31 Days of Sewing Tips

I am jumping on the #1 Days of... blog train with what will hopefully be helpful sewing tips. There are lots of participating blogs on a wide diversity of topics. If you would like to check some of them out, go to http://www.thenester.com/2012/09/31-dayers-2012.html and scroll down to the large square icons representing each of the pages. Without further ado...

Sewing Tip #1: Make friends with your iron. Did you know there is a difference between ironing and pressing? Ironing is using the iron to remove creases and wrinkles by sliding the flat face of the iron back and forth across the cloth. Pressing is a slow, deliberate process. Let's say you are pressing a quilt seam open. Place the seam on your ironing board, wrong side up. Open and press down with your fingers. Place the iron firmly on the area for a few seconds, then lift- do not slide- the iron off the cloth. Repeat for the next section. Do not move the quilt block until the fabric is totally cool. If necessary, flip it over and repeat from the right side of the fabric. Fabric is more easily shaped when warm and moist, and you can distort your work by moving it when it is warm. 

Tomorrow's tip- pressing aids. See you then!