When sewing time is limited, every shortcut helps. These experts, for whom sewing is both business and pleasure, share their favorite timesaving tips.

Nancy Cornwell of N.J. Cornwell Inc. says when she needs to interface all pieces of a garment--as when making a jacket out of lightweight material--she speeds up the process by fusing the interfacing yardage to the uncut, pretreated garment fabric. "Not a heavy-duty job, just enough to hold the interfacing in place temporarily," she says. "Then, cut out the pieces and go to the ironing board to do a real fusing job. With no effort, all the interfacing edges match the garment edges. Peel away the interfacing from the remaining scraps for use in other projects."

Sallie J. Russell of SJR Sew With Class, admits disorganization is her most time-consuming problem, but happily she's found a solution. "Purchase plastic containers with deep lids to store in-progress projects. Tape a heavy self-closing, plastic bag to one inside edge of each container. Use it to hold small items such as threads, zippers, buttons, etc.," she says. "When working on a project, use the lid to hold the items you’re using at the time, leaving the rest in the box. When the project is hanger-ready, punch a hole in the bag and slip it over the hanger hook until the project is complete."

Mary Roehr of Mary Roehr Books & Video recommends discarding old pins. "Buy new pins with glass or plastic heads," she says. "They’re easier to pick up, you need half as many because they’re twice as long, and they won't get lost in the carpet."

Ruthann Spiegelhoff of Great Copy Patterns, regards her scrapbook of ideas as the best timesaver. She collects pictures of ready-to-wear garments from catalogs and magazines. Next to the pictures she notes fabrics used, patterns to duplicate the look, the color combinations, accents, details and even the accessories. "These pictures are my inspiration to sew and they truly save me time."


Mary Mulari of Mary's Productions, has a quick and easy method for removing tear-away stabilizer from the back of machine appliques. "Use a standard, flat-end screwdriver," she recommends. "Insert the tip under a stabilizer section and lift up the handle. This common household tool works well and there's no danger of cutting the appliqué fabric as there is when using a seam ripper."

Cindy Cummins of The Cutting Edge, keeps serger thread nets under control by pushing most of the net under and inside the thread cone, pulling out just enough to wrap up and over the cone. "This controls the excess net, so it won't catch on the thread as it feeds from the top of the cone. When the cone’s placed on the thread spindle, the thread net stays put."

Linda Lee of The Sewing Workshop reports a new fashion direction has inspired her timesaving solution to a common construction challenge. "I am making fewer lined and structured garments, and working with more silks and lightweight, gossamer fabrics. I use both wide and narrow topstitched hems with mitered corners," she says. "For accuracy and speed, I use tagboard template pressing guides. I cut one straight template the hem allowance width and place the template on the fabric wrong side. I bring the fabric up and over the template lower edge, matching the raw edge to the template upper edge, and press through all the layers. To finish the raw edge, I make a template 1/4" to 1/2" narrower than the original template, place it in the creaseline, and press the 1/4" to 1/2" up and over the template." She then hand bastes the hem using pure silk thread, which keeps the hem even and prevents slippage when sewing.
"This all may seem tedious, but with fussy fabrics, I know it saves time and ripping, something I don’t want to do with silk georgette," she says.

Gail Brown, co-author of "The Ultimate Serger Answer Guide," says that rolled hems are a fast way to finish scarves, napkins, veils and ruffles, but it's not always possible to serge a good-looking rolled hem the first time around. "If you’re dissatisfied with a rolled hem, rather than ripping the stitches, use a same-grain scrap of the project fabric to perfect the stitch. Serge again, trimming off the first hem along the original needleline. No matter how unsightly the first rolled hem, it stabilizes the fabric and allows a more uniform and less hairy second rolled hem to form." She explains that some experts, including Sew News' columnist Naomi Baker, often use this strategy and allow 1/4" to 1/2" extra on project edges to compensate. "Even if the first serging row is satisfactory, the second row--without a single stitch adjustment--is generally more uniform, has better thread coverage and is smoother than the first," says Gail.


Linda MacPhee of MacPhee Workshop, substitutes a quick variation on a basic patch pocket for traditional zippered pockets on outerwear. "If the fabric frays, turn under all the pocket edges except for the pocket zipper edge. If the fabric doesn't fray--such as outdoor fleece--leave the edges raw and zigzag stitch them to the garment," she says. After checking to be sure the zipper and pocket opening are the same length and adjusting the zipper length if necessary, align the zipper tape and the pocket edge, right sides together, and stitch along the zipper tape center. Flip the zipper out from the pocket and edgestitch the seam. Turn under the zipper tape short ends, place the pocket onto the garment and topstitch. "This technique is a favorite of mine and people love it," she says.