to the moving parts and clean there too. Oil lightly. That simple maintenance will save you a lot of headaches. Don't use canned air to clean as it can drive the tiny bits deeper.