Authors: Elizabeth Lynn Casey
Death Threads (33 page)
Avoid the temptation to moisten the end of your thread before threading a needle. This can cause it to swell up and make it more difficult to fit through the needle’s eye. Instead, trim the end of the thread at an angle before trying to put it through the needle. Working in front of a white background can also be helpful.
Before sewing around tight curves, change the setting on your machine to use a shorter stitch so that it will be easier to sew a smooth seam.
If it is difficult to tell the right side of your fabric from the wrong side, apply a small piece of blue painter’s tape or use a safety pin to attach a brightly colored fabric scrap to the wrong side to help you quickly distinguish the difference.
You can reduce or prevent fraying when you preshrink your fabrics if you use pinking shears, a zigzag stitch, or serge along the raw edges before washing.
If your sewing project involves different types of materials, make sure all of the fabrics can be washed in the same way. Avoid mixing machine washable and dry clean only fabrics in the same garment. Be sure to prewash your fabrics.
If you are having difficulty ironing out a stubborn crease in a fabric, try spraying the area with a mixture of equal parts water and white vinegar before pressing the crease with a pressing cloth. Straight vinegar can be used on especially tough creases. (Test a discreet area of your fabric before spraying a large area.)
Many carpenters use the phrase, “Measure twice, and cut once.” The same is true for sewing.
Cover your sewing machine when you are not using it since dust and lint—in and on—your machine, are a big cause of machine breakdowns.
To achieve cleaner cut lines on fabric, don’t let the scissor tips shut completely before reopening them to continue cutting.
You don’t need to purchase a fancy plastic gadget to keep your bobbin and thread spool together for convenience in storage. Take a rubber band and loop it through the bobbin and around the spool enough times to secure it.Have a sewing tip you’d like to share with readers?
Stop by my website at
www.elizabethlynncasey.com
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Stop by my website at
www.elizabethlynncasey.com
and let me know.
Sewing Pattern
Tori’s Gift Bag Pattern
Experience:Some sewing experience needed
Materials:½ yard of 54” wide fabric can make 3 gift bags of this size
Sharp scissors
Pinking shears
Straight pins
Thread
Sewing machine
Chalk
Ribbon, twine, or raffia
Sharp scissors
Pinking shears
Straight pins
Thread
Sewing machine
Chalk
Ribbon, twine, or raffia
Cut two 8 ¾” x 17” pieces of fabric. Using pinking shears will help keep seams from unraveling, but regular scissors can also be used.
Pin front to back with right sides together. Sew a ½” seam around the sides and bottom of bag. Clip corners. Press seams.
With bag still inside out, fold side seam back onto the bottom seam, keeping seams matched. Pin in place. Measure one inch from the tip of the corner along the seam toward the center of the bag. Use chalk to mark a line at that one inch point that is perpendicular to the seam and goes from one edge to the other edge. Sew from edge to edge along the chalk line. This will create a triangular-shaped flap and will give your bag some depth. (Measuring and sewing across the seam closer to the center will create a deeper bag. Likewise, sewing across the seam farther from the center will create a shallower bag.) Repeat on the other side.
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