Tip Tuesday! Seam Rippers

"Tip Tuesday!" - Seam Rippers

I love learning new things and then sharing that knowledge with my quilting friends. So, every Tuesday I'll provide some tips, hints, tricks, tutorials, shortcuts, etc. that I've learned over the years and share them here on the blog. 

"Tip Tuesday" will be a collection of information about a wide variety of subjects garnered from a large variety of sources.  I am not an expert by any means and do not take credit for being the great wizard behind all of these hints and tips. I will gladly give due credit whenever possible.

These tips will be archived and accessible to you just by clicking on the "Tip Tuesday" tab above. 

Read, enjoy, and be inspired! 

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I know we all dislike it when we have to use it, but we all own at least one seam ripper, right? How many do you have? Do you have a favorite ripper? Why is it your favorite?

This past weekend, I taught a class and noticed one of the gals struggling with her seam ripper. First of all, she was not too happy to have to be using it, but she was not having much luck ripping the stitches. (She had accidentally reduced her stitch length to 1.0 and that is what she was trying to take out.) 

I told her that I would rip while she continued sewing her other blocks. She gave me her seam ripper to use and man was it dull! I got out my ripper and then suggested that she might want to buy another ripper. She looked at me like I had two heads and asked "Why?" I told her that her's was dull and that a new one would be much easier to use. 

She, along with a couple of the other students, was surprised to learn that seam rippers need replaced. She's been using that same seam ripper since she made her daughter's christening gown in 1989. Holy Cow! I gave her one of the extra rippers that I keep in my class kit. It may not be brand new, but I know it's not very old and a heck of a lot sharper than the one she had. :-)  

Do you hate to use the seam ripper? I don't know too many people that like it, but I'm playing around with a quilt that will require a seam ripper. I've sewn some strips together, done some cutting, and then separated some of those previously sewn strips in order to add another fabric. It really was nice to intentionally use the seam ripper and be happy for it's sharpness.  

My goal is to offer the quilt as a class. Perhaps I should advertise it as a "Meet and Greet" or "Learn to Love Your Seam Ripper."  :-)

In the past month or so, I've been sent a couple of videos about seam rippers. No matter what kind of ripper you use, with the possible exception of an electric one, you'll probably find these videos interesting.    

There are three videos in all and the link below will take you to them.

http://www.keepnuinstitchesquilting.com/the-great-seam-ripper-controversy-just-how-do-you-use-a-seam-ripper/2/

Enjoy and remember...