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Unit 5 Sewing Techniques
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Water-soluble pens contain a blue ink that disappears when the marks are
treated with water. Evaporating marking pens contain a purple ink that
evaporates in less than 48 hours. To be sure your markings will still be
there when you need them, do not use this type of pen until just before you
are ready to sew.
• Tailor’s chalk. This clay chalk comes in red, white, and blue. It is available
in a small square form or as a pencil. You can generally brush away the
chalk marks when you no longer need them.
Needles
There are many sizes and types of hand-sewing needles. Coarse needles
are for heavy fabrics, and fi ne needles are for delicate fabrics. A package of
assorted sizes and types is a good choice.
The sizes for coarse needles are low numbers. The sizes for fi ne needles are
high numbers. Therefore, a size 1 needle is larger than a size 12 needle. Size 7
or 8 is used for most common hand-sewing tasks.
Three types of hand-sewing needles are sharps, betweens, and crewel.
• Sharps are most often used for hand sewing. They are average in length
and have a small eye.
• Betweens are very short needles with a small eye. They are useful for fi ne
stitches.
• Crewel or embroidery needles have larger eyes. They are used for crewel
and embroidery projects as well as hand sewing.
Sewing-machine needles also come in a range of sizes from size 9 to size 18.
The lower numbers are the fi ner needles and the higher numbers are coarser
needles. The weight of the fabric and the size or type of thread determines
the size needle to use. Use a size 9 or 11 for fi ne fabrics and a size 16 or 18 for
heavier fabrics.
Three basic types of machine needles are ballpoint, sharp, and universal.
• Ballpoint needles. Use a ballpoint needle for knits and stretch fabrics. A
rounded tip allows the needle to slip between the yarns. It pushes the fab-
ric aside instead of piercing it.
• Sharp needles. Use a sharp needle for woven fabrics. It is designed to pierce
heavyweight, densely woven fabrics.
• Universal needles. The universal needle has a specially rounded point. It is
sharp enough to pierce tightly woven fabrics yet rounded enough to push
aside the yarns of a knitted fabric. It is a good all-purpose sewing-machine
needle.
Replace sewing-machine needles when they become dull or bent. A dam-
aged needle can harm fabric and cause stitching problems. Insert needles
according to the instruction manual.
Pins
Straight pins are useful for attaching pattern pieces to fabric and pinning
garment pieces together before sewing. Avoid marking pattern details with