Tools of the Trade: Beeswax
People have been asking why I draw the thread across a lump of beeswax before I sew the seam.
I have to admit that 'I was taught to do it that way and didn't really think why' - but I now know that the wax prevents - or at least 'reduces the chance of - the thread twisting into a knot when drawn through the cloth.
Some tailors will press the waxed thread with a hot iron so that the wax melts into the thread, but I accomplish the same effect by pulling the thread through my fingers while pinching it hard.