A lesson of how and why to clip inside and outside curves. Includes tips for beginner and experienced sewists. Includes a pattern to practice clipping curves and tip sheets for handsewing and sewing with Minky-type fabrics.

1. Bendy and Bunchy
Curves – Clipping Your
Way to Smoother
Curves
Have you sewn a curve and wonder why it looks
more like an octagon? Are your seams lumpy around
the turns? Learn why clipping curves are an
important sewing foundation to making your curved
seams smoother on clothes, pillows or any project.
In this demonstration of a foundational sewing skill, you’ll learn to how to clip and
snip your way to smoother curves on your next sewing project. If you’ve been
sewing for a while, you might be surprised at the newest technique to clipping and
grading curves.
We’ll make an easy sleeping eyemask to take us through the twists and turns of
smoother curves.
Why and How to Clip
• Clipping condenses the fabric into a tight or concave
curve (1) and avoids bunching the fabric.
• Clipping spreads the fabric to a bended arc, or a convex
curve (2).
• Clip to approximately within three threads of stitching.
o Clipping too close to stitching puts stress on the
seam and risks tearing the seam.
• Clip about every ½” to ¾”. The more the clips, the
tighter the curve or wider the spread. With several
clips, you can even make an s-curve.
• Beginners: clip vertical to the stitching line.
o Example video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSrA-SQDo8g
• Intermediate and advanced sewers:
o Grade seam;
o Clip one side of seam in one direction;
o Clip second side of seam in opposite direction;
o Make second set of clips between the spacing of the first clips.
o Reference: “Better Basics” article by Louise Cutting, Threads
magazine, June/July 2010
©2010 Tina Wong, The Sew-cial Blogger Page 1 Sew Far, No Fear Sewing™

2. Eyemask Instructions
Materials
• 1 fat quarter fabric or 2 5”x12” scrap pieces of fabric (no knits)
• 13” length of ¼” elastic
• Point Turner
• All-purpose thread
• Thread Heaven
• Hand-sewing needle
• Straight pins
• Scissors
Instructions
Cutting
1. Fold fabric on the grain with right sides together.
2. Place the pattern on the fold. Pin and cut 2 of pattern.
3. Pin on the “X” of one of the fabrics; this marks your elastic placement.
Sewing
4. Unfold fabric pieces and pin right sides together.
5. Sandwich and pin ends of elastic on “X” of fabric. The end of the elastic
should be at the edge of the fabric or extending just beyond the fabric.
6. Sew around the outer edge using ¼” seam allowance. Reverse and sew
forward when you reach the elastic to give extra strength to these areas.
Leave a 2” opening.
7. Clip curves and turn right side out. Use the rounded side of your point
turner to push out the curves. Press with an iron or use the larger,
rounded side of your point turner to press the seams.
8. Slipstitch opening closed.
Tip: Run your thread through the Thread Heaven after threading your
needle for tangle-free and easier sewing.
Make It Uniquely Yours!
• Use flannel or Minky fabric on one side for a soft, luxurious feeling.
• Use your sewing machine’s decorative stitches in a contrasting color to add
pizzazz or write a message across the front of the eyemask.
• Let younger family members use puffy paints to decorate finished eyemasks.
• Glue fake eyelashes or cut eyelashes from felt and for flirty girl eyemask.
• Use shoelaces or ribbon instead of the elastic for a tighter-fitting eyemask.
• Fill with 2 tablespoons dried lavender buds for a relaxing aromatherapy
experience.
This project is suitable for beginner, intermediate and experienced sewers.
©2010 Tina Wong, The Sew-cial Blogger Page 2 Sew Far, No Fear Sewing™

3. Eyemask Pattern
©2010 Tina Wong, The Sew-cial Blogger Page 3 Sew Far, No Fear Sewing™

4. Hand Stitches
22.140 Page 1
Stitch Best Use
Running, • Gathering
Basting • Secure fabric layers that
won't be subjected to stress
• Decorative purposes in lieu
of machine topstitching
• Baste temporarily in
preparation for machine or
hand sewing
Backstitch • Hand-set a zipper or attach
trim
• Use whenever strength is
important
Catch • Hem heavy or bulky fabrics
Stitch • Secure facings
Diagonal • Same as for basting
Basting • Useful for slippery fabrics
Overcast • Finish raw edges, especially
loosely-woven fabrics
Slip Stitch • Close seams on stuffed
animals or pillows
• Attach linings

