Tuesday, March 3, 2015

A Charming Smile, Tuesday Tip and a Contest to Enter!

Hi peeps! 



How is everybody today? I am at the tail-end of a four(yes, four) day migraine…not fun at all! The sun is shining, it is fairly mild and I'm talking to you…so a much better day! 

Before I was laid low I managed to get my citrus batik HSTs for the table topper all trimmed…YAY!!! Now I get to have fun and play!! I'll get you up to date on that!!!


Did you know…Much like velvet and corduroy, thread has a nap?...I KNOW!!!
I only found this out recently…this is after almost 40 years of plying a needle…

When you hold the end of the thread that is coming directly off the spool and press your fingers while running them down the thread, it will feel smooth. Now do the reverse…you can actually feel the difference.



This is an important thing to consider, especially if you do a lot of hand sewing. So, what I do is thread my needle BEFORE I have clipped my length of thread. That way I will remember which tail of thread is which. I keep that end of the thread short and cut at the end of the longer piece. The longer piece will always be on the nap...and the shorter piece will be against the nap…but that is okay as it's the longer piece that I'm concerned with.


Once I am sure which thread-end is which, I knot the longer end. It really makes a difference! I do a lot of hand sewing at night in front of the TV(will show you in a later post) and can tell you that my thread runs through the fabric pieces smoothly and I rarely get a tangle! Awesomeness!!!


Last night I managed to get another men's shirt cut up…I really have to start removing the buttons from the placket strips…I've got several of them waiting for attention! As you can see, this one has an embroidered logo and I will try to find a use for that. The shoulder yoke and sleeve cuffs were lined in a nice chambray, which was an added bonus. 

This was one of the Kid's shirts, a men's size small, so there wasn't as much useable fabric. But, I had originally purchased it at half price from Value Village, it was worn for a year and now I have cut it up for quilting fabric…so it was a super-recycling project, and plus I really liked the pattern/colours. I might give it a bit of a starch treatment as the resulting fabric is a tad thinner than the other shirts I have slated for demolition.


Don't forget to enter Craftsy's #Secret Stash Contest! Prized include a secret stash box of goodies as well as a Craftsy class of your choice! Bonus!!!

Stay tuned as I have new sponsor news AND another giveaway coming soon!

Thanks for reading and have a great day! 

Quilty Huggs, 

Jacqueline

49 comments:

  1. I learned a long time ago about the thread nap. It's how it is made and the tiny fibers twisted together to make the fine thread. I always cut the thread on a angle before threading. I either get it threaded the first time or not at all and have to cut and try again. It is much harder to thread the needle with the other end as it fuzzes up so easily.

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    1. Hi Chris, Thanks for the comment. I also cut my thread ends on an angle…it's the only way to thread a needle with my thick fingers!!!

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  2. Thanks for the tip!
    I also cut my thread on an angle but I find the older I'm getting the more difficult to see the head of the needle

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    1. Yup…I'm there too…had to get new 'sewing' glasses last year!!!

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  3. My goodness... I learn something new every day. I had no idea that thread had a nap and I've been sewing 40+ years. Next time, I'm hand sewing a binding or a seam closed, I'll tried to remember your little trick. Thanks!

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    1. Glad you liked my post! It is always encouraging when people comment!!! Thanks a bunch!!!
      Love your name (SuperMomNoCape)…it can feel that way sometimes!!!

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  4. Thank you for the thread tip! Very helpful!

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  5. Thanks for your comment Angela, it is so encouraging when people take the time to leave me a comment!!!
    HINT: GIVEAWAY starts tomorrow!!!

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  6. Thanks for the thread tip. I did know about it but had forgotten about it. Have a great day.

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  7. Someone recently told me a similar thing about embroidery floss and it made a difference. I had no idea thread was the same. I will definitely use your tip next time I thread my needle. Thank you for sharing :-)
    P.S. - I also suffer from migraines. My doctor recently prescribed "flunarizine" to help prevent the onset of migraines. I find it has helped reduce the number, and strength of my migraines.
    ktreve (at) hotmail (dot) com

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  8. Good tips! I am a fairly new sewer, so tips like these help!

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  9. Sewing is not my forte! But WOW! Can't wait to see the finished product!

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  10. I'll have to share this with my husband. He does all the sewing around here. However, we don't do much "fun" sewing. It's all just "hey, this has a hole in it, can you fix it?" kind of sewing.
    I would love to be able to make things for the kids, instead of always buying clothing. Clothing never fits my daughter right....she's petite, and super thin. Such a struggle.

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  11. I cross stitch, (and fix holes in socks for my boys) and have always cut at an angle. I don't quite know where I picked that tip up, or where I learned to fix socks. Must be a Mommy thing. I didn't know thread had a nap though, who can see that??? (these old eyes of mine!)

