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Show IfYou Sew, You Must Rip By BETTY W. KINSER Copley News Service If we don't know how to rip out, we don't know how to sew. EVEN THE most experienced experi-enced seamstress must -- at one time or another rip something out. Learning to do it right is as important as learning learn-ing to run your machine. The choices of tools you can use for ripping are varied --some --some good, some bad. Here are a few thoughts on some of them to help you in your selection. selec-tion. RAZOR Blade: Dangerous! You can slit your fabric or your wrist, neither one a good idea. Fast, but hard to hold. Scissors: unless the scissors are small, with tiny points, you usually cut more than you intend. in-tend. SEAM ripper: The best all-around all-around ripper-outer. Choose one w it h a sharp, long point, a padded short point, and a sharp cutting edge. Can be used for ripping, cutting buttonholes but-tonholes and picking out stitches. Pulling threads: not a good idea. TEETH: Never! If threads must be picked out. do so from the wrong side of the fabric. That way. if you accidentally pick the fabric, it won't show. WHEN ripping out a seam, spread the seam allowances and work between them. It is easier to see the stitches and you can cut several at one time. W hen removing basting or other long stitches, clip every fifth or sixth stitch of the top thread, then pull gently on the bobbin thread. ON READY-to-wear garments, gar-ments, hems, and sometimes seams, are put in w ith a chain-stitch. chain-stitch. Stan at the right end and you can pull the whole row of stitching out with no trouble. trou-ble. Just clip a stitch or tw o and start pulling. Ripping is no sin. Learn to do it right. |