Knowledge

Organizing Your Sewing- Storage

I have a fantasy that in an alternate universe I'll have all the sewing materials I want right at my hand and that everything will be super organized. All my fabric will be hung up, my projects in a display cabinet, different sizes of shears in a line together...you get the idea.

Unfortunately, I have a low budget. Wait, let me rephrase that: I have practically no budget at all, so I have to work with what I've got.

I'm sure many of you are in the same situation as me, so let's work together to make our sewing super organized!

The focus of this post will be storage-because as these will be an ongoing collection of posts, and you might as well have all your stuff out of the way before you start organizing the rest of your toolbox etc.

So, if you want to have suitable storage for your sewing, you need to have some ( I guess you call it equipment?!) form of storage.

This could be:

- Reasonably large plastic containers from your supermarket. When I say containers I mean that they're like boxes, pretty big. These can come in a variety of sizes and if you have lots of material or other sewing equipment these are really good.

- Baskets. These are really pretty and can be stacked up and hold a lot of fabrics ( I have a few myself). Disadvantage: Moths and other bugs can get in and eat your fabric! This means that if having a basket you will have to put your fabric or whatevers in it to protect it.

- Tins. Okay, so these are mostly for small things ( such as ribbons, wool, scraps ) but really come in handy! An old biscuit tin that has been washed out will do perfectly!

- Bags. If really in need, you could get some strong plastic bags and store you stacked fabric and things in there.

- Sewing basket. If you have a GIGANTIC sewing basket, or not many sewing supplies, you could store things in there. If you haven't got a large one, I suggest you go to your sewing store or Lincraft, as I am sure they will have some good sizes.

Step 2~Stacking and Folding Fabric!

If you're like me, and have lots of fabric ( this is not all of my fabric pictured of course! ), this wil take a while! It's quite simple really. Follow directions below!

1. Iron all fabric if you wish.
2. Starting with one piece, fold to a size you like or fits your container. 40cm by 40cm I find is a really good size.
- Make sure all sides join up with another and are even.
3. Continue this method, making sure all fabric are roughly the same size folded as the previous one. Stack your fabric up and you're finished!
    If you wish, you can colour code your stacked fabric to be even more organized!

If you have misshaped fabric, such as a triangle, try to make a square or rectangle as best as you can.

For everything else, such as ribbons etc, place in an appropriate place. Unfinished projects in a box, donated fabrics in another, ribbon in a tin, endless organization. Believe me, this method works!

Store any other things you find randomly, pack away, and you're done!

 Keep checking Thread Thrills for more updates on Organizing Your Sewing! Coming soon!

Elastic

Elastic is used in sewing mainly for making clothes. You usually find it in the waistband of a garment. To make a waistband tighter, you put more elastic in. This is usually how elastic is used for hand sewing.

I recommend that you have elastic in your sewing tool box. It will come in handy and especially has I put more posts up on how to make clothes.

What type and size of elastic should I get?

It doesn't really matter what brand or type your elastic is. but it is best to purchase it at a proper craft store, however you can but elastic at a discount store as well.

The size of your elastic depends on what you are going to make. Obviously your elastic length will be long as it comes in rolls, but it depends on the width of your elastic.

I find it best to use wide, woven elastic for garments like skirts and leggings. It would be a tad stronger than a thin strip and would be less likely to fray.

Basically, you can use a thin strip of elastic for all other projects.

If you are having trouble deciding what width you should get, just tell me your project and where you plan to buy your elastic from and I will tell give you the answer.

Note: Quality of elastic may vary between stores. Choose a brand that you trust and think is good quality.

Woven or Braided Elastic

Strongly woven or braided elastic is the strongest type, I recommend you choose this. Look on the package label to be sure.

Note; Always check how long the elastic is before you buy some! This is critical to your sewing!

Up Coming Post: How to make a Waistband Tighter using Elastic

 

 

Courtesy of Google Images

Cutting Fabric

Cutting fabric is really important [ then again, most things in sewing are! ]. It can seriously affect your work, and if you do it incorrectly, you will waste fabric.

How to Cut Fabric-Rules

1. Always cut a shape from the edge of the fabric. If you cut it from the centre, you will waste fabric and when you want to do other projects with the same fabric, that require lots of the same material, you will have to buy more because your other shape will not fit in the space left.
2. When you have a shape like a pony, for example, there are some parts of its shape that need to be rounded, such as a neck. What you do is you snip a few small triangles from the edge of the fabric to the stitches. However you should only do this if instructed.
3. Cut slowly. If you cut your fabric really fast you can make a mistake, so it's best to cut slowly and steadily.
4. Make sure your fabric is straight, not crumpled! This rule is very important. Your fabric MUST be straight and flat before you begin cutting. If it is crumpled, your shape will go all wrong and you would've wasted fabric.
5. Cut your fabric on a flat surface. Never cut your fabric in your lap or on an unsteady surface. Cut on a table or a tray, or anywhere else that is flat, not a bed!

