29 June 2009 - Introducing Tip of the Week - simple ideas that will make your sewing life easier!
29 June 2009
When ironing your work a safe option is to always use a cloth over your fabric. Over the years I have found the best cotton cloth to use is a medical sling - can be purchased cheaply from chemists or even from the pound shop. The triangular shape of the cloth makes it easy to use on ironing board. Do make sure that your cloth is 100% cotton - not the elasticated variety.
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9 July 2009
I find it so much easier and effective using a hand held water plant sprayer than using spray direct from the iron. If you are using an old one make sure its thoroughly clean before using - probably best to buy a new one. Always use a cotton cloth - see 29 June 2009 above
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5 August 2009
An economical and effective way to store small projects, scraps of cherished fabrics, templates, haberdashery etc, is to use old clean plastic take-away cartons. I recently purchased 10 in the pound shop.
These cartons are not particularly strong but are often semi transparent, so contents can be seen withouth opening. They stack well too!
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Tip of the week 17 August 2009
Never, ever be tempted to break cotton with your front teeth. It takes the enamel off. I learnt the hard way!
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Tip/Quote of the week 1 September 2009
I smiled after one of my customers sent the message below:
"..............as for time i don't have any so i have a system similar to your tin, i have make up bags by my bed and in the car of templates to be tacked and the main piece next to my tv chair its so easy to pick up and put down i can grab a few minutes at a time on it i even took some tacking into the playpark with a deal for the kids that if they left me alone and didn't ask for swing pushing they could stay longer .
it would be wonderful to be able to spend a few hours at a time on it but but can't have everything.one hexagon at a time still makes a quilt."
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Tip/Quote of the week 17 September 2009
Collecting and storing fabrics can be a challenge if there is a lack of space. Its fun to look at some of the solutions on youtube - just type "my sewing room" or words to that effect.
Ironing fabrics before stashing away helps. After many years I have concluded that pillowcases offer the best solution. Do not use plastic bags. Sort into patterns or solids. If you have lots of fabrics sort into families of reds, blues, yellows, greens and neutrals. The great thing about storing in a pillow case is that when tipped out you will find random and inspiring colour combinations. Be prepared to loose time...........................
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Tip/Quote of the week 5 October 2009
Car Boot Sales can be a great source of surprise. In the past I have been fortunate to find all sorts of textile treasures - vintage fabrics, whole sewing boxes full of old but often interesting bits of haberdashery, etc. Today I found the book - Vogue Sewing. Just flipping through the pages I think its going to be a constant companion. An absolute treasure. Such a find!
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Tip/Quote/Pattern of the week 22 October 2009
See new page on this website - Hexagon Patterns. These are designs I created for this website. I will be adding more as time permits. The first design is called Autumn Apples - its very adaptable and great to use with 8cm hexagons. This design has 1470 hexagons.
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Tip/Quote/Pattern of the week 15 December 2009
Instead of using expensive polyester wadding try using fleece pet blankets. Fleece blankets can be purchased new in car boot sales or budget shops for under £5.00, or you may have one you wish to recycle.
Fleece blankets are warm, easy to work with and quite lightwieght. My personal opinion is that they work as a great alternative - although may not suit everyone. Choose a neutral colour or one with very little pattern on. You do not want the fleece pattern to show through to your lighter cottons.
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Tip/Quote/Pattern of the Month 15 January 2010
Thread your needle from the end that comes of your cotton reel first. In most instances saves lots of frustrating tangles.
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Tip/Quote/Pattern of the Month 19 February 2010
This is is a bit of a personal one..........folding fabric over templates is much easier if your thumb nail is not too long or too short. Three or four mm. seems to work well for me. I can speed along when nail is right length. Always much harder when nail is broken or too long.