Favorite Sewing Tool: Stiletto

When we're sewing, sometimes it seems like we just never have enough hands. Well, I'm gonna show you a tool today that will fill that void. It's one of my favorite tools. It's called a stiletto. It comes in a little case and there's a good reason for it. That's because the stiletto has a very, very sharp tip, very sharp and pointed. And so it's a safety issue. If you notice on the top of the cap, there is a little loop there and that's so you can put a lanyard or a ribbon on it if you want to wear it around your neck to keep it more convenient while you're sewing. But you always, when you're using the stiletto, wanna make sure you put it back in the case, one, so you don't get hurt or somebody else doesn't get hurt with a sharp tip, number two, you don't want this dropping on the floor. It's kinda like your knives. You wanna protect the tip at all costs. So always put it back in its case. I'm gonna show you how you can use the stiletto and how it comes in handy over here at the sewing machine. I've got two different pieces ready to sew, and I wanna show you some different ways that it comes into play. First of all is this thick fleece. It's very, very thick fabric. And sometimes thick can be difficult for sewing. So we're gonna come along here and I'm taking my pins out. Because I'm having to take the pins out, sometimes the seams come up. So that's where the stiletto comes in handy. I can simply use it as another set of fingers and guide the fabric under the sewing machine. I don't wanna sew over it. Just like a pin, it would not be good for the machine. But it will help keep things flat while I'm sewing. And it also helps with thick fabric to guide things under the machine. Now let me show you with some thin cotton fabric, just normal quilter's cotton. I have a seam ready to sew here for my piecing. And sometimes it helps for getting the fabric started under the machine so that it doesn't ball up, but more importantly, when I come to my matched seams here, they're nested, but again, I wanna make sure they go under the needle together. That's where the stiletto comes into play. If, for some reason, this one needed to go in the opposite direction, then I could very easily hold the fabric back with my stiletto and sew over it. In this case, though, my seam is going in that direction. I'm able to take my pin out and hold the fabric under the needle while I sew. Once I'm done sewing, the stiletto comes in handy at the ironing board for two different ways. I never have enough hands when I'm ironing. So I wanna make sure I set the seam first, but now, let's say this is a part where I'm wanting to press a seam open. Even though it's quilting, I wanna press it open. The stiletto is really nice for with 1/4-inch seam, helping me get it started and getting the seam apart so that I can come in here and iron. That's one use of it. It's another little set of hands. The other place that I find it's very handy at the ironing board with sewing or with quilting is when I'm doing a miter. As you can see, I've got this sort of down. I'm going to be coming in here, and the miter is always tough. The first part, you can usually get pretty good, but boy, when it comes to this one, you don't wanna have your finger in there holding the edge of the miter when you're trying to iron it or press it. So I can get it into place. I can hold it, literally, with my stiletto, come in here and give it a press and move out of the way. And guess what, I didn't burn my fingers. It's wonderful. So the stiletto is good for not only doing miters, but if you're doing applique or fusible bias, it really holds things in place and acts as a wonderful second hand or third hand for you. And I think once you start using it, you'll really enjoy the stiletto and it will become one of your favorite tools also.