3 Surprisingly Useful Sewing Tricks
As enjoyable and rewarding as sewing is, it’s not without frustrating moments. We do a lot of sewing over here at Sailrite, and we’ve found a few unconventional techniques that are really helpful for avoiding aggravation. Make those hair-pulling moments few and far between with these surprising sewing tricks!
1. The Taped-Quarter Trick
Do you have trouble remembering to hold down the loose needle and bobbin thread before stitching? This first suggestion keeps those loose threads out of your way and off your mind. It also eliminates a possible ugly rats nest of thread for the first inch of sewing. Place a piece of double sided tape (we use Seamstick, because it’s handy) on the back of a quarter. Stick the quarter just behind and to the right of the sewing machine needle (around the 1-2 o’clock position). Then, before you start sewing, slide the loose needle and bobbin thread under the quarter. This will keep your stitching perfect from the start!
2. The Sideways Tenara Trick
Tenara thread is a high quality thread that comes with a lifetime guarantee, but it can be difficult to sew with. Skipped stitches are a common problem with Tenara thread. There are various solutions for this problem (see more in this video), but an easy one that our customers have found to be successful is hanging the thread cone horizontally. By arranging the thread cone like a roll of toilet paper, the thread is not twisted as it comes off the cone top, which removes kinks in the thread at the hook that cause skipped stitches. You can find information on this and other sewing Tenara tips here.
3. The Double Tension Knob Trick
This last tip is specific to sewing with the Sailrite Ultrafeed LS-1 and LSZ-1 Sewing Machines. The Ultrafeed tension knob provides a guide for which direction to turn the knob for general thread tension settings. If you need a more specific reading on the tension, you can remove the outer cover knob by wiggling the knob while pulling it towards you. Once removed, you can see how tight or loose the tension is set by looking at how the smaller tension knob is threaded on its post. The further the knob is screwed onto the post, the more tension. Starting tension for marine canvas is when the outer surface of the knob is flush with the end of the post.
For more helpful sewing tips and project guides visit www.sailrite.com. Do you have any unique helpful sewing tricks of your own? Leave a comment and share them!
This is a great post and filled with great useful information. Thank you!
Thanks, Marsha!
Now, that is a good idea!
I took a more permanent approach in holding the bobbin and needle threads in place while positioning the fabric into place. I drilled, then tapped a # 8 thread into the base of my LSZ-1 at the 2 o’clock position approx. 3.5” from the needle. I then used 2 SS finishing washers to sandwich 2 rubber “o” rings between them. I then used a #8 SS oval head machine screw to hold it to the base of the machine and adjusted the tension. I will E-Mail a photo if any one would like to see it.
Thanks for sharing James. That’s quite an ingenious solution!