Sunday June 10, 2012 06:57:57 PM
- Buttons: Organize loose buttons by stringing them on twist ties, and then simply twist the ties to prevent them from falling off.
- Cut off the unworn part of old sheets to make pillowcases.
- Hair spray Use: Can't find needle threader? Spray the end of thread lightly and it will stiffen it enough to thread your needle.
- Hemming: To get rid of hemlines when lengthening blue jeans, colour over the hemline with a blue crayon. Cover your ironing board with newspaper or cloth, and iron in the crayon colour by pressing the jeans wrong-side-out.
- Hemline marks let down: Try rubbing around the line with white vinegar, then wring out a cloth with solution of cloudy ammonia and water and after ½ hr press the cloth over the hemline on both sides of material.
- Keep your fabric remnants. Even if you can't think of a use for them now, new projects will come along. You may end up using them in a quilting project or perhaps making a doll. They may become a collar or a piece of bias trim.
- Make good looking curtains from bed sheets, either plain or fancy.
- Make kitchen towels or table runners out of soiled tablecloths and towels. Make drapes out of tablecloths.
- Make potholders out of old ironing board covers.
- Old clothes - Use to make quilts, pillows, and blankets. Always save the buttons.
- Old pillow cases - Use for laundry bag.
- Patterns: If you have a sewing pattern that you will use often, transfer the pattern and all the markings to non-fusible lightweight interfacing. It will last a long time.
- Pinking Shears: To keep shears sharp, cut through a sheet of folded aluminum foil or coarse sandpaper.
- Pleats: To change pleats in slacks, dip a cloth in a solution of 1/4 cup white vinegar and 2 cups water. Wring out thoroughly and cover the old pleat. Press with low setting on steam iron.
- Pressing Cloth: Dampen a brown grocery sack, and use it as a pressing cloth.
- Protect your buttons! Every time I buy a new garment, I put a dab of clear nail polish on the back of the buttons. I never lose a button and it works a treat on kids' clothes.
- Quilts: Use an old blanket as the batting for a quilt.
- Sew buttons on with nylon fishing line or dental floss. If you need a different colour, finish the job by using a little matching thread to cover the white.
- Sewing: Leftover rickrack, binding, elastic, etc. can be wound around an empty thread spool and secured with a straight pin.
- Simply trace around your fingers for the pattern.
- Store sets of buttons on diaper pins, or keep organized in egg cartons. Take of the lids and stack to save room.
- Store sewing bobbins in empty aspirin bottles. The threads won't get tangled, making your next sewing project much easier.
- Take kitchen towels or table runners out of soiled tablecloths and towels. Make drapes out of tablecloths.
- Take of the lids and stack to save room.
- Tape a small bag to the sewing table to get rid of the pesky threads and scraps. When the bag is full, just throw it away and replace with a new one.
- Thread: To prevent tangled thread when sewing by hand, knot each strand separately instead of knotting them together.
- To do a quick hem on a pair of blue jeans, turn them up and tape with silver duct tape. It lasts through many types of washing. If the blue jeans shrink a little, simply tear off the duct tape and re-do.
- Threading a needle can be a challenge at times. Try spraying hairspray on the tip of the thread to stiffen it. This should make it easier to thread the needle.
- To get rid of crease marks when lengthening clothes, dampen the crease mark liberally with white vinegar. Place a damp cloth over the crease mark and press with a hot iron.
- To remove creases from permanent-press fabrics, use two to three tablespoons of white Vinegar to one or two cups of water. Soak a cotton pressing cloth in the solution. Squeeze out excess moisture. Place cloth over the crease or wrinkle, and press with a hot iron.
- Update a blouse or jacket by changing the buttons.
- Use leftover candle stumps as pincushions. Needles slide into fabric smoother.
- Use leftover denim from cut-off jeans to make garden gloves.
- Use scraps of fabric to make quilts.
- When basting, thread the needle, but don't cut the thread from the spool. This way you won't have to keep re-threading the needle.
- When your child's pullover sweaters becomes to tight to wear, turn them into a cardigan by cutting them straight down the front and binding the front edges with an attractive trim.
