Caring for Scissors and Shears
October 10th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Sewing DIY - The Care & Feeding of Scissors & Shears
Once you’ve purchased at least one pair of quality scissors or shears, the next step is to take good care of them! You want them to stay in like-new condition so they can do the job you bought them for. It just makes good sense to take care of your purchase so they not only will stay in excellent condition and ready to use, but you also won’t have to waste money having to buy more scissors or shears to replace uncared for pairs.
The Main Thing Is The Main Thing
The number one rule to keep in mind:
Shears and scissors should ONLY be used to cut the materials for which they were designed.
This is very important, so I’m going to repeat it:
Shears and scissors should ONLY be used to cut the materials for which they were designed.
That means don’t pick up your good pair of dressmaking shears and use them to cut paper! That’s a no-no because using shears or scissors for something other than their intended purpose dulls the blade. Then next time you go to cut fabric, your shears won’t cut nearly as well.
To keep the blades sharp, repeat after me:
Shears and scissors should ONLY be used to cut the materials for which they were designed.
More Simple Sewing Rules for Scissor Care
Scissors and shears should be kept dry and dust free, with an occasional oiling at the screw. Keeping them in a safe place like a sewing box, or with higher quality cutting instruments, the box they came in, will help protect the points. Also, scissors should be stored in a closed position. Setting down scissors in an open position is the most common cause of dull blades.
High quality scissors and shears can be re-conditioned by the manufacturers or other companies providing that service.
Sewing Simple Summation of Scissors and Shears
Say that 10 times fast!
Bottom line on scissors and shears:
- Choose the right pair of scissors or shears for the task,
- Buy good quality for fabric cutting and other important tasks,
- Cheaper scissors or shears are fine for everyday use around the house, and
- Take care of your scissors and shears, and they’ll reward you with years of easy cutting.
And there you have it, the purchase, use and care of scissors and shears!
Technorati Tags: scissors, sewing supplies, shears, simple sewing
Sewing Simple - Types Of Scissors
October 7th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
There are many types of scissors available. Here’s a list of the major types for all you sewing DIY people:
| TYPE OF SCISSORS | FUNCTION |
| Applique Scissors | Offset for level cutting |
| Bent Handle Dressmaker Shears | Allow the cutting blades to rest flat on the table |
| Easy Grip Scissors | Larger handles for those having difficulty holding scissors |
| Embroidery Scissors | Used for cutting embroider threads |
| Finishing Shears | Either as pinking or scalloping shears, used to cut ravel-resistant seams |
| Heavy-duty Shears | For cutting leather, upholstery, drapery, etc. |
| Thread Snipping Scissors | For cutting loose threads off sewing |
Different manufacturers and different retail outlets may call them by a little different names, but those are the basic types available.
Other scissors and shears available include those made for left-handed people, household scissors (all-purpose, poultry shears, etc.), paper scissors for children, scrapbooking scissors, electric scissors and more.
For just about any task, there’s some kind of scissors or shears that will do the job.
Technorati Tags: scissors, sewing supplies, shears, simple sewing
Stainless or Carbon Steel Scissors And Shears
October 2nd, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Sewing DIY – How To Choose Quality Scissors and Shears
Scissors and shears are usually made of some kind of steel. There are two main types of steel used in their manufacture.
Stainless Steel Shears And Scissors
The first type of steel used in the manufacture of shears and scissors is stainless steel. They usually have plastic handles attached to the blades. This metal has the virtue of being rust proof. However, scissors made of stainless steel aren’t as sturdy as those made of carbon steel. They also don’t retain a sharp edge as long, and are to re-sharpen. On the plus side, stainless steel is usually much cheaper than carbon steel.
Carbon Steel Scissors And Shears
The best scissors are made of carbon steel. It is used to make scissors and shears with the blade and handle being formed in one continuous piece. This makes the scissors very strong, and the steel stays nice and sharp.
Shears and scissors made from carbon steel are usually plated with chromium or nickel to prevent the carbon steel from rusting.
These scissors and shears made with carbon steel are more expensive their stainless steel cousins, but they are more durable, and last a very long time.
Sewing Simple - Choosing Your Scissors Or Shears
The choice always comes down to what best suits your needs.
|
Stainless Steel vs. Carbon Steel Scissors or Shears |
|
| Pro – Heavier Duty | Con – Lighter Weight |
| Pro – Keeps Sharper Edge | Con – Edge Doesn’t Stay Sharp As Long |
| Pro – Easier To Resharpen | Con – Difficult To Sharpen |
| Con – More Expensive | Pro – Cheaper To Purchase |
Obviously, if you can afford them, it’s a much better deal to buy carbon steel scissors or shears.
Technorati Tags: scissors, sewing supplies, shears, simple sewing
The Cutting Edge - Scissors And Shears
September 30th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Sewing Simple Information on Scissors and Shears
Scissors or shears are pretty much required equipment for sewing. That’s not the end of their usefulness however. You will find many uses for scissors or shears around the home. Because of this, you need to have at least one pair handy.
Sewing DIY – The Difference Between Scissors and. Shears
Even though most people use the names interchangeably, the facts are that scissors and shears aren’t really the same thing. They are built to perform different tasks.
Shears are the heavy duty dudes, and are used for the heavier cutting jobs. Scissors, on the other hand, are meant for the lighter cutting jobs such as trimming or clipping threads.
