Sewing

July 31, 2026

Getting to the Point

A perfectly placed straight pin will hold fabrics together, keeps seams aligned, and help you transform flat pieces into finished projects. But those tiny metal helpers have a way of disappearing at the worst possible moment—slipping into cushions, rolling onto the floor, or hiding beneath layers of fabric. Keeping your pins close at hand and stored safely isn’t just a matter of convenience; it can save time, protect your work, and prevent painful surprises for you, your family, and even your pets. With a few smart storage solutions and good sewing habits, you’ll always know exactly where your pins are when you need them.

Ripe for the Picking

Perhaps you have a classic tomato pincushion, the lore of which goes back to the Middle Ages when tomatoes were considered to ward off evil spirits and placed on the home’s mantel. When real tomatoes were out of season, a sawdust filled one took its place, making a handy spot to store needles and pins of the resident stitchers.

Tomato pincushions are divided into sections by heavy thread, making them ideal for separating different types of pins and needles. Most have a small, attached strawberry filled with emery to help keep pin-points sharp. Today, the classic red has given way to some fashion colors as well and fabrication in velvet, felt and cotton.

Magnetic appeal

Euro-Notions Grabbit — Euro Notions Grabbit

If you prefer magnetic attraction, look for all kinds of shapes and styles with grab. Magnetic pin holders exist for wrists, table tops and even to adhere to your sewing machine. But, be sure to read your owner’s manual before adhering any magnetic device to your machine, as some brands don’t recommend it. Magnetic pin holders also come in wand and bowl shapes and some even keep the pins aligned for easier retrieval.

Magnetic Wrist Sewing Pincushion available on Amazon

Keeping a lid on it

If you like to take your pin stash to classes or move it from place to place, look for a small container with a snap-on lid for safekeeping. Often you’ll find something suitable in the kitchen section of a dollar store. If you have multiple types of pins, like silk, appliqué, etc., label separate containers to avoid a mix-up.

Stuffed options

You can find all kinds of fabric pincushions, either singly or incorporated into other sewing tools, like chatelains or rings. Look for ornate pincushions nestled in Victorian teacups, ice cream sundae dishes or small wooden bowls.

Honeysew Hedgehog Pin Cushions available on Amazon

Let’s not forget the over-the-arm sewing organizers that drape conveniently over your sofa arm and usually offer multiple pockets for storing other sewing tools besides pins and needles.
Timeless felted pincushions are also handy and they’re actually good for the pin and needle points as the lanolin in the wool felt help protect the tips. Look for dome shapes and slab shapes of felt pin holders.
Stuffed fabric pincushions offer up multiple stuffings—from emery (the most costly) to sawdust, sand, rice and walnut shells. Avoid those filled with plastic pellets as they can damage pin points. Compressed steel wool can also be used as a filler and it’s great for sharpening pins and needles.

So, if you’re making your own pincushions, do a bit of research on fillers first and if you’re using something like sawdust or sand for stuffing, be sure they’re sterile to avoid any pesty issues.

Who knew there were so many options for the simple task of storing your pins?

~Linda Griepentrog is the owner of G Wiz Creative Services and she does writing, editing and designing for companies in the sewing, crafting and quilting industries. In addition, she escorts fabric shopping tours to Hong Kong. She lives at the Oregon Coast with her husband Keith, and three dogs, Yohnuh, Abby, and Lizzie. Contact her at gwizdesigns@aol.com.

July 24, 2026

The Psychology of Garment Sewing: Why Making Clothes Makes Us Feel So Good

There is something deeply satisfying about wearing a garment you’ve made yourself. It isn’t just the compliments you receive or the pride of saying, “Thanks, I made it.” The act of garment sewing offers powerful psychological benefits that can boost confidence, reduce stress, and even change how we see ourselves.

While sewing is often viewed as a practical skill or creative hobby, psychologists have long recognized that activities requiring creativity, problem-solving, and focused attention can significantly improve emotional well-being. Garment sewing combines all of these elements in one rewarding pursuit.

Sewing Creates a State of Flow

Have you ever sat down at your sewing machine planning to work for an hour, only to discover that three hours have passed? You’ve likely experienced what psychologists call flow—a mental state in which you’re completely immersed in an activity.

Flow occurs when the challenge of a task matches your skill level. Garment sewing offers this balance beautifully. Reading patterns, selecting fabrics, adjusting fit, and mastering new techniques require concentration without being overwhelming. During these periods, everyday worries fade into the background as your attention focuses entirely on the project in front of you.

Many sewists describe these sessions as mentally refreshing. Instead of draining energy, sewing often restores it.

