Sewing Hacks To Make Your Life Easier

Need more sewing tricks up your sleeves? Help yourself to more sewing hacks and ideas, and make sewing even more fun and easier.

In this article:

How to Pre-Wash Fabric and Lessen the Fray
How to Easily Sew Binding and Piping
How to Sew Buttons by Hand | Hand Sewing Techniques
How to Never Lose Your Drawstring
How to Alter Jeans: Shorter with Identical Hem
How to Store Bobbins | Sewing Life Hacks
How to Secure a Shank Button
How to Hem Curved Edges | Sewing Hacks
How to Avoid the Buttonhole from Ripping Too Far
How to Make an Easy Allowance Guide
Serger Thread Sewing Hacks
How to Gather Fabric Easily | Sewing Hacks
Double-Needle Thread Sewing Hacks
How to Prepare Your Fabric for Hand Embroidery
How to Make a Bias Tape Template
How to Stitch Perfect Lines for Quilts
How to Keep Your Scissors Sharp
How to Lengthen or Shorten a Pattern
How to Make Invisible Zippers
How to Turn a Crisp Point on Any Collar
How to Sew a Circle | Sewing Tricks
How to Finish Seams Without a Serger
How to Take Care of Thread Tails
How to Sew with No Knots or Tails
How to Not Have Stubborn Straight Pins

Useful Sewing Hacks You Need to Know

1. How to Pre-Wash Fabric and Lessen the Fray

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Lessen the frays on your fabric by pre-washing it before sewing. To get less fray you can put it in a pillowcase and tie a knot at the top. Wash on gentle and dry on low for less mess!

2. How to Easily Sew Binding and Piping

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Using straight pins when sewing bindings and piping can be very time-consuming.

You have to put it first then remove it one by one while sewing. Save time by using mini clothespins instead!

3. How to Sew Buttons by Hand | Hand Sewing Techniques

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Make buttoning and unbuttoning much easier when you do this sewing hack. With this trick in sewing buttons by hand, you'll also have sturdier buttons which won't come off easily.

4. How to Never Lose Your Drawstring

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We've all had this hitch before and it can drive you really crazy since it's such a bummer putting it back. The worst experience I had was when it somehow went “missing” after washing.

Never have this problem again whether it's your jacket, pants, shirts, bags, and any item with drawstrings. With this trick, all you need are a few stitches and you'll say goodbye to the hitch, indeed!

5. How to Alter Jeans: Shorter with Identical Hem

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If you're shorter, I'm sure you've had the problem of finding the perfect pair of jeans. If it's too long, alter them right? Here's a better way.

6. How to Store Bobbins | Sewing Life Hacks

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Bobbins tend to get tangled together if you just throw them together in a container. These persnickety sewing tools will roll, tumble, tangle, and unravel, too.

Never have those problems again by using your trusted toe separator. Simply slip your bobbins in between and secure them in place.

7. How to Secure a Shank Button

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Sewing a shank button is easy but making it stay longer is tricky. So, here's a smart trick: Sew a regular button on the inside of the garment behind the shank button for reinforcement.

8. How to Hem Curved Edges | Sewing Hacks

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You won't get frustrated anymore when you reach the curved edge while sewing garment. Here are two ways you can hem curved edges perfectly.

9. How to Avoid the Buttonhole from Ripping Too Far

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Pin it! It doesn't only apply to Pinterest but you can also use this tip to make sure your buttonhole doesn't open too far.

These sewing hacks will make your life SEW much easier! http://t.co/DBNomgaTeO #sewinghack #sewingproject pic.twitter.com/0GVXZK3TWM

— DIY Projects (@DIY Projects) April 11, 2015

10. How to Make an Easy Allowance Guide

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If you need to make a wide seam allowance, use rubber bands to temporarily mark it. Just place the rubber bands on the base of the sewing machine and adjust as needed.

11. Serger Thread Sewing Hacks

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Refill your spool with this amazing serger thread hack. Just remember, the serger thread isn't as thick as sewing machine thread.

This is a better hack for small light projects or mockups – not ideal for projects which will see a lot of use.

12. How to Gather Fabric Easily | Sewing Hacks

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Using a crochet thread will make gathering fabric so much easier and cooler. See it here, plus do the zigzag stitch, first.

13. Double-Needle Thread Sewing Hacks

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You don't have to get frustrated when you don't have the second spool holder and you have to double needle. This sewing hack will show you how.

14. How to Prepare Your Fabric for Hand Embroidery

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Make your embroidery project last a long time by preparing your fabric the right way. Do it right and you'll have lovely embroidery projects lasting for generations.

15. How to Make a Bias Tape Template

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Bias tape template will make binding and finishing edge so much easier. Click here to download your free printable.

16. How to Stitch Perfect Lines for Quilts

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This is really no magic at all, it's just a good old quilting trick. All you need is some masking tape!

17. How to Keep Your Scissors Sharp

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A dull scissor won't do you much good. Find out how you can keep your scissors sharp and ready all the time.

18. How to Lengthen or Shorten a Pattern

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Never have to worry about patterns not fitting your size when you can easily alter the pattern. Here's one of the smart sewing pattern hacks you will need to know.

Learn how to shorten or lengthen a pattern here, to fit your size or anyone you are sewing for.

19. How to Make Invisible Zippers

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Have you been wondering for a long time how they make those invisible zippers? Here is the easy step-by-step guide with image, too.

20. How to Turn a Crisp Point on Any Collar

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A limp collar corner is a no-no when it comes to sewing clothing. Make perfectly crisp corner to any collar with this sewing technique.

21. How to Sew a Circle | Sewing Tricks

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Drawing a circle is hard, just imagine sewing it. Well, now, with this sewing hack, all your circles will be perfectly rounded all the time and sewing circles will be easy peasy this time around.

22. How to Finish Seams Without a Serger

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Can you imagine finishing seams without a serger? I couldn't either before knowing these sewing hacks.

Here are not one but six ways you can finish seams without using a serger.

23. How to Take Care of Thread Tails

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It's not advisable to just cut those thread tails no matter how annoying they can be. Here's a clever sewing trick: tuck them into the trimming!

24. How to Sew with No Knots or Tails

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Never have to worry about tying a knot or leaving a tail when you start hand sewing. This is truly one of the more clever hand-sewing hacks you'll encounter, and pretty flawless, too.

25. How to Not Have Stubborn Straight Pins

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You'll never have a problem sticking pins into layers of fabric with this sewing hack. Soap is the answer! It also makes a cute pincushion.

In addition to these sewing hacks, I found having a complete portable sewing kit to be super helpful in all my sewing projects.

This video from 5-Minute Crafts will show you 30 sewing hacks to save your clothes:

Now you know there's a better way to alter your jeans than cutting it altogether. Sewing is both a practical and relaxing craft and with these helpful sewing hacks, a sewing beginner can turn pro pretty soon!

Did you enjoy our list of sewing hacks? Let us know in the comments section below what your thoughts are on these sewing hacks and ideas.

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