There are a few brilliant sewing tips, tricks, and hacks that you absolutely need to know. This applies to beginners and advanced sewing fans alike. Here are my 20 sewing tips that will change your life!
The most important things at a glance
- These 20 sewing tips are intended to make your life easier
- Even for advanced sewers, there are sure to be a few sewing hacks they didn't know yet
- With these tricks, you are guaranteed more sewing pleasure and less sewing frustration
- If you want to know more: Further tips for sewing hacks and gadgets can be found here
In this post, I am revealing my new favorite hacks! These 20 sewing tips and tricks have actually made my life a lot easier. And I hope they lead to more sewing pleasure and less sewing frustration for you, too!
1. Sewing appliqués without stabilizer
Do you want to sew a quick little appliqué but don't have any embroidery stabilizer on hand? Then a simple tea or coffee filter will do. Here's how:
Cut out the appliqué and place it on the fabric.
Place a single layer of filter paper underneath.
Secure all three layers with pins.
Now you can sew on your appliqué as usual. The great thing is that with this method, the stitches don't sink in. After attaching it, you can simply tear off the paper.
2. Sewing ruffles more easily - here's how!
When sewing things together, it sometimes happens that ruffle strips bend or get stuck in the presser foot. The solution is: masking tape!
Simply stick a strip over the ruffles and straighten out the ruffle strip as you do so.
Then you can sew with it as usual.
After sewing, you can easily tear off the masking tape.
3. Patterns from freezer paper
Not familiar with freezer paper yet? That's okay! I have a tutorial where you can make your own freezer paper in any size you want.
Freezer paper is paper coated on one side that can be ironed onto textiles and peeled off again without leaving any residue. It is often used in quilting or for appliqués. Some sewing professionals also use it for very precise fabric cutting.
If I don't feel like making my own freezer paper, I just order it from Amazon*.
Cut out the desired pattern and iron it onto the fabric. Then you can cut the fabric and peel off the freezer paper.
Advantage: The pattern paper is much more stable, so you can easily use the pattern again and again.
4. For more sewing fun: Mini ironing board
When I'm really in the sewing flow, the walk to the ironing board is sometimes much too far. Especially when there are just tiny seam allowances that need to be ironed open quickly.
So that I don't get sloppy (ironing is half the sewing process, as everyone knows!), I built a mini ironing board that has its place right next to the sewing machine.
Before I start sewing, I turn on my mini iron so that my patience isn't put to the test too much later on. The little iron is available from Prym* now with a mini silicone rest - SO cute:
The homemade ironing board that the iron gets to sit on consists of interfacing, a wooden board, and some cotton fabric.
Click here for my building instructions for the table-top ironing board!
5. Sewing ruffles without a ruffler foot
Ruffles are great! If you often like sewing ruffles, it's worth investing in a ruffler foot.
There are ruffler feet for sewing machines*. They look like this:
*But you can also get ruffler feet for the overlock*:
*If you don't have such a ruffler foot, you don't have to give up on ruffles.
To sew ruffles without a ruffler foot you need:
- a strip of fabric - 3 times as wide as the desired ruffle + seam allowance
- a fork - depending on the desired width of the ruffles, you can use a table fork or a dessert fork
Here is how it works!
- Fold the fabric strip lengthwise and iron it
- Place the fabric strip with the raw edge flush against the presser foot
- Sink the needle into the fabric
- Slide the tines over the fabric and twist the fork until a ruffle forms
- Pull the fabric taut around the fork and let the ruffle end directly in front of the presser foot
- Secure the ruffle
- Then sew until the needle catches the ruffle
- Then you can tackle the next ruffle
6. For long-lasting patterns: interfacing reinforcement
Patterns you want to sew again and again will last much longer if you reinforce them with iron-on interfacing. I use Vlieseline H250* for this.
Simply iron the fusible interfacing onto the back of the pattern and let it cool down well.
7. Good for the nerves: test stitches
Even if it sounds boring: I do a test stitch for every sewing project. And that goes for the sewing machine as well as the overlock and coverstitch. Fabrics can sometimes react very differently to being sewn. To be on the safe side, I set aside a scrap piece right when cutting so that I can test all the planned stitches on it.
8. Stubborn: Sewing fleece and other soft fabrics
Fleece is nice, soft, and cozy. Occasionally, however, it has the unpleasant tendency to resist being sewn. It ripples and virtually sticks to the presser foot.
When I sew baby stars out of fleece, for example (click here for the pattern), it can be really annoying.
My secret weapon: plastic bags. Especially the very thin ones that cause so many problems for our environment work perfectly here. Actually, I don't use these silly things anymore. That's why I make do with garbage bags or freezer bags, which don't slide quite as well, though.