Building Confidence One Seam at a Time

Modern life doesn’t always provide opportunities to see tangible results from our efforts. Many jobs involve digital work, meetings, or tasks that disappear as quickly as they’re completed.

Garment sewing is wonderfully different. Every step reveals visible progress. A pile of fabric becomes cut pieces. Those pieces become a bodice, sleeves, and eventually a finished garment. Each completed seam reinforces the belief that you are capable of learning, improving, and creating something meaningful.

Even mistakes become valuable teachers. Learning to unpick stitches, adjust a pattern, or solve fitting problems develops resilience—the confidence that challenges can be overcome with patience and persistence. That confidence often extends beyond the sewing room.

Clothing That Reflects Who You Are

Psychologists have found that what we wear influences not only how others perceive us but also how we perceive ourselves. This idea, sometimes called “enclothed cognition,” suggests that clothing can affect confidence, mood, and even performance.

Garment sewing takes this one step further.

Instead of choosing from what stores offer, sewists create clothing that reflects their personality, lifestyle, and preferences. Whether someone loves bold prints, timeless classics, dramatic silhouettes, or practical everyday wear, handmade garments become expressions of identity.

Rather than asking, “What can I buy?” sewists ask, “What do I want to create?” That shift gives sewists greater ownership over their personal style.

A Healthy Break from Technology

Today’s world constantly competes for our attention. Phones buzz, emails arrive, and social media feeds never end. Sewing provides a welcome contrast.

Working with fabric engages the senses in ways screens cannot. The feel of linen, the sound of scissors cutting cloth, the rhythm of a sewing machine, and the satisfaction of pressing crisp seams all encourage mindfulness—remaining present in the moment.

Many sewists find that even a short sewing session helps quiet mental clutter and reduce stress after a busy day.

Problem Solving That Feels Rewarding

Garment sewing is like solving an enjoyable puzzle. Perhaps the sleeve doesn’t fit quite right. Maybe the waistband needs adjusting, or the pattern requires a full bust adjustment. Each challenge invites experimentation rather than frustration.

Research suggests that successfully overcoming manageable challenges stimulates the brain’s reward system. Every fitting correction, successful zipper installation, or perfectly matched seam provides a small sense of accomplishment that keeps motivation high.

These moments remind us that progress—not perfection—is what makes sewing enjoyable.

Creativity Without Comparison

Unlike many creative pursuits that encourage constant comparison, garment sewing naturally emphasizes personal growth. Your latest project doesn’t need to resemble someone else’s. It only needs to fit your goals, your body, and your style.

Over time, sewists begin comparing today’s work with garments they completed years earlier rather than measuring themselves against others. This mindset encourages continuous learning while reducing the pressure to be perfect.

Each finished garment becomes evidence of how much you’ve learned.

The Joy of Handmade

In a world filled with mass-produced clothing, creating a handmade garment carries special meaning. You chose the pattern. You selected the fabric. You matched the thread, pressed every seam, and invested hours of care into every detail.

That investment creates a stronger emotional connection to the finished garment. Many sewists report wearing handmade clothing longer, caring for it more carefully, and valuing it more than ready-to-wear purchases.

The garment becomes more than clothing—it becomes a story of creativity, patience, and craftsmanship.

More Than Just Sewing

Garment sewing is often described as a hobby, but its benefits reach much further. It encourages patience in an impatient world. It rewards persistence over perfection. It transforms mistakes into learning opportunities and gives us permission to slow down and focus on creating something beautiful.

Every project strengthens technical skills while quietly building confidence, resilience, and emotional well-being.

Perhaps that’s why so many people return to their sewing rooms again and again. They’re not simply making clothes. They’re creating confidence, expressing creativity, and stitching together a little more joy with every seam.

American Sewing Guild

July 17, 2026

Foot Fun: Part 2

Among the collection of presser feet that might be available for your machine are some with unique configurations, designed for very specific tasks. You may need them, you may not, depending on the type of sewing you do. These specialty feet don’t usually come with your machine, but they’re ideal to put on your stocking stuffer list if you frequently do these tasks. Check with your dealer for availability or look for generic versions to fit your machine model.

Braiding/Cording Foot

Any time you’re trying to follow a line, hold braid and stitch over it at the same time, you wish for a third hand. But, a braiding foot can help. This handy foot has a tapered hole in the front of the foot to guide your addition as you sew so you don’t need to hang onto it. The underside of the foot has space for a thin cord or ribbon to easily glide underneath without jamming. This foot is ideal for couching small trims and cords, but be sure to check the hole size to be sure your trim fits the opening. Note that some brands may call this a cording foot.

