With the popularity of our Bag of the Month series, many of which have square corners, it seemed like a great time to share a couple of quick pointers on making tidy corners. When sewing a box shape project, getting those corners crisp and tidy gives a professional, finished quality to even the bulkiest material.
For those with an electronic sewing machine, the simplest way to get a neat corner is to set your needle stop in the down position. In other words, when the machine stops stitching the needle will be left down in the fabric. Simply lift the presser foot and there is the perfect pivot point to turn the corner. Just line up the next section of stitching, lower the presser foot and put in a seam to the next corner. No needle up/needle down selection? No problem, when you get to the corner use the hand wheel on the machine to put the needle in the lowest postion. Same pivot point, same tidy corner.
Instead of turning a sharp 90 degree, try stitching up to the pivot point, turn the project 45 degrees and take a single stitch. Pivot a second time, also at 45 degrees and continue stitching the second side. The extra stitch allows more space inside the corner for the bulk of the fabric to turn into. To help eliminate a little more of the bulk, simply trim the excess material at a 45 degree angle close to the extra stitches.
