I Sew, Therefore I Rip

Yes. I sew. I also rip--more often than I would like to think about. How about you?

My complaint about having to rip it out is not so much about the time I lost or the frustration of doing something wrong. It is more how do I get all those little pieces of thread out the fabric after I rip. If you do not get them out, they stick out like porcupine quills after you sew the new seam. Plus they get caught up in the new stitching. Then they are almost impossible to get out. Humph! What can be done.

Elisa finally shared what she uses. She buys those tape lint removers that you brush over you clothes when the cat got to close or you black skirt was next to your fluffy bathrobe in the closet. She just runs that over the left over stitches and out they come. I have been sewing for over 150 years (well, maybe not that long) and never thought of something so simple.

I would just like to know why I did not have such an item when I was in my high school tailoring class. My teacher insisted the project be perfect - inside and out. She was always marking me down for how the inside looked. It just was not finished to her liking. Her comment was always, "Peggy, your projects look marvelous on the outside. Why can't you make the inside look as good?" I always responded with something like no one is ever going to see the inside. She did not appreciate that answer.

My final came. We could make anything we wanted, as long as it was more tailored than just a simple shift or skirt. I chose to make a suit with jacket and skirt. I purchased a beautiful flue wide-wale corderoy. It was beautiful when completed, as usual. Now to get away from the teacher from taking points off because of inside finishing and to make the outfit just be a little classier, I lined both the jacket and the skirt. The lining was not just a hanging lining. I actually hand stitched it all down to cover all inside seams. It was nice.

When it came time to have it graded, she insisted to come to each person's home and see what they made. She had me model this suit before she looked at it up close. After modeling it and showing her my sewing space and discussing the semester I had been in this class and my sewing talents as perceived by her, I had to take off the suit and hand it to her to check it all out. She turned it inside out and saw that I had lined it. It was done beautifully, she was pleased. Then she asked, "Did you line this to keep me from seeing your finishing techniques?" "Yes," was my answer. She just laughed.

I got an A+ on the project and an A- for the semester. I was pleased.

I would love to hear some of your ways of correcting ripping threads and/or your interesting sewing stories. We all have them. My sister's story would have to be the time she sewed through her finger nail.

Keep on Quilting/Sewing