Embroidery Foot

Decorative stitches on your machine are often called embroidery stitches—you might have scallops, ducks, arrows or any number of stitch patterning. As you sew those stitches you need good visibility and you need space under the presser foot for thread build-up, especially if the machine is going both forward and backward to create a dense stitch pattern. The extra bulk can stall stitching if your presser foot doesn’t have room under it for the thread build-up to glide easily over the stitches. Embroidery feet (often called satin stitch feet, decorative stitch feet or reverse pattern foot, depending on the brand) have a recessed area under the base of the foot to allow for the thread accumulation with bold stitching patterns. The foot opening is wide enough to accommodate your widest stitch width. Many embroidery feet are clear plastic for better visibility, and some have an open-toe area for the same reason. Some brands also have horizontal or vertical marking to help line up intricate stitching patterns.

Gathering Foot

Yes, you can stitch multiple rows of long stitches and tediously pull threads to make gathers, but having a gathering foot can make the task much easier and it will gather fabric for you as you stitch, or secondarily, it will gather one piece of fabric while attaching it to a flat piece—think adding a ruffle to a band in one step. The multi-layered foot is broad and flat, with a slot between the two base layers. If you simply want to gather, feed the fabric under the foot, adjusting the amount of gathering by changing the stitch length. You can also adjust the tension to change the look of the gathers. If you want to sew a gathered layer to a flat layer, thread the fabric to be gathered under the presser foot, and the non-gathered layer into the slot. As you stitch, the lower layer will be gathered and sewn to the upper layer in one step.

Pintuck Foot

Teeny tucks, often in groups, are called pintucks and they require a specialty foot and a twin needle for creation. The secret to this embellishment lies in the fact that a single bobbin thread spans both needles, making a tiny narrow raised ridge. To make the tucks more prominent, you can add a small cord between the bobbin thread and the fabric. Pintuck feet come with varying numbers of tucking channels underneath, depending on the brand and the desired usage—usually three to nine tuck channels, so you can stitch multiple tucks evenly spaced. Use the channels to align with a previous pintuck to control spacing. Pintuck feet can be metal or clear plastic, depending on the brand.

All photos compliments of Bernina

July 10, 2026

Q&A: Sewing Multiple Layers; Squaring Up Quilt Blocks; and Replacing the Light on Your Machine

Sewing Multiple Layers

Q: When sewing garments with multiple layers or fabrics of different weights, how can I keep seams from shifting and maintain accurate alignment throughout construction?

A: One of the most overlooked aspects of advanced garment sewing is controlling fabric rather than simply stitching it together. When combining fabrics with different characteristics—such as a wool coating with a silk lining, or a stable woven with a slippery rayon—each layer wants to feed through the machine at a different rate. Before sewing, stabilize areas that are prone to distortion with staystitching, lightweight fusible interfacing, or temporary wash-away tape. Hand-basting critical seams, particularly princess seams, collars, lapels, and sleeve caps, often produces a more accurate result than relying solely on pins or clips.

Machine settings also play an important role. Adjusting presser foot pressure can dramatically improve feeding, especially on delicate or lofty fabrics. A walking foot or dual-feed system helps keep layers moving evenly, while fine-tuning stitch length can prevent puckering. Press each seam as it is sewn—not just at the end of the project—and allow the fabric to cool on a tailor’s ham, seam roll, or clapper to permanently set the shape. These couture-inspired techniques require more time, but they result in garments with cleaner lines, better drape, and a noticeably more professional finish.

Squaring Up Quilt Blocks

Q: Why do experienced quilters sometimes recommend “squaring up” blocks after every construction step instead of waiting until the quilt top is complete?

A: Accurate quilting is cumulative. Even tiny discrepancies—an oversized seam allowance, slight stretching while pressing, or a block that’s only 1/16 inch too large—can multiply dramatically across dozens or hundreds of blocks. Squaring up individual units, subassemblies, and completed blocks keeps these small errors from compounding, making final assembly smoother and reducing the need to ease pieces together later.

That said, squaring up should be done thoughtfully rather than automatically trimming every block to fit. If multiple blocks are consistently undersized or oversized, it’s better to identify the source of the problem, such as seam allowance accuracy, cutting precision, or pressing technique. Many advanced quilters use specialty rulers designed for specific block units, allowing them to align seam intersections before trimming. This approach preserves points, improves overall accuracy, and results in flatter quilt tops that are easier to baste and quilt with fewer distortions.

Sewing Machine Light Bulbs

Q: What color temperature is best for my sewing machine light, and does it really make a difference?

