This last summer I was gifted a package with a few sewing items, some fabric and a small envelope full of sewing patterns and articles from one of my mom’s neighbors. SCORE!!! (I love gifts like that.) And as I was going through some sewing supplies I found the package and sat down to read some of the article.
One of them was a paper from a Women’s Sewing Club (it sounds so enticing….I want to join!) that was a page full of sewing hints and techniques. I wish there were more, but I will type the few that were on the page.
SEWING HINTS AND TECHNIQUES
Mt. Prospect Park District Women’s Sewing Club
(my mom’s neighbor is guessing late 1950’s)
*A strip of masking tape placed 5/8 for the needle on machine helps maintain even seams.
* Always pull up bobbin thread and pull both threads to back when starting to sew.
*To pivot a corner insert needle in fabric, lift pressure foot and turn fabric.
* For non-lumpy collar corners, take 2 or 3 very small stitches diagonally across points of collar. (I totally want to try this!!!)
*For curves, use smaller stitches and place fingers on fabric in flute position and gradually turn, keeping an eye on seam allowances and edges. (Anyone a flute player, what is flute position?)
*To thread a sewing machine needle, slide thread down groove in the needle and it will pop through the needle! Also cutting thread at an angle helps. (Another one I never thought of….genius.)
*Darts are always sewn from the large end to the small end and you must go off the fabric at the point. Do not back stitch. Tie the ends of the threads in a knot to prevent it from unstitching. (I did learn this from a great sewing teacher….and it does make a prettier dart.)
*A soap line is essential for sewing curved darts. (Has anyone ever tried soap for marking? Just curious about how it works.)
*Oil machine frequently and brush (don’t blow) the lint from the bobbin and feed dogs often. (I will admit that I am guilty of blowing the lint and not brushing. Oops!)
Now your turn….what is your most helpful sewing hint that you have ever learned? Please share….we all want to know.
My Grandma (who taught me to sew) always used soap for marking. I completely forgot about that until I just read this. I think it might have been Ivory she used (I could smell it as soon as I read that bit). She also taught me to use a pocket knife as a seam riper instead of a actual seam riper. What a fun package to get!
I am curious about what flute position is too.
I love when people hand me random notions for no reason. BTW I played flute for 9 years and I’m not quite sure what that tip means. 🙂
Several years ago a co-worker was cleaning our her late mother’s house and brought me a bunch of sewing stuff. In a box with old buttons was a newspaper article from the 1950’s explaining the collar technique. A few weeks ago I bought a bunch of vintage patterns from an online auction and it had two sewing newsletters in it from the 1960’s. I’ve kept all of them. I may frame them for my sewing studio.
Now I really want to try it!
Now I really want to try it!
Well, maybe we will never know what the teacher was talking about with “flute position”….I guess maybe we all had to be there 😉
Well, maybe we will never know what the teacher was talking about with “flute position”….I guess maybe we all had to be there 😉
I never thought of framing them…..that is an awesome idea!!!
I never thought of framing them…..that is an awesome idea!!!
Me too…
Me too…
I love this! And a ladies sewing club would be such fun. I wish my grandmother was still alive so she could pass on her knowledge. She worked for Mattel and was a great seamstress!
I want a ladies sewing club too!
I want a ladies sewing club too!
Hi, you may or may not remember me 🙂 Angelina from the blog “Ruby Jean”(which is Now JoJo&Eloise ). It has been such a long time since I have been here. Being Sick, Moving and Having baby #6 (Ha!! ) if that’s not enough, Right? Well I am so happy to be back (well have been for a a while, still finding blogs I once frequented 🙂 Looking forward to catching up and following along with you again 🙂
xo
Angelina
Hi, you may or may not remember me 🙂 Angelina from the blog “Ruby Jean”(which is Now JoJo&Eloise ). It has been such a long time since I have been here. Being Sick, Moving and Having baby #6 (Ha!! ) if that’s not enough, Right? Well I am so happy to be back (well have been for a a while, still finding blogs I once frequented 🙂 Looking forward to catching up and following along with you again 🙂
xo
Angelina
could flute position mean holding your fingers apart, like you do on the flute?
