To keep a collar point or similar element from getting hung up when you pivot while topstitching, try this technique:

• Keep a hand-sewing needle threaded with a doubled thread about 6" (15.2 cm) long by the sewing machine (don't knot the thread).
• As you approach the corner when stitching, run the hand needle through the very tip of the corner, pull the thread about halfway through, and just leave it there.
• When you are ready to pivot at the corner, grab both sets of thread tails (the needle end and the free end) and tug them gently to put some tension on the point; this will keep it moving through the machine.
• Once the presser foot is well past the corner, the needle and thread can just be pulled out and stuck back in the pincushion until you've another corner to topstitch.

Submitted by Lisa Laree.

This tip is from 1,000 Clever Sewing Shortcuts & Tips.

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