Time Saving Tips from the Sewing Room

I am a novice at sewing but I do happen to have some tips that can save on clean up, keeping things close at hand and organized. I am sure that many are things you already know but there just might be one or two that even you did not even think about.

Suction cup: Attach one to the side of your sewing machine to hold a small pair of scissors handy when you are sewing.

Pen Cap: Take the top of a pen and turn it upside down, taping it to the side of the sewing machine to hold a seam ripper so it is always handy should you make a mistake while sewing. I can never seem to find mine when I need it.

Basting Gun: Use a basting gun to keep already cut pieces of a project together, just lay the pieces one on top of the other then use the correct size tag to hold them together with one click. A basting gun tag can also be used as a temporary way to attach a button.

Lint Brush: When cutting out fabric keep a lint brush near by. Running a lint brush across the area will pick up the small scraps and thread refuse.

Medicine Bottles: Empty medicine bottles can be reused to hold thread, used sewing needles or small items in your sewing basket. Punch a hole in the center of the top and place a spool of thread inside the bottle and slide the thread string through the hole for you to get easily while you are hand sewing. With the same idea of a hole in the top replace the cap on the bottle and use this for holding broken needles or pins so you won't get pricked by them when thrown into a garbage can.

Plastic Sleeve that holds baseball or business cards: One of these sleeves can hold several swatches of fabric so that you can keep a catalog of your fabrics when you shop or are trying to create a color palette.

Clean your iron: Cleaning the bottom of your iron can seem daunting but it is easier than you think. If you have a Teflon bottom iron turn it on warm and iron a fabric sheet. It should clean the bottom nicely. Another way you can clean the bottom of other types of irons is to take a brown paper grocery bag, sprinkle salt across the bag and using a warm iron, simply iron across the salt. Be careful to not what type of covering is on the bottom of your iron as you do not want to ruin it.

Home made linen water: Linen water can be used when ironing shirts, or spritz some into the dryer on damp clothes before drying, spray your sheets when you make the bed or change the sheets or simply to freshen the air.
You will need:
Spray bottles
2 Cups Distilled Water
2 Ounces Cheap Vodka
1 Teaspoon Essential Oil

A bottle to mix and store your linen water, large enough to hold 3 cups. Pour the vodka and essential oil into the bottle and close, shake vigorously to mix. When this is mixed add the distilled water and again close the bottle and shake to mix. Pour into a spray bottle and use. Keep the solution in a cool place. Lavendar and rose oils can be used on items that will touch the face, such as pillows, washcloths, towels or hairbrush.

Homemade Spray Starch: This is an easy way to keep starch handy and works far better than any other found on store shelves.
You will need:
1 Quart Distilled Water
4 Tablespoons Liquid Starch (can be found in laundry section of grocery store)
2 Cups Distilled Water

Bring to a boil the Quart of distilled water and laundry starch. This mixture will turn milky when heated. Once boiling remove from heat source and add to it the extra 2 Cups of cool water. When this cools pour in to a spray bottle and use. Keep your spray bottle in the fridge. This spray starch works great when you are ironing and need to starch something.

Enjoy!