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Tips and Discoveries
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Sergers rule. Sergers can't do everything sewing machines can do, but
once you get one, you will hate using the sewing machine. No more frayed ends
on fabrics, no more trimming fabric after sewing an edge seam. Incredibly
strong professional looking seams, that are trivial to undo with a seam ripper.
I have a Singer Quantumlock 4. Its pretty easy to use, and the
diffifult-threading hype is false. Yes, sergers are more complex to thread than
a sewing machine, but they aren't rocket science -- few minutes of practice and
you will be able to thread it as easily as a sewing machine. I love my serger.
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Get basting glue! Pins are a pain to work with. The glue comes in a
gluestick form, and is really easy to apply. It can be purchased at any
fabrics/sewing store and only costs a few dollars. You apply it inside the
cloth that is to be seamed, instead of using pins. It gets sticky enough to
be able to handle after a few seconds. You can glue an entire strip of cloth
and it holds way better than using pins placed every few inches. No more
puckering, no more slipping cloth, no pins getting stucky on the presserfoot.
The glue disovles out of most materials after a wash in the laundry. You can
also just apply few drops of water and scrub it out pretty quick. Basting glue
has definatly made seamwork significantly easier.
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Ironing clothes before sewing makes them much easier to deal with. A
nice steam ironing can help make more well defined edges on clothes that just
refuse to stay put. Basting glue is easier to use on flat clothes.
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