Using Tailor Tacks for a Successful Garment

Hello everyone!

Here we are at the end of June, and I am still working on my shirt dress!  I am oh, so close to finishing, and will show you a sneak peek TODAY, but...first I wanted to share a few things with you:

Yesterday was a special day for me!  It was my birthday!  I happily got to spend it with my family.  In fact, my hubby worked a half day so he could take us all out to eat.  In our family, the person who has a birthday gets to choose where they would like to eat.  For some reason, the last two birthdays we celebrated were at Carrabbas (which I LOVE). However, there was no way I wanted to pick that for my day.  So, a trip to The Cheesecake Factory was in order!

I had a wonderful early dinner, and the tastiest low carb cheesecake with strawberries:

Our server Megan was awesome, and I even got a birthday song!  I must say, I had a wonderful day. And the older I get, the more I count my blessings!  Just 3 years ago I had a minor health crisis (heart-related) that changed my life and my eating habits forever.  It made me pay more attention to how I was treating my body, and was a clear enough warning that change was necessary.  

Now, I am delighted when I look around and see my family looking back at me--especially our youngest, who will be ONE in a few weeks!  God has been faithful, and I am GRATEFUL!!!

While I celebrated my day yesterday, I am also celebrating a new sewing discovery--tailor tacks!!  I have been knee-deep in shirtmaking (LOL) and delving into it through Craftsy.  One of those things is how to make speedy tailor's tacks.

My first impression on hearing about them through Pam Howard's Craftsy Classic Tailored Shirt class was to eye-roll and think, "it doesn't really take all that."  Yet even though my first response was apprehensive, I decided to give them a try.  If I hated it, I could always go back to my own method of marking, right?

Well, it turns out that I LOVE tailor's tacks!!!  Here are some questions I had, and what I found:

What are they for?

They are especially handy for thread-marking your fabric, so that you do not have to use marking tools, or distort the fabric in any way.  In fact, before there were marking tools, there were tailor's tacks!  I like that they reliably place your markings in a quick and easy way.

Do they take a lot of time to put in?

NO, not at all! Thread your needle, and you are ready to go!  You can even accurately thread mark two pattern pieces at once.I was worried about how much time they would take to put in, but it probably took as much time to do as it would for me to mark my fabric the way I usually do (with chalk or fabric pens).

How do you use them once you put them in?

Here is the part I thought would be difficult.  But, you know what?  I have found that the tacks made sense as I am began to construct my garment.  For example, on the shirt front for my shirt dress, I used them to indicate the foldlines (as well as small notches on the bottom), and I was pleased to see how everything lined up when I went to create the button band.  

For a short video tutorial about the process, click HERE. I hope you find tailor's tacks as helpful as I have!  If you already use them, let me know!

SNEAK PEEK OF MY SHIRT DRESS

Fitting, Buttonholes, Hemming, and Bias Binding still needed!

Stay sew filled!