My sewing career ended at the age of 12 when my mom asked me to help cut out a simple dress pattern and I somehow turned it into a crime scene. That was the day I discovered that I don’t have any talent when it comes to cutting fabric in a straight line.
It wasn’t until the pandemic—when I was on the hunt for a new hobby and trying to learn new skills—that I revisited sewing. I was happy to find that I made serious improvements on my ability to cut a pattern. I also had the chance to find the best sewing hacks and trickery on the internet.
How To Sew In A Straight Line
I recently stumbled across an absolute genius hack on Reddit that helps you to easily sew in a straight line. And wow, I really wish I would have found this months ago.
One Reddit user shared a photo that featured a hand sewing hack titled “How to sew in a straight line.”
The image simply showed two lines drawn on the sewer’s thumbnail while the thumb and pointer finger held up a hemstitch in progress. Due to the position of the thumb, the two lines served as a straight-line guide for the stitch. Absolutely brilliant!
“Now this is an actual life hack. Very helpful!” one person commented. Another added, “Whoever thought of this is a darn genius.”
The sewing puns started flooding the comments, too. From “It’s sew obvious” to “it really seams effective.” When someone commented that the hack was a “good rule of thumb,” another pointed out that’s exactly what the original post was all about — “a thumb ruler.”
The Easy Way To Thread A Needle
If you have trouble threading those tiny needle holes—either with a machine or hand sewing—there’s a clever trick that can help. Simply spray the tip of your thread with hairspray so it will stiffen. Then, it will easily slip through the needle’s eye. You’ll be able to push it right through without any fraying.
Need A Hand?
Sometimes, you just need more than two hands during your sewing project, especially when sewing with heavy fabrics like leather and denim. Instead of using pins to hold these larger, bulkier fabrics together, just use binder clips to hold down the fabric. This is an inexpensive option and you’ve probably already got a ton laying around in a junk drawer. But just in case you don’t, you can grab some binder clips here.
Double Check Those Stitches
Just like with the original Reddit post, you can also draw two lines on the outside of your thumb to make sure that your stitches are all even. Simply measure how far apart you need your stitches, and mark that distance with a Sharpie on your thumb or pointer finger so you can measure as you sew.
