Friday, April 20, 2012

My New Favorite Sewing Tool

This week I've been busy hemming jeans for a friend. I'll share a secret with you. I hate to hem jeans. Actually, I hate doing alterations all together. I'd much rather make something from scratch than to alter it. When people hear that you sew they assume you can do all forms of sewing but not all sewing is the same. However, I agreed to hem these jeans. In the process, I broke the screw that holds my presser foot off in the machine, I broke 4 needles and jammed my machine up pretty good. I was fortunate to find a local sewing machine repair man and he got me back in business really quick. His name is George and I will share his information at the end of this post, in case you are in the Jacksonville, Florida area. I did a little research on the computer as to how to make this jean hemming process easier. I found several videos on Youtube and several of them shared a hint that I wish I had know years ago. And it is to use your hammer on the flat felled seams. It's so simple. You just pin the hem the way you want it and take the jeans outside to a concrete area and whack the seams a few times. It's amazing! It flattens the seams without causing damage to the denim. You want to use caution and not whack too hard and you can use a cloth underneath the jeans for extra protection, however, I didn't find it neccesary. I was so excited about this new trick that I showed my daugthers and told them this was a life lesson they needed to know. If you have jeans to hem or thick seams to deal with you should give it a try. You many have heard this tip before but if you haven't I hope you find it helpful. Happy Sewing, Susan Sewing Machine Repair George's Mobile Sewing Machine Repair George Hamric 904-571-4493

6 comments:

  1. Well I got a big belly laugh when I read your title and saw the hammer. My machine isn't working right now, so my mind made the leap immediately to "oh gosh she took a hammer to her sewing machine like I want to". Glad to hear you're using it for seams, lol!!! And that's a good tip!

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  2. Too funny .... but great idea!

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  3. Not a bad idea! I purchased a Jean-a-ma-jig© a long time ago. It's more than paid for itself in hemming hundreds of jeans. Your hammer reminds me of the wooden "thing" we used when making Men's tailored Jackets - had to get the bulk out of those seams one way, or another. Come visit me at: http://catwest.blogspot.com

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  4. What a great tip! I'm sure it'll come in handy (now if I can just remember it when the time comes!). ;)

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  5. I was just introduced to a tool called a "Whacker" that is really a hammer made specifically for whacking those heavy/thick seams. Susan Cleveland introduced the product at a class I took recently. You can find her at www.piecesbewithyou.com. She has many good tips. Pat

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