Parksbird Patterns Blog

This is a very simple tool, but I use it a lot.  If you make anything that has a corner (even something as simple as a pillowcase), you need some way to push the corners out and make them sharp.  This does the trick.  It also serves as a button SHANK maker.  A button shank is the height of the thread between the button itself and the garment.  It allows for the width of the fabric with the button hole so that it is not so tight that the button hole cannot move under the button.   You would use the high shank if making a jacket or something with thick or heavy fabric and the low shank for blouses or lighter weight fabric.

I use a seam gauge just about every time I sew anything.

Mainly, I use it to measure hems or placement of trim, etc.

This may seem obvious, but a magnetic pin cushion is a great time saver. When I first started sewing over 40 years ago, I used an actual cushion (shaped like a tomato), and this was what I used for MANY years. Then I tried the type that clips on the wrist, but that was not as useful as this magnetic tray. I never sew ACROSS straight pins. It can damage your needle AND the whole needle assembly on your machine. It is an expensive repair – trust me. I remove pins as I sew and the magnetic pin cushion makes an easy target to aim for.

This is a favorite notion.  I have several of them because they are very inexpensive.  This is used to thread elastic or string ties through casings.  When you sew children’s clothes, you use a lot of elastic.  I used to use a safety pin on the end of the elastic, but it is so much easier to push a bodkin through a casing than a safety pin (even a large pin).   I always use another bodkin on the trailing end of the elastic (or a safety pin) so that if the trailing end of the elastic accidentally slips into the casing, it can be EASILY pulled back out without having to start threading the elastic all over again.