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Written by LiccaApril 15, 2025

Sewing Machine Hacks

This is the second version of this panel, and I cover some ways you can make your sewing machine do things that aren’t obvious! For example:

How to use notecard/cardstock and tape to create your own guides
How to know exactly how many stitches have you done so far on your machine
How to make use of cheap bar clamps
How to use your machine when you have no power
A better way to use USPS junk mail (instead of lining cages/throwing it away)
How to do quilting designs without a computerized longarm

All these do not require spending a lot of money, and can be done with items you can find around your home.

This is the second iteration of my Sewing Machine Hacks panel; the original one was done at Anime Austin, this revised version has an additional trick involving cheap clamps.
For this panel, I assume some very basic sewing knowledge. We do not violate any die-hard rules of using a sewing machine with these tricks.
The notecard guide is one of my most powerful tricks, and it is pretty much free with office supplies you may have at home.
In this slide, I talk about the variety (or lack thereof) of sewing guides on a sewing machine, including the common guide bar.
Sometimes the guides lie, can't be used, or you need a lot more guides than the machine can provide.
To solve this, I use tape and a notecard to create my own guides. You can create a guide in any location and at any size desired. The notecard is so that you have a "fence" that you can use to help alignment.
Some examples of cases where existing machine guides are no good. The one on the left is a Shutterfly sewing machine, $20 on Amazon; It has no guides at all. The one on the right is the fact I can't get a guide bar into the edgestitching foot of a Bernina, and I needed two guides.
Here, I am using a notecard guide on a serger to help me align fabric for quickly making pleated skirts. Guide markings on sergers are notorious for lying.
This trick is admittedly getting harder and harder, but it's still pretty doable.
I briefly discuss stabilizers here (I have a whole panel just on stabilizers), but you actually probably have free tear-away stabilizer...
...a.k.a. the USPS junk mail. When I did this panel last time, junk mail was much more of a thing, but it has been reduced over the years. You still enough of it for this trick to work.
There are cases where you don't want to use junk mail as your stabilizer, but the cases where you can use it cover most of the cases that don't involve an embroidery machine.
How to be a quilter without a computerized longarm!
The paper template trick was something that I learned from the quilters that I know; it is very inexpensive and VERY powerful.
I literally used gridded paper and created my own template. I then took the paper to a photocopier to make as many copies as I needed.
Doing this particular "quilt sandwich" took about 16 hours of sewing, because the harp space on a Bernina 630 isn't that large. With a bit of creative rolling, I did get it done.
This was used to create Escha Malier's top; it was a quilted gradient top. There was no way I was going to find this at a store. (Other people who have made this either crocheted the top or ignored the gradient altogether.)
You don't have to be completely freehand when it comes to freehand sewing techniques!
Sewing in a horizontal direction is critical for certain things on a sleeve. It allows you to do several tricks, such as attaching applique patches, without having to handsew it.
Let's go back to the 1800s!
You will have to do this at some point in your sewing career the longer you do it.
Do be gentle with the wheel, though! Do things slowly, and things will turn out all right!
This trick will tell you how many stitches you have done on a machine without needing a stitch counter on the machine itself.
The 5000 stitch count per bobbin was determined through observations with a machine that had a stitch counter. Even though the machine had a counter, for sake of efficiency I had to have extra bobbins loaded up ready to go.
This is a great trick; there is a use for cheap bar clamps that aren't that great for working with wood.
I like putting spools of thread (usually the larger ones), or horsehair braid along these clamps.