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  12. Thanks for the tip. I look forward to taking up sewing again and learning how to use my new sewing machine.

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  13. I had no idea about thread nap! I do a lot of hand sewing in front of the TV with the family in the evenings too (with my extra light and glasses, of course!) - I'll have to pay more attention to which way my thread is going from now on!

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  14. News to me. Thanks! Most of my sewing is on the machine!

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  15. My thread always seems to get tangled when all I am trying to do is patch something up quick. I had no idea! Thanks so much for that little tip! :-)

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  16. I so wish I was skilled enough to sew beautiful stuff like this!

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  17. You have such talent and skill. I wish I was crafty like that!

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  18. I love seeing sites like yours. My mom was very crafty and made beautiful things. Unfortunately her craftiness skipped me and went to my kids! Thanks for sharing!

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  19. Oh how I wish I had sewing skills! :) Thank you for the thread tip, I am going to try it out on my next sewing attempt.

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  20. I didn't know about the thread nap either. I'm going to check that out. Quilts are always so beautiful.I don't quilt, but I certainly appreciate the talent and beauty.

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  21. I used the quilt a lot by hand and then went to machine quilting. that's interesting about the thread nap. Thanks for the tip.

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  22. I had no clue thread has a nap, that's neat to know. I often find myself cutting off buttons as a quick way to detract them from fabric. I am not much of a quilter, but I do sew clothing and accessories. Thanks for the threading tip.

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  23. I love love love the look of quilts! I've been wanting to learn how to do it for sometime now! Maybe I will check out Craftsy for one of their classes!

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  24. I love to sew. Yes, my mom taught me to cut the thread at an angle before threading too. It is awesome to learn new things each day. :) Thanks for posting about this.

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  25. Very interesting! I'm not a sew-er, so had no idea. I love learning these types of tide bits of information.

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  26. I had no idea!! Thank you so much for the tip! I'm sure it will help me in my projects. PS. I LOVE the plaid fabric that you recycled from that shirt! This weekend I too recycled some shirts and skirts that I bought at a thrift store to get the fabric :)

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  27. Good tips. I need to get back into sewing and quilting but not much time to do it.

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  28. This is good to know! When I cross stitch, I just use a needle with a big eye. Thanks for the tips--makes my life easier.

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  29. I used to sew a lot with my mom and never knew this! :) These are great ideas. Love your projects! I haven't sewn much since I had kids - they're too interested in it! Maybe as they get older. :)

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  30. wow, I never knew that either and I do my fair share of hand sewing. This is something I will FOR SURE remember from here on out!

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  31. This is a topic that would interest my MIL more. I am just now learning how to put a button on something by hand sewing that's how much of a rookie I am with sewing.

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  32. It's always fun to have a project to work on. Great job.

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  33. Thank you for sharing this tip. Threading my needing has been a process for me at times. I have never thought to try cutting the thread at an angle for easier insertion into the needle. The next time I break out the needles and thread I will be trying this.

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  34. I didn't know what a nap was but i just looked it up! cool! I do embroidery and am trying to learn to quilt, but I don't know much about it. Trying to learn!

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  35. I'm a newbie at sewing so this is great to know. Thank you for sharing.

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  36. I think the only thing I CAN do is thread a needle!!! Wish I COULD sew.... I always love the creative projects! :)

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  37. You learn something new everyday. Thanks for the info.

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  38. Amazing! I had no idea. Now I can thread my needles differently and maybe have less irritating knots!

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  39. I am so envious of those who can sew their own clothes. I've been experimenting with making my race outfits and have been surprised by how much fun it is. Maybe there is still time to develop my creativity genes!! (And I entered your giveaway for inspiration.)

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  40. Yes, thank you for the tip. I was clueless! I am not big on sewing, but do enjoy creating with fabric and the occasional embroidery embellishments. And thanks for the info on the Craftsy contest.

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  41. I had no idea that thread had a nap either! I could have saved myself some pain if I had known that a long time ago. :) Wonderful tip - thank you!

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  42. I just popped by via Blogina's Commentathon and am in over my head on your thread nap talk, lol. Anyway, I am going to poke around your blog as this looks like a good place to start visiting!

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  43. Interesting - I had no idea thread had a nap. Hope your head feels better soon - migranes are a pain.

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  44. The only sewing that is done around here is a basic reattaching a button (but if my husband had his say, it doesn't get done unless I'm reminded (often))! LOL
    I have always wanted to learn to sew. Maybe some day. Thanks for sharing this tip.

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  45. I can not even sew on a button! Terrible, I know. This is something I wish I had the desire to learn but nope... it's just not there :-) Kudos to your sewing skills though and sorry about the migraine!

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Hi there,
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave me a comment, you make my day! Kind comments are always welcomed and appreciated. While I do read each and every comment, I may not always be able to reply.