Why you should clip your threads while sewing and other good (and bad) sewing habits

Clip Those Threads

by Christine

A real sewing pet peeve of mine (and I don’t have that many!), are dangling threads hanging off a garment during production. This makes the garment look messy and can distract you from the area you are working on.

 If you keep the garment clean and clipped you will treat it better, and have a better view of how it is looking as you progress. I first learned to do this from a young sewing instructor at Jo-Anne fabrics when I was in my teens and it always stuck with me. My Mom always kept her sewing projects clean and tidy too. When working on a delicate or light color fabric she would wear thin white gloves so the oils from her hands would not soil the garment. Her work was impeccable. I, on the other hand, was always bringing garments to her that needed cleaning. She would use a piece of paper with a hole cut in it the size of the stain and use Q Tips and her own form of magic and “Viola” the mark was gone! She has amazing patience and never cuts corners.

All the bad things are happening in this photo. See if you can spot them all!

Hint: coffee, dangling threads, and not seen, other things on the sewing room table. In all fairness, the coffee was staged for this shot saved to Facebook and Instagram for a "Sewing Sunday" post. The coffee generally gets moved off the sewing table lest it go flying during stitching!

Another place to keep clean and tidy is your sewing machine table. There should be nothing on the table of your sewing machine except the garment you are working on and a pair of clippies. Things like coffee, water, pens, tape measures, pattern pieces, chalk, etc. do not belong on the table. You need room to think and lay your garment out flat if need be. Keep these non-essentials off your sewing surface. Use the floor! The rest of your sewing room can be a disaster area but un-cluttering your garment and work surface will surely yield better sewing results.