Happy Tuesday!
Boy, do I hope today is a better day than yesterday! Yesterday was one of those pull your hair out, drink vodka in the middle of the afternoon kinda days. Sheesh
So let's get to it
Today I have a tip for you that I use ALL the time. It's one of the most useful tips I've picked up along the way. If you sew anything that has to have a hole left open to turn wrong side out, then you need to read this one! I do this on bags, pouches, stuffed animals, practically everything I sew.
Ok, so I just used a couple fabric scraps to illustrate this, but lets say you are making a bag and you need to leave an opening in the bottom of the liner to turn the whole thing wrong side out. After you turn it you iron the raw edges of the hole towards the inside and sew it up, right? But does it ever really look perfect that way? Uh, no, no it doesn't. I know this from experience. Well friends, here is the magic fix to that problem!
First thing you want to do is make sure you backstitch when you start sewing around the edges of whatever you are making. Then backstitch again at the end where you would leave your hole open {make sense? see pics}. I hope you understood that. Right after you backstitch at the end, crank your stitch length up to the highest {mine goes to 5} and keep stitching until you close up that hole.
I bet that picture explains it better than my words did. I hope so anyway.
So now you will iron your seam allowance open, wrong side to wrong side, like this....
Take a seam ripper and rip open ONLY the stitches that were a longer stitch length. The ones that essentially where the hole is.
Now you once again have a hole to turn your project right side out, but with perfectly iron edges. YAY!
Clip your corners {I didn't on this scrap, but I do usually} or whatever else you need to do and turn right side out.
See how much easier it is to sew up that hole now? Hand stitch or machine stitch closed. Looks much more precise right. And I seriously think it is a major frustration saver, for real.
Remember this trick, you will thank me later, mmmkay
Great idea. Someone else probably won't notice, but I do! After all that work, I want these things to look their best.
ReplyDelete(Did you know you had word verification on? I think I can read both words this time which is a plus. Often, however, I cannot. Some bloggers are just not leaving comments rather than deal with it. Frankly, I'm close to that point myself. That would be disappointing. I'd really like to let you know that your work is appreciated!)
Duly noted.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip! Another great one that will definitely save me.
What a great tip!! It has never occurred to me to iron the seam! I make a lot of pockets for my totes and this will really help get those nice clean crisp lines.
ReplyDeleteThank you!! I really enjoy reading your posts!
You have a lovely day!
Another great tip! I am SO using it on my next purse. :)
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