Nancy's Tip of the Month

March Tip of the Month Sewing Tip If you run out of pattern paper, try using wax paper from your kitchen. I've used this for years when doing pattern adjustments with my pivot and slide method of fitting patterns.

February Tip of the Month Sewing Tip When a pattern calls for a double row of stitching for gathering, I save time by zigzagging over a thin cording. I’ve even been known to zigzag over dental floss—the unwaxed kind, of course.

January Tip of the Month Sewing Tip When stitching two slightly uneven seams, always sew with the shorter length on top and the longer length on the bottom towards the feed dogs. The bottom fabric will ease as you sew and even serge.

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December Tip of the Month Sewing Tip My favorite thread for stippling my landscape quilts is monofilament thread. To thread my sewing machine needle with ease, I use a black permanent marker and color the thread end for easy viewing.

December Tip of the Month Sewing Tip: Use the old lining in a suit or coat as a pattern to replace the lining. To determine the grainline, pull a thread to create a run in the old lining piece. This will give you a guide for determining the correct grain.

November Tip of the Month Sewing Machine Tip: Use DK5 to clean the plastic outside casing of a sewing machine. It removes any discolorations or residue that certain fabrics may leave on the bed of the sewing machine.

October Tip of the Month Serger Tip: "Ease in" a sleeve cap using your serger with this simple method: Before joining the underarm seam begin serging the arms eye of the sleeve with a normal 4-thread setting. When you approach a notch adjust settings for gathering. (Change length, width, and differential feed settings.) Serge from the single notch to the double notch on the sleeve cap using the gathering settings. Then return your stitch length, width, and differential feed to normal settings, and continue serging the sleeve. Adjust gathers to fit.

September Tip of the Month Garments Tip: The hem of your garment is an ideal place to add some unique touches. Try using one of your machine's decorative stitches with a contrasting color for an interesting effect.

September Tip of the Month Stitching Tip: For successful seam beginnings, I start stitching on an "anchor cloth" (a small doubled up scrap of fabric), then continuously stitch seams without trouble. Great tip for quilting and garment sewing too.

August Tip of the Month Threading Tip: I store spools of threads separately from my bobbins. To identify the bobbin thread I use a permanent marker and write the thread color number on the bobbin. When the bobbins are empty I remove the markings with rubbing alcohol.

August Tip of the Month Stabilizer Tip: If a tear-away stabilizer stretches and tears in one direction, layer two pieces at right angles to achieve proper tension.

July Tip of the Month Sewing Tip To successfully hem jeans, fold up the hem and flatten the flat-felled area with a hammer before stitching. A perfect cure the denim-bump blues.

June Tip of the Month Serger Tip To make a beautiful braid, I serge over 1/4" wide ribbon using decorative thread such as Pearl Cotton in the upper looper and fusible thread in the lower looper. To attach the braid to your project, position the braid with the fusible thread next to the fabric, cover with a press cloth, and press. Permanently stitch in place with monofilament thread on your sewing machine.

June Tip of the Month Quilting Tip Save your child’s t-shirts and make a memory quilt ideal for a high school graduation gift. Use a 10” or 12” ruler and cut t-shirt fronts into squares, and fuse squares of fusible knit interfacing to the back of the shirts. Refer to your favorite quilting book to add sashing, borders and binding.

May Tip of the Month sewing Tip: When stitching fun yet difficult fabrics like faux leather and vinyls, cut 1” wide strips of tissue paper and place on top the seams before stitching with a denim/sharp 90/14 sewing machine needle.

May Tip of the Month Embroidery Tip: When embroidering with metallic thread try these tips to tame those temperamental threads: Use a vertical spool pin, reduce your top tension, and stitch at a slower speed.

April Tip of the Month Serger Tip: If a serged edge ripples, rather than being straight and smooth, slightly tighten the differential feed. When the differential is tightened, feed dogs bite more fabric, eliminating bubbling or bowing. It’s especially helpful when serging around curves such as a neckline.

April Tip of the Month Quilting Tip: Fan fold quilt binding and place it in a plastic bag. Tape the plastic bag to the table in front of your machine. This keeps the binding from twisting and ending up in a knotted mess on the floor! The fan folding makes it feed nicely from the bag as it's sewn on the quilt.

March Tip of the Month Sewing Tip: Fuse a strip of interfacing equal to the width of a hem on the wrong side of the garment. Stitch in the interfacing and no hemstitches will show on the outside of the garment. This technique makes a crisp hem that hangs beautifully.

March Tip of the Month Serger Tip: If a serged edge ripples rather than being straight and smooth, slightly tighten the differential feed. When the differential is tightened, feed dogs bite more fabric, eliminating bubbling or bowing. It's especially helpful when serging around curves such as a neckline.

February Tip of the Month Embroidery Tip: To keep track of embroidery designs, use a three-ring binder with clear page protectors in it. Use a program such as Designers Gallery to print out the designs on each disk. The printout and disk can be stored in one of the clear page protectors and you will always know what is on each disk at a glance.

