Category Archives: Guides

Pins must hold the work while remaining suitable for the fabric. Practical sewing advice, useful checks and related tools from Eight Needles.

A loop turner helps turn an appropriate narrow fabric tube; a bodkin feeds something through an existing channel.

Tweezers can help retrieve short thread ends or position small pieces where fingers are awkward.

The tip is the defining feature of an awl. Practical sewing advice, useful checks and related tools from Eight Needles.

A bodkin guides elastic or cord through a casing. Practical sewing advice, useful checks and related tools from Eight Needles.

A seam ripper removes stitches by cutting thread, but its sharp point can also damage fabric.

A turned corner needs its fabric arranged carefully from the inside. Practical sewing advice, useful checks and related tools from Eight Needles.

An awl and a hole punch may both create an opening, but they do it differently. Practical sewing advice, useful checks and related tools from Eight Needles.

Opening a stitched buttonhole requires control over the cut and its endpoints. Practical sewing advice, useful checks and related tools from Eight Needles.

A screw punch needs a suitable backing surface under the material. Practical sewing advice, useful checks and related tools from Eight Needles.