cutting corners

All our lives we've learned that cutting corners means doing a little less than is expecting. But when you are sewing, it's all different. Cutting corners means there's less, but in a good way. There is less bulk, so your finished corners, whether on a bag or garment, are nice and smooth. Hopefully.

wind an extra bobbin while you're at it!

You are right at the crucial moment when all the pins are removed and you are sewing things together, when you realize that you've been sewing for about 12" without thread!

After this happened to me about a hundred times (probably not an exaggeration), it dawned on me that I could outsmart this system by winding two bobbins. Not at the same time, not like this crazy photo, but you will probably remember now that I showed you this bizarre image. Wind two before you thread up your machine again and you've saved threading time! Or even wind three if you know you'll need them. Then you can just pop in a new one and stitch on.

Here's to more efficient sewing!

a little trick for finishing serged hems

Here's a handy little trick for tucking in the serger threads on your projects. Take a large needle with a large eye and slide it into the seam, about an inch or so. Thread the serged tail through the needle and pull it through. If you want, you can repeat to really lock it in. I learned this from one of my sewing friends, and it's been the best solution!


Another way to finish threads is to tie them in a knot, although this works best where they don't show.