5 Tips for Faster Sewing

Hey ghouls and creeps! As a production sewer with three years of experience in the industry, I’ve picked up some tricks and techniques along the way. At my day job (the blog currently being my mornings, evenings and weekends endeavor) we practice the Japanese business philosophy of kaizen. Kaizen is the idea of continuous improvement with the help and participation of the employees. This mindset has changed the way that I evaluate processes and inspired the development of many of these tips. The overall goal is to reduce waste in time and labor when considering improvements to your process or workspace. Even shaving off seconds from a process adds up!

Other considerations to look into is how much time is spent retrieving supplies or physically moving a project between steps. As a business owner I love figuring out ways to improve processes that are a value add to the community! In this post I’ll review five techniques and workspace upgrades that will bring down your sew time! Let’s get started!

1) Chain Sewing: One technique that saves both time and thread is chain sewing. Chain sewing is when you continue sewing straight seams on one continuous stitch line. Using this method eliminates lifting the presser foot, and clipping threads after completing each seam.

Another pro-tip that is loosely related to this is strategizing your thread changes. This means sewing as much as you can in a particular thread color prior to switching to the next!

2) Use Pins Sparingly: When sewing I try to limit my pin use to curved seams. To be more specific, I’ll use pins when easing sleeves, attaching collars, or in some cases hemming.

Any seams that are flat or straight I’ll not use pins. Pinning your project and removing pins as you sew will increase the time it takes to make your project. If you’re not as comfortable with using less or no pins, that’s okay! Having to take out seams because of puckering will take more time than using pins, so use those pins!

3) Make Tools Easily Accessible: I love using multi-pocket tool holders around my machine for quick and easy access! These are also great for reducing clutter on your desktop! Check out my desk organizing wall pocket project here: https://britnijade.com/organizational-fabric-wall-pocket/I also keep important tools in the desk drawer right under my sewing machine. While I sew I’ll place tools on the table space near the machine to reach and grab when needed.

Place the tools that you use the most while sewing in your tool holder. Some of these items might include fabric shears, thread snips, a seam ripper, a marking utensil and a small ruler. By eliminating the task of locating a tool every time it’s needed this will give you time back as well.

If you are using a couple different machine types while sewing, consider situating them so that you can easily swivel back and forth between the two(or more). This will remove the time taken to relocate yourself and the project when the other machine is needed.

4) Batch Sew when Sewing Multiples: This practice can be applied to both the sewing and cutting of a project. When cutting out multiples of a project, consider stacking or layering your materials and cutting them all at once! More time will be taken to set up your stack cut, but overall you’ll be saving so much time not having to cut each one individually!

Also, depending on the thickness of your stack use a rotary cutter. To help with accuracy, I’ll use a transparent ruler as a guide when cutting those straight cuts.

Another trick I’ve seen is fuse your interfacing to your material prior to cutting out your pieces. This will make it so your not cutting out a piece twice.

Once you’ve stack cut your materials, continue the assembly process by completing a step for all projects before moving on to the next step. With repetition you’ll notice that you’ll get into a flow and be on to the next step before you know it! This includes pressing your projects, save ironing for when the previous step is complete.

5) Invest in Tools that Will Reduce Steps: There are so many great gadgets and products for sewing that shave off time and relieve frustration! Some tools that I use consistently are self-threading machine needles, a cone thread holder, a teflon pressing foot, disappearing ink pens or chalk wheel, extra bobbins, and serger.

Self-threading needles are great for saving your eye sight and time. I would not recommend self-threading needles when sewing heavier materials like denim, canvas or upholstery because they seem to be prone to breaking.

If I’m sewing a larger project I’ll buy a cone of matching thread and thread it onto my machine from a cone thread holder. This will decrease the likely hood that I will runout of thread mid-project. Majority of the time however, this is not an issue.

A teflon pressing foot is great if you plan to sew fabrics such as leather, vinyl, oil cloth, or laminated cotton. This specialized pressing foot will not stick to the surface of the previously mentioned fabrics like your standard pressing foot!

Disappearing ink pens or chalk wheels are great for marking those important reference points or stitching lines on a project without the risk of being permanent! Below I’ve marked one side of my dart on the inside of the garment instead of eyeing a straight stitch line to the dart’s point.

I really recommend having extra bobbins available! The reason for this is, before I begin a bigger project I’ll wind 2-3 bobbins of the color I need so that I don’t have to stop and rethread my machine to wind a bobbin. Some folks swear by bobbin winders or pre-threaded bobbins, but if you don’t want to take on the investment or if your machine requires special bobbins, I would recommend the extra bobbin option instead!

Although a bit of an investment, sergers or overlock machines can be invaluable! Sergers have the ability to both create seams and finish your seams simultaneously. This can cut your production time in half! I don’t know about you, but I like the sound of that!

There they are, a super-condensed list of the tips, techniques, and tools that I constantly use to sew faster! If you have any pointers or tips to add, feel free to mention them below in the comments! I’d love to hear them!

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Ready for your next project? Here are some tutorials on the blog I think you’ll like! Frame Flip tutorial: https://britnijade.com/frame-flip/, Macrame Wall Hanging: https://britnijade.com/macrame-wall-hanging-w-bones/, or the Spider Web Macrame: https://britnijade.com/spider-web-macrame/. Enjoy!