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=how+do+you+hold+a+flute+%3F&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=6qAvUafjFfCviQesloCYDA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1400&bih=925
I was a flute player too… I guess it means that you hold your hands on the fabric the way you would place your fingers on a flute; so that one hand is either side of the needle and you feed the fabric through that way..?
I forget where I first read about using soap for marking, but I love it! It stays better on the fabric than chalk, but it’s of course very washable and much easier than colored paper and tracing. I have two slivers of soap that I keep handy and I use them often!
My first thought for ” flute position” was actually a fluted edge of a pie crust, but I don’t use all my fingers to flute a pie, so I’m in the confused section with the rest of you. 😛 Just thought I’d share my silly thought.
I always use soap for marking. One of my instructors in design school taught me that and it is one of my favorite tips.
My Sewing & Pattern Drafting teacher @ FIDM (she used to be the head seamstress at Chanel Paris) taught us all those tricks (except flute fingers), she was sooo amazing! I just use little bits of Ivory or Dove Soap for marking… I love using those way more than tailor’s chalk or a water soluible pen, you should definitely try it out!!!
Soap for marking? That would smell good and be so much cleaner than my washable markers. Does it gum up the machine at all? Love the dart tip- I think I learned that from the Colleterie blog.
wonderful tips, everyone. and count me in in the sewing club.
I usually use soap for marking too. Those little bars of soap that you find in the bathroom of hotels are perfect for this. Use to wash your hands or in the shower or so until it’s nearly gone, then it has a sharp edge. You then can use it as a bar of tailors chalk. Indeed, you can make it disappear a lot easier: even by just steam ironing over the marking. I always have friends who go on holidays take me those tiny soap bars. If it needs sharpening, do so with your fabric scissors, it’s good for those too.
She would use a round (kind of sharpened) disk. I will even venture to say it was that leftover sliver from the shower. She was born and raised on a farm during The Great Depression, so use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. She even unraveled sweaters to reuse the yarn, if there was a hole or it was to small for anyone to wear!
I think I actually do the flute position when sewing curves, though I’ve never described it that way. (I’ve never known exactly how to describe it with just a few words, so from now on I know what to say. Flute position!) I arch my fingers and spread them so they’re almost an inch apart. The tips of the fingers are on the fabric to guide it. I rotate my hand from the wrist and it makes a smooth curve as the fabric goes under the needle. –Anne
I wonder if flute position refers to left hand on the fabric to be sewn and right hand through the arm of the machine and turning the fabric that’s already been sewn? I sometimes feed this way for curves…
I think Anne describes the flute position pretty well. i used to play the flute and that is how you hold it and it is also a good way to move the material when sewing curves. Can anyone clarify tip #1? it seems like there is a word or two missing… Does it mean a strip of masking tape place 5/8 of an inch FROM the needle? i’m a little confused. Thanks!
I am a musician and I’m pretty sure flute position would mean your four fingers curved fingertips down and spread apart on top of fabric to stabilize and guide. And thumb available to assist underneath when needed. Like how it holds the underside of the flute body. Just a guess. I’m buying soap too, tired of my marking pens.
I am a musician and I’m pretty sure flute position would mean your four fingers curved fingertips down and spread apart on top of fabric to stabilize and guide. And thumb available to assist underneath when needed. Like how it holds the underside of the flute body. Just a guess. I’m buying soap too, tired of my marking pens.
I am a musician and I’m pretty sure flute position would mean your four fingers curved fingertips down and spread apart on top of fabric to stabilize and guide. And thumb available to assist underneath when needed. Like how it holds the underside of the flute body. Just a guess. I’m buying soap too, tired of my marking pens.
I am a musician and I’m pretty sure flute position would mean your four fingers curved fingertips down and spread apart on top of fabric to stabilize and guide. And thumb available to assist underneath when needed. Like how it holds the underside of the flute body. Just a guess. I’m buying soap too, tired of my marking pens.
Great tips! I’m a blower not a brusher too – didn’t know there was a problem! Best I brush from now on. I’m going to try the soap thing too – sounds intriguing 🙂
I recently learnt the darts tip and can testify to it being a goodie 🙂