Advice from a Singer Sewing Manual from 1949
Advice from a Singer Sewing Manual from 1949: Prepare yourself mentally for sewing. Think about what you are going to do. . . never approach sewing with a sigh or lackadaisically. Good results are difficult when indifference predominates. Never try to sew with a sink full of dirty dishes or beds unmade. When there are urgent housekeeping chores, do these first so your mind is free to enjoy your sewing. . .When you sew, make yourself as attractive as possible.
Put on a clean dress. Keep a little bag full of French chalk near your sewing machine to dust your fingers at intervals. Have your hair in order, powder and lipstick put on . . .[If] you are constantly fearful that a visitor will drop in or your husband will come home and you will not look neatly put together, you will not enjoy your sewing as you should. . .
Put on a clean dress. Keep a little bag full of French chalk near your sewing machine to dust your fingers at intervals. Have your hair in order, powder and lipstick put on . . .[If] you are constantly fearful that a visitor will drop in or your husband will come home and you will not look neatly put together, you will not enjoy your sewing as you should. . .
You Know You Are A Quilter If:
There's more Fabric in the House than Food
"Fat Quarters" are not the heaviest part of your body
Your ironing board is always set up but you never iron clothes
You think of your job as an interruption of your quilting time
You pet Fabric
People are always picking threads off you
You can measure a scant 1/4 by eye
"Featherweight" Doesn't mean Boxer
Your "UFO's" are not from outer space
You clean up your sewing room & they think you are leaving
"Fat Quarters" are not the heaviest part of your body
Your ironing board is always set up but you never iron clothes
You think of your job as an interruption of your quilting time
You pet Fabric
People are always picking threads off you
You can measure a scant 1/4 by eye
"Featherweight" Doesn't mean Boxer
Your "UFO's" are not from outer space
You clean up your sewing room & they think you are leaving
Two Quilting Tips
When washing large pieces of fabric (backing) fold the fabric into 4ths or 3rds and baste along the right and left edges and down the middle. This makes it much easier to “untangle” after washing and drying. It also helps to reduce wrinkling.
If you pay attention to the grain line during any pressing stage of your quilt projects, everything comes out square. Just remember to press with the straight grain of the fabric (the selvage edge runs on the straight grain). Cross grain and bias both stretch, the straight grain won’t.
When attaching my final border, be sure to backstitch at the beginning and end of each line of stitching. This ensures that the borders are locked into place and the whole quilt top is nice and stable when it is time to quilt it.
When doing some power sewing, lay a scrap piece of batting next to your machine. As you snip threads, drop them there. It will hold them from flying all over. When one side is filled, flip it. When both sides are filled, either pitch it, or pull off the threads.
When you have some time make up "kits" for projects you will be working on. This is great if you do not get to sew regularly and loose track of where you are with projects. Or even if you do get to sew every day this is really handy and helps you keep track of all your projects. The kits allow you to sew in short spurts with everything ready to go. This is also helpful so that you can join the Wed. quilting group and then you have everything ready to go.
If you pay attention to the grain line during any pressing stage of your quilt projects, everything comes out square. Just remember to press with the straight grain of the fabric (the selvage edge runs on the straight grain). Cross grain and bias both stretch, the straight grain won’t.
When attaching my final border, be sure to backstitch at the beginning and end of each line of stitching. This ensures that the borders are locked into place and the whole quilt top is nice and stable when it is time to quilt it.
When doing some power sewing, lay a scrap piece of batting next to your machine. As you snip threads, drop them there. It will hold them from flying all over. When one side is filled, flip it. When both sides are filled, either pitch it, or pull off the threads.
When you have some time make up "kits" for projects you will be working on. This is great if you do not get to sew regularly and loose track of where you are with projects. Or even if you do get to sew every day this is really handy and helps you keep track of all your projects. The kits allow you to sew in short spurts with everything ready to go. This is also helpful so that you can join the Wed. quilting group and then you have everything ready to go.
Quilting Words of Wisdom
- Measure Twice, Cut Once
- Never scratch your head with your rotary cutter in your hand
- Never buy less than a metre of fabric
- When you make a mistake on a quilt, like a clip where you shouldn’t have, just sew over the area, then appliqué a heart over it. This is also a symbol that a quilt is sewn with love
