What is your BEST Advice for Successful Sewing????
08-27-2013, 07:08 AM
#41
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: NW Indiana
Posts: 384
Follow the "rules"! I know some will say "the quilt police", but when patterns, books, quilters all say something over and over, there is probably a good reason for doing it that way. I found when I stopped trying to take shortcuts (like ironing instead of pressing, for instance), I became more accurate. Just my opinion.
08-27-2013, 08:42 AM
#42
Super Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Pe Ell, Washington
Posts: 2,512
There is a lot of good advice here. What has also helped me are the friends I have made who offer suggestions and guidance along the way, I find a particular problem that I have and then focus on what I can do to improve it and after years of trial and error many suggestions and lots of practice I come up with the solutions that work best for me. Also having the right tools and the best equipment that my budget can afford makes a real difference.
08-27-2013, 08:54 AM
#43
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,232
I don't think I can add anything new! For me, the most important thing is to walk away when I start to get sloppy, make mistakes, etc. Unlike some, I can't quilt all day - I start to get sloppy. I need to do something different, even if it's just switching from quilting to sewing doll clothes.
08-27-2013, 09:10 AM
#44
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Kaua`i
Posts: 616
I got a design wall after one too many rearranging of blocks (on the bed) by one of my two kitty-helpers.
As for cat hair on the fabric, I look at it as extra insulation.
As for cat hair on the fabric, I look at it as extra insulation.
Originally Posted by bearisgray
This one made me laugh.
You mean that having a cat's paw under the needle, a whole cat on the blocks to be pressed, and kitty supervision while cutting is detrimental?
Naw - can't be.
Kitty holding down the stack of fabric - marking as much of it as possible with hair - doing the maximum stretch when trying to lay something out. Rearranging the blocks laid out on the floor or table. Gotta admit - sometimes they are cute!
You mean that having a cat's paw under the needle, a whole cat on the blocks to be pressed, and kitty supervision while cutting is detrimental?
Naw - can't be.
Kitty holding down the stack of fabric - marking as much of it as possible with hair - doing the maximum stretch when trying to lay something out. Rearranging the blocks laid out on the floor or table. Gotta admit - sometimes they are cute!
08-27-2013, 09:22 AM
#45
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Kaua`i
Posts: 616
About that design wall: it's hung across the room from a wide row of mirrored closet doors. Standing back and looking at the reflection in the mirrors makes boo-boos pop right out!So does looking at photos.
And when you are laying out blocks to find the perfect layout: take photos! There's nothing more frustrating than finding the perfect layout of 84 log cabin blocks, making just one change, just one more change, and ..... then realizing that you already had the perfect layout umpteen changes ago. And don't remember the layout.
08-27-2013, 10:34 AM
#46
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: tx
Posts: 843
Originally Posted by J.M.
Being precise. Precise in measuring, precise when cutting, precise when sewing so my seam allowance isn't too big or too small. Precision means the block ends up perfect (or as close to it as I can come) which makes everything so much easier.
08-27-2013, 10:40 AM
#47
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: New England
Posts: 865
Pay attention to the details. When I cut accurately, sew accurately, press accurately, and pay attention to all the other details of sewing, such as machine maintenance and proper thread/needle/fabric combination, I get a great product. I've learned how to do that, precisely, one thing at a time. Patience is also needed. It also helps me greatly that my oak sewing furniture, which I designed, is ergonomically correct for me and my lighting is good.
I've been sewing for many years now, taught by my grandmother, a professional seamstress with her own business, and I am still learning. I take classes, teach classes, and pay attention to what is happening in the quilting world.
I've been sewing for many years now, taught by my grandmother, a professional seamstress with her own business, and I am still learning. I take classes, teach classes, and pay attention to what is happening in the quilting world.
Last edited by cricket_iscute; 08-27-2013 at 10:44 AM.
08-27-2013, 11:43 AM
#48
Power Poster
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Lowell, MA
Posts: 14,083
First, practice does make perfect, the more you sew/quilt, the better you'll get. Also slowing down a bit and not trying to make a quilt in a night helps. I find I try to go ahead without reading the directions, but have to go back and read them anyway, so I try to read them first, wastes less time that way.
08-27-2013, 01:59 PM
#49
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 3,512
MAKE NOTES!!!! Just like taking pictures of your quilt to catch mistakes or to audition the best lay out, making a note of where you are at the end of a session, often saves valuable material. When did I discover this fact you ask? It was the day that I cut the pieces for several quilt blocks and, when wondering why I was so short of fabric, realized I had cut the exact same pieces a few days before. Sigh....
08-27-2013, 02:41 PM
#50
Super Member
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Florida - formerly Montana
Posts: 3,504
Originally Posted by HouseDragon
Precision cutting is the start of success ... practicing the quarter-inch seam until it's "automatic" ... stopping when I get tired.
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