Dark fabrics

Since I’ve started trying to sew again some, dark fabrics have been a major challenge. But where there’s a will, there’s usually a way. I’ve been trying different things — more light, more magnification, feet with integrated guides, different machines, combinations of all of the above — and I still had difficulties.

And then I remembered that when I was teaching my friend to sew, she had some issues with getting her seams to be a consistent width. We tried Bonnie Hunter’s hack of using an old hotel card as a seam guide (we used an expired gift card) with a Scotch restickable strip for mounting – it was important that it was a strip and not a square or tab. And it helped her.

So I thought I’d give that a try. I dug around and found the strips and a card, and cut the card to size. Of course, you have to make sure that your card is aligned correctly, but it worked!

Yes, that blue fabric may not seem really dark, but even a medium shade of fabric has been somewhat challenging at times. And honestly, the concentration required to sew for any length of time on any shade of fabric is pretty intense.

I never needed a guide when I could see well, but I totally embrace using them if they help. I may actually go on a quilting retreat and sew in the near future!

Oh, and that stack of blocks at the top is my progress on the Broken Star Log Cabin for my brother. I’m almost to the end of adding the current size blue strips. I have 4 more stacks of strips to be added: two sets of cream, and two sets of blue (so essentially one more “round” of strips around the block).