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Here at ChellyWood.com, I’ve been giving you my list of the top 10 items I would put in a beginner’s sewing kit. Coming in at #7 is a seam ripper (AKA an unpicking tool).
A beginner may not know how to use one of these handy little items, so I’ll include in today’s blog posts some of the ways I use a seam ripper, when I’m making doll clothes.
My family always called this tool a seam-ripper, but I’m told that in other parts of the world it may be referred to as an un-picker instead (sometimes spelled “unpicking tool” without the hyphen). Either way, if you’re new to sewing, you will make mistakes! So the seam-ripper/unpicking tool is an essential object to include in a newbie’s sewing kit.
It’s important to buy a seam ripper that has a lid, so you can protect your fingers from injuries.
In the photo above, the lid, or sheath, is clear, so it may be a little hard to see. But in my YouTube #Shorts video at the top of this page, you can see the unpicking tool/seam ripper in my hands, with the little grey lid or sheath over the top. Then I uncap it to begin the process of seam ripping.
Always put the lid or sheath over the sharp end of your seam ripper when you stash it in a drawer or sewing basket. If you don’t, you’ll reach in to grab something else, and ka-chonk! You’ll stick yourself with it!
Other injuries can occur too; if you aim your seam ripper toward your own hand, arm, or (as shown in the image below) thumb while un-picking, you’re asking for a major injury to happen…
It’s safer to point the seam ripper away from yourself and keep hands and fingers out of the way when using it.
Have a look at the image below, to see what I mean.
If your seam ripper has a little ball on one end, you can run the ball of your seam ripper under a closed seam, and the arc between the two forked ends of it will then cut a seam open with fluidity, but when you’re first starting out, I recommend that you do this with caution. The Professor Pincushion video at the end of today’s blog post explains why.
It’s safer for beginners to pick a few seams and then lift the loose thread with the flat of the seam ripper, as shown in the image below.
Another cool way to use this tool is to open a button hole.
Scroll down a little. See the image below? After you sew your button hole onto a garment, you need to open it up. I’ve seen people use scissors to open up the button hole, but a seam ripper does the job more efficiently.
Just poke the pointy end of the seam ripper / unpicking tool all the way through the fabric at one end of the button hole, and then lift the pointy end back through the fabric in the middle of the button hole; drag it through the fabric until the button hole is half open. Then repeat the process to open the button hole the rest of the way.
And then finally, a seam ripper or unpicking tool can also be used to correct errors when you’re working with embroidery or cross stitch.
Again, there are videos on YouTube that go into greater detail about how this is done, but as today’s blog post is about why you should have a seam ripper in a beginner’s sewing kit, I’m not going to go into that more extensively today.
My YouTube #Shorts video (up at the top), which shows you how I use my seam ripper when making doll clothes, doesn’t include all the different methods I’ve mentioned in this blog post.
However Professor Pincushion has the most thorough video on this topic, so I’m including her more extensive video, right here:
By the way, she also has a new book out, called, Professor Pincushion’s Beginner Guide to Sewing, which would also be a fantastic Christmas gift to go with your “Beginner’s Sewing Kit,” especially if the person who wants to learn to sew is more interested in sewing their own garments than sewing doll clothes.
If you’re looking for a book that’s specifically designed to help people learn to sew doll clothes, Erin Hentzel has some wonderful options in the American Girl and Wellie Wisher size options. Sew in Style is one of my favorites! I bought it for my niece, Mel, for her birthday one year.
For the Barbie lovers out there, I recommend Annabel Benilan’s
If you enjoyed this blog post, and you’d like to see my videos, you might want to navigate over to my YouTube channel, ChellyWood1 to look through my playlists.
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For anyone who would like to expand their dolls’ wardrobes, you should really check out my “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” course and my “Design Your Own Doll Pants Patterns from Scratch” classes on the Creative Spark online learning platform. Here’s my bio page on their website, where you can learn more.
For any class on Creative Spark, you don’t have to follow a schedule. Just sign up when you’re ready.
It’s a one-time fee for the course, and there’s no specific time limit to finish your course. You can just take your time and learn at the pace that suits you. So go check out my paid courses on Creative Spark, using this link.
As always, feel free to pin, like, or tweet about my free patterns and tutorials.
To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.
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Chelly Wood and the ChellyWood.com website are not affiliated with any of the doll or toy companies mentioned in this blog post, but Chelly enjoys designing her doll clothes to fit a variety of dolls. To learn more about the doll companies mentioned in today’s post, please visit the doll or toy company’s website.