Sewing Tip of the Week | Episode 259 | The Sewing Room Channel

Hi, I'm Cheryl, and welcome to the Sewing Room channel. I've got another tip of the week for you. In fact, I've got two tips. The first one is talking about scissors. I'm gonna go over all the scissors I have and what I use them for, because many of you have said you had issues with your hands and you were trying to find scissors that would be more comfortable. So let's take a look at the variety of scissors that are out there. I'm left-handed, so scissors that look like this, that are specifically made for right or left, I don't really use these too much. So if you're right or left, these are just mechanically, you open them yourself. There's no spring action. When I want to use something that's not spring action, I prefer scissors like this because they can be left or right-handed. A lot of people who have difficulty with their hands, they've got arthritis, like these spring action scissors. So there's a lock on it, and you just open it up, and all you have to do is push in. You don't need to use your muscles to open them up. Here is another spring action. Now, these are used for rag quilting, and these also are a lot easier on the hands. Now, the little snips. Here's some really inexpensive ones. You can find these at Joann's. I don't care for these so much. Even though they're spring action, they're not very sharp. Fiskars makes these, and they're very sharp, and it's got a little cover you can put on them. You unlock them, and it's spring action, so you can use these for your little snips. Now, Fiskars makes these and these, these two spring action, and I believe these left-handed scissors were also by Fiskars. This is a tip for all of you. I like to use these Fiskars scissor sharpeners. Now, they don't sharpen them really, really well, but if you're in a pinch and your scissors are dull and you're trying to just do a little bit of cutting and you can't quite do it, I use these. So, like I said, they're not perfect, but you just stand it up like this, insert your scissors in like this, and you just close and pull back, and you just go back and forth a few times, and after you've done it a few times, you're usually able to finish your cutting. It's not great, but in a pinch, it works just fine. Well, I hope I answered some of your questions about scissors. Now, I'm gonna go over something else that you may or may not have heard of, and it's a stiletto, and I'm not referring to stiletto high-heel shoes. I'm referring to a little tool that looks something like this. It's hard to see this picture because so many of them, when I was trying to take a picture of them on the internet, they didn't come out very good, but what it is is it's something that's got a handle similar to this with a long end on it that has a, it's kind of pointed, but it's blunt, and you use it to help guide fabric through your machine. Well, this is a seam ripper, so this is what I use. It works just the same. So you can, the long ones are nice. I have another one here that's somewhat long, and then you've got the little cheaper ones at Joann's that are really short. I even have some of those. So I have one of these next to all of my sewing machines. Another thing that's labeled stiletto are tweezers that look like this, and these are great. This actually came with a very old serger I had maybe 30 years ago, and it came with it because in the old days with sergers, we used to need these to help thread those sergers. Remember how complicated they were? Well, you can also use this as a stiletto. And one more little thing that you could use as a stiletto, this comes with a computerized sewing machine, and it's a stylus. You use it to select things on the screen. You could also use this as a stiletto. So let's go to the sewing machine here, and I'll show you how you use it. So as you come closer to the end of your stitching your seam, you'll find sometimes it's difficult to keep going straight because your finger bumps up against your presser foot. So what a stiletto is used for is you push down on your fabric and help guide it through so that it continues to stitch straight. So that's how easy it is. So using just a little seam ripper does the same thing. So some of my very, very favorite tools that I always have by my sewing machine are these little curved scissors because you can get in real close to clip. The ones that are straight, your hands get in the way of getting low enough, but because the edge is curved, you can get in really close. And of course, I like my seam ripper because I can use it for two different things. And then also, tweezers. This is what I use to thread my machine because sometimes your hand bumps underneath as you're getting closer to that needle. So I use this because it's so much easier. I hope I've answered some of your questions and concerns about using scissors. The only pair of scissors I did not mention, and that was pinking shears. When I first learned how to sew at the age of 12, that's what we used, pinking shears. I cut all of my fabric out with it. But now that I'm into the rotary cutter, I really don't find a use for them. But some people swear by it, they love it. So this is one tip that I have for you. Whatever tool works for you is what you use. Not every tool works equally for everyone else. Well, I hope you enjoyed this tip of the week. If you're interested in beginner sewing projects on a variety of things from tote bags to little cosmetic bags, clothing, table runners, placemats, you name it, I've probably made it or something similar to it. And also, don't forget to follow me on Instagram and check out my Facebook page. Thank you so much for watching. I'll see you next time and happy sewing. 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