SIO Tips no. 69 - Embroidery tips

New to Embroidery? Here are a few useful tips to keep your work at its best:

1. Choose your hoop carefully. Make sure you get a hoop where the inner and outer rings meet snugly.

2. Cover the face of your work with a scrap of thin material before inserting into the hoop; carefully cut a hole to reveal the working area. This covers the rest of the fabric, protecting it from oils on your hands and keeping it clean

3. Always take your work out of the hoop when you've finished for the day. This will prevent the hoop from leaving marks.

SIO Tips no. 67 - Care for your Sewing Machine - Part One

Keeping your Sewing Machine running nicely takes a little input on your part.  
Here are a few tips on keeping yours at it's very best, simply:


1. Use your sewing machine's manual for care at home instructions and have it service by a professional annually.

2. Regularly clean lint from the bobbin case area & lubricate with a drop of oil.

3. Change the needle often. Blunt needles will make your machine work harder & won't give you such a good finish on your project as sharp ones.

Look out for Part Two coming soon...

SEEKITOUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time. 

Magic Heat Mark Removal - Wooden Furniture

It happens to everyone at some point; a hot mug of coffee or a cold glass gets put down onto a polished wooden surface leaving a dreaded cloudy mark. 

This happened to me recently, but not just a small ring on the table. I had been making roman blinds and used the table to press the seams; of course I had used a thick folded cloth to protect the surface, as I have done before, but my new iron is a little more ferocious and a very keen steamer. The resulting iron prints down the length of the dining table simply couldn't be regarded as 'characterful'.

I had a small panic and tried to polish it out to no avail. So, Google became my best friend. There were a few suggestions mentioned: Iron a damp towel over the affected area (too scary for me), use WD40 (I didn't have any to hand) and then I saw the suggestion of Mayonnaise, whole egg not fake stuff.
Well, I had that in the fridge so I decided to give it a go. I dabbed a test area thickly with the mayonnaise using kitchen paper and put the kettle on. After half an hour I went to check on the progress and to my utter amazement, found the less obvious marks had disappeared; I whipped out the jar and dabbed the whole table with it. The table was already well used and had various battle scars which could benefit from a little treatment. 

The magic mayo trick is so simple all you need to do is wipe it off with a warm slightly damp cloth after about an hour. I don't know the science behind why this works but all the heat marks had vanished and the wood glowed with a renewed lease of life. I left the table to dry really well before polishing with beeswax polish and I must say, it hasn't looked so good in years.

So, no need to panic! This simple, quick and inexpensive trick really does work wonders.

SIO Tips 66: Easy seam allowance guide

Keeping an even seam allowance can be tricky especially if you need a wider one than normal. This simple trick helps guide as you sew: stretch a rubber band around the base of your sewing machine to the width you are want to sew. It's easy to follow and stays in place securely; it's also really easy to move for wider or narrower seams.


SEEKITOUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time. 

SIO Tips 64: Maintaining a Wooden Board

Wooden or plastic chopping boards are the best to keep your knives sharp but wood can harbour bacteria so it's important to keep them clean. One great, natural, way to do this is to sprinkle the board with salt and use half a lemon to scrub all over; then rinse off with hot water. 
Once the board is dry simply wipe with a little olive oil or similar on a piece of kitchen paper to keep in tip-top condition.

SEEKITOUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time.

Wonderful Dog Deodoriser

Dogs are mans best friend but certain breeds have a stronger doggy smell than others. Now that the weather is warming up your dog may be outside getting hot and jumping in and out of water. This all can lead to a less than lovely odor.

This simple trick is great if you don't have time to wash your dog or you don't want to bath him too often.

What you need:

1/2 cup baking soda
2 cups warm water
1 bandanna sized to fit dog

What to do:

Simply mix the baking soda and water in a bowl and soak the bandanna thoroughly. Once saturated, dry in the sun; then it's ready to tie around the pooch's neck. He will look very smart and the baking soda absorbs the doggy smell without irritating his skin.

SIO Tips no. 62: Keep your Kitchen Sponges clean

Keeping your washing up or cleaning sponges bacteria free is really simple with this handy tip. Just wring out the excess water and zap the sponges in your microwave for one minute on high; this kills any bacteria growth.


SEEKITOUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time.

No more ugly glue from labels

Empty jars from jams or preserves make wonderful storage for little bits in your craft room but removing the glue left behind after soaking off the paper labels can be a nightmare and very irritating when it comes to re-using them.





Here is one easy way around the problem; you will need - Baking Soda, Vegetable Oil and a brush.

Mix together equal parts of Baking Soda and Vegetable Oil and simply brush onto the gluey areas; leave for around 10 minutes and then wipe off. 

 






I like to then run them through the dishwasher to remove the oil and beautiful, clean jars come out ready to re-purpose! 


 


Thrifty Tip: To save some pennies use veg oil that has already been used once for frying. Invest in a wide funnel with a removable mesh filter that you can strain the oil through once cooled. Keep in a plastic bottle and store in the cleaning cupboard ready for jar cleaning duties.

SIO Tips no. 58 - De-odorise your wooden spoons.

Wooden Spoons are one of the most used items in the kitchen. Some people may have separate ones for baking or for stirring a savoury pot but this isn't always ideal and who wants onion or garlic tainting your Victoria sponge mix?

Here is a simple way to care for your spoons to revive them and have you cooking with confidence.

Mix together 1 Tablespoon of Baking soda to 1 Cup of warm water. Adjust the quantities depending on how many spoons you're treating; you want to fully cover the bowl of the spoon. Leave for 15 to 20 minutes and then rinse well. Dry as normal before using.

SIO Tips no. 57: How to measure a Zip

 Measuring a zip might seem like a simple task but you need to remember one important thing; measure only the zipping part, from the top stop to the bottom stop (or retaining box on a zip that opens all the way down) it's important not to measure the tape part of the zip otherwise you'll end up coming short.
 

SIO Tips no. 47: Stale Bread

Instead of throwing away crusts use them to make bread crumbs. Keep for later use in coating fish or making old fashioned style treacle tart; store them in the freezer in a sealed bag or box. Much nicer than the bright orange crumbs you buy.

SIO Tips no. 46: Easy draw scents

When you have nice soap, keep the wrapper and pop in your undies draw to leave a lovely smell. Ensure you shake out any loose bits of soap before doing this.

SIO Tips no. 45: Juicing Oranges, Lemons and Limes

To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, orange, or limes, ensure you let them get to room temperature before you roll them with your palm on a chopping board or worktop. This way you get all the juice as it is released more easily by the juicer, hand held or electric.

SIO Tips no. 41

To get crayon off the wall, use standard toothpaste on a toothbrush and brush it. Check your wall surface is fast before trying this.                              
A damp lint free cloth, dipped in baking soda. Rub to get off. Like always check your surface for fastness first. Try in a hidden spot.

SEEKITOUT: Changing the world a stitch at a time.

SIO Tips no. 39

Candle Wax removal - Many table cloths or carpets have been subject to a spill of candle wax but what do you do.

1. Work out what the fabric that has the wax on is, important as you're going to use heat and sometimes that might not be possible or you can only use a very low heat.
2. Scrape off as much as you can with a blunt knife, taking care not to damage the fabric.
3. Now using blotting paper (preferably) but failing that thicker unpatterned kitchen paper lay this on the area and then use a warm/hot iron on the paper.  This melts the wax and the wax will soak into the paper.  Change the paper often and do not leave the heat on for any time. Take your time, too much heat may damage the fabric below.

This should remove most of the wax from the clothes or carpet. However if the item is of valuable or on a high profile spot, then a specialist cleaner should be found.