I learned how to sew a long time ago. My mom started teaching me when I was seven or eight or somewhere around there. I don’t remember exactly, I just know it was a really long time ago. In my 30 years of sewing, I’ve done a lot of things and tried a lot of different products. But I had never used any specialty threads (they come in metallic, iridescent, shimmery colors, all kinds of cool stuff), just the normal kind in an enormous rainbow of colors.
Right now I’m sewing Halloween costumes. Yes, I know it is only August, but 1) it is actually pretty normal for me to be sewing Halloween costumes in August (Kev saw a t-shirt once that said “I have CDO-it’s like OCD only in the right order.” It is a pretty apt description of me.) and 2) I want to get them done before baby gets here so I’m not trying to create Yoda ears out of fabric and fleece in the midst of the exhaustion and sleep deprivation of those first weeks. And Nathan’s costume has some lovely silver braid on it. Seven and a half yards of lovely silver braid to be exact. This is the stuff that I would normally sew on by hand so that it looks fabulous (Yes, I know this is a Halloween costume for an 8 year old. But it can still be well made and look great!), but I have neither the time nor the energy to sew 7 yards of braid onto a wizard robe. And yet my OCD won’t let me just slap the stuff on with the glue gun. I have some great craft glue that is washable and dryable so it would work well, but it is so stinky that with my current super charged nose I just barely managed to make it through the few minutes it took to glue braid to the wired brim of the hat. There is no way I could stand smelling it long enough to glue the remaining seven yards. Besides, even glue would be a huge hassle since I’ve got seven freaking yards of trim to attach.
But while I was at the fabric store over the weekend, I happened to notice that one of the more readily available brands of specialty threads was on sale for 50% off the regular price. So I picked up a spool of invisible thread. And I am in love. It is a bit more fickle than regular thread (It is harder to thread the needle of the sewing machine and it breaks more easily. However, I loosened the tension on my machine a bit and that problem went away.) but it is totally worth it. In mere minutes I zigzagged all seven yards onto the robe and the best part is that it looks like I spent hours and hours painstakingly stitching it on so that the stitches are impossible to see. The only proof that it is machine stitched is the gray thread I used in the bobbin. It is seriously awesome!
So while the invisible thread is not suitable for every task, I’m sold on using it to attach decorative trims. And I think I might have to come up with some projects that will give me an excuse to try out some other specialty threads as well…
2 comments:
Lol.. just yesterday I asked Justin's opinion on a particular Halloween costume (that I'm planning on crocheting) for the baby and he looked at me like I was crazy to be mentioning the holiday already... Apparently we haven't been married long enough for him to know my tendencies. ;)
Here, here! Metallic threads are also wonderful with decorative stitches on your machine, but invisible thread is the best. Just don't leave loose ends on the inside of clothing (they itch something fierce). You also might want to put just a touch of glue on the cut ends, because it does come undone quite easily.
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