Do You Sew With a Stiletto?

My sewing stiletto...

It's sorta weird that this topic comes up this late in the game (in terms of how long I've been "here"), but how many of you regularly use a stiletto when you sew?

For whatever reason, it didn't occur to me to check to see if I'm an outlier on this until now. I am one of those who does regularly use something to guide my fabric under the needle when I sew. 

Mind you, it's not often that I use the actual stiletto that you see pictured here; more than likely, I'll just grab a pin and use that.

And I know, it's generally not recommended to use something metal that may accidentally strike the needle and break and then perhaps fly into your eye. (Yikes!)

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That said, the likelihood of that happening is probably quite small for an experienced sewer. A fairly experienced sewer might still be more likely to stitch a finger by accident, which is another reason why using a stiletto is a good idea.

For many reasons, we tend to reach in close with our fingers while we sew. Depending on the kind of safeguards that may or may not be built in to any particular machine, catching a finger may not be that difficult to do. (If you're into gruesome things, do a search for I sewed my finger by accident and check out the images.)

So why are we doing this?

YouTuber Don Kim using his stiletto...

The short answer is to control the fabric. I attribute it to two problems: fabric drag and insufficient pressure on the top piece.

Most of us have experienced "fabric drag" while sewing, particularly if the piece is larger than a sheet of paper. Those who have their sewing machines sitting flush inside a sewing table are the lucky ones who don't have this problem. For the rest of us, we have to put up with the sliding that occurs when the part that's already sewn goes back, down, and to the left, dragging the remainder of the piece being sewn off kilter. (Know what helps? An extension table!)

I find that to control this "off to the side" movement, I need to keep the sewn part straight with my left hand while my right hand guides the fabric as it feeds under the presser foot. This is when we stick our fingers where our fingers shouldn't go. So use a stiletto, please.

YouTuber Ulyana using a pin as her stiletto...

A second, less acknowledged problem is that the top fabric of what we're sewing often needs a little extra guidance. The feed dogs of a sewing machine move the bottom fabric along quite adequately, but the top fabric (even if the presser foot pressure is set properly) can stretch, resulting in uneven results upon completion; i.e., the top fabric is "longer" than the bottom. This can be especially noticeable with knits. Gently pushing and evening out the fabric as you sew — with a stiletto held horizontally — can be helpful.

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I have another example of my own to show when a stiletto is supremely useful. Thick seams can be difficult to keep pinned at the ends, where they are often even thicker due to the confluence of two seams.

Getting in close with a stiletto to ensure that a thick seam is held down...

I'm sure you've experienced the common outcome of having the ends of a seam like the one shown here come out crooked. Depending on what it is, it may be a superficial defect, but to ensure better results, use a stiletto to help you push down on the protrusion.

...aided by a hump jumper...

In this case, you can see that to ensure even greater success with thick seams, you should also employ a hump jumper to level out the surface of what you're sewing. You can probably tell that the one I'm using in the photos here is merely a notebook, but what a helper it's been in the sewing room! 

Another use for a stiletto is a timesaver for quilters. I've seen them use stilettos to "page" through a stack of quilting squares more easily.

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The stiletto shown above is from Clover (Hold It Precision Stiletto) and is a bit pricey, if you ask me. (At least it seems to be so in Canadian dollars, between $18 and $24.) I came by mine from a gift certificate that I won from AllFreeSewing back in 2016. It is versatile, however, with a silicone tip at the other end that assists with pressing seams open at the ironing station. I also like that the pointy end is angled unlike most other stilettos.

But there are other stilettos that you can buy (or DIY, like a sharpened wood BBQ skewer or "make do", like a tiny screwdriver), so it's a worthwhile addition to your sewing kit.

That said, sometimes an ordinary pin is enough, too. So... are you a regular stiletto user?

'Til next...