Nancy's Tip of the Month

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May Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month Teach your kids or grandkids to sew on a button and fix a hem. Give them a small sewing kit when they leave for college. (If they can master texting, they can certainly sew on a button.)

April Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month To save time later, wind several bobbins of thread before starting a project.

March Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month Donate aged fabric to a charitable sewing group. If you haven’t used it in five or more years, it’s likely you never will. You’ll feel good about cleaning out your fabric stash and the recipients will appreciate the donation.

February Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month Make and give away something every year to someone you’ll never meet. The gift is in the giving. Use the best fabric that your budget affords. The project that you made may be the only made-with-love gift that person receives in his/her life. See www.creativekindness.com for a listing of volunteer projects and/or organizations.

January Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month Use a calendar to quickly keep track of what you’ve sewn or quilted in a year. Pin a swatch of fabric at the date completed along with a few notes. You might amaze yourself with what you accomplished in a year.

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December Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month Give a small sewing kit to a member of a bridal party: thread (white, black, and the color of the attendant’s dresses), needles, and scissors (or nail clippers) to cut threads.

November Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month Join a guild or sewing group. You’ll find inspiration and friendship.

October Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month Store unfinished projects in clear, plastic bins that have snap-on covers. All pieces will stay together and you’ll not lose sight of what’s inside.

September Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month Don’t waste your money on buying cheap thread—you get what you pay for.

August Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month When you receive a compliment on something you’ve sewn, quilted, or embroidered, graciously say, “Thank you.” Please don’t point out the flaw that only you can find.

July Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month For successful seam beginnings, I start stitching on an “anchor cloth” (a small doubled up scrap of fabric), then continuously stitch seams without trouble. Great tip for quilting and garment sewing too.

June Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month  Press fusible interfacing to the back of frequently used tissue pattern pieces.

May Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month Add machine embroidery to a ready-to-wear pocket without removing the entire pocket. Instead remove the straight stitches and leave the bar tacks at the top of the pocket. You’ll be able to embroider the pocket and stitch it back in place with perfect positioning.

April Tip of the Month Nancy Zieman Tip When sewing on metal buttons with shanks, use a strand of monofilament thread along with the standard sewing thread for added strength in keeping buttons in place.

March Tip of the Month Sewing Apply the soft side of sticky back Velcro to the top of coat hangers. A 3" strip on both top edges is all that’s needed to keep garments from falling off the hangers.

February Tip of the Month Sewing When stitching two slightly uneven seams, always sew with the shorter length on top and the longer length on the bottom towards the feed dogs. The bottom fabric will ease as you sew and even serge.

January Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip Next time you’re hemming, instead of using a straight stitch select one of the many built in decorative stitching on your sewing machine.

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December Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip When working with heavy and hard-to-pin fabrics I turn to the office supply drawer and use metal binder clips instead of pins.

October Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip When I’m serging a decorative stitch on my serger, I sometimes combine two different colors or types of threads through the upper lopper. I insert a drinking straw over the serger thread spindle to extend the spindle height, allowing me to stack two spools on one spindle.

September Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip When a pattern calls for a double row of stitching for gathering, I save time by zigzagging over a thin cording. I’ve even been known to zigzag over dental floss—the unwaxed kind, of course.

August Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip I store spools of threads separately from my bobbins. To identify the bobbin thread I use a permanent marker and write the thread color number on the bobbin. When the bobbins are empty I remove the markings with rubbing alcohol.

July Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip My favorite thread for stippling my landscape quilts is monofilament thread. To thread my sewing machine needle with ease, I use a black permanent marker and color the thread end for easy viewing.

June Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip To find button placement on a jacket or blouse front, first stitch buttonholes, then meet jacket fronts right sides together, and inset a straight pin through buttonholes to mark button placement.

May Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month If you run out of pattern paper, try using wax paper from your kitchen. I’ve used this for years when doing pattern adjustments with my pivot and slide method of fitting patterns.

April Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month Mystery stains can easily appear on children’s garments. If you’re unable to remove a stain, camouflage the stain by stitching a cute machine embroidery design over the stain.

March Tip of the Month NZ Tip - March 2011 Can goods from my kitchen cupboard make great pattern weights.

February Tip of the Month NZ Tip - February 2011 To successfully hem jeans, fold up the hem and flatten the flat-felled area with a hammer before stitching. A perfect cure the denim-bump blues.

January Tip of the Month NZ Tip - January 2011 When making a bag or purse, I beef up the weight of thin fabrics by inserting a layer of cotton duck or canvas between the lining and outer fabric.

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December Tip of the Month NZ Tip - December 2010 When sewing a pillow, stitch a cotton ball-sized piece of fiberfill into each corner. Turn the pillow right sides out and the fiberfill will fill in those often difficult to stuff corners.

October Tip of the Month NZ Tip October eNews When stitching fun yet difficult fabrics like faux leather and vinyls, cut 1" wide strips of tissue paper and place on top the seams before stitching with a denim/sharp 90/14 sewing machine needle.

September Tip of the Month Nancy Zieman Tip I keep a tomato pincushion next to my sewing machine to store my sewing machine needles. With a black permanent marker, I’ve marked each section of the tomato with different needle sizes and types.

August Tip of the Month Nancy's Tip of the Month Save your child’s T-shirts and make a memory quilt ideal for a high school graduation gift. Use a 10" or 12" square ruler and cut T-shirt fronts into squares. Cut squares of fusible knit interfacing and fuse to the back if the T-shirt squares. Refer to your favorite quilting book to add sashing, borders, and binding

July Tip of the Month Stabilizer Tip After opening the original packaging of water-soluble stabilizers, I store the stabilizer and instructions in a zip top bag to keep the stabilizer from drying out.

June Tip of the Month Sewing Tip Use almost-gone slivers of bar soap for marking pattern details on fabric.

May Tip of the Month Sewing Tip When a pattern calls for a double row of stitching for gathering, I save time by zigzagging over a thin cording. I've even been known to zigzag over dental floss—the unwaxed kind, of course.

April Tip of the Month Sewing Tip When sewing a pillow, stitch a cotton ball-sized piece of fiberfill into each corner. Turn the pillow right sides out and the fiberfill will fill in those often difficult to stuff corners.

March Tip of the Month Sewing Tip If you run out of pattern paper, try using wax paper from your kitchen. I've used this for years when doing pattern adjustments with my pivot and slide method of fitting patterns.

February Tip of the Month Sewing Tip When a pattern calls for a double row of stitching for gathering, I save time by zigzagging over a thin cording. I’ve even been known to zigzag over dental floss—the unwaxed kind, of course.

January Tip of the Month Sewing Tip When stitching two slightly uneven seams, always sew with the shorter length on top and the longer length on the bottom towards the feed dogs. The bottom fabric will ease as you sew and even serge.

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December Tip of the Month Sewing Tip My favorite thread for stippling my landscape quilts is monofilament thread. To thread my sewing machine needle with ease, I use a black permanent marker and color the thread end for easy viewing.

November Tip of the Month Sewing Machine Tip: Use DK5 to clean the plastic outside casing of a sewing machine. It removes any discolorations or residue that certain fabrics may leave on the bed of the sewing machine.

September Tip of the Month Stitching Tip: For successful seam beginnings, I start stitching on an "anchor cloth" (a small doubled up scrap of fabric), then continuously stitch seams without trouble. Great tip for quilting and garment sewing too.

August Tip of the Month Threading Tip: I store spools of threads separately from my bobbins. To identify the bobbin thread I use a permanent marker and write the thread color number on the bobbin. When the bobbins are empty I remove the markings with rubbing alcohol.

July Tip of the Month Sewing Tip To successfully hem jeans, fold up the hem and flatten the flat-felled area with a hammer before stitching. A perfect cure the denim-bump blues.

June Tip of the Month Quilting Tip Save your child’s t-shirts and make a memory quilt ideal for a high school graduation gift. Use a 10” or 12” ruler and cut t-shirt fronts into squares, and fuse squares of fusible knit interfacing to the back of the shirts. Refer to your favorite quilting book to add sashing, borders and binding.

May Tip of the Month sewing Tip: When stitching fun yet difficult fabrics like faux leather and vinyls, cut 1” wide strips of tissue paper and place on top the seams before stitching with a denim/sharp 90/14 sewing machine needle.

April Tip of the Month Serger Tip: If a serged edge ripples, rather than being straight and smooth, slightly tighten the differential feed. When the differential is tightened, feed dogs bite more fabric, eliminating bubbling or bowing. It’s especially helpful when serging around curves such as a neckline.

March Tip of the Month Serger Tip: If a serged edge ripples rather than being straight and smooth, slightly tighten the differential feed. When the differential is tightened, feed dogs bite more fabric, eliminating bubbling or bowing. It's especially helpful when serging around curves such as a neckline.

February Tip of the Month Sewing Tip: Sew, press, sew, press! Pressing is just as important as sewing. Your finished project will look better if you always press each seam or construction detail before you cross it with another seam or construction detail.

January Tip of the Month Sewing Tip: To remove tiny burrs from your hand-sewing needle pass the needle through an emery cloth or the “strawberry” from a tomato pincushion.

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November Tip of the Month Sewing The hem of your garment is an ideal place to add some unique touches. Try using one of your machine’s decorative stitches with a contrasting color for an interesting effect.

October Tip of the Month Sewing Sew buttons on skirts and pants with elastic thread. The band will expand with you after you’ve eaten a little too much dinner!

October Tip of the Month Stabilizer If a tear-away stabilizer stretches and tears in one direction, layer two pieces at right angles to achieve proper tension.

August Tip of the Month Sewing Tip: When sewing knits, I suggest using Stay-Tape as a stabilizer in the shoulder seam. Using the self-fabric selvage edge from your quilting cottons is a thrifty alternative.

July Tip of the Month Embroidery Tip To add dimension to white areas of embroidery such as snow or clouds use two threads in the needle. White and iridescent are my favorites for realistic looking snow.

June Tip of the Month Embroidery Tip: To soften the edges of outlined embroidery designs, use grey, brown or navy thread instead of black. The edges are defined but much less harsh.

May Tip of the Month Garments Tip: The hem of your garment is an ideal place to add some unique touches. Try using one of your machine's decorative stitches with a contrasting color for an interesting effect.

April Tip of the Month Binding Tip: Fan fold quilt binding and place it in a plastic bag. Tape the plastic bag to the table in front of your machine. The fan folding makes it feed nicely from the bag as it’s sewn on the quilt. This keeps the binding from twisting and ending up in a knotted mess on the floor!

March Tip of the Month Notions Tip: Slip a small piece of vinyl tubing (found at a hardware store) over the point of your scissors. It will keep the tips safe and sharp while they’re in a drawer or in your sewing bag.

February Tip of the Month Embroidery Tip: If a tear-away stabilizer stretches and tears in one direction, layer two pieces at right angles to achieve proper tension.

January Tip of the Month Serger Tip: Use a serger chain stitch with decorative thread in the chain looper to create “yarn” for making your own tassels. It takes about 20-22 yards for each tassel.

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