Sewing Quick Tips

So you’ve taken the time to carefully lay your pattern pieces onto your striped or plaid fabric so that the lines will match at the seams. But before you actually sew your seams, consider hand-basting them first. This pre-basting will keep your fabric from shifting out of alignment as it’s being stitched.

Does this take time to do? Yes. But your stripes or plaid lines will match perfectly along the seam lines, making your item look more professional.

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If possible, store fusible interfacing rolled, not folded. Storing your fusible interfacing folded can cause creases that you won’t be able to press out without melting the adhesive.

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We all know it’s a good idea to preshrink our fabric so our finished item won’t shrink and become unwearable after its laundered. If your fabric is 100% cotton though, consider laundering it more than once – two or three times even. Cotton fabric doesn’t always shrink its maximum amount with the first washing.

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It can be hard to remember the size and type of needle you’ve put into your sewing machine. And the teeny, tiny writing inscribed on the needle itself can be difficult to read, even with good lighting and a magnifying glass.

A simple thing to do is get a pad of those tiny sticky notes and keep it by your sewing machine. Then, whenever you change your needle, just jot down its type and size and stick it on the front or side of your sewing machine.

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When measuring and pressing a hem, use a hem gauge (a flat piece of metal with measurement markings on it) to keep the top edge of the hem from pressing a ridge into the right side of your fabric. To use the hem gauge, fold the hem of your garment over its edge and press.

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