sewing trick - Totally Stitchin

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by Kendra

Tips for Patching your Favorite Jeans

January 11, 2012 in Tips & Tricks

jmo's patch pants Once I find a pair of jeans that fit right, I do almost anything to never throw them out. Luckily, this mostly involves patching holes as they spring up. Here are some tips for better patches:   When the hole is in an awkward place for something decorative or bright, I'll use a scrap of fabric cut from the hem, facing, bottom of sleeves, ...

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by Stacey

Shortcut To The Perfect Ruffle

October 17, 2011 in Tips & Tricks

COLORBLOCKGIRLS feature image I have always loved ruffles, but I hate the basting stitches and broken threads, and then I found the Baby Lock ruffling foot (which I will be sure to show off in another post) and I was in Heaven!  But for the love of fashion, sometimes I just need an obnoxious amount of ruffles!.  I can not express in words ...

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by Kendra

Pearl & Piping Foot

July 26, 2010 in General, Tips & Tricks

I love trying different feet for my sewing machine, it's always an adventure and I learn a lot. My latest find is the Pearl & Piping Foot from Baby Lock. I recently used this foot to attach a string of beads to a project I've been slowly working on. My confidence had me overly hiped about how easy this would be -- ...

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by Kelly

Can’t find a tape measure?

June 24, 2010 in General, Tips & Tricks

Even when you can not find a tape measure you can still get a measurement using common household items. Here are a few: U.S. dollar bill = 6" long Standard Sticky note = 3" square Printer paper = 8 1/2" x 11" Legal note pad = 8 1/2" x 14" Standard business envelope= 24 centimeters long Standard floor tiles = 12" square

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by Kendra

Foot Control on the Move?

August 6, 2009 in General, Tips & Tricks

Is your foot control sliding away from you while sewing?  To stop your foot control from traveling away from you, put a piece of Sure-Grip drawer liner underneath it. The gripper material helps to keep it in place on carpet or wood flooring. And, if your machine vibrations are driving you nuts, put a piece of it under your machine ...

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by Kendra

Cutting Fabric with Scissors

June 18, 2009 in General, Tips & Tricks

Rotary cutters leave a nice smooth edge, but some times you can't use them to cut your pattern. For those cases a great pair of sharp fabric scissors is necessary. But, you want the same nicely cut edge that you get with the rotary. To help achieve that edge, take long "bites" of the fabric. And, don't let the scissors completely ...

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by Kelly

Spool Caps

May 7, 2009 in General, Tips & Tricks

A spool cap is designed to keep the thread spool on the machine as you sew.  But if you have ever had your thread catch on the spool cap it can be quite frustrating. To keep your thread from catching on the spool cap and breaking, match the size of the spool cap with the size of the thread spool. ...

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by Kelly

Do you need a Twin?

April 30, 2009 in General, Tips & Tricks

Twin needles are commonly used for decorative stitching and also hemming knits. Twin needles have two numbers in their sizing.  The first number indicates the space between the needles.  The second number is the size of the needle.  So add some spark to your next straight stitch project, use a twin needle or be adventurous and try a triple! Check out ...

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by Kelly

Knowing Right verses Wrong

April 10, 2009 in Tips & Tricks

Are you sewing with a piece of fabric that is hard to tell what side of the fabric is right vs. wrong? Look to the selvage edge to help you determine the best side, then put a safety pin on the right side of each fabric piece as you cut it out. This will help eliminate confusion as you construct ...

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