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Sewing Tips

Bobbin Tips

14 September 2022 by Danielle Leave a Comment

Super quick and in some pics, here are our top bobbin threading tips:

bobbin tip 1

Avoid layering up threads on your bobbins. When you get to the end of the outer thread (white in our picture), a knot can easily be created as the needle thread tries to pick up the end of the white thread and the beginning of the yellow thread all at once.

Bobbin tip 2

Don’t leave a long thread tail after loading up your bobbin. Each time the machine rotates the needle thread around the bobbin, it will try to pick up both the working end and the tail end of the thread. Instead, snip off the tail thread close to the bobbin.

Bobbin tip 3

The thread in our picture isn’t neat, the threads crisis cross each other which will encourage skipped stitches. Double-check your manual to ensure you are threading up correctly to perfectly fill a bobbin with thread.

bobbin tip 4

If your thread feels squishy on the bobbin or you can easily separate threads like in our picture, you will likely be missing a tension guide when threading your bobbin.

bobbin tip 5

If you are following all the guides on your machine and pulling the thread into the bobbin thread tension guide you should have a good-looking bobbin, ready for a great session of sewing!

Filed Under: Sewing Tips

Tips for cutting out fabric when sewing

7 September 2022 by Danielle Leave a Comment

These are the top tips for cutting out your fabric that we share when you join a sewing workshop at Thread Den. Doing a great job of cutting out all your pattern pieces before you even start sewing will help the rest of your project go smoothly.

  • Keep the shears and fabric as close to the tabletop as possible. Keep your fabric flat, do not lift it up or off the table to access it. You can scootch your shears along the tabletop (keeping the lower blade touching the tabletop).
  • Keep your shears straight.
  • Take long cuts.
  • Peel the fabric of the cutout pattern pieces out of your way as you cut.
  • Keep the pattern pieces on the left of your shears (if right-handed).
  • Use lovely sharp fabric shears.
  • When snipping in your notches, never cut them deeper than the seam allowance. 5mm or less is about right.

Filed Under: Sewing Tips

Sewing room printable

7 October 2020 by Danielle Leave a Comment

Pop this on the wall and double check your pattern lay up before pulling out the cutting shears.

Pattern layups checklist by Thread Den

Download your own copy – click here.

Filed Under: Printables, Sewing Tips

Sew a simple face mask

15 July 2020 by Danielle

YouTube Watch it on YouTube – click here.

We’ve put together a video to help with making face masks. We’ve kept it simple so you can make these for yourself and your family.

We used this pattern from Birch Creative – click here.

The face mask made in the video is from a pillow case. The high thread count makes for a good tight weave fabric and this was a cotton poly-blend. Also we opted for three layers of fabric. For extra options on the ties, we popped two ties on each side. We couldn’t decide if ties around the back of the head or behind the ears was most comfortable, so we’ve allowed for both options.

Victoria State Government advice on supplies and instructions to make a rectangular cloth mask – click here.

Simple Face Mask Banner

Filed Under: Melbourne Suppliers, Patterns, Sewing Tips Tagged With: facemasks, youtube

Threading your needle

3 December 2019 by Danielle Leave a Comment

Quick tip:

Make it easier to thread your machine needle; snip your thread on an angle to give it a point and always ensure your needle is in its highest position as you thread it. Before you know it, your fingers will remember exactly where to go. 

Filed Under: Sewing Tips

Order of Garment Construction

22 October 2019 by Danielle Leave a Comment

Lost your sewing instructions? If you don’t have the instructions, there is a general order of construction for garments;

Download this 

Filed Under: Printables, Sewing Tips Tagged With: sewing tips

Old fashioned or necessary: Hang the garment?

16 August 2019 by Danielle Leave a Comment

Have you ever come across the instruction “hang the garment for 24 hours”. It may seem unnecessary or even a bit of an old fashioned wive’s tale. But this instruction is necessary and has a purpose. 

 

A circle skirt covers all the angles of the fabric, think of the skirt hanging on your body – at the front the grain line hangs vertically, on your hips the cross grain hangs vertically, in between the bias is hanging vertically.

 

If you pull on the angles of your fabric you would find there is very little give along the grain line, there is some give along the cross grain, and there is loads of give or stretch along the bias. Once hanging the bias will stretch and this makes the hem drop more at the bias angles. By hanging your garment, you allow the dropping to occur before hemming.

 

Make a circle skirt in our class and learn all about the bias and handling the fabric, inserting an invisible zip, attaching a waistband and how to narrow hem all that fabric! Make a Circle Skirt at Thread Den.

 

Image from Melly Sews

Filed Under: Sewing Tips, Workshops

Choosing interfacing for your sewing project

15 May 2019 by Danielle Leave a Comment

Selecting the interfacing you should use in your project can be a challenge and feel intimidating. We’ve put a variety of information into this post in our Sewing Journal to help you choose the right interfacing for your sewing project.

Why do I need interfacing?

[Read more…] about Choosing interfacing for your sewing project

Filed Under: Sewing Tips Tagged With: interfacing

What is a toile?

25 April 2019 by Danielle Leave a Comment

A test garment.

When making a garment that you haven’t made before, it is a really good idea to produce a toile.

A toile is an early version of a finished garment made up in cheaper plain fabric so that the design can be tested and perfected. Multiple toiles can be made in the process of perfecting a design.

[Read more…] about What is a toile?

Filed Under: Sewing Tips Tagged With: calico, dressmaking, muslin, pattern drafting, toile

Terminology – is grading, alterations?

6 April 2019 by Danielle Leave a Comment

Pattern grading should not be confused with pattern alterations. Alterations are the process of making a pattern fit the nuances of an individual body. Whereas, grading is the process of creating a range of new sizes, or a size run.

Grading may simply be defined as the increasing or decreasing of a pattern according to a set of corresponding body measurements.  The secret to professional grading is to understand where the body requires these changes.[1]

Patterns can be graded using: the cut and spread method, pattern shifting or with computer grading.

We teach the basics of Grading in a 3 hour workshop at Thread Den – click here to read more.

[Read more…] about Terminology – is grading, alterations?

Filed Under: Sewing Tips, Sewing Tools, Workshops

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