Techniques: Starting and Stopping Sewing

Tying a knot is not always necessary when you begin or finish sewing. This technique is stonger than doing a knot, as the knot will, when you pull it hard, rip apart and undo your stitches.

How to do the new technique

I can't think of any name for this technique so if you have an idea please tell me in the comments.

What you need:

- your fabric
- needle
- thread

1. Position your fabric in your hands.
2. Come up through the back of the fabric with your needle and thread. Stop when your thread is nearly all the way through, leaving a centimetre of thread on the other side.
3. Go back down through the fabric in the same spot. Make sure you do not pull the thread to much as this will take out the previous 'stitch'.
4. Bring the needle up through the fabric again, in the same spot.
5. Repeat steps until thread is secure. However, 3 or 4 of these 'mini stitches' are usually sufficient.

Please note that when I say, bring the thread down in the same spot, I mean bring the thread down very close to your previous ' stitch' .

What is a good seam and what is a bad seam?

Do you know what a good seam is and what a bad seam is? It is important to know this when sewing because, like most things I have talked about, it can affect the presentation of your work.

Also, the quality of your work depends a lot on your seams.

Let's start from the start: What is a seam?

The definition for a seam is a line where two pieces of fabric are sewn together in a garment or other article.

A good seam is a seam that:

- is strong when you pull it [ meaning it does not fall apart ]
- is hard to see the stitches
- has no gaps/looseness

A bad seam is the complete opposite of this.

Right Side, Wrong Side

When sewing, it is important to know which side is which. Yes, that sounds confusing but believe me, it is important!

Basically, all fabric has a wrong side or a right side.

The wrong side is the side with the light, faded print of the fabric. Mostly, we do not use this side as it isn't as fuller or as brighter as the right side.

The right side is the side with the bolder, more fuller colours of the print. This is the side we use the most for sewing.

Sometimes we can have trouble deciding which is which, as some fabrics sides are really similar.

If you have any trouble deciding, take a photo of both sides and show me in the comments.

Fortunately, as you deal with more fabrics, you get used to telling which side is which.

Tracing Templates and Cutting Shapes

Cutting shapes and tracing templates can affect your work drastically, so you need to know how to do it properly.

What you need:

- Pencil
- Baking paper/ Tracing paper or any see through paper
- Scissors
- Pins
- Fabric

How to trace Templates:

1. Set the paper down onto the book, or thing you are tracing from, and hold still.
2. Carefully trace the template with your pencil. Do not move the paper.
3. Remove your traced paper and cut out the template with scissors.
4. Pin to your fabric and cut carefully.

Sewing Rule #2

This is a very important rule, and if you do not follow it you can be severely injured and will have to go under a serious operation or die.  

Always keep your pins and needles in a container/sewing kit/safe place where you will not tread/sit on them.

Never leave them loose, or have them on the ground at any time. If you follow these rules, you will be protecting your safety.



Sewing Rule #1- Instructions

There are many rules in the sewing world. A very important one is:

Read through all the instructions before you do a project

This can be crucial to your project. You don't want finish your project and realise you misunderstood the instructions, so that your piece is lopsided and ruined forever. The end.

But when you read through the instructions before commencing your project, your piece will be marvellous and sell for $200.

So, once again, always read the instructions before sewing.

By the way, this is how you will feel when you have read through the instructions:



What is open weave and what is closed weave?

Open weave and closed weave. What are these things and what do they mean?

These are sewing terms, and are used to described the weave of a fabric. Ever looked really closely at the fabric? You will see that there are tiny stitches there that make the fabric. When the stitches are close together, this is called a closed weave. When they are far apart, this is called an open weave.

Sometimes the needle or fabric you buy can depend on closed weave or open weave. For example, can a thick needle with a large eye fit through a closed weaved fabric? These are very important things to think about before sewing.

Advice- Good Posture

Correct posture is extremely important when you are sewing. If you have bad posture, you will most likely damage your back and find sewing tricky.

When sewing, keep your back straight. Keep your project near the end of your rib cage. Relax your shoulders and hold your sewing 2 inches away from your chest { roughly } . Avoid straining your eyes. Have good light coming over your right shoulder.

This will feel better and is good for your body.