Tips and Tricks

Tip #1

Dealing with Mystery Fabric

At some point in your travels through Craftopia, you are likely to encounter Mystery Fabric. (Or yarn. We are equal opportunity.) It may be something from your stash you forgot about, something from someone else's stash, a thrift store find, a remnant, something that you just can't tell what it is from what it looks and feels like. In this case, I would recommend a burn test. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, better known as the Yarn Harlot, has an excellent procedure and interpretation chart here. If testing fabric rather than yarn, modify the procedure thus:

Cut off a scrap of the fabric in question (selvage will be fine) and burn it using Standard Safety Precautions.

Observe the destruction, and interpret accordingly.

(Also, check out the Yarn Harlot blog and buy her book, even if you don't knit. Funny and knowledgeable don't often come in the same package.)

Tip #2

Ziplocs. Use them.

Ziplocs are reusable, see-through, insect and waterproof, cheap, squishable, durable, and easily stored when not in use. They are my hands-down favorite way to store cut pieces and project fabrics without anything getting lost or confused. Keep a box and a sharpie in your stash, you will thank yourself later.

Tip #3

Accuracy makes everything easier.

I cannot stress enough how much accurate cutting and sewing is just going to make things easier. It is very easy to slip with a rotary cutter, move a ruler just a fraction, sew just a 1/16th of an inch too much or too little. If you're having problems making your pieces fit together or your blocks are consistently too big or too small, this is probably the issue. Sewing machines are not always calibrated perfectly, so measure with a ruler just how wide your quarter inch seams really are and correct accordingly. I also find working with a quarter inch foot very helpful for accurate seaming.