Tips And Tricks

Conquering the 1/4 inch seam

Having trouble with those 1/4 inch seams? Click here to read an article to help you put those troubles behind you.

Pre-Wash your fabrics to avoid trouble later on

Here's an article with some really good tips on how to pre-wash your fabrics and some really good reasons to do it. Click here for the entire article

Drawing Lines Corner to Corner

When some people make HSTs, they start out by drawing the line on the back of one of the squares. Placing the ruler so it lines up perfectly with opposite corners.

When you align the fabric square points with the edge of the ruler, the thickness of the pencil creates a line just a tiny bit to the right of the diagonal center of the square. (It'll be a little to the left if you write with your left hand.)
So when you sew your HST will be uneven.

To fix this when drawing the line to make HSTs, slide the ruler over just a hair to the left of the points (or right of the points for lefties), enough to accommodate the width of your pencil, pen, or whatever writing instrument you're using.

View the entire article here along with illustrations.

Do NOT put pins in your mouth

The short version of this article is a seamstress always put her pins in her mouth and she thought she swallowed one. She was in no pain and so waited a couple of days before getting an xray. the xray showed that the pin was actually in her lung. After 2 surgeries it was removed. The surgeon said it could have punctured her lung, poisoning or worse. She had a month after the surgery.

Here is the link to the whole article.

Bleeding fabric

Test as you wash - It's easy to assume that one run through the wash is enough for your fabric, especially if you're in a big hurry to start cutting and piecing your first block. You might need multiple washings to get the bleeding to stop.

Dye grabbers are good, but they are chemically treated to pull dye out of the water.

2. Dry your block quickly - It really matters how long the block stays wet. The longer the fabric stays wet the more bleeding will occur, even if the fabric has been prewashed multiple times. Drying the block quickly should greatly minimize your chances of bleeding colors.