Ask the Sewcialists: What Are Your Sewing Secrets?

While working on my York Pinafore for the most recent Sewcialists mini challenge, it occurred to me that there are some things I do while sewing that are lazy, technically wrong, or just my own way. These little things are what I like to call my sewing secrets. Now these secrets aren’t the kind shared by sewing peeps to have the perfect anything. I think I would even dare to call them dirty little secrets.

I decided to go to my fellow editors and ask them for their secrets as well, and oh buddy, were there some GOOD ONES! I think the idea of sharing these secrets is fun because it can be so easy to get caught up in the idea that our makes need to look perfect, or that we have to do every step technically right in order to have a garment to be proud of.

Now onto the secrets!

One of my secrets is that I do not own an ironing board and rarely iron my knits before cutting. Speaking of ironing, did you know that Gillian doesn’t even iron her hems for her knitwear?! Also, I never match my thread to my project. If I happen to have enough thread in a matching color, I roll with it; otherwise, it’s natural or manatee for me, baby!

Image of a blue pen on top of pattern pieces that have been traced onto fabric with blue ink.
Ballpoint pen to trace a pattern!

Wanna know something even juicier? Anne uses a regular old pen to trace her patterns onto fabric. When it comes to working with patterns with pockets, Charlotte almost always leaves that step out. Kerry told me that when she cuts her fabric with shears, her work is comparable to that of a “drunk kindergartner.”

Now that I’ve spilled some of our secrets, it’s your turn! Let me know in the comments below what your sewing secrets are.

Amanda is a mother of two trying to craft her way through life. She can be found on Instagram at @mandabe4r, where she shares superfluous pictures of her kiddos and current projects.