Hand Stitching tips please???
 

I am appliqueing a table runner. Had forgotten how frustrating it is to handsew!! How do you ladies do it so your thread doesn't get caught up in and around the pins holding the tiny pieces to where they need to be? I don't do very much hand sewing, so any tips would be greatly appreciated. I still have 76 leaves & 6 more flowers to go & already it's setting my teeth on edge! Thank you for any tips you can provide!

Hi Becky,

I use small, appliqué pins - they seem to help keep the thread from wrapping about them. You can also pin from the back, or baste the pieces down. And basting can be either with thread or with glue - just a few drops of Roxanne's or a glue stick will hold things in place.

I hope this helps you enjoy hand sewing - it's a lot more relaxing when you don't have problems. :)

Janet

That Roxann's glue is great! Just little tiny dots will hold it fine.

Thank you so much!! Never thought about pinning from back. Started with straight pins, got stabbed a gazillion times, so changed to safety pins. It's been anything but relaxing so far, but I think perhaps pinning from the back may just be the thing!! :-)

I guess I am the lazy one, I fuse mine down. If it is raw edge I fuse the whole thing down, but if I want to turn under I fuse the centers and go from there. I hate pin's so it works good for me.

Where do you buy the Roxanne's glue? Pinning from the back is doing great for the flowers, but the leaves are tiny enough, the glue might just work better & I'd like to have some on hand in case another project comes up where it could help. Thank you so much ladies!!

Using a thread that's really long (more than 18 inches) just makes the project more difficult. I still don't like to start and stop, but when I thought about it - how much effort was I wasting pulling that extra length through each stitch?

Crafty pat you aren't lazy, anything that works!! I sewed these many pieces right sides together, slit the backs & turned so I wouldn't have raw edges. It's coming out real nice, but I was just struggling hard to hand stitch the pieces between untangling everything. LOL! I've done it your way on other projects, but not sure it would work on this one. Thank you though! I appreciate your input!

I think most quilt shops have it. Or, buy a glue stick - I use the Elmers washable school glue, purchased at the local supermarket.

Janet

Hand work is relaxing for me. If it causes you too much stress, use your machine. Sewing and quilting should not produce an undue amount of anxiety.

For perpendicular pinning, I pin from the 'high' side with just the tip of the pin sticking out on the 'low' side. Because I sew from the 'low' side, there's nothing for the thread to get wrapped around. For parallel pinning, I pin from the left and sew from the right. Again, just the tip of the pin sticks out. In both cases, pins are removed as soon as my left thumb can take their place. I do a lot of hand work and I love it. This system works perfectly for me. :)

It also helps to "heat set" the glue -- makes it dry faster so you can start sewing quicker :)

I find that basting the pieces down work (for me) much better. No need to worry about pins.