Awl

An awl is a slender steel spike set into a handle. It looks too simple to be useful, but it does several small jobs better than anything else in a sewing kit: marking single points through a pattern, making holes for eyelets and snaps, picking out stitches and corners, and guiding fabric right up to a moving needle without putting fingers at risk.

The sewing awl is sometimes called a stiletto. Leatherworkers' awls are heavier, sometimes with a diamond-shaped cutting point or an eye for stitching. For dressmaking, a fine, round, smoothly tapered point is what you want, because it spreads the yarns of the fabric apart instead of cutting them.

Marking points

Many pattern markings are single points rather than lines: dart points, bust points, pocket corners, buttonhole ends, and the dots that show where to stop stitching or pivot. To mark them:

1. With the pattern still pinned to the cut fabric, push the awl straight down through the pattern and all the fabric layers at the dot.
2. Lift the pattern and mark each layer at the hole with chalk or a marking pen, on the wrong side.

This is faster than tailor's tacks and more accurate than guessing with a pin. On delicate fabrics, test first: on fine silk, a hole made by an awl can stay visible. Use tailor's tacks there instead (see Tracing Wheel for other marking methods).

In pattern drafting, an awl is also used to punch through the paper at dart points and drill holes, the small circles that mark a point inside a pattern piece, so they can be transferred to fabric or to a new copy of the pattern.

Making holes

An awl spreads woven threads apart to make a round hole without cutting them, so the hole doesn't fray and is stronger than a punched one. Use it for:

• Eyelets and grommets, before setting the metal ring.
• Hand-sewn eyelets, worked over with buttonhole stitch, such as lacing holes on corsets and drawstring openings. Widen the hole gradually and work the stitches around it.
• Snaps and rivets that need a small hole.
• The round end of a keyhole buttonhole.

Turning corners and points

When a collar, cuff or pocket flap is turned right side out, the corners are often blunt. Working from the right side, slip the awl point just under the fabric at the corner and gently coax the corner out, a few threads at a time. Don't push through from the inside or pull hard, which can break the stitches or poke a hole. A point turner (a blunt wooden or plastic tool) is safer for pushing from the inside. The awl is for the final, precise tidy-up from the outside. See Collar.

Guiding fabric at the machine

This is the job an awl ends up doing most often. When sewing small pieces, sharp corners, thick humps or eased seams, the fabric needs control right next to the presser foot, which is too close for fingers. Hold the awl in your right hand and use the point to:

• Push fullness under the foot as you ease a sleeve cap or a gathered edge.
• Hold down a fold or seam allowance that's trying to flip up as it reaches the foot.
• Keep layers aligned at the very start of a seam, where fabric tends to be pushed out of place.
• Feed small pieces such as belt loops and corners of collars.

Keep the point beside the foot, not under the needle path, and go slowly. A purpose-made "sewing stiletto" with a slightly blunter tip is designed for this.

Picking out stitches

An awl is useful for lifting individual stitches when unpicking in tight spots, and for picking out the threads of basting. It's a finer tool than a seam ripper for that job, though a seam ripper is still faster for long seams.

Buying and caring for an awl

Look for a fine, smooth, round point; a comfortable handle that won't roll off the table; and ideally a cap or cover for the point. Keep the point clean and sharp, and use it only for piercing and guiding: prying things open bends the tip, and a burred tip snags fabric. If the point gets rough, a few strokes on fine sandpaper or a sharpening stone smooth it again.