Patterns, Techniques, Articles, Blogs, and other resources to learn how to sew
Dawn from Designed by Dawn Nicole shares a tutorial on her blog showing how to do elastic thread shirring on her Brother sewing machine, which has a drop-in bobbin. She also shows how she uses her machine’s bobbin winder to fill the bobbins with elastic thread. I’ve always filled by bobbins with elastic thread by hand – winding and winding and winding until I’m half mad – so I was thrilled to see how she used her machine for that step. Get the how-to.
[photo from Designed by Dawn Nicole]
It doesn’t matter whether you sew by hand or by machine, you need a pincushion. You need a spot to parks pins and needles and keep them within easy reach for when you need them again. There are a lot of styles of pincushion to choose from. Some magnetic, some fabric. Some cute, some purely functional. This “little bit extra” pincushion has a spot to store all the different types of pins and needles you might need while sewing. Polka Dot Chair has a free sewing pattern you can use to make one for yourself.
This handy little pincushion has a circular shape and is divided into sections to store different types of pins. The bottom section is for your regular straight pins. Just poke them in and they’re ready for when you need them. The top has one section with a felt flap perfect for holding your sewing needles. I don’t know about you but I don’t like mixing my hand sewing needles in with my pins on a pincushion. It makes it hard to find the needle when I want it. So having a separate section for the needles is a great idea.
This “little bit extra” pincushion also has a spot to hold a few fabric clips. Fabric clips have become popular alternatives to a traditional straight pin. They hold fabric pieces together without piercing the fabric, which is important when sewing leather, vinyl, or other materials that will show permanent holes from pins.
You can sew the “little bit extra” pincushion from large fabric scraps or small fabric cuts (fat eighth). You probably already have all the supplies you need to sew one in your sewing supplies already.
Get the free pattern for this “little bit extra” pincushion over at Polka Dot Chair.
[photo credit: Polka Dot Chair]
I finally found the round elastic and am going to give this a try. Thanks for the tutorial.
I have a brother electronic machine and I have shirred before on it with elastic thread but this time I am having trouble. It seems to knot up and not work. I am trying to shirr some flat lace (cotton} to put around Christmas place mats. Can you give me some info? I have checked several sites but I will take several ideas from anyone. Thank you, God bless America and have a happy holiday season.
Alice, I have not shirred flat lace before so unfortunately I don’t have any advice to offer. I wonder if the threads are tangling because of the holes in the fabric? If so, is there a way you can somehow stabilize the lace while it goes under the needle, perhaps with a water soluble stabilizer? My thinking is that the stabilizer would give the fabric too much body and you wouldnt get a good shirr effect. Or, maybe try adjusting your tension? These are just shots in the dark, though. My guess is that you’ll have to experiment some to figure out how to make it work. –Anne
Your are SEW clear! I’ve tried shirring in the past with limited success, not knowing to tighten the bobbin tension. Can’t wait to have another go! Thanks! In stitches, L