"The Wacker seams perfect" ® Tool- History and How To (text)

I say it’s about time to let off a little steam about those unruly seams and the perfect way to do it is with “The Wacker seams perfect” ® tool.  “The Wacker seams perfect” ® is not partial to just quilted seams, she loves to compress any sewn seam…..   so let her have at it!

My serious sewing interests started too many years ago to mention, well, okay, back in 7^th grade, no - not the dark ages, but quite a few years ago.  Clothing construction was a way to have a lot of new outfits that you did not see walk past you in the hall at school and soon it became a passion of mine.  My first experiences did not produce designer quality outfits, but they did give us a few good laughs…. Like the time I put my sleeves in upside down in a dress and could not figure out why that dress did not feel comfortable when I put it on…. Thank goodness for my very dear friend’s mother, who was an exceptionally gifted seamstress, she showed me the way….  I remember even back then how difficult it was to get bulky seams to lie flat and look professional, so I guess I was destined to come up with this great tool….

Well, let’s see what actually further inspired the creation of “The Wacker seams perfect” ® tool ….  I guess it all started fifty some years ago … I started to quilt back in 1971 and as I progressed with quilting I found I did not like how the seams of multi-layer connections in a block and quilt top seemed to be so bulky… so – in the beginning I used the handle edge of my heavy “Ginger” ® scissors along with the heat and steam of the iron to compress those bulky seams.  After some time, I realized that using the expensive scissor handle was not a good option, so I switched to using the tip of my iron … what better progression step than that, it was already attached to the iron.  Well after many hits with the iron tip I only had problems with the iron and realized that that was not a solution either…. So, after trials and errors with multiple hammer type tools I found the tool that “seamed perfect” … hence – “The Wacker seams perfect” ® was born!

Now finding the right tool was also a test – metal headed tools made the seams of my quilt shiny, which was unacceptable - I wanted my quilts to “shine” from my fabric selections and workmanship, not metal shine from a tool and most metal headed tools have course ends and that damaged the fibers of my fabric.   The rubber headed tools made black track marks on my seams from the heat and steam of the iron melting the rubber, now that’s okay if you are looking for that “authentic” burned rubber look on a race car quilt, but it was not the special look I had in mind.  Wood headed tools crack and splinter from the heat and steam of the iron, which would not be good to find splinters in my quilts, unless of course it was for a lumber jack.   So, when the current ultra-high molecular non-porous plastic headed tool was found, it was the “perfect” solution to those bulky seams…… not to mention all the other tools (metal, rubber, wood, etc.) were very heavy and difficult to handle….  “The Wacker seams perfect” ® is only 4 ounces and easy for any sewer or quilter to handle.  It will not splinter, split, crack, or melt and if you use it for something other than seam compressions, it simply wipes clean!  And “The Wacker seams perfect” ® is 100% made in the USA and she is registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office!!!

It is easy to tame those multi-layer seams once and for all….. 

First press as normal to set your seam, then press your seam to one direction just as you normally do - this is the ONLY time you are pressing from the back of your project…. Now the only difference is we will take it one quick step further to compress those bulky multi-layer seam allowances for good….  From the FRONT of your project - Steam your multi-layer seam allowance - “Wack" the multi-layer seam allowance (while fabric is still hot and steamy from iron) - run the iron over the "wacked" seam again….  You are done in less than 10 seconds!  And those “Wacked” multi-layer seam allowances will remain flat during piecing, quilting and binding of your quilt project…. It is a simple physics lesson on "compressing" all the multi-layer seam allowance layers and not just pressing the surface of them!

NO more pressing seams open - only to expose the stitches that are holding your pieced blocks together!

 NO more clipping seams from the back – running the risk of clipping through your stitches or clipping a hole in your project!

NO more twisting and turning the multi-layer seam allowances to lay flat – only to puff up again later!

NO more removing stitches to smoosh down - why would I want to remove stitches that are holding my blocks and quilt together - only to be a potential hole!

All those techniques only compromise your already small multi-layer seam allowances, making them weak and extremely vulnerable to tears ... 

"The Wacker seams perfect"TMtool does not damage or compromise those small multi-layer seam allowances!  "Wacked" quilting and sewing projects will last a lifetime with NO damage to seam allowances or fabric!

Now, if the little “wacking” noise shakes up the family…. at least they will show interest in what you are doing in your sewing room and it will get them off the couch or away from the computer for a few minutes to check on what that noise is coming from your sewing room….

The Wacker seams perfect” ® tool is the perfect seam solution for all your bulky seam sewing projects!

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