Tips & Tools Couture Sewing

At the Couture Meeting of November 1st we had fun sharing our tools and tips to make sewing easier:

Mary A – covered fabric board (typical 45” fabric board that holds fabric at stores) – uses inside pants when ironing.

Mary Jo – Hemostat – great to get thread, turning corners, anything that needs that little extra.

Tip: to turn a tube – When stitching a tube enclose a cord twice as long as the tube. Firmly
stitch on one end (stitch at an angle to keep cord from pulling out) then just pull on the cord, and the tube turns inside out.

Brenda – Serger Tweezers – use for threading, pulling thread, – all sorts of uses.

Tip: before sewing fashion fabric, always look at what Sandra Betzina suggests in her
books, Fabric Savvy and More Fabric Savvy.

Margaret – a) to keep thread on a spool when not in use (such as embroidery spool, bobbin, or serger spool) – Pull out strand of thread, make a loop, twist 2 or 3 times, put the loop over the thread spool – Pull… To release thread, pull the opposite way!

b) if fabric is troublesome – use a walking foot

Sheryl – silk organza – a great press cloth

Beverly – a) radio antenna – sold at auto store – great magnet for pins. Can find longer ones and other fun items at Harbor Freight Tools (several locations: closest is Belt Line and Plano Road).

b) label front of fusible interfacing to keep from accidentally ironing the fusible side to the iron instead of the fabric.

Debby – a) Large ham made at chapter meeting – for pressing larger curves, like princess seams.

b) Seam roll – covered batting on a firm fabric roll, then covered with muslin and wool for pressing seams.

Trisha – a) Lipstick Needle Threader – easiest way to thread a needle (can purchase at Fabrique)

b) PAL – Perfect Alignment Laser – small laser light from Designs in Machine Embroidery
that has a crosshair light to set embroidery or even seam lines.

Donna – set of tube turners that makes turning fabric tubes extremely simple – even tiny spaghetti straps.

Carol – a) Best of Fons & Porter: Tips and Techniques – has lots of tips, such as “use press ad seal paper to pick up loose threads from floor.”

b) to cut bias strips – Fold fabric into a square, fold again into a triangle, fold again into another triangle, then make a rectangle fold – bias strips are ready to cut.

Mary S – uses needle threader for pulling snags that are in knitted fabrics.

Sheila – a) dental tool with the round hooked end – great to use as a seam ripper

b) Fiskars Non-Stick Scissors

c) Rotating Square Cutting Mat – great for turning area toward the better angle when using a rotary cutter (can also be found at Michaels)

d) her grandmother’s pin cushion lovingly holds assortment of glass head pins and
Japanese needles (sold at Fabrique) – both great on nice fashion fabric

Group Question: where to sharpen scissors?

a) If Gingher scissors – send to Gingher and will sharpen for price of shipping
b) Fabrique has name of person who sharpens scissors
c) Any other suggestions???