Patterns, Techniques, Articles, Blogs, and other resources to learn how to sew
Does the idea of changing the thread on your serger bring about fits of anxiety? Jessica from Running With Scissors shares a video tutorial showing the easy way to do it. Rather than breaking out the threading diagram and the tweezers, she ties the new thread to the old thread and pulls it through. Get the video tutorial to see how it’s done.
[photo from Running With Scissors]
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 used to do this… then the man who cleans and repairs my 7 machines (2 of which are sergers) said not to , when you run the knot through the tension mechanism, continually like that, it springs the tension springs… makes them go out of whack . eventually you will have to have them adjusted or replaced… and that is not cheap.
Now, I just thread them.. don’t want to ruin my machine
I turn my tension wheels to zero b4 I pull the thread through