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Fashionable patterns and fabric for the whole family

Tips and Tricks for Sewing at all levels

Amy Jensen

Posted on March 31 2019

     You may be a beginner sewist or even an advance sewist, but you can always learn new tricks and hacks! 

     Max and Meena would like to create a blog post to help everyone learn new tricks that you may not have known and we want you to help us add tricks too! Read to the end to find out how you can help us out.

      Starting this month we will be featuring a fabric company with each blog. This month we are starting with Moonbeam Textile Co. Read through the blog to get some sneaks and a little more information about Moonbeam.

     Lets start off with a few tips!

  • Always wash your fabric to remove chemicals and germs. Washing and drying also allows the fabric to shrink before sewing, rather than having your finished item shrink and not fit once it's done.
  • Use an orange stick/cuticle stick to help push out corners after turning but before top stitching.   
  • Baste your neckbands before you serge them on, that way they stay in place while you serge. 
  • Paperweights are an excellent tool to keep your patterns in place while you cut or trace. You can use household items such as bolts and washers, cans, and even rocks from you garden. If you want to up your game a bit you can check out our DIY Pattern Blog for fun pattern weights.
  • Iron between steps to create a professional finish.
  • Hammer thick seams to lay them flat and prevent skipped stitches and bunching.
 
  • Use tear away stabilizer, tissue paper, or other thin tear able papers to help add some stability to thin fabrics when you start sewing on the edges(getting started) Thant way they don't get eaten by your feed dogs.
  • Cut pieces of paper to your seam allowance so that you can easily check where your stitches need to be. You can lay the paper on your fabric along the edge and then line the other edge up with your needle. 

  • Use a Swiffer duster pad to help clean out your bobbin casing. Swiffer dusters are also great if you are working with lint attracting materials like clear vinyl.
  • Use a safety pin to thread through elastic or hood strings that may have fallen out. 

  • You can also use a safety pin fastened to elastic in place of a bodkin(fabric tube turner) buy threading the elastic through and clipping the safety pin to the edge of the fabric you are turning and then pulling the elastic through to pull the fabric end through the hole/tube.
  • If you don't have wonder clips you can use paper binder clips as well
  • Keep a magnet in your sewing space to help you find pins and needles that may have fallen on the floor.
  • If you have large spools of thread that don't fit on your machine and you don't have a stand, you can put the large spool in a hot beverage mug.
  • Hot glue magnets to your machine (please make sure you do not have too strong of a magnet that will break a computerized machine) on a convenient place and stick your needles to the magnet for easy finding. I have one magnet for my tail threading needle and one for my larger size serging needles. 

  • Use a clear quilting ruler to measure down the sides of a square/rectangle blanket piece to make sure you are making a perfect square/rectangle. I like to fold my fabric in half and go all the way down one side then do the same for the top and bottom edges.
           

 

     Now onto our fabric spotlight!!! Have you seen the amazing round from Moonbeam opening April 1st, 2019 through April 21st, 2019????? If you are a Harry Potter fan you need to check them out.

Just a few of the awesome prints this month!!!

     Kris Opsal started Moonbeam Textiles in late 2014 after she had been designing for other fabric companies. She is based out of Minnesota and focuses on more geeky fabrics. Go check out next months sneak peek in the albums! you won't regret it!

 

     Now that you have made it to the end of the blog I'm sure you know there is always a way to win something for free! When I started the blog I said I wanted to grow the tips even more from what I had listed here and I need your help. What are your tips for sewing? Any level of sewing! Go to the Max and Meena Facebook Group and post your favorite sewing tip either from this blog or we would love a new one. Use the hashtag #getsewing and on Friday 4/5/19 I will search the hashtag and select a winner for a special prize sewing tool from Jamie, you just pay shipping. US residents only for shipping reasons but outside the US will be eligible for a free pattern in it's place.

 

So get Sewing!!!

1 comment

  • Peggy Terry: May 02, 2019

    Love the magnet idea. I use tissue paper for patterns. I trace from the printed pattern. It can be reused multiple times and that way, I am not cutting paper with my good fabric scissors.

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