Sewing Things That Seem Like A Waste Of Time But Are Really Lifesavers!

 

I’ll start this by saying, when I have my sewing time, I want to be able to produce something awesome at the end of that time. I don’t want to ‘prepare’ to sew … I want to sew! But all good things need preparation, and your best garment needs prep work. 

 

Sewing a muslin

 

Definition: Sewing a test garment out of something other than the fabric you purchased. Use an old sheet, or just plain muslin, although that’s kind of a pricey way to go. 

 

I’ll be honest, I did not do this for the longest time. I thought it was a waste of time and effort. What it actually is, is a waste of the fabric you purchased, which can be kind of expensive. Do you really want to cut up that 4 yards of silk and find out the dress does not fit you? When I finally realized that – bells rang, and I had an ‘aha’ moment!!

 

So, now I collect old sheets from whoever is getting rid of them, I buy them at the thrift store, I save my own old sheets and use those to make muslins whenever I want to sew a new pattern. 

 

Pre-washing

 

Any fabric you bring home should be pre-washed. There are a few good reasons for this. 

1.     You don’t know who has touched this fabric. I know that sounds kind of germophobic but think about it. I don’t buy any fabric I haven’t touched. I know I have clean hands, but I don’t know if you do! Or the kids running up and down the fabric aisles, touching each fabric as they go. What about that person that just blew her nose, put her tissue in her purse, and then went back to touching fabric? Do you know who packed it at the manufacturers? Or who unpacked it in the back room? How long has it sat in the back room, waiting to be put out on the shelves? How many people have sat on stacks of fabric when there are no more chairs in the break room? Wash your fabric! 

2.     After you finish your garment, you’ll be washing it. The last thing you want is a garment that is now 3 sizes smaller than what you made. It shrank. Or the color ran and now all your other light-colored clothes have a blue hue. Wash your fabric the way you intend to wash your finished garment. If you remember (which I hardly ever do) jot down the washing instructions on the end of the bolt as your buying it. At least jot down what kind of fabric it is – 100% cotton, 80% cotton 20% polyester etc. 

 

Pressing fabric before cutting

 

You can’t cut accurate pattern pieces from wrinkled fabric. Especially if the selvage is wrinkled, which it often is after pre-washing.

The selvage especially needs to be pressed and straight because this is where you measure to make sure your pattern pieces are on the straight of grain. If the selvage is wonky, your garment can suffer from it. 

 

Stay-stitching

 

Doesn’t this just seem like a huge waste of time and thread? Stay-stitching is normally used on curved edges like neckline and armholes. If you’ve ever had a neckline stretch itself out of shape, you know how important stay-stitching is.

Once that neckline is stretched, it’s pretty hard to get to back to where it was. Protect your curved edges by taking 10 minutes to stitch it. Time it, I’ll bet you it doesn’t take much longer than 10 minutes! 

 

 

 

 

I realize I'm not the most prolific blogger in town, but when I'm in the blogging mode I think I come up with some interesting things. My next blog project is Sewing Boo-boo's and How to Fix Them. Do you have any sewing boo-boo's you want to know how to fix? Let me know!