Helpful sewing tips

There are lots of ways you can save time and problems when sewing. I call these helpful sewing tips! There are probably 1000’s of sage advise sewing tips. I will share just a few right now.

My beginner sewers learn all about the seam ripper. Thank goodness for the seam ripper. I like the small sharp rippers. When I first learned to sew I would do lots of extra sewing steps to try and cover up mistakes and not to rip it out. I usually ended up ripping the mistake anyway. It was a lesson I learned early. 

A great tip is to use a straight pin at the ends of the buttonhole when cutting a buttonhole with a ripper, so you do not slice too far.

Change your sewing machine needle when starting and new project and throw the used needle away. Most of the time the needle gets burred with little effort. When we had our repair shop the first thing we would do is put in a new needle. Check your book for the best style and size of needle needed. Here is a link to the needles Jenny’s Sewing Studio sells.

Another helpful hint is to check the top threading before you sew your project. I always use a scrap to check the stitch. If you are getting a bunch of loose threads under the fabric it is usually caused but incorrect threading on the top side. Make sure you place tension on the thread as you bring it through the threading path. That way you seat the top thread for correct top tension.

When beginner sewers come to class and I teach them to use the sewing machine I notice one consistent thing. Everyone want to push the fabric or pull it through the sewing machine. I advise the sewer to learn to steer the fabric from in front of the presser foot. I will use my left hand to hold or smooth the fabric before the needle and the right hand to steer the direction the machine is taking the fabric. with practice the correct hand hold on the fabric will mean straighter seams. Sometimes I recommend a magnetic seam gauge. most students love to use the guide.

A oldie but a goodie is the Singer Sewing Book. When I first went to work as a sewing instructor for Singer in 1972 this was my first purchase. Today you might be luck to find a copy on Amazon. It is an encyclopedia of all thing sewing and I use the reference all the time.

That is all for now, till next time, Jenny

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