Comments on: Tips for Faster Sewing

By: Jennifer Rosbrugh

Jennifer Rosbrugh — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 14:18:19 +0000

In reply to Cindy. I love the Christmas tree switch idea!

By: Cindy

Cindy — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 06:44:16 +0000

I keep a tabletop ironing board (the little ones you see at the store) behind where I sit to sew, and the iron off to my left, which… I have on a step-on Christmas tree switch! I have a sewing-and-ironing pad under my machine which allows me to press quick things right in front of me (it’s heat resistant but not perfect, I still use the board for bigger stuff). I also made a quick hem guide out of some thin cardboard (the kind that a box of juice pouches would come in), and marked out my favorite hem depths. It allows me to quickly press up over a foot at a time without stopping to measure.

By: K. Winter

K. Winter — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 15:55:38 +0000

In reply to ally.

So many great ideas all at once! Thank you!

I especially like the idea of outsourcing/project trading, and I can already see where it could help me and a friend. I’m pretty good at embroidery, and hand sewing in general. My friend hates hand sewing, and has an industrial machine and a serger. I’ll gladly do her decorative fussy bits if she’ll stitch the stuff that’s too heavy for my home machine to handle, like leather. Win/win!

By: ally

ally — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 02:18:34 +0000

I admit I don’t do a lot of reproduction sewing. I’m in clothing manufacture and I’ve also done theater costuming, so I sew to keep ahead of deadlines and bills. But I had some ideas. Some of these tips might not work in every situation, but it may give you some more ideas. Cut in layers as often as you can. Mark match points in your seam allowances by small clips. We mark the pointed ends of darts as well as pocket placement points by punching a small hole. We can punch through multiple layers at once, and the mark can be seen from either side of the fabric. Downside: raveling. We make punch marks when we machine cut, but this can also be done by hammering a small, sharpened screwdriver just inside the dart’s endpoint. Just make sure you sew past that point, and that it’s really where you want the end of your dart. Use the sharpest cutting tools you can afford, and don’t use your good scissors on paper. When you get ready to sew, wind two bobbins if you know the job is going to be a big one. Then sew as much of one color as you can before you have to change your thread. When you do change your thread, clip the old spool off, tie the new spool on and pull your thread through, as you would with a serger; you’ll only have to rethread the needle. Cut down on your trips to the store by stocking the things you use a lot. I use a lot of black and white thread, 14″ invisible zippers, and fusible interfacing, so I make a large order of those online. Make muslin mock ups when you need to fit a new pattern or learn a new construction or sewing technique. Learn how to shorten zippers; if you don’t know how long of a zipper you need, you can usually buy a longer one and shorten it. Heavily starch/use tear-away stabilizer to help sew flimsy fabrics more easily. Making batches of garments takes less time than making garments one at a time from start to finish. If you are making a one-of-a-kind garment, this is not practical, but perhaps batching sections like ruffles would be. Sometimes it requires some thought, but if you think about the steps you need to do beforehand you can make yourself a plan of attack to make your sewing process a little smoother, and identify areas where you may have problems (this is where you dig out your muslin). Always wax and press your hand-sewing thread (unless you are basting– then only use unwaxed white thread). Also, don’t be afraid to outsource or trade projects around. Everyone has likes and dislikes in the sewing world. I like matching plaids and doing cartridge pleats, but I hate doing buttonholes and invisible zippers. So, in our shop, we tend to give zipper installation to the one lady who doesn’t mind doing it and does it consistently well, while I can sit happily for three days getting parts of a plaid apron to match to the thread. And always talk shop. Praise good work when you see it. And love what you’re doing.

By: Jennifer Rosbrugh

Jennifer Rosbrugh — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 14:48:25 +0000

In reply to Chantel. hehe... it was a beautiful floral cotton!

By: Chantel

Chantel — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 12:46:54 +0000

!!!I was so happy to see the jumper — I’ve had that fabric before !! I love it — even still today! so nice to see it 🙂

By: Anna Bell

Anna Bell — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 04:53:50 +0000

This might not matter so much for costume work, but something that really helped me to be more productive was getting the books that teach you about how industry professionals and couture professionals construct and finish garments. The steps in most patterns and from home ec classes are the equivalent of recipes for people who need instructions to boil water. Love this page and love seeing all your beautiful work!

By: Isis

Isis — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 07:28:04 +0000

I don’t sew very fast either, but I have find what makes me more productive is to make sewing schedules- I just posted one just before I read this post and to make sure I sew a little every day. I had a huge back-log of not completed sewing projects when this year started and this has really helped me getting a lot of them done.

I don’t nail down my schedule too hard, though and I try to not have deadlines- I hate to stress sew.