February Tip of the Month Sewing Tip: Sew, press, sew, press! Pressing is just as important as sewing. Your finished project will look better if you always press each seam or construction detail before you cross it with another seam or construction detail.

January Tip of the Month Sewing Tip: To remove tiny burrs from your hand-sewing needle pass the needle through an emery cloth or the “strawberry” from a tomato pincushion.

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November Tip of the Month Sewing The hem of your garment is an ideal place to add some unique touches. Try using one of your machine’s decorative stitches with a contrasting color for an interesting effect.

October Tip of the Month Sewing Sew buttons on skirts and pants with elastic thread. The band will expand with you after you’ve eaten a little too much dinner!

October Tip of the Month Stabilizer If a tear-away stabilizer stretches and tears in one direction, layer two pieces at right angles to achieve proper tension.

August Tip of the Month Sewing Tip: When sewing knits, I suggest using Stay-Tape as a stabilizer in the shoulder seam. Using the self-fabric selvage edge from your quilting cottons is a thrifty alternative.

July Tip of the Month Embroidery Tip To add dimension to white areas of embroidery such as snow or clouds use two threads in the needle. White and iridescent are my favorites for realistic looking snow.

June Tip of the Month Embroidery Tip: To soften the edges of outlined embroidery designs, use grey, brown or navy thread instead of black. The edges are defined but much less harsh.

May Tip of the Month Garments Tip: The hem of your garment is an ideal place to add some unique touches. Try using one of your machine's decorative stitches with a contrasting color for an interesting effect.

April Tip of the Month Binding Tip: Fan fold quilt binding and place it in a plastic bag. Tape the plastic bag to the table in front of your machine. The fan folding makes it feed nicely from the bag as it’s sewn on the quilt. This keeps the binding from twisting and ending up in a knotted mess on the floor!

March Tip of the Month Notions Tip: Slip a small piece of vinyl tubing (found at a hardware store) over the point of your scissors. It will keep the tips safe and sharp while they’re in a drawer or in your sewing bag.

February Tip of the Month Embroidery Tip: If a tear-away stabilizer stretches and tears in one direction, layer two pieces at right angles to achieve proper tension.

January Tip of the Month Serger Tip: Use a serger chain stitch with decorative thread in the chain looper to create “yarn” for making your own tassels. It takes about 20-22 yards for each tassel.

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December Tip of the Month Embroidery Tip: For the best embroidery tension, use the smallest hoop that will hold the design.

November Tip of the Month Serger Tip: If a serged edge ripples rather than being straight and smooth, slightly tighten the differential feed. When the differential is tightened, feed dogs bite more fabric, eliminating bubbling or bowing. It’s especially helpful when serging around curves such as a neckline.

Bonus Tip Notion Tip: To remove tiny burrs from your hand sewing needle, pass the needle through an emery cloth or the “strawberry” from a tomato pincushion.

October Tip of the Month Stabilizer Tip: Use cut-away stabilizer on designs that will be touching your body from the wrong side of the garment. Tear-away stabilizers tend to be scratchy.

September Tip of the Month Lining Tip: Use the old lining in a suit or coat as a pattern to replace the lining. To determine the grain line, pull a thread to create a run in the old lining piece. This will give you a guide for determining the correct grain.

August Tip of the Month Braiding Tip: To make a beautiful braid, I serge over 1/4" wide ribbon using decorative thread such as Pearl Cotton in the upper looper and fusible thread in the lower looper. To attach the braid to your project, position the braid with the fusible thread next to the fabric, cover with a press cloth, and press. Permanently stitch in place with monofilament thread on your sewing machine.

July Tip of the Month Sewing Tip: When stitching sheer fabric, hold the fabric taut as it feeds through the machine. This will prevent the seams from puckering.

May Tip of the Month Pressing Tip: Pressing can permanently set air- and water-soluble pen marks. To avoid this, completely remove marks before pressing, even if that means using water on air-soluble marks.

April Tip of the Month Quilting Tip: The most hassle free way to transfer photographs to fabric is to use 8-1/2" x 11" sheets of fabric that are designed to be used with a photocopy machine. Gently tape the photographs to a sheet of paper and place on the photocopy machine as to make a copy. Manually feed the fabric sheets into the photocopier, and press, "start!" The fabric is colorfast, washable, and ready for your quilt project. And for more quilting tips, don't forget to read "The Quilting Buzz" by Eleanor Burns in upcoming issues of "The Inside Thread". I'm so pleased that my friend Eleanor will be sharing tips with you, too!

March Tip of the Month Sewing Tip: Make a practice of changing your needle frequently to eliminate sewing problems. Changing the needle with each new sewing project, or after eight hours of use, is an inexpensive way to maintain stitch quality.

February Tip of the Month Embroidery Tip: To soften the edges of outlined embroidery designs use grey, brown or navy thread instead of black. The edges are defined but much less harsh.

January Tip of the Month Serging Tip: Removing serged stitches can be a messy procedure! Use a Sticky Fingers Mitt or a Lint Roller to remove the excess trimmed stitches.

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