How to Sew Straight (Tips and Tricks For Beginners)
Image by Just Get it Done Quilts via Youtube
When you are still a beginner in quilting, your block might be wonky or small. Don’t worry – we all start from there. So, what are the tricks and tips on how to sew straight? Here are some simple techniques by Just Get it Done Quilts on Youtube that you will surely find helpful!
The beginning:
Loose threads
Are your threads loose and not attached to anything? Your thread needs to be under tension. To avoid this, use a header. It is a piece of fabric that you sew before your block to secure your threads. It can be a scrap piece of fabric or a mini charm.
Motion of feed dogs
Have you experienced an HST or half-square triangle getting sucked into your machine? This happens because the feed dogs on one side are engaged with the fabric, but the feed dogs on the other side are not. To avoid this, simply cut off the tip of the HST before you start.
Sewing several layers of fabric
When sewing HSTs, you can go from zero to eight or even more layers of fabric and all these can get backed up. To avoid this, you need to iron them properly so that they lie flat, then use a high header. You can fold two pieces of scraps to have a level of four.
The middle:
Seam wobbling
Make a ledge out of masking tape! Stack 5 layers together and stick them down to your sewing machine. Make a tester and then adjust your ledge if needed.
For two to more layers of fabric
When you are sewing on two layers of fabric and then it bumps up to four or more, stop your machine, lift up the pressure foot, and put a high header in there.
The ends:
Lifting and twisting of fabric
To avoid this, just use any stick to keep enough weight on the fabric edge to the very end.
