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16 Simple Sewing Hacks to Make You a Pro (Or at Least Keep You Sane)

Source: RedShed

My mom worked most of her life running a small dress shop. She certainly has a knack for whipping up fashionable suits, dresses, and whatnots out of her threads supply, needles, and trusty (but old) Singer sewing machine, although she has set out to try new machines after some time.

As someone who’s not quite into sewing, it came as a surprise to me that I have subconsciously acquired a few sewing tips my mother would effortlessly showcase from time to time. It could be that being exposed to such craft makes someone who is not into arts assimilate all things threads, or maybe some.

Proof, you ask? Well, here I am weaving words into intelligible sentences all for the love of sewing. J

If you are starting out as a sewer, a dilettante at that, you would certainly want to look for ways to make sewing stress-free or enjoyable, or both. If you pore over it, sewing doesn’t actually need to be that stressful. As we all know, some even consider sewing a pastime, something that instantly transforms a dull and lifeless afternoon into a grand spectacle of all things thready and needlely. If you master the art of sewing, you can practically do anything, a dress, a hessian bag, or your very own placemat. It’s endless!

So before you give up on your sewing, here are a few lifesaving hacks you can bet your bottom dollar will be extremely helpful.

The materials

The first thing you would certainly want to do is ensure you have the right materials on hand. Also, if there’s one thing that makes sewing acceptably fun, that’s probably making sure that all your sewing essentials are in tip-top condition. If you are able to prepare all your materials, you’ve already done most of the sewing tasks. Here’s how you can make that happen.

1.    If you’d like to clean up your fabric before sewing, you’d definitely want to avoid getting frays from too much rubbing. To do so, you can put the fabric in a pillowcase, secure the top, and gently wash it. Gives you that neat-looking fabric!

2.    Got plenty of mugs you don’t use? Use them as your trusty thread holder. So instead of stocking up spools or cones, make your sewing a lot cheaper by utilising your unused mugs.

3.    Organize your bobbins by using unused cuticle racks. That’s one ingenious trick right there, right?

4.    There’s one sewing tool that’s often misplaced-you can correct me on this-but it’s most certainly your pair of scissors. I have always wondered why, for some reason, I have my scissors on hand one moment, and it’s all gone the next.

Well, let’s get that to vanish into thin air. All you need to do is strap a ribbon into the hands of the scissors and wear it as a necklace.

5.    Here’s one thing that’s always getting on our nerves-getting the thread through the needle hole. It’s a universal problem that needs resolving! Well, you’re lucky. To get past that metaphoric dark tunnel, what you can do is use hairspray to stiffen up the tip of the thread. Clever work!

6.    Sewing sure does a number on some people, especially those that are still learning the ropes. Picking up needles is one herculean task every one of us finds frustrating. But let me burst your stress bubble buddy. And bam! All you need is your kids’ magnet collection to pick up needles and pins lying on your work table.

7.    Do you want to keep your pins and needles sharp and well-maintained? Make your own pincushion that’s stuffed with steel wool. This way, you’ll always have your sewing weapons pointy and shiny.

8.    Binder clips don’t only make for useful office staple. They can also easily pass off as your dependable sewing buddy. If you are working with slippery fabric, you can use binder clips to secure the edges of the fabric, preventing the fabric from sliding off while cutting it.

The Sewing Process

Right here is where the rubber meets the road. The actual sewing process can either go shambolic or very enjoyable, depending on how you do it. But you can make it much easier by following these simple techniques.

1.    Terry cloth and fleece are probably the hardest types of fabric to sew using a machine. But you can easily make sewing these fabrics easier by putting a plastic bag onto the fabric you are sewing.

2.    If you worry about ripping open the button hole when making one, then you have to resort to your trusty pins to make this a breeze. All you have to do is slide a small pin across the end part of the hole and voila! Easy-peasy!

3.    When making patterns, you can use washers as weights. Alternatively, you can also have used beer cans and jars filled with rocks or beans as pattern weights.

4.    Still on preparing the pattern; you can easily add an allowance to your fabric pattern by putting together two pencils using rubber bands. This will give you two parallel lines, one as your target marker, the other one as the allowance. Works like a charm!

5.    Sewing the zipper is probably one of the trickiest parts of the sewing process. However, this can be done by putting the zipper over the seam allowance faced down. Do your usual sewing and cut the seam open. This will reveal the zipper underneath.

6.    Another thing that makes sewing a little frustrating is when you try to slide a cord through the waist band. What you can do is secure the end with a safety pin and slide the cord through the waist band without breaking a sweat!

There are a few other tricks you can try to make sewing extra fun. Along the way, you can even surprise yourself with a lot of simple ways to sew that perfect dress!

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