WOTZA Archives - Nannycraft4u

Wotza Wednesday – What’s a Cheater Needle?

April 22, 2015 by Nanny 11 Comments

Today I have a question from Gail:

“Nanny what’s a Cheater needle? Can you explain please?”

Thanks Gail – a great question!

A Cheater Needle is just another name for a Self Threading Needle. These are used widely by hand stitchers and are especially handy for those with impaired vision. They are available at any of the supply stores.

The needle has a slit at the top of the eye

You simply place the thread across the top and tug lightly and the threads move down into the eye!

I have just been using one of these to finish off a quilt I am working on. They make hiding threads a breeze! (and not only in quilting)

I began these rows at the seam by drawing the bobbin thread out before starting sewing. (This avoids knotting up a mess on the back and gives a much neater finish than backstitching )

I knotted the two threads ( top and bobbin) together

Put the needle down into the quilt and ‘threaded’ the needle

Pulled the needle through, and gently tugged the knot into the quilt – I love the way you hear/feel it pop!

Then I simply trimmed the threads.

Here it is all finished:

Thanks for the question Gail. As you can see, the cheater needle or self threading needle is a very handy item to have in your sewing kit!

Don’t forget, if you have a Wotza question for me just send a message and I’ll do my best to answer.

Until next time

Nanny xx

Wotza Wednesday – Fabric Confusion

October 2, 2013 by Nanny Leave a Comment

I have had a number of questions about fabric terminology so today I am going to try to simplify some of the language of fabric for you.

FABRIC OR MATERIAL?

First off we sew with fabric – it was always called material by my grandmothers but today, anyway, we buy fabric to create an item. Material refers to the raw material used to create the fabric and it varies to produce different fabrics. eg cotton, wool, man-made fibres.

What’s a BOLT?

We buy fabric from the bolt. It is the rolls of fabric you see when you go to a shop. The fabric is usually folded selvedge to selvedge and then rolled onto cardboard – this is the bolt.

What’s a SELVEDGE?

The selvedge is the edge that doesn’t fray that runs right along the length of the fabric on both sides.

If you look at a selvedge you will notice that it has information on it : The name of the design, manufacturer and some coloured dots. If you are trying to match another fabric, use the coloured dots as a guide – they are the colours that have been used in the design.

What’s a WOF?

WOF stands for Width Of Fabric – the width from one selvedge to the other. Quilting fabric is usually 42″ wide but if you buy upholstery fabric, for example, it may be much wider.

What’s a cut of FABRIC?

Fabric is sold by the metre or part there-of. If you buy on-line you will notice that the fabric is sold in units and the size of that unit is outlined by the seller. It is most often 0.25 of a metre and if you want to buy a metre you order 4 units. (Some sellers may sell per yard which is about 91.5 cm)

If you are purchasing in a shop, some will have minimum cuts – this simply means that you have to buy at least that amount. If I am shopping in a ‘new’ shop, I will always ask if they have a minimum cut. If you only want 20 cm and the minimum cut is 1m you need to know!!

If you want 2 metres they will unroll the fabric from the bolt and measure 2m along the selvedge, and then cut across – this is a good time to watch carefully and don’t be afraid to say if you think they about to cut it short or crooked. You can lose inches if it is not squared!!

In the same way, if you only want 1/4 m or 25cm they will measure along the selvedge and cut.

What’s a FAT QUARTER?

A fat quarter is a quarter of a metre but it is not the usual 25cm.

Remember if you want 25cm, they will cut that across the fabric from selvedge to selvedge. You will have a strip, WOF, that is 25cms wide

A fat quarter however, is cut by firstly cutting a metre from the bolt and then and cutting it in half lengthways and crossways. You end up with 4 ‘fat’ pieces approx 53cms x 50cms.

In the same way, you can see that by cutting 0.5m from the bolt and then cutting it in half, you will have 2 Fat quarters.

I hope this helps you to feel more confident when shopping for fabric!

Thank you to Sue at Splash into Craft for allowing me access to her shop for photos! Why not drop by and tell her Nanny sent you!

Until next time
Nanny xx

Wotza? Wednesday – What’s a Directional Fabric?

July 3, 2013 by Nanny 8 Comments

Today’s Wotza comes from Karlie who asks:

“Nanny, I am a newbie to sewing and was wondering if you could tell me:

What’s a directional fabric?”

Thanks Karlie – that is a great question and an important one for you to clear up before you get started.

The terms Directional and Non-directional usually refer to the design or print on the fabric (or the picture) – is it all going in the same direction? If the answer is Yes, then it is a Directional fabric and this determines how we need to place our patterns.

Let’s take a look at some fabrics from my stash!

In this fabric, the trees are all standing up the same way – it is a Directional Fabric.

Robert Kaufman: City Centre

If we turned it upside down

Robert Kaufman: City Centre

Well it just looks wrong – and upside down!!

In this one, the butterflies are flying in all directions and if you look carefully, you will see the same butterfly, flying in different directions .

Michael Miller: Beau Papillon

We could turn this fabric upside down and it doesn’t look a whole lot different! We can look from either side and it’s still the same. It is Non-Directional. We can place a pattern in any direction (as long as it is on the grain)

Michael Miller: Beau Papillon

Stripes are another example:

In this stripe, you will notice that even when I turn it upside down, that the sequence of the stripes remains the same. I could place my patterns facing either way as long as it was on grain and it would be OK,

Babushka

Babushka

whereas this stripe does not. This one is Directional and would need the patterns all facing the same way.

Why is this important?

You need to consider the Direction when you are choosing your fabric for a project and placing your patterns. For example, you need to cut all the pattern pieces with the trees standing upright and
with the stripes going around a skirt, you want the stripes to match at the side seams.

Another place that you will meet this is when you are making a bag whether it be a simple library bag or a more detailed bag for yourself. If the fabric is Directional, you will need to make a seam along the bottom so that you can have the fabric going up on both sides! If, on the other hand, you choose a non- directional fabric for this you can use a long strip that goes down one side and up the other without looking “wrong”.

When you buy a pattern, you will usually find a mention in the Fabric Requirements section that tells you that you may need extra fabric if it is Directional.

I hope that has answered your question Karlie, and that it helps you from making a very simple ‘mistake’ when you are using Directional prints. Thanks for asking!

Remember, if you want to ask Nanny a Wotza question, you can send an email to me at Nannynotes2u@gmail.com

Until next time
Nanny xx

You may be aware of the changes about to occur in the blogging world but if not, you don’t need to worry because thanks to a wonderful tutorial provided by Alyce at Blossom Hearts Quilts, Nanny is all over it’!!!

You are now able to follow Nannynotes2u on Bloglovin!

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WOTZA? Wednesday – What’s a Button Spacer?

June 26, 2013 by Nanny 12 Comments

The Wotza question that I have chosen for this week came from Sharon. Thanks Sharon!

Sharon asks: “Nanny what’s a button spacer?”

To answer this question, I am going to talk about sewing buttons on.

Some buttons have a shank – that’s the little stem at the back with the hole in it. We sew through the holes and the shank holds the button away from the garment so that when you do the button up, there is room for the buttonhole side to sit nicely under the button.

Other buttons are flat – that is, they do not have a shank but have the holes in the button.

To answer Sharon’s question: a Button Spacer is used when sewing a flat button. to create a ‘shank’.

I will demonstrate by sewing a flat button onto a garment.

1. Take a length of thread (about an arms length) and fold it in half so that you have the two ends together

2. Thread the needle with both ends of the thread, push it through the fabric where you want the button and pull through to the loop at the other end.

3. Bring the needle back up beside the loop

4. Put the needle through the loop

5. Pull the thread to tighten

This will give you a neat back with no knots to come undone!

This is where we meet the Button Spacer!!

When I was taught to sew a button on, every home had a supply of matches because the households used wood fires for cooking and heating. So my first button spacer was a match! I’ve noticed that todays’ matches are smaller too! In the years since, I have used a wooden skewer, a large darning needle or whatever else I could grab quickly!

So take whatever you have selected as a spacer and follow along. I will use part of a wooden skewer because it is larger for photos.

When I was taught, you did it this way. Place your spacer beside the thread and stitch over the spacer a couple of times

Then add your button and continue with the button sitting on top of the spacer.

6. Nanny does it this way: I could never see the sense of trying to hold a flat button on a rounded spacer……… so sit the spacer on top of the button!!

7. Sew over the spacer as you sew the button on

8. When you are satisfied that you have sewn enough, bring the needle to the button side but come up under the button not through the hole.

9. Remove the spacer

10. You will be able to see the loose threads formed by the spacer under the button now

11. Holding the button away from the garment, wind the thread around the loose thread formed by spacer about 12 times

– you will see that we have now made a ‘shank’!

12. Take a small stitch under the button

13. Pass the needle through the loop to fasten – I do this twice

14. Take needle through to the back

15. Snip thread and admire your button sewn on using a spacer!

Thank you Sharon – that was another great WOTZA!!

Don’t forget, if you have a WOTZA question you can email it to me at nannynotes2u@gmail.com

Until next time
Nanny xx

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