Sewing Simple - Shears Defined
The bigger of the two, shears generally measures about 6 inches or more in length. The ring handles of the shears are also of different sizes. There is a smaller ring handle to put your thumb in, and a bigger one to stick two or three fingers through. By placing your fingers through these rings it gives you better leverage with the shears. That makes it easier to perform the heavier tasks for which shears excel
The Smaller Cousins - Scissors
Scissors range in length from 6 inches on down to 3 inches or even less. Besides being smaller than shears, the handle rings are of equal size.
To make you’re sewing simple, choose the right cutting tool for the job – shears for the heavier cutting, and scissors for the lightweight stuff.
Quick Sewing Project - Puffed Pictures
September 23rd, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
These pictures are a nice home décor pattern.
Pick Your Picture
Start by finding a piece of sturdy material with good-sized pictures as the pattern. An example would be a piece of material with dogs or cats or horses as the pattern. Upholstery material works well for this.
Cut out one of the pictures in a square, rectangle or oval – whatever shape you want the finished picture to be. Just make sure you can find a frame to fit it, especially for an oval! Include an extra inch of material all the way around the edges for use when framing the picture. This part will be covered by the frame so it doesn’t matter if it’s only got parts of other patterns.
Another alternative would be to use a big quilting square that has a picture. These are sometimes sold to make pillows, but would also work well to make one of these pictures.
Now Line The Picture
For the lining, cut out a piece of muslin or other lighter weight material, making it the same size and shape as the pattern you cut out from the patterned material. You can lay the first piece over top your lightweight material and trace around it to be sure you get both the same size.
Next, place the two pieces of material together, with the right sides of the materials facing outwards. The reason for this is if you sew them so the right sides of the material are on the inside, then turn the project to get the right side out, you’ll have a thicker bunch of material around the edges that you probably won’t want when it comes time to frame the picture. It’s okay to be able to see the stitching since this part will be covered by the frame anyway.
Sew the two pieces of material together about a half inch from the edges.
Puffing The Picture
Next, sew around the outline of the parts of the picture you want to stand out, like the animals or whatever is in the pattern you chose. Be sure to sew through both pieces of fabric.
Once you’ve done that, make a small slit in the lightweight material just big enough to stuff cotton balls in, or batting, or whatever you want to use to make the picture puff out.
When you get the picture puffed out to your satisfaction, hand sew the small slit(s) in the material closed.
Although no one is going to see the back of the picture in the frame, if you want to make it look pristine, sew a 3rd layer of light weight material on the back.
Framed, One Fine Picture
To keep the project from getting dirty, you can spray it with Scotchgard Fabric protector or something similar.
The last step is to frame the picture, and there you have it! A lovely puffed picture you can make to fit any décor.
Technorati Tags: puffed picture, quick sewing project, simple sewing project
Basic Sewing Supplies For Simple Sewing Projects
September 16th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Sewing is a great hobby and creative outlet. It’s fun to make your own quick sewing projects, but to get started you need some basic supplies.
Down to Basics
There are a few items that are useful no matter if you’re doing complicated or simple sewing projects. The bare basics include:
- measuring tape
- needles
- pins
- scissors
- seam ripper
- thimble
- thread
The scissors should be specifically for cutting cloth only, because if used for other purposes the edges will be dulled and make it harder to cut through cloth.
It’s also nice to have a pin cushion of some sort to hold the pins, or keep them in the little box many pins come in.
More Sewing Supplies
Other supplies that come in handy for sewing projects:
- tracing paper
- marking pens for cloth
- cutter guide
A nice sewing basket to keep all your supplies in one place is also helpful.
As you become more involved in sewing, there are all kinds of other items to help with sewing, but these basics are more than enough to get you started.
Finding Sewing Supplies
Many discount stores carry a wide variety of sewing supplies. You can also find great stuff online at places like Fabric.com or other sewing suppliers.
Buy the basics, and get started on some simple sewing!
Sewing Machine Buying Tips
September 12th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
While you can do many simple sewing projects by hand, having a sewing machine makes a lot of things easier. Instead of paying someone to do repairs on your clothes, you can do them yourself, one of many quick sewing projects. You can learn to make your own clothes if you wish, and even progress to doing some of your own designing of clothes.
But first, you need a sewing machine. There’s a great variety out there, with simpler sewing machines that will do the basic tasks, to more expensive machines that will do all kinds of fancy stuff.
You need to find the right one for you. If all you want to do is repairs and beginner sewing projects, a basic machine will be all you need. If you have the itch to really get creative, you might want to look at one of the more expensive models that has more functions.
Looking For A Good Buy
It’s possible to find some good deals online, but the shipping cost is a big factor. Sewing machines are rather heavy, so it costs a lot to ship one, so be sure to take that cost into consideration when deciding what sewing machine to buy.
If you’re a real bargain hunter, sometimes you can find a good working sewing machine at yard sales, or in bargain ad papers. Try to test it out to be sure it’s in good working order before buying!
For a new machine, it’s helpful to visit a couple of stores and see what’s available and what appeals to you. Your basic machine will only cost $100 or so, while something fancier can cost hundreds of dollars. The more things a machine will do, the more expensive it is.
If you find one you really like, ask if the store ever has sales on sewing machines and when the next one might be. If you’re lucky, you can wait and buy the sewing machine of your dreams on sale.
Whatever you buy, set it somewhere easily accessible so it’s easy to use when needed and enjoy some simple sewing!