5. Hand Stitches
22.140 Page 2
Stitch Best Use
Tailor's Tacks • Mark fabric for construction: darts,
folds, match points, etc.
Whipstitch • Join one finished edge to another
Buttonhole/Blanket • Overcast edges
• Make hand-stitched buttonholes
• Decorative or functional depending
on closeness of stitches
French Tack • Secure facings
• Join lining and garment hems at side
seams
Prick/Pick Stitch • A variation of backstitch used as
decorative element along a garment
edge or parallel to a seamline
Blind Hem Stitch • Hem a garment
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6. Sewing with Minkee-like Fabrics
4.320 Page 1
The term Minkee is a trademark of Benartex Fabrics, but you'll also see similar fabrics called
Minky, Minkee and Minkie. All of these names refer to a polyester microfiber plush that's
softer than soft, and perfect for robes, sleepwear, quilts, baby blankets, children's toys, and
anything else snugly and lush!
Fabric Notes Securely pin the pattern pieces to the
Microfiber plush fabrics are usually 60"- fabric, as layers may shift easily due to the
wide knits, so there's no need to worry lush plush texture.
about raveling. They're available in many Cutting microfiber plushes is simple using
different textures, from flat, dots, ribs, either a rotary cutter or scissors. For easier
diamonds, stripes and swirly plushes to handling during construction, add to the
curly longer surfaces sometimes referred to original seam allowance to make it at least
as "poodle." 1/2" wide if the pattern doesn't already
The fabrics come in solid colors, polka dots, have that width. This helps to minimize the
stripes and prints, and they can be single or seam edges curling while sewing.
double sided plushes. Some flatter piles are
Shedding Solutions
embossed with design motifs.
Because of the soft pile fibers, this fabric is
Because the plushes are polyester, there's very messy to sew, so keep a lint remover
no need to preshrink fabrics before sewing. handy. It helps to take the cut pieces
However, if you're combining plushes with outside and shake them vigorously to
other fabrics that do shrink, pre-wash them remove loose cut pile before sewing.
all before cutting.
It's also important to keep the sewing
Cutting Cues machine clean while sewing plush fabrics.
Microfiber plushes will stretch. Like most Clean the bobbin case often during your
knits, there is more stretch crosswise than sewing spree.
lengthwise. Follow the pattern guidesheet
S-t-r-e-t-c-h Seaming
for layout, but be sure that the greatest
amount of stretch goes around the item, A size 80/12 universal needle works well for
especially for garments where fit may be most microfiber plushes. If your machine
dependent on some stretch. balks or you have problems with skipped
stitches, try a ballpoint needle instead.
Plushes have a nap. Color shading will
occur if adjacent project pieces are cut in Pin seams every inch or so to keep them
opposite directions. To minimize the chance from stretching and curling, and place pins
of cutting discrepancies, mark the top of at right angles to the seamlines. To help
each pattern piece with an arrow, then be control the fabric's stretch, use a walking
sure to place them in the same direction on foot on the machine to help keep the two
the fabric. seam layers of aligned.

7. Sewing with Minkee-like Fabrics
4.320 Page 2
On a conventional machine, use a slightly longer than Pressing Issues
normal stitch length for sewing seams—about 3.0. If the The plush textures of this microfiber fabric are easily
seam needs to have flexibility, use a narrow zigzag damaged with pressing, particularly if the iron is too
stitch. To prevent seams puckering as you stitch, use the warm. It's easy to obliterate the texture completely if
taut sewing technique: Hold the fabric firmly both in the temperature is too hot.
front of and behind the presser foot as you sew—don't
stretch it, just hold firmly. Finger-pressing works well, but if you must press with a
warm iron, do so from the wrong side and cushion the
A serger is ideal for stitching plush seams, as it trims the plush on a folded towel or needle board to avoid
excess seam allowance and finishes the edge at the flattening.
same time. Differential feed can be used to help keep
the seamline from stretching as you serge. Embroidery Essentials
Trim off the excess seam allowance width as you sew if To embellish a microfiber plush project with machine
you're using a serger; otherwise, stitch on the seam embroidery, use a cut-away stabilizer to keep the
allowance, then trim the extra width with scissors. stitched motif from distorting.
Select designs with some openwork or light fill in
keeping with the fabric weight, as opposed to heavily
filled satin stitched areas. Designs should have good
Hold It!
quality understitching to help flatten the pile before
If pinning doesn't hold the seams securely while you sew,
covering with the fill stitching.
try water-soluble basting tape between the layers, but only
within the seam allowances. This narrow tape will hold the Most importantly, use a topper on the fabric surface
edges in place while you sew, then wash out later. before you embroider to keep the plush fibers in check,
and to keep them from poking through the design
stitching. Water-soluble stabilizer or a permanent color-
matched topper both work well for this purpose.
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