Thursday Tip with Hali - Tailor's Tacks
Thursday Tip // Tailor’s Tacks
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you can’t deny that they have their uses. I might just be a recent convert as I (Hali) am learning to embrace the necessity and, let’s be honest, efficiency/accuracy of hand sewing. The more I learn about sewing and how I like to sew the better I get at deciding what I think is “worth the effort” and what isn’t. I feel like tailor’s tacks are one of those “worth it” things for me. Here are my reasons and some examples of where you might choose a tailor’s tack over another method of marking.
I like the semi-permanence of a tack. You don’t have to wash or rub it off, it is easily removed and it doesn’t usually fall out with handling (if you are careful). Markers or chalk pens can rub off over time and pins can fall out, so if you come back to a project days later sometimes you have to re-do those markings.
Some marking tools require that you wash the fabric for it to come all the way out. For garments that you don’t plan on washing much or at all, tacks can be a great way to avoid making unwanted colored marks on your fabric.
For delicate fabrics, a chalk pen or tracing wheel may be too rough on the fabric so tacks are a good alternative here as well.
Another tick in the “pros” column is that you can accurately mark two layers of fabric at once. In the video I marked the front pocket placement on both front blazer pieces in two quick steps and I am confident they will match up and look symmetrical when I sew the pockets on. This could also work really well for marking button and buttonhole placement.
Some other places you might use tacks are to mark darts or pivot points. Let us know in the comments if you have ever used tailor’s tacks and what scenario you would choose them over other marking techniques. We would love to hear from you!
How to make a tailor’s tack:
Choose a contrasting thread. If your fabric is lightweight or quite slippery (like a rayon), try a 100% cotton thread so it doesn’t fall out as easily. The thread should be doubled through the needle but not knotted.
Push the needle through both layers of fabric, including the pattern piece if you like, coming back up as close as possible to where you first pierced the fabric. Pull thread through leaving a thread tail approx. 2” long.
Double back your needle to the starting point and push it through a second time, leaving a thread loop on top of your fabric. Pull the thread until you have a loop no smaller than your finger. Alternatively, you can pierce your fabric slightly below and to the left of the original hole, essentially making a plus sign ( + ), and then bring your needle back up through the layers of fabric to make a loop. Either way works but one could argue the “+” type of marking may help secure it on the backside a little better. You can also go through the same points as many times as you like, making multiple loops in the same spot. This makes the tack stronger and also easier to see. Keep in mind you will be making a more noticeable hole in your fabric doing it this way so if you are working with a delicate fabric, just don’t go overboard.
If you have a tissue/paper pattern piece on top, snip the loop and pull the pattern off. Then gently pull the layers of fabric apart and snip in the middle of the threads to create the tacks on each piece of fabric. If you are working on your fabric only (no paper/tissue pattern on top) you can leave the loop and just snip the threads between the layers.
If you are sewing multiple tacks in a row (eg. buttonholes, darts) you can do several tacks with the same continuous thread and then just cut those threads in between each one at the end.