Many people think that once they can sew, that they can just go ahead and make something. But few realize that there is a process involved in getting ready to sew. How to prepare the fabric for sewing is often a snag that many people overlook.
That’s right. You cannot just go ahead and lay out the fabric. The last thing you want to do is go through all that effort to make something only to have it shrink or loose color in the wash. It needs to be tested for color fastness as well as shrinking. So how do you actually prepare the fabric for sewing?
The first thing you need to do is give the fabric a wash. This will not only clean the fabric but also test the color fastness of the fabric. Yes, it does take the smell of the newness of the garment away, but it does eliminate the fabric shrinking and coloring all your other clothes in the wash.
The next thing you need to know about how to prepare the fabric for sewing is to give it an ironing or drying in the machine. The ironing of the fabric will make sure that if it was going to shrink further as will the drying in the machine. I recommend drying it in the dryer.
Once the fabric is dried and has been ironed, you can now fold the fabric in two with the outside inside, length wise.
I hope this has been helpful in teaching you how to prepare fabric for sewing. It’s not always easy when you start out with a project and it’s your first project.
If you’re relatively new to sewing, and you’ve not sewn much before, you will be a bit in the dark on how to sew facing and what it is.
Basically, when you cut fabric, you can’t just sew a seam around the arm holes or neck. It will end up looking funny. So for that reason, we use facing instead. The facing will make the garment you want to sew nicely rounded off without any uneven edges or ragged fraying.
The other way to avoid sewing facing is to simply make a double piece of fabric and sew it turning it inside out. But for my illustration below I will show you how to sew facing.
Most patterns will have a piece for facing along with the actual pieces of pattern. Facing can be cut from different fabric or from the same fabric. I like to use the same fabric in most of my sewing projects.
In my case, I’m going to show you how to sew the facing with the top of a recent dress that I made. The first thing I did was to place the pieces I cut out, inside out and make the outsides face each other. The facing and the top. I then sewed along the edge of the facing so that it would flap over and I’d have two outer sides on both the inside of the shirt and the outside. See the images below.
You then fold the pieces of facing over as indicated on the second image and iron them, making certain that it’s exact and the inside isn’t showing out. The following image will illustrate that.
Once you have ironed the pieces straight, the next thing to do is to sew a “stay stitch” on the outside so that the pieces of facing that you have sewed does not fold back out with the next wash in the machine. And there we go, the sewing of the facing is done.
I hope this showed you how do sew facing as it’s really simple and easy. All you require to sew the facing is a sewing machine, the pattern pieces, fabric and an iron and it can be done quickly and painlessly.
So there are so many tutorials out there on how to create basic block patterns, but there are not many there on how to use the basic block pattern once you have created it and how to adapt clothes from the basic block pattern.
I’m going to show you how to modify a basic block pattern. This was my first attempt and I must say it came out pretty well. The end result was the picture below. Because my body is so awkward, commercial sewing patterns don’t always work for me. Once I had taught myself and drew and drew with some trial and error, I came up with a design from modifying a basic block pattern I made for me that I quite like. I just need to have a straw hat with it to make the outfit complete.
The first thing I did was make sure that I had pre-drawn what I wanted the outfit to look like on a piece of paper when it was done. This was a pattern I had a long time ago when I was younger and I wanted to re-create this pattern. With trial and error, I managed to modify this basic block pattern to copy the original design I had.
The next thing is that I laid out the block pattern on a new piece of pattern paper (or in my case gift wrap) and weighted it down to make sure it was secure. I then traced the block pattern with all the lines exactly onto the new piece of paper.
To modify the basic block pattern I started by shaping the neck. I wanted my neck to be lower and a little wider. I did this with the help of the french curve pattern making tool that I have made temporarily until mine arrives from Amazon.
I then measured out from the sleeve and side the amount I wanted the dress to hang loose or be away from my body. I measured all around and then with dots, drew the lines as in the two photos below.
Once I had those lines drawn, I added to the modifying process by creating an area for button holes in the front of the dress. The button hole area I made double the amount so that the fabric can be a bit thicker over the button hole area and so that the sewing machine won’t catch the fabric up and gather it while sewing the button hole. The below image is the progress of the modifying on the basic block pattern that I did.
You see, modifying a basic block pattern is basically taking a block pattern and just drawing in what you want to have on the pattern. What you want the dress to look like. The basic block pattern itself is your exact measurements to fit you snug and you will find an article on how to make a basic block pattern in my links.
The next thing I did was work on the back piece and enlarged it the same way, a little more on the side and the back neck part too…..
I then decided that the part of the pattern over the shoulder was too wide and it needed to be narrowed. To modify this part of the basic block pattern, I measured inwards on both sides, exactly 1.5 inches both sides (I did this for the front pattern too) and drew my lines.
With a little bit of artistic ability, this shoulder can be shaped right. I made sure I made it come down far enough before taking the curve. Otherwise it would have looked a bit weird.
The next thing I did to modify the basic block pattern was to lengthen it and make it straighter. The below images will show you how I did this. Because of my awkward body, it doesn’t look that straight, but it is as you saw from the fully made dress in the first picture.
For the skirt part, I took double the width of the shirt pattern at the top and added it to the skirt part so that there is space for gathering a bit. I then realized that I didn’t have enough fabric so had to use less than what my pattern indicated but it still worked out.
The facing was a bit of a different story. I laid out the basic block pattern that I had modified and drew the arm and neck curves. I measured about 1.5 inches in and drew the facing lines.
I hope this has been helpful in teaching you how to modify a basic block pattern. As I’ve mentioned before, there are so many tutorials out there on how to create a basic block pattern, but not many on how to modify one. Since this was my first time I attempted to modify a basic block pattern, I really think I did ok. I hope this can help you too.
If you’re about to lay out your first sewing pattern but you don’t quite know how to go about it, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, I am going to show you how to lay out a sewing pattern on fabric. There is another article I wrote on how to cut the pattern.
Once you have the pattern that you have decided to use, and checked the measurements on the back, you will know which size to use on your sewing pattern. The trick now is to cut out along the lines of the specific size that you need for your pattern.
The first thing to do is to fold the fabric in half length ways and lay it out straight and nice on on a flat surface such as a table or a pattern board etc. The fabric needs to be folded with the right side of the fabric inside and the wrong side on the outside.
The next thing is to lay the pieces out on the fabric, in such a way that it will fit. But you need to be careful how you lay out the sewing pattern pieces as not all pieces gets laid out the same way. Some pieces needs to be laid out with “cut on fold” and others need to be laid out along the grain line. The indication for cut on fold is an arrow that shows inwards (First pic) and the indication for a grain line is a straight arrow with two points in 180 degrees (second pic).
The grain line of the fabric is usually the direction in which the side seam (edge) of the fabric is running.
Lay out the sewing pattern on the fabric, with the “place on fold” arrow on the fold of the fabric so that it cuts double fabric, but