I have a lot of tips when I sew. Many I use daily on what ever project I'm doing. Others I use only on garments and many are used in making doll clothes. I will keep adding as I get my ideas written down in a cohesive manner.
Pressing
Number 1 on my list of tips is to press, press, press. Do not be afraid to press and to press often. One designer has stated that an average made doll item that is well pressed will sell quicker than a well made doll item that has been poorly pressed. Pressing as you sew gives your doll clothes a professional look. I aim for that professional look every time I sew so I press often.What do I use when pressing?
- Regular iron and a small iron. My small iron is an Oliso M2 Pro mini project iron with solemate. It heats up well and has steam. I use both when sewing doll clothes.
- Spray bottle which I bought at Sally Beauty. More expensive than other spray bottles but it gives a very fine spray.
- Tailor’s ham, a sleeve board, a sleeve roll, and a clapper and point presser. I also have a Clover Finger Press that has a round handle and I use it as a small sleeve roll. You could cover 3/4" dowel covered with muslin for a doll size sleeve roll.
- Press cloth - I use a silk organza one as I can see what I'm pressing. It is more expensive but I've come to love mine. You can buy them at local fabric shops or on Amazon. If you can buy silk organza in yardage, get a half a yard and cut it in half by the width. Do not hem it.
- Press mitt - I got one for pressing regular garments (sleeve caps in particular) and use it with doll clothes, mainly sleeve caps. I put it into the sleeve cap, give it a shot or two of steam and finger press the seam into place.
Start with with one iron, an ironing board, and press cloth. Make the pressing roll if you want to. Add other items as you can afford them. Put them on your gift list. I've collected my items over 30 years. The press mitt, clapper, and replacement silk organza pressing cloth were bought in the past 3-5 years and the Finger Press was bought 2 years ago. The small iron was my 2019 Christmas gift from grandson. As I use my iron a lot, I have to replace it as they do wear out.
Notions or Small Tools
I don't have a huge selection of small tools but what I have I use on a regular basis. All are important to me when sewing and not too many are luxury items.- Scissors - I have 4 pairs of scissors that I use on a regular basis.
- Paper scissors - for paper only.
- Fabric scissors - They are a 9" in length and balance perfectly in my hand. What is balanced for me may not be balanced for you.
- Embroidery scissors - these came with my sewing machine and have slightly bent blades. Great for snipping thread close to the fabric. You can use manicure scissors as they are sharp and can have a curved blade.
- 4" snips that are used on occasion. They came in a set and that pair ended up in the sewing room for some unknown reason.
- Pins - I like extra fine long pins with a glass head. The length of them is 1 3/8" though they do come in 1 7/8". I do use flower headed quilting pins. They work well on long straight edges (skirts, ties). I buy glass head pins as I can see them on the floor and they don't melt under the iron. I started out with regular pins that were long and fine but as time went on, I needed to have the colored heads to see them on the floor.
- Thread
- I use quality thread. I love to match the thread to the fabric color wise. I use mostly all purpose thread though I do have silk thread on hand for special occasions.
- Any left over thread is used for hand basting of which I do a lot. I've come to realize that hand basting is my friend and takes a short time to do. I find it easier to sew with hand basting vs a lot of pins.
- I have a collection of serger thread and use mostly white and black. I do have some colors (red, navy, grey, turquoise, and purple) and will blend them with white or black if I'm short of spools.
- Needles
- Hand sewing - most of my hand sewing needles are fine with an eye that I can see to thread. I like them to be longish. My two favorite needles are slightly curved from so much hand sewing.
- Sewing machine - I use 12/80 needles universal needles on cotton though I do have other needles for denim, knits, top stitching, metallic, etc. I change needles often. A sharp needle stitches better than a dull one.
- Bees Wax - I use a lot of this. After I thread my needle, I run it through the bees wax to help eliminate the thread from twisting and knotting. If I am doing couture sewing, I will press the thread after I run it through the bees wax. It gives the thread a lovely finish. If hand basting, I skip the pressing but I do wax it.
- Frixon Pens - used for marking dots, lines, etc. It irons off. Some colors leave a white mark on the fabric. I use mainly blue and pink as they don't do that.
- Tracing wheel and paper - I have these tools and use them on occasion.
- Fabric sizing and spray starch - I use these when I'm pressing the fabric for cutting. I prefer fabric sizing over starch. It is less stiff and puts a nice finish on the fabric.
- Color catchers - I use these when laundering fabric as it catches any dye residue.
I do have a cutting mat, 3 sizes of rotary cutters, and rulers. I don't use these when sewing doll clothes unless it is for something special. I did cut the bias strips for one project using this equipment. I wouldn't have this except I did quilt for several years.
Sewing Machines
We all have our favorite sewing machine brand. Here is what I look for when I bought mine.- Sewing Machine - UPDATE I bought a new sewing machine that arrived March 30, 2021. It is a dream machine and I am still learning all about it. It does not do embroidery but it sews beautifully. The sewing/embroidery machine has been retired to embroidery and piping only. --I bought a sewing/embroidery combo machine as I love to do embroidery. I looked for a machine that had plenty of hoops. For the sewing part, I looked for
- lots of stitches. Mine has too many but I use a lot of the utility stitches when sewing.
- lots of feet that I can use creatively.
- good buttonhole and zipper feet. I scored well there.
- Serger - I sort of over bought and got the top of the line when it came out. I wanted to be able to do 3 and 4 thread serging and a rolled hem. Got it in that machine. It will do a cover stitch also. Never been used.
I have my mother's Singer Featherweight and may set it up. I do not own any other machines.
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