Sewing Tips:
-Make sure you reverse stitch at the beginning and end of a line of sewing-this will keep your thread from unraveling

-Start and end your stitching on a straight line-don't start or stop in a curve.

-Nothing worse than sewing and noticing when you're all done that the bobbin thread ran out halfway through. Before I wind my bobbin I take a piece of dark colored chalk and color about 8-10" of thread-as my bobbin thread comes to an end I can clearly see it!

-When sewing corners, sew a few stitches and with the needle in the down position-lift the pressure foot and turn the fabric. Don't try to manipulate the fabric into turning as you can break the needle, cause your material to pucker or create jagged lines instead of a nice smooth curve!

-When I am sewing multiple items on one piece of fabric (for instance a doll body, arms and legs) there is no need to cut the threads in between each piece. I gather a bit of slack in the thread and move on to the next part without cutting the thread. This saves a lot of time!

-I have a piece of masking tape along the edge of my sewing desk. I have used a marker to mark the lines of a yardstick on it. Beats having to hunt down my measuring tape!

Some of the tools that I recommend for sewing:
-Seam ripper (I have a couple of these!) You won't find anything better for ripping out small seams.

- Pin Cushion-I have one that is velcroed right to my machine! And LOTS of straight pins!

-A GOOD pair of scissors! And by good I mean ones that are SHARP & used ONLY for cutting material!

-A sewing box-one that has multiple compartments to hold threads, needles and all your "little" things!

~Megan