- Quilt with a friend. It enhances the quilt and enriches the friendship
- A quilter can never have enough tools
- When in doubt, pick apart and start over
10 Reasons To Buy Fabric
1. It’s the only remotely artistic thing I’ve ever done.
2. If all else fails, you can use it for cleaning rags.
3. It will go with some I bought last year.
4. I want my daughter to have a proper inheritance.
5. Well-known medical fact: prevents washing machine withdrawal symptoms on light laundry days.
6. Buy it now before your husband retires and goes with you on all your shopping expeditions.
7. If you don’t buy it now, you may never see it again.
8. I owe myself a reward for that ½ lb I lost last month.
9. It’s nor immoral, illegal or fattening.
10. It calms the nerves, satisfies the soul and makes me feel good !
2. If all else fails, you can use it for cleaning rags.
3. It will go with some I bought last year.
4. I want my daughter to have a proper inheritance.
5. Well-known medical fact: prevents washing machine withdrawal symptoms on light laundry days.
6. Buy it now before your husband retires and goes with you on all your shopping expeditions.
7. If you don’t buy it now, you may never see it again.
8. I owe myself a reward for that ½ lb I lost last month.
9. It’s nor immoral, illegal or fattening.
10. It calms the nerves, satisfies the soul and makes me feel good !
There Will Be Pins: How to be a Quilter's Husband
So your wife is a quilter. That doesn't seem so bad, does it? It's a nice quiet hobby, conjuring up images of our sturdy pioneer mothers, keeping their families warm and creating beauty out of old shirts and printed feedbags. You think of plump grannies in rocking chairs, piecing a Log Cabin block by firelight, cat asleep at her feet. An idyllic picture, right?
You're living in a dream world, buddy. They buy their fabric whole now, in yardage and "fat quarters" (whatever they are). They cut this perfectly good cloth into smaller pieces, and then painstakingly, by hand, sew them back together. This process calls into question all the advances of the industrial revolution.
Quilting generates a blizzard of debris. Fabric scraps and batting clog and burn out your vacuum cleaner. (Hint: don't go barefoot. Your feet were never meant to be pincushions). The cat frequently swallows a length of discarded thread. Soon, one of two things will happen; you won't like either of them.
This is not the end of your problems. There are frequent expensive trips to the fabric store, and even more expensive quilt shows in faraway cities. There are bees, which are little groups of quilters who get together occasionally to complain about their husbands and children. These bees may meet in church basements, but occasionally they come to your house and take over the dining room table. Your presence in the next room won't intimidate them.
Quilting also tends to take up more and more of the house. Sure, your wife might decide at some point that she has enough fabric. I've never seen this myself, but it could happen. More likely, your home will become a candidate for that TV show where some poor fellow's dead body is found under a collapsed pile of old newspapers. In your case, it will be a tower of yardage and color-matched prints.
As far as I know, there is no twelve-step program for quilters, but you may avoid codependency by following these tips:
You're living in a dream world, buddy. They buy their fabric whole now, in yardage and "fat quarters" (whatever they are). They cut this perfectly good cloth into smaller pieces, and then painstakingly, by hand, sew them back together. This process calls into question all the advances of the industrial revolution.
Quilting generates a blizzard of debris. Fabric scraps and batting clog and burn out your vacuum cleaner. (Hint: don't go barefoot. Your feet were never meant to be pincushions). The cat frequently swallows a length of discarded thread. Soon, one of two things will happen; you won't like either of them.
This is not the end of your problems. There are frequent expensive trips to the fabric store, and even more expensive quilt shows in faraway cities. There are bees, which are little groups of quilters who get together occasionally to complain about their husbands and children. These bees may meet in church basements, but occasionally they come to your house and take over the dining room table. Your presence in the next room won't intimidate them.
Quilting also tends to take up more and more of the house. Sure, your wife might decide at some point that she has enough fabric. I've never seen this myself, but it could happen. More likely, your home will become a candidate for that TV show where some poor fellow's dead body is found under a collapsed pile of old newspapers. In your case, it will be a tower of yardage and color-matched prints.
As far as I know, there is no twelve-step program for quilters, but you may avoid codependency by following these tips:
- Set up a space outside the living area for the quilting equipment and fabric storage. I have refinished the basement, and we are moving everything down there. Other husbands have constructed pole barns, rented industrial space, or moved to another city under an assumed name.
- Have your wife make a small business out of her hobby. Internet sales can be lucrative. They might even partially make up for the enormous sums she spends. Very important: Do not participate in the business yourself. First thing you know, you'll be maintaining complicated machinery, acting as an errand boy, and dealing with the post office. You have better things to do.
- Don't be tempted to accompany your wife to quilt shows, thinking that time together will add spark to your relationship. You won't see her all day. You'll wander around aimlessly among the booths, finding nothing remotely interesting. Sure, you could meet other lost husbands, and find camaraderie in the nearest bar. Usually, though, a woman in a quilted vest will mistake you for a fabric vendor. She will try to hustle you for free samples.
- Don't try to distract your wife with other activities, such as gardening, cooking or housework. Though she may have done these things in the past, that's all over now. Quilting is her life. Accept your fate. Learn to cook and run the vacuum. Get a hobby of your own. You could join a softball team-slow-pitch, preferably-or learn simple carpentry skills. Then build a pole barn and move into it yourself.