Originally Posted by
StephT
Another bad habit. I never pay attention to where the starting thread is. So it usually ends up being a jumbled mess at the start of my fabric. I am working on trying to remember to straighten out the threads
The easiest way to fix this problem is to sew onto a scrap of fabric when you finish with a seam, then sew from the scrap to your next piece. It's like chain piecing, but the scrap is the last piece. Many people do this. I think it saves time because I don't have to mess with finding the loose ends, worry about tangles or trimming loose threads and I think I use less thread because I'm only sewing a couple inches rather than pulling thread to the thread cutter on my machine. I've heard several terms for them. I used to call them leaders, but now I call them headers and footers (like the word processing terms, because they are at the start and finish of the seams).