Making Sure Your Sewing Measures Up

You use a tape measure for taking your own measurements, checking measurements on a pattern, and other measuring tasks. (See Chapter 4 for more information on patterns.)

All kinds of tape measures are available. I recommend that you use a plastic-coated fabric tape measure. This tape doesn't stretch, so you always get accurate measurements. Most tapes are 5/8-inch wide, the width of a standard seam allowance (see Chapter 6 for more on seams), and 60 inches long, like the tape measure in Figure 1-1. Many tapes come with both metric and imperial measurements and are two-toned, so you can readily see when the tape is twisted.

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Keep your tape measure handy by draping it around your neck, but remember to take if off when you leave the house - no one ever believes in this fashion statement.

NICE TO HAVE

One of my favorite rulers is a clear O'Lipfa ruler. It's 24 inches long and 5 inches wide, and is marked into quarter-inch increments across the width of the ruler - handy for cutting even strips in many home decor projects. (Read the following section to find out about rotary cutters.) The ruler and the mat together work like a T-square - helpful when marking and cutting perfect 90-degree squares or rectangles and for cutting strips. You can find a lot of clear rulers on the market - many longer than my ruler, but I find that I use my O'Lipfa almost every time I sew.

Cutting Up (Without Cracking Up)

If I could have only two cutting tools, I'd use the following:

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When shopping for shears or scissors, make sure that you test them on a variety of fabrics. They should cut all the way to the tips of the blades.

Some brands of scissors and shears are made of lightweight aluminum alloy. The lightweight models generally fit more comfortably in your hand, are usually a little cheaper than other models, and can be resharpened several times. However, with some brands, the lighter-weight blades may not cut as easily through heavy fabrics or multiple-fabric layers.

Steel scissors and shears are heavier, which means they easily cut through heavier fabrics and more fabric layers. Because each blade is made of one solid piece of steel, you can resharpen heavy scissors and shears more times than the lightweight variety, and they often stay sharper longer, too. But the heavier models are generally more expensive than their lightweight counterparts.

Regardless of the weight, scissors and shears with a screw joining the blades generally cut heavier fabrics and more layers than those that are riveted.

WARNING!

After you've plunked down money for a good pair of scissors and shears, don't let the family get hold of them and cut plastic, cardboard, wire, or anything you don't normally cut when sewing. The blades become rough and dull and not only will they chew or snag your fabric, but they also wear out your hand when you try to use them.

I also often use a pair of 3-inch embroidery scissors. The pointed blades are perfect for cutting out unwanted stitches and trimming laces, appliques, and hard-to-reach places.

After you decide you like to sew, treat yourself to a rotary cutter, which looks a lot like a pizza cutter, and a cutting mat, which protects the table and helps keep the rotary blade sharp. You use these tools without lifting the fabric off the cutting mat, so you can cut lines very accurately. Rotary cutters come in several sizes - I like the largest model because you can cut more, faster. But don't discard your shears; you need them for cutting intricate pattern pieces.

NICE TO HAVE

Cut edges can mean frayed edges, but you can put a stop to that with seam sealant. Seam sealant is a liquid that dries soft and clear so that you don't see any residue on the fabric and it won't snag or scratch. It comes in a small plastic bottle with a tip for easy aim. Dot it on a knot to prevent threads from coming out and dribble a bead at the cut edges of ribbon to prevent fraying.

Making Your Mark

Sewing is an exact science, in many ways. When you sew, you must match up the pieces of your project precisely - otherwise you get the left sleeve in the right armhole and end up feeling like you're walking backwards all the time (find out more about sewing in sleeves in Chapter 10).

To help you match up your fabric pattern pieces exactly the right way, the pattern for a project includes match points, called notches and dots, which are printed right on the pattern tissue. To use these match points, lay the pattern tissue down on the fabric, pin the tissue to the fabric, cut out the pattern piece, and clip the notches and mark the dots from the pattern tissue to the fabric. (See Chapter 4 for more information on cutting out and marking patterns.)

Fabric markers made especially for sewing make transferring match points from the pattern to the fabric a quick and easy task. Use one of the following markers, depending on the kind of fabric you want to mark:

WARNING!

The ink in vanishing and water-erasable markers uses a chemical that may react to the dyes and chemicals in synthetic fabrics. Always test markers on a scrap of fabric to make sure that you can remove the mark and that it doesn't come back when you press the fabric.

NICE TO HAVE

Pinning Down Your Projects

You need pins to sew. Period. You use them to pin the pattern to the fabric, pin the pieces of fabric together before sewing them, and for several other pinning jobs. Because pins are such a constant companion when you sew, buy some that keep your fingers happy.

I recommend using long, fine, glass-head pins. The glass head fits comfortably in your fingers when you pin through multiple layers of fabric, and the extra length makes pinning more secure. Plus, if you accidentally press or iron over the glass heads, they don't melt like the plastic ones may.

You also need a place to keep your pins. Some pins, like glass-head pins, come packaged in convenient plastic boxes that make great pin holders. But to save time, I wear a wrist pincushion so that my pins stay with me wherever I go.

NICE TO HAVE

A magnetic pincushion, available in a wrist or tabletop model, is handy in your cutting area and at the ironing board. Besides pins, small scissors and a seam ripper also stick to the magnetized surface. The magnetic cushion is also wonderful for picking up pins and stray metal objects that fall on the carpet.

WARNING!

Even though computerized sewing machines have improved, avoid getting the tabletop magnetic pincushion near yours because you may wipe out the machine's memory.

Pressing Issues

Why are you delighted when someone asks if your pie is homemade but insulted when someone points to your dress and asks, "Did you make that?" In sewing, if someone can immediately tell that your project is homemade, it's probably because something just looks ... wrong. Usually this happens because the project wasn't pressed properly during construction. Using the right tools for pressing is just as important to sewing as using a sharp needle and thread that matches your fabric. Good pressing tools mean the difference between a project that looks good and a project that looks great.

Consider these points when choosing your tools:

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If you use fusible products, such as iron-on patches that melt when heated, you can easily gum up the iron. A non-stick soleplate makes it easy to clean and provides a smooth, slick surface for trouble-free pressing and ironing. Also, several newer brands of irons automatically turn off every few minutes, which is a real pain when you're ready to use the iron for sewing, so avoid buying an iron with this feature.

Choose a muslin or nonreflective ironing board cover: The silver, reflector-type covers are too slippery and sometimes get too hot, causing unnecessary scorching on some synthetic fabrics.

WARNING

If you're considering a print or color-dyed fabric for a press cloth - don't do it. Dyes can bleed through and ruin your project. Terry cloth isn't a good choice, either. The napped surface of a terry cloth towel can leave the familiar terry texture on the fabric.

A professional dressmaker friend of mine loves using a cloth diaper for a press cloth. The diaper is white and absorbent, can be doubled or tripled depending on the use, and is a good size for many projects.

NICE TO HAVE

After you decide to make sewing a regular hobby and you feel comfortable investing a little extra money into your projects, consider purchasing the following tools:

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Excerpted from Sewing For Dummies by Janice Saunders Maresh Excerpted by permission.
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