After the first few stitches, the plastic can be gripped and "guided." Simply tear it off at the end.
9. Marking dark knit fabrics
Especially with knit fabrics, markings are sometimes a challenge.
My trick: instead of tailor's chalk, I then use a highlighter in neon colors. However, only on the back of the fabric. It disappears with the first wash.
10. Sorting buttons
To always have the right button on hand, I sort my buttons into pill organizers.
*I ordered these colorful ones* here so that I can also orient myself by the colors.
Special buttons are sorted into a smaller pill dispenser*.
11. First aid for dull pins
A brilliant tip for dull, stubborn pins: a bar of soap as a pincushion! If it has a cord, like mine, you can simply hang it on the sewing machine. It couldn't be more practical!
By the way, you don't even have to take the soap out of the packaging: small hotel soaps are also excellent as pincushions!
12. Translating seam allowances from American patterns
Many great sewing patterns come from the USA.
A real challenge for us: the seam allowances are usually given in inches. We in Europe have the metric system, where the measurements can sometimes only be "translated" into fractions of a millimeter.
My tip: one of the most common seam allowances in the USA is 5/8" - that is 5 eighths of an inch. And here comes my trick: 5/8" is exactly 1.5 centimeters.
And 1.5 centimeters is exactly the width of our standard measuring tapes!
So you don't have to painstakingly measure your seam allowance: simply draw it in with a tape measure! :)
13. Sewing rounded hems
Sewing rounded hems can be so tedious.
This is because the curve creates excess fabric, which causes the hem to pucker when folded.
My tip: "Ease in" the fabric edge all the way around using the overlocker.
I also have a detailed overlocker guide for you on how to do this, of course!
14. Sharper than the law allows: pins
Another trick for pins that stay sharp: fill a pincushion with steel wool or metal mesh pot scourers.
Super cool: if you also add a few soap shavings.
You’ve never owned sharper pins, bet you?
15. Sewing fabric edges and starts - here is how!
Especially with fine fabrics, the fabric edges sometimes simply sink into the needle plate.
My tips:
- If you have a needle plate with a small opening, use it for the beginning of your seam. Caution: The needle plate won't work for zigzag or decorative stitches!
- Stabilize the fabric by either reinforcing it with some iron-on interfacing or placing a piece of paper underneath
- Alternative: stabilize the fabric edge with pins
- Important: Keep the fabric taut between your fingers at the beginning of the seam
16. Working with slippery fabrics
Some very fine fabrics, modal or jersey fabrics, or even silk are wonderful to wear, but unfortunately, they can occasionally be difficult to work with.
What helps? Place a newspaper under the fabric and pin both together.
Then you can cut the fabric and work with it easily.
17. Fray-free: working with cut edges
Cut edges won't fray if you cut them with pinking shears!
18. Just hook it!
I finally have a solution for the eternal search for my cute embroidery scissors.
A simple hook with a suction cup is the solution. Quickly attached to the overlocker. And my embroidery scissors are always within reach!
19. The first cut is the deepest: sharpening rotary cutter blades
Unfortunately, it happens to me time and again that my rotary blade makes acquaintance with the edge of the ruler. Perhaps I am just too energetic.
In the past, this often made frequent blade changes necessary. And especially with the large cutter blades, that gets quite expensive!
But what can you do: dull rotary blades leave threads behind, you accidentally pull, and BAM, the fabric edge is immediately unattractively puckered.
Lately, that doesn't happen to me anymore. I treated myself to this little helper*:
*When I notice a blade getting dull, I take it out of the rotary cutter and place it in the blade holder.
Then I can sharpen it first with the coarse side of the grinding ring, then with the fine side.
Then put it back in and keep on cutting. :)
The amount of money I've already saved this way because my blades last much longer is truly amazing.
20. Reunion: split patterns
They are super trendy and really cool: split patterns are a brilliant idea! The same applies to patterns with several variants, such as the rounded and straight hem on my Shirt Santje (click here for the shirt pattern in sizes 32 - 60).
The only drawback: once the pattern has been cut, it has to be laboriously printed out and assembled again the next time.
Wrong!
Generously cover the parts of the pattern where it is to be split with parcel tape.
Then cut it according to the instructions.
Because of the parcel tape, the pattern can be taken apart easily and joined later with Scotch tape. Reason: Scotch tape can be removed from parcel tape very easily!
Do you like my 20 sewing tips that will change your life?
I hope my tips have inspired you to try one or two of these solutions!
Do you have a brilliant tip too? Feel free to leave me a comment!
Happy simple sewing,
yours, Sabine
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