A recent trip to Kent State Fashion Museum reinforced my belief that great garments are the result of careful, planned, precision sewing. Of course, the ability to sew straight is top priority for all garment construction as well as many other types of projects. continue reading and you'll find that this post includes tips to help you with precision sewing.
Here you see the exhibit list for the museum which includes a Fashion Timeline, with a collection of clothing that spans 200 years of styles and inventions that not only changed history but had an earth-shattering impact as far as clothing is concerned. If you are interested in further exploration you can view the timeline HERE.
The next display that sparked thoughts of quality resulting from careful sewing was the collection of Katherine Hepburn stage & screen garments, which included clothing from her own closet. Seems that many of the star status garments made their way into her closet as clothing she wore in everyday life. Known for her penchant for pants, each pair in the exhibit were utterly classic and obviously well-crafted with details like multiple rows of top-stitching at the waistband.
So how does all of this tie into modern day machines and the everyday sewing many of us enjoy on a regular basis? Well, straight sewing makes up a large portion of the seams we construct for garments, crafts, quilting, and home decor. The rest of this post is dedicated to highlighting some simple solutions to keep you on the straight and narrow when it comes to guiding fabric through your machine.
So how does all of this tie into modern day machines and the everyday sewing many of us enjoy on a regular basis? Well, straight sewing makes up a large portion of the seams we construct for garments, crafts, quilting, and home decor. The rest of this post is dedicated to highlighting some simple solutions to keep you on the straight and narrow when it comes to guiding fabric through your machine.
Let's start with the tried and true role that ordinary painter's tape can take. It's inexpensive for sure, and likely that you have a roll or two handy for household projects.
For perfect placement of the tape I like to use a 6-inch square quilt ruler. Simply line up the tip of the needle with the distance you need on the ruler and then make certain it is level with the front plate of your machine. You can then place the tape along the ruler's edge with assurance that the tape will be equidistant from the beginning to the end. Use a longer ruler if you need the tape to extend in a longer line.
For another option, a pack of post it style sticky paper notes can be used to the right or left of the presser foot as well. This method is one that my quilter friends adopted long ago. Yes, there are "gadgets" you can purchase that do a similar job and they do have merit, but this idea works very well.
Speaking of quilters, if you are an avid quilter, or if you happen to own a walking foot you may already have the Quilt Guide accessory for your walking foot. Designed to fit in the small hole behind the walking foot, it also fits in the foot holder used for attaching snap-on feet. The red arrow in the photo above shows the exact spot for inserting this handy gadget.
Use it with the standard foot for sewing seams and you'll appreciate the accuracy it provides from the extended metal guide. You can slide it for a long distance or a short one to use as a seam guide or edge guide for many sewing situations.
This next idea came as a result of necessity being the mother of invention.
I needed to stitch something using the free arm and wanted to be certain I could maintain the distance from the needle to the folded edge of my fabric for multiple pieces.
Sewing a piece of colorful elastic into a band and slipping it onto the free arm gave me a simple guide to follow and proved to be especially helpful for a wide distance. Once again, you can use the quilt ruler to help align the band on the machine. You'll find a full tutorial for this option on the Brother Stitching Sewcial blog.
Depending on your machine and the elastic you use you may even be able to get the extension bed back on the machine like I did here. That gives you a flat surface so you can also use this for items that don't need a free arm.
Last but not least, you may own a machine that boasts the Sew Straight™ Laser Vision Guide option as an onboard aid to sewing straight in a variety of situations. This feature opens up a world of possibilities! Available on a variety of models, you can see how it works on a Dream Machine by watching this YouTube video. I could easily write six more posts showing how I like to use the laser guide. However, related to the topic at hand I'd like to share just one of my personal favorite ways to use this feature to sew an accurate seam allowance. CLICK HERE to download a free tip sheet on this topic.
I hope you found this information helpful. Feel free to leave your comments below :-)
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