These two “tips” should be a “best practice”, in my humble opinion, that is, they are useful tasks for every sewing project.

Genius way to use a hairstyling tool in the sewing room.

1. Do you iron your threads before hand sewing? You should, to prevent tangling and knots. Sewing expert Kenneth King suggests using a flat iron meant for smoothing out hair, as a tool to keep nearby while hand sewing; beats using a cumbersome iron. He credits the idea to one of his students who brought along a flat iron to class just for this purpose. Just one of those simple ideas where you wonder why no one thought of this before now. Thank you, Kenneth-King-student and Kenneth-King-himself for sharing. Sorry, I cannot locate Kenneth’s video to link here.

Checking for stray threads, years later (eye-roll)

2. Examine the finished project for stray uncut threads — inside out and upside down. No, really. I’ve discovered hanging threads on my self-sewn clothing, months and years after wearing them. It means that I have gone out in public in said clothing a lot before discovering a hanging thread right there on the front. Take a look below; yes, circa 2001 (not a typo) and I just discovered a hanging thread at the armhole. Jeepers, creepers.

Thanks for reading, readers! Keep sewing, no matter what.

Samina