As a seamstress working with professional cheerleaders’ uniforms, I am always trimming underwires. I have tried a number of techniques for coating the underwires’ cut ends so they don’t damage the fabric or hurt the cheerleader. My last project was under a strict deadline, and I didn’t have time to apply the usual coatings. Then I had a light bulb moment. I thought to use oven-hardened polymer clay, such as Premo, Sculpey, or FIMO. I pinched a piece onto the cut wire end, smoothed it, and baked it for about six minutes. It took a short time to bake because it was such a small piece. I sanded down spots that weren’t as smooth as I liked. The best part was it stayed on the wire. I didn’t have to wait a day for it to cure or spend time dipping and redipping the ends into plastic coating material.

—Rena Pearson, Marietta, Georgia

This reader-submitted tip was featured in Threads #195 (Feb./March 2018).

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