A: Yes—it can make a significant difference, especially when you’re working on detailed sewing tasks or matching fabric colors. For most sewing applications, a cool white LED bulb with a color temperature between 5000K and 6500K provides the closest approximation to natural daylight. This brighter, whiter light makes it easier to distinguish between similar thread colors, see stitch definition, and spot subtle flaws such as skipped stitches, uneven seam allowances, or fabric puckering. Many sewists also find that daylight-balanced lighting reduces eye fatigue during long sewing sessions because the work area appears sharper and more evenly illuminated.

While warm white bulbs (approximately 2700K to 3500K) create a comfortable, inviting atmosphere in a sewing room, they’re generally better suited for ambient lighting than task lighting. Their yellowish cast can alter the appearance of fabric colors, making navy and black, or similar shades of gray and brown, more difficult to differentiate. If your machine accepts a replaceable LED bulb, choose one designed specifically for sewing machines and verify that it matches the manufacturer’s recommended size and voltage. For the best overall lighting, combine a daylight-balanced machine light with adjustable room or task lighting to minimize shadows and illuminate your project from multiple angles.

July 3, 2026

Foot Fun: Part 1

No matter what brand of machine you own, you probably have multiple presser feet that came with it. We have a tendency to use maybe one or two different feet, but let’s take a look at some feet other than the “basics”. Depending on your model these may come with your machine, or need to be purchased as separate accessories, so check with your dealer, or look for a generic equivalent.

Blindhem Foot

Sewing the perfect blindhem takes practice, as you want the “bite” of the stitch to catch as little as possible, but still have holding power for the weight of the hem. While you can create this hem with a standard zigzag foot, a blindhem foot offers a vertical guide for the folded fabric edge to help keep stitches where they belong. In addition to using this foot for hemming, you can use it anytime you need to keep an even edge in place. Some brands offer an adjustable position guide, while others offer a fixed location.

See our article on blind hemming for more information.

Button Foot

It’s easy to sew a button on by machine but holding it in place for the process can be a challenge. Enter the button sewing foot…short little toes to hold even the squirmiest button in place and a little protrusion to allow for creating a thread shank while sewing. The short toes also allow for better visibility for correct positioning. Just lower the feed dogs (or set the stitch length to zero), position your button on the project and lower the foot. (Double check your machine manual for any specifics.) Set the stitch width to span the button’s holes and stitch away. Then slide the button out and voila!

Darning or Free-motion Foot

When you’ve lowered the feed dogs, it’s up to you to move the fabric where you want it to go, so you can’t have a presser foot sitting down on the fabric. The darning or free-motion foot “hovers” above the fabric surface allowing you to move it around freely for darning, writing or free-motion embroidery work. The circular opening in the foot is roomy enough for a zigzag or straight stitch, depending on your project, but the open-loop foot base prevents the fabric from riding up on the needle.

Non-stick Foot

If you’re sewing vinyl, oil cloth, laminates or leather, a regular presser foot can sometimes stick to the surface causing drag and uneven stitches. But a non-stick foot is made from a special material that simply glides over the pesky surface so the fabric feeds evenly. Non-stick feet are available for straight stitching, zigzagging and for zipper insertion, depending on your machine brand.

Open-toe Foot

There are times when you just need to have a clear vision for what you’re sewing and you don’t want the presser foot toes obscuring your view. An open-toe foot to the rescue! Showcasing a wide-open space in front, it’s easy to see an appliqué edge or follow a line on your fabric. Use this foot anytime to need a better sight line for the task at hand.

Quarter-inch Foot

Keeping a seamline at an even ¼” isn’t always easy, but this specialty foot comes with a built-in seam guide to abut the fabric edge and keep things even. Revered by patchwork aficionados, this foot makes it almost a sure deal for even seaming with a straight stitch.

Rolled-hem Foot

If you’ve ever tried turning a narrow, rolled hem and stitching it flat, you know it can be a challenge, especially on squirmy and lightweight fabrics. Rolled-hem feet come in varying widths and offer a scroll up front to pre-roll the fabric hem before it actually reaches the needle. Just curl the fabric edge into the scroll and stitch away for a perfect rolled hem. Note that some feet allow for using a zigzag stitch, while others accommodate only a straight stitch.

Zipper Foot

Zipper insertion requires multiple stitching locations next to sometimes bulky zipper teeth to create even placket stitching. An all-purpose presser foot doesn’t ride over teeth well, but the zipper foot allows for positioning the foot on the side opposite the teeth. Some zipper feet have adjustable bases allowing them to actually move side-to-side, while others are stationary and utilize varying needle positioning for relocating the stitching lines.

Don’t see a foot you’re curious about here? Watch for Part 2, coming soon.

All photos compliments of Bernina