Sewing Quiz: WINNERS

Fabulous quizzing, everyone!  Answers are below, in red ink.  Must be the former schoolteacher in me seeping out…

1. Tim Gunn, the marvelous man who most of us know through Project Runway, is most famous for what phrase, frequently uttered to contestants on the show whose designs are struggling?  “Make it work.”
2. The picture below is of what TYPE of sewing machine (not brand, but type)?  A TREADLE machine.
3. Name the Big 4 sewing pattern companies (y’know, the ones that are available at the big box stores, not independent pattern brands).  Vogue, McCall’s, Simplicity, and Butterick.  Burda, as an import, is a bit of a dark horse fifth brand.
4. Most of us buy fabric off a bolt, where the fabric has been folded in half before being rolled on the cardboard.  What is the OTHER main way fabric is available, ie NOT double-rolled on a bolt?  This one might’ve been the trickiest of them all!  I was going for “rolled on the tube,” but consider a few other options correct: pre-cut fabrics, flat folded, and by the yard all seemed reasonable responses, given my vague wording here.
5. In a quilt, there are usually three layers: the patchwork layer, the backing, and the layer in the middle that provides the loft.  What is that middle layer called? In America: batting.  In the UK: wadding.
6. What animal body part(s) do archaeologists recognize as the earliest hand sewing needles?  Name any and all you can think of.  Porcupine quills, chiseled bone, antler points, and sea urchin spines were all used in prehistory.
7. What is the standard seam allowance measurement in American sewing?  I was looking for 5/8″ here, but think 1/4″–as the quilting standard–is a totally acceptable answer.
8. What rule of thumb tells you when it’s time to change your sewing machine needle?  Some of you are using your needles wayyyy too long!  The rule of thumb is every 8-10 hours or a new needle every project.  Really!  When stitches skip, when it’s dull and makes a popping sound, when you change weights of fabric, and when you break one are all valid answers here, too.
9. On a sewing machine, what is the name of the machine part that holds the fabric down against the feed dogs?  Presser foot.
10. Name one way to prevent the edge of fabric from unraveling.  Pinking shears, overcast stitching, zig zag stitching, serging and flat fell seam are all good here.
11. True or False:  Basting stitches are your longest straight stitch, and are temporary stitches used to hold a sewing project together before the permanent stitches are put in place.  True!
12. Who is credited as the inventor of the modern sewing machine?  Either Elias Howe or Isaac Singer is good here–in fact, they duked it out in patent court for years!
13. What type of stitch is pictured below?  That would be a whipstitch, of course!
14. True or False:  Bias tape is a heat-activated adhesive used to hold a hem in place while stitching.  It is removed either by laundering or with a spray bottle of water.  Totally false.  I have a personal affinity for bias tape–find out all about it here.
15. The project below, an example of a traditional pattern called Grandma’s Flower Garden, was created using what patchwork technique?  This technique is English paper piecing, using hexagons as the primary shape.

Awesome work, y’all–and seriously, a ton of fun.  I hope you learned some stuff, and I’m so glad you played!  Our winners are:

Cathy A., who takes home a copy of Stitch by Stitch

Dusty and Shannon, Sewing Buddies who each get a copy of Stitch by Stitch and a fistful of fat quarters

so we added chickens who gets a big fat stack of fat quarters

See you next time!