All of us in the sewing, alteration and crafting business know how valuable our time is, and that we really can’t afford to waste time on little things. Once settled in to do some major sewing or crafting, we need to be able to keep on the project with as few interruptions as possible.
Efficient sewing is really the name of the game when it comes to making the most of the available sewing time that we have. Following are some things I’ve learned along the way.
* Clip the stitches from the beginning and end of each seam. It you wait until the garment is finished, it becomes a major chore to go back and try to clip the loose threads. And to just “let them go” makes a totally unprofessional look. Be sure to have a waste basket handy or tape a small lunch bag to the side of your sewing machine table in which to toss the threads after clipping.
* Pressing the seams during the sewing process will produce a more professional looking garment, and will make it easier to sew the seams that will “cross” any of the seams already sewn. Gently open the seams and press flat. You will save time if you sew several seams, then press them all at once, before moving on to the next step.
* Sew as many seam lines as possible by finishing one seam, have another ready to sew in order to cut down on the loose thread ends. By doing this you can simply clip the little stitch that’s between the two seams, move the previous pattern piece out of the way, and work on the next one in line.
* Clean the sewing area after each project. With several projects on my table at the same time, it’s very easy for me just to start stacking things up – left over fabric, pattern pieces, etc. I have a little sign behind my sewing machine which reads “a place for everything and everything in its place”. The sewing room DOES look more inviting with everything organized rather than a messy, piled up area with just a “path” to the sewing machine.
What are some of the little things that you do to help keep your sewing time running smoothly and more efficiently? We’d love to hear from you!
A couple things I do to help in this area are:
I keep my ironing board in my sewing room-when space is limited I use a tabletop board-but it is always up and ready to be used.
I fold my pattern pieces up as I go along so I don’t have all those lose pieces floating around trying to get lost.
I try to use chalk for most of my marking because it washes away easily.
I’m sure there are more but that is all I can think of at the moment.
Great tips, Sarah. It really does make a difference to press as you go. And I’ve recently started clipping threads as I finish seams and it’s so much easier not to have to hunt them down after the fact.