My Top Five Unusual Sewing Tools
Hazel and I recently got together to record a Podcast, Our Top 10 Unusual Sewing Tools, and we thought we would each show our 5 unusual sewing tools in a blog post. Here are mine!
Towel Holder: This is an excellent gadget for putting zip heads onto zipper tape. Hazel bought this for me a few years ago and it is so much easier than using a fork! Slide the zipper head to the top of the narrowest part with the bulky piece facing downwards, this is because it fits into the holder easier, then split the zipper tape about 10cm and with the teeth facing downwards slide the teeth through the openings of the zipper head. If you join our Facebook Group, Sew Fabulous Fabrics Club, you will find a video in the Guides showing how to use this nifty gadget!
Jewellery Pliers: the most obvious use for these is to open jump rings to thread on charms to make zipper pulls. Also use them with a small piece of fabric to clamp shut the top part of the zipper head if you have needed to replace the zip pull. During our chat I also found out that they are brilliant for removing any stray threads which have been caught when sewing your seams. Ingenious!
Seam Roller: This is a new piece of equipment for me, and I love it! I have started doing more patchwork and this gadget is my go to for pressing seams as I complete each piece. I still use the iron, but only once I have finished sewing a larger piece of my project.
Folded Up Cardboard or Paper: No picture for this one as it's pretty obvious what it looks like! I use a hump jumper quite a lot when I need to sew over thick seams, especially when you are beginning to sew, it helps to start the stiching evenly. If my hump jumper has been buried on my sewing table then I usually have pieces of paper or card lying around that I can fold up many times to put under the back of the machine foot, it just helps to raise it slightly, and off I go!
Brown Paper or Washi Tape: I love washi tape as it comes in so many different designs and colours and has so many uses! Brown paper tape is equally as useful, and not just in wrapping parcels. By sticking a piece of tape onto the body of your sewing machine, extended from the seam allowance you are sewing, this helps to sew longer seams more accurately by using the tape as a guide.
There are many items which us canny sewists utilise in our sewing, I would love to know some of yours!
You can read more about Hazel's 5 unusual sewing tools over on her blog - Hazel A Patterns.