What are your bad sewing habits?

[val_for_design]

-using my specialy labeled ' fabric only' scissors to cut paper then being a nazi about others using them

I'm a total scissor nazi... When my boyfriend first started staying at my house, I had the "You know, If I was to catch you using my fabric scissors to cut paper, I will have to stab you in the neck with them" talk.

He knows.

And DorrieBelle, I'm in exactly the same boat as you! I make sure now that if I'm buying second-hand clothes for the fabric or recons, I try to make sure that it's for good quality fabrics (or sometimes for a nice print). Oh, the perils of having an op-shop directly across from the office...

[SpicyChicaLisaAnn]

Oh you gals are too funny! But I can relate... sewing over pins (by why slow down to pull them out?)    Also slouching... like crafting doesn't do enough to my back already. Also I always tell myself that I'm going to use big, long, easy to take out if things don't come out the right way the first time stitches- but end up sewing stitches that are too small to rip out when the finished project has less than strait lines, ugh- then my fabric gets ruined trying to redo it... can you tell I JUST experienced this.. hahaa

[NixArmageddon]

I no longer sew over pins, and in fact I've started using them. I've also started ironing and prepping the fabric.

I guess my bad habits would include...
- Not working on lining things up as much.
- Not planning things out and sort of just jumping in.
- Making a HUGE mess in my sewing area.
- I don't know if this is a "bad habit" so much as a lack of skills or patience, but I tend to not sew straight lines.

[auroravioletta]

I never change my needle unless it starts making a funny sound when it goes into the fabric. And I never use the right needles for the fabric, either. Just universals. Why would I want to waste so many perfectly good needles by changing them every project?

I also skip ironing the seams as much as I can get away with. And I leave my works in progress spread out all over the livingroom, which makes the BF angry. I also sew in my underwear and hold pins in my mouth. 

And I never think things through properly before stitching away. Later I try to pull something right-side out and realize that my method does not work with the laws of physics. Stupid physics! Always making me rip out seams!

[UUmom2many]

-using my specialy labeled ' fabric only' scissors to cut paper

   That's probably the one thing I'm super careful about!   

me to!

Its really only paper with patterns printed on it but it can sometimes be printer paper as a lot of my patterns are pdf's but it's still paper...

[isadora12000]

I learned lots of my bad habits from my mom, aunt and grandma as they taught me to sew growing up, but I definitely picked up a few of my own over the years…

-Using our pool table as a sewing table
-Leaving a big mess on the “sewing table”, but the cats love to play with all the bits of left over string and fabric cut offs!
-Slouching – yes I am a horrible craft sloucher!
-Holding pins in my mouth… is that a bad habit? I didn’t think so until a few people mentioned it, humm, that was a learned habit for me.
-Not always prewashing…
-Never ironing my seams, though I have started to iron my hems before I sew them.
-And too many more to probably list....

I had the “these scissors are for fabrics only” talk with my husband so many times I just started to hide them. Boys!      

[Retromiad]

I'm a bad sloucher as well, I always lean over my work. 

[Kaitlinnegan]

I have to say..reading this thread makes me feel a lot better about my sewing habits.     That said, I do have a few bad ones of my own:

- hoarding patterns - I just discovered 10 cent patterns at a local thrift shop...help!
- hoarding fabric - although I've gotten a bit better lately.  My big problem is buying cheap stuff just because it's cheap, then later realizing that it's not going to magically turn into something I'll enjoy wearing...
- unnecessary anxiety about cutting into fabric - this is just silly and I need to snap out of it
- leaving my sewing machine lights on and iron on after I'm done sewing..     My iron has an auto-off feature, but it's still not a good thing to leave it plugged in.
- not completely removing basting threads, thread markings, and ripped out stitching before moving on - sometimes stray threads get caught in seams and are annoying to get out.  And sometimes I don't notice a yellow thread hanging the outseam of my dark jeans until I've worn them several times..   

[wifeofbath]

* I put pins in my mouth. (I mean, really, the chances of sucking one down is remote! Which no doubt will be a great comfort to me when I'm having surgery to remove one from my esophagus.)

* I don't change my needle nearly so often as the experts say I should. ("After every project"--like every project is the same size! And if it's working why bother? "After every five hours of sewing"--who in the heck times themselves?!)

* I save scraps of fabric that are too tiny for any reasonable use. (Maybe I'll start hiding them under the mulch around my house; if they've become a weed barrier, I needn't feel guilty for not using them.  )

* I try all too often to get away with improper, "one-pass" application of bias binding. (This actually works great on certain projects, but I lazily try to make it work on other projects and create more work for myself.)

* Procrastination! (I will sew no cut-out pattern pieces before their time. Or cut any fabric that has not aged, or...)

* I still sometimes sew over pins, although much less often than I did before I finally hit one with the sm needle.

* I frequently walk in my sewing room barefoot. (For why that's bad, see below.)


And two things that I could swear aren't bad habits, yet facts suggest otherwise:

* I could swear I have good posture and generally good ergonomics, yet sewing for a while often leaves me with some aching in my upper back.

* I am 99.9% certain I am very careful with my pins, yet somehow pins end up buried in the carpet.

Also I've somehow managed to break two seam rippers over the years, even though I'm sure I have a gentle touch.

[Retromiad]

wifeofbath, maybe you could use those really tiny pieces of fabric to make a quilt for a doll's house?  I think that would be amazing!