Excellent vid for anyone new to sewing. I have a few extra things I personally can't live without. I keep a bone letter folder for creasing crisp fabric and pushing out points and corners. I find an awl handy for punching holes for belts, eyelets and gromets, but equally useful for guiding something very close to the needle of a sewing machine. I gave up stitching my fingers into my work for sport😉 I love gluing a strong magnet to the bottom of the odd saucer for collecting pulled pins as I sew. Many less hit the floor that way. Makes a good gift for sewists, btw. Also, a bigger magnet on a string is perfect for doing a pin sweep of your work area or tossing under furniture to retrieve that dropped thimble... or reading glasses, in my case. I like to use clothes pegs as bobbins for collecting thread from wool and linen. It doesn't take long to strip out quite a bit of thread from the raw edge of your fabric, if you need exact-match thread for noticeable areas like collars and sleeve hems. It's also priceless for future darning and mending on non-seam areas. One spark from a campfire on your linen shift and a random but matching embroidered daisy looks far better than a scorched pin hole. I always plan a couple extra inches of fabric for that purpose. Happy sewing! P.S. I'm devouring your braiding videos and it's a good thing yarn and thread are light weight or I'd exhaust the Amazon delivery man. Finger weaving mayhem is about to commence in multiple sizes, shapes and colors!
This is a great beginners guide 😊 What I have in my sewing corner at home is a roll of paper table cloth. I know there is special material for this purpose but you can get the paper table cloth cheap almost everywhere. I use it to mark out all the pieces I have to cut out for mostly modern garments since there are many odd shaped pieces to these. When investing in a precious fabric that you just have enough of, you can use your paper pieces to place them all on your fabric and make the best use out of it without wasting too much. This method can also be handy if you happen to buy your fabric online. Just calculate a little shrinkage, mark the measurements of your desired fabric on the floor, place all the pattern pieces to this space and you can be sure to buy the right amount of fabric. Sometimes I even pin the paper pattern very carefully and try it on to check the fit of more complicated garments when I make them for the first time. Maybe this is useful to somebody.
I do love a ring thimble, as I need the dexterity in my fingertips, and I push the needle with the side of my finger anyway. It can also help the fit of any metal thimble to bend it into a slight oval shape instead of a circle/cone. There are leather thimbles for those who like a flexible thimble they can still get away with using at events where the rubber ones are too modern looking to use.
Great video! I would add something that is absolutely essential to me: a set of pattern weights! I have a large amount of flat bottom weights from discarded vertical blinds, but I know many that use large metal washers (any hardware store should carry them). Even if I very rarely use patterns, i use the weights all the time! I use the whole box to weigh down garments that lie on a table when I sew, both to add tension where I need it, and not have the whole dress slide down on the floor while sewing the sleeve in my lap. I also use the weights to hold down loose papers with measurements, cutting plans, etc while working, and use them as warp weights when weaving! There are thousands more uses besides these, so I strongly recommend having a bunch of small heavy items for the purpose instead of juggling around books or all of your mugs!
Along with washing, special consideration needs to be made to the final garment if you are applying tablet weaving, especially if it is wool. This hasn't been preshrunk and can shrink quite dramatically if not handled correctly. Ask me how I know.
@WyrdKindred gentle hand wash in warm soapy water. This is for all woollen. No harsh agitation to avoid matting/felting. If it's just linen washing machines are fine. As soon as you mix the fibres you need to wash to the most vulnerable fibre content.
I see that the bone letter folder has been mentioned. Also a seam roller is useful when you are in the field or on a primitive site and don't have electricity. A very nice handled awl is also something I keep in my kit for adding drawstrings and cording to bags etc.
Excellent vid for anyone new to sewing. I have a few extra things I personally can't live without. I keep a bone letter folder for creasing crisp fabric and pushing out points and corners. I find an awl handy for punching holes for belts, eyelets and gromets, but equally useful for guiding something very close to the needle of a sewing machine. I gave up stitching my fingers into my work for sport😉 I love gluing a strong magnet to the bottom of the odd saucer for collecting pulled pins as I sew. Many less hit the floor that way. Makes a good gift for sewists, btw. Also, a bigger magnet on a string is perfect for doing a pin sweep of your work area or tossing under furniture to retrieve that dropped thimble... or reading glasses, in my case. I like to use clothes pegs as bobbins for collecting thread from wool and linen. It doesn't take long to strip out quite a bit of thread from the raw edge of your fabric, if you need exact-match thread for noticeable areas like collars and sleeve hems. It's also priceless for future darning and mending on non-seam areas. One spark from a campfire on your linen shift and a random but matching embroidered daisy looks far better than a scorched pin hole. I always plan a couple extra inches of fabric for that purpose. Happy sewing! P.S. I'm devouring your braiding videos and it's a good thing yarn and thread are light weight or I'd exhaust the Amazon delivery man. Finger weaving mayhem is about to commence in multiple sizes, shapes and colors!
Woo hoo! All the braiding! Brilliant tips there thank you!
This is a great beginners guide 😊 What I have in my sewing corner at home is a roll of paper table cloth. I know there is special material for this purpose but you can get the paper table cloth cheap almost everywhere. I use it to mark out all the pieces I have to cut out for mostly modern garments since there are many odd shaped pieces to these. When investing in a precious fabric that you just have enough of, you can use your paper pieces to place them all on your fabric and make the best use out of it without wasting too much. This method can also be handy if you happen to buy your fabric online. Just calculate a little shrinkage, mark the measurements of your desired fabric on the floor, place all the pattern pieces to this space and you can be sure to buy the right amount of fabric. Sometimes I even pin the paper pattern very carefully and try it on to check the fit of more complicated garments when I make them for the first time. Maybe this is useful to somebody.
That's definitely going to be useful, especially for folks who don't have a cutting mat or rotary cutter! Thank you for the tip!
I do love a ring thimble, as I need the dexterity in my fingertips, and I push the needle with the side of my finger anyway. It can also help the fit of any metal thimble to bend it into a slight oval shape instead of a circle/cone. There are leather thimbles for those who like a flexible thimble they can still get away with using at events where the rubber ones are too modern looking to use.
Ohh yes very good point. :)
Great video, looking forward to the rest of the series 🥰
Yay! Thank you!
Great video! I would add something that is absolutely essential to me: a set of pattern weights! I have a large amount of flat bottom weights from discarded vertical blinds, but I know many that use large metal washers (any hardware store should carry them). Even if I very rarely use patterns, i use the weights all the time! I use the whole box to weigh down garments that lie on a table when I sew, both to add tension where I need it, and not have the whole dress slide down on the floor while sewing the sleeve in my lap. I also use the weights to hold down loose papers with measurements, cutting plans, etc while working, and use them as warp weights when weaving! There are thousands more uses besides these, so I strongly recommend having a bunch of small heavy items for the purpose instead of juggling around books or all of your mugs!
That' a brilliant tip, I have been meaning to get myself some of these as I usually end up grabbing random objects when I am using a paper pattern!
Soap can also be used for marking your fabric.
I've not tried this yet but I imagine it is very helpful for darker fabrics.
I definitely recommend a leather thimble, I cant be without mine now. Plus they're easy to make them to fit personally to you. Great video, thank you.
Very good point, I'm thinking I would get on better with these, ahhh another project, lol
Along with washing, special consideration needs to be made to the final garment if you are applying tablet weaving, especially if it is wool. This hasn't been preshrunk and can shrink quite dramatically if not handled correctly. Ask me how I know.
Ohhhh yes been there! Do you have a favorite method?
@WyrdKindred gentle hand wash in warm soapy water. This is for all woollen. No harsh agitation to avoid matting/felting. If it's just linen washing machines are fine. As soon as you mix the fibres you need to wash to the most vulnerable fibre content.
I see that the bone letter folder has been mentioned. Also a seam roller is useful when you are in the field or on a primitive site and don't have electricity. A very nice handled awl is also something I keep in my kit for adding drawstrings and cording to bags etc.
Thanks for the info! :)
One meter steel rule. Oh I wish I had one years ago.
All the rulers!