Looking for some ways you can sew faster and easer? These expert-shared sewing hacks are going to change the way you sew! These will have you saying “why didn’t I think of that!”
The longer you sew, the more problems you learn to solve in creative ways. Over time you will start to develop your own methods and hacks that help you get through your sewing projects FAST and easy!
Today I have rounded up a huge list of favorite sewing hacks and clever tips. These are real ideas from experienced sewists, to help you sew smarter, not harder!
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1. Store Your Bobbins With Elastic
Are your bobbins floating around your sewing drawer? Keep them together while making sure they don’t unravel by making a simple and cheap bobbin holder from quarter inch elastic!
This bobbin holder hack is so easy to make, it only takes about 5-10 minutes. I love that it uses a material most sewers already have lots of, and it actually works! Plus, you can make it as long or short as you want.
2. Collect Thread & Fabric Scraps To Use As Stuffing
While you sew, collect the left over little pieces of fabric and thread so you can recycle it later as stuffing inside a stuffed toy, stuffed ornament, or stuffed pin cushion.
Susy says: “I use a box from baby wipes to hold all the thread/fabric so it doesn’t get blown away”
The hold in the lid make it easy to stuff fabric scraps through, but is also closes on top to stay tidy. This is a great way to upcycle your scraps when making one of my sock plushies!
3. Easily Grab Your Acrylic Ruler
If you regularly use an acrylic ruler and rotary mat, you will know that when the ruler is flat on the mat, it can be really difficult to pick it up! If you can’t seem to get a grip on the side of the ruler, you have to slide it over to the edge of the table to pick it up… annoying!
This genius hack comes from Annette who says she loves to use a cell phone “pop socket” stuck on the front of the ruler to make them easier to pickup. They can pop up, or collapse to be more flat which still makes them store-able!
(Pop sockets come in lots of cute designs, I particularly like cute these flower shaped ones, they would look great in a craft room)
4. Prevent Zippers From Moving While Sewing
When sewing zippers it can be tricky to place the needles just right because they seem to cause the zipper to bend and wave. But you need something to hold them down while you sew!
Karen recommends sticking them down with double sided tape, which is easy to sew through and keeps them flat.
Sandi likes to baste her zippers down real quick before she sews them on. You can do this by hand or with your machine.
5. Add A Seam Guide To Your Sewing Machine
Instead of pinning or marking a stitch line with chalk or an invisible ink marker, seamstress Alyssa says to try using tape! Here is her tip:
“One of my favorite tricks is tape! Tape can be a super underrated tool when sewing. I regularly use scotch tape to help guide my seams. Place a piece on your sewing machine for when you need a seam allowance guide that extends beyond your throat plate.”
I personally use washi tape for this. Washi tape is ideal because it comes in SO many cute designs like these ones and it is really easy to remove.
In the image below I am using a blue polka dot washi tape.
6. Keep Your Sewing Ruler Handy
Hanging a measuring tape around your shoulders is a common practice when you’re a tailor, but sometimes you need a hard ruler as well. This tip comes from Lauren, who says:
“I attach my 6” ruler to a lannyard and wear it while I’m working so it’s always there when I need it.”
Most rulers have a hole already in them for hanging storage, so purchasing a cheap lanyard to attach to it is easy.
7. Hold Your Pins & Small Notions With A Mason Jar
Mason jars are useful for SO many things… including sewing storage!
I made a simple mason jar storage container by making a pin cushion and gluing it to the top of a mason jar lid. Inside the jar, I put all my extra sewing pins, and I stick several in the pin cushion for easy access too.
You could also store buttons, a mini sewing kit, or bobbins in the jar portion!
8. Place King Thread Spools In A Jar
Speaking of mason jars, they are also useful for this unique sewing hack! Have you ever tried to sew with a large king sized therad spool on top of your sewing machine? It just wobbles and falls off. Lauren told me this tip: “If you have a king spool of thread, a whide mouth mason jar will hold it in place on the table. I use a wide mouth half pint.”
I am someone who likes to buy my white and black threads in large bulk spool sizes because you get more for your money! This mason jar tip will help stabilize the jars as you use them next to your machine.
9. Use Washi Tape To Guide Your Stitches
In addition to using tape on the machine like I mentioned above, you can also place it on the fabric to help guide you when you are top stitching.
Tara says that washi tape in particular is a great seam guide. The washi tape sewing hack works because it removes from the fabric very easily, and is also somewhat repositionable. Plus, it is inexpensive and helps you sew straight lines with ease. (Here are a bunch of cute washi tape designs to pick from).
10. Easy Way To Remember To Clean Your Machine
Barbara has an easy way to remind herself to check the inside of her machine: “Every time I change bobbin thread I clean my machine. Keeping fabric fuzz bunny’s away makes for a well kept machine.”
When you make the habit to check for lint each time you change the bobbin, you stay on top of the buildup and prevent issues from occuring later down the road!
11. Use Old Sheets As Practice Material
This is one of my favorite sewing tips. I collect old, secondhand, and thrifted sheets to use as practice material when I need to make mockups of items or test out patterns I am working on.
Sometimes the end result looks good enough to actually use, such as with my DIY Christmas Tree Skirt from a bed sheet! I have also made circle skrits from sheets. Susy says she uses the sheets to make mockups, and she wears the mockups at home, such as the dress she made in the image below.
12. Keep Your Presser Foot From Sticking
Sewing through vinyl material brings it’s own challenges, but dealing with a sticky presser foot doesn’t have to be one of them!
Lauren gives this clever hack: “A bit of tape under the presser foot will stop it from sticking to vinyl”.
To do this, place a small piece of tape (such as painters tape, scotch tape or washi tape—something easily removeable) on the bottom side of the presser foot. It should slide right over that vinyl material!
13. Scrape Your Rotary Mat
Does your rotary mat get fuzzy like mine does? The best way I have figured out to clean it is to use a lint roller, and then use a gift card to scrape the mat and collect the lint!
You can read more about the other clever tools I use to clean my rotary mats here!
14. Swap Your Seam Ripper For An X-acto Knife
Now if you’re new to sewing, you should probably learn to use a seam ripper first. But if you decide you need something more hefty, try this tip from Becky:
“Switching from a traditional seam ripper to a #12, curved blade, in my X-Acto knife….it’s way less expensive to buy the blades… & much sturdier than a plastic one.”
Becky explains that instead of picking one side of the seam with a seam ripper, she “zips” through the stitches right down the middle of the seam.
15. Preserve Your Patterns
Paper patterns are reusable, but typically ask you to cut them out on the cut line of the size you want to sew, which makes the other sizes unusable in the future!
Bonnie teaches us this sewing hack: “When cutting pattern pieces for clothing, never cut the pattern to the smallest size. Somewhere in the future you will need that same pattern for a bigger size, I guarantee it. Instead either copy the pattern size on plain paper, or fold the edge of the pattern piece along the cutting line I want to use. This way the pattern pieces are not damaged for future larger sizes you will make.”
16. Creative Pattern Paper Alternatives
Sewing pattern paper comes in rolls and is SUPER fun to to use because you can trace with it! I got a roll from my husband’s grandmother and just loved using it.
However, if you don’t have pattern paper there are lots of alternatives you can use such as newspaper or butcher paper!
My local newspaper sells their left over roll ends for really cheap, and every now and then I pick a few up to use for pattern paper.
17. Add A Ruler To Your Sewing Machine
Many sewing machines have rulers printed on the side or on the throat plate, but if yours doesn’t, you can add your pwn by using special ruler tape, or by using craft vinyl!
All you have to do is cut the length or tape (or the vinyl design) and stick it to the side of your machine, then when you are sewing and need a quick reference, you can hold your fabric up to the ruler without having to grab an extra tool.
You’ve got to check out this specialy sticky ruler tape I found online by Classic Needle. It is perfect for the job, it is removeable and accurate and would work perfect on your sewing table or sewing machine.
18. Thread Elastic Without A Bodkin
I am always making projects that use elastic, but still haven’t invested in a real live bodkin! Instead, I use a large safety pin! Attach the elastic to the pin and close it, then carefully thread it through the band.
Be careful not to open up the safety pin while threading it, however, or it can get stuck! If it does get stuck, then thread it backwards and start over.
I have also used a pen with a lid to thread elastic. I stick the elastic into the lid of the pen, then close the pen tightly and thread it through.
19. Practice On A Scrap
Different types of fabrics require slightly different sewing techniques. When working with a new material, Claire recommends to “keep a scrap bit of material from the garment you have cut out to practice machine sewing on first” before sewing the real thing.
This way you don’t accidentally ruin the item you are making!
Conclusion
It was so much fun to reach out to all these other sewing enthusiasts and ask them to share their favorite sewing hacks! I hope these tips helped spark an idea in you to help you be a better seamstress.
Which one of these did you already know? Which one was your favorite?
Do you have one to add to the list? Send me a message and if I like it, I will add it!
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