Fun Facts Friday- Seam Ripper

Welcome to our first Fun Facts Friday, where we take a look at something crafty and learn about it's uses, tricks, tips and more!  Today's post, whether you love it or hate it, is a staple in every sewing household... the seam ripper.

What is there to tell you ask? Well my friends, I first want to explain why every seam ripper has that little red ball on it.  It's not just for looks and when used correctly will make the job go 10x faster!  I also wanted to share a list of unexpected uses for this little tool.  Mind boggling, I promise!

First things first... why the little red ball?

If you are anything like me, you will pick each (or at least every other) stitch with the seam ripper to undo a sewing "oops".  But did you know that you can put the ball side down and simply run the seam ripper all the way down the opening of your seam?  It's just like using a rotary cutter except for that little red ball protects your fabric from ripping or catching while the sharp long end quickly cuts through the stitches.

Check out this video from Keeping u n Stitches Quilting for a brief demonstration of this technique.  I can't believe how fast and easy this is.  I also can't believe that I have learned this before and yet keep forgetting!  That's valuable sewing time!

WANT EVEN MORE USES FOR THE SEAM RIPPER?

Obviously it rips out seams (duh) but this handy little tool can also help you in other areas of sewing and in life.

Check out this list of "10 Reasons To Love Your Seam Ripper" put together by ikatbag.  It's a funny (and informative!) article and she's a funny blogger.

[photo credit to ikatbag.com]

My favorites are to cut open button holes, poke holes for prongs/fasteners and... make pleats!  Genius.  I love it.

The seam ripper can also be used in non-sewing areas of life...

[photo credit to www.realsimple.com]

Oh.My.Gosh.  Yes... it can be used to get all those strings, hairs and who knows what else that gets all twisted in the vacuum cleaner.  I repeat... genius!  Check out other "life hacks" from Real Simple.

I hope this Fun Facts Friday was informative and fun!  I've always been grateful for this tiny little tool, but now that I know what all it can do, it might just bump up to one of my favorite sewing tools of all time!

Have you ever used the seam ripper in an unexpected way?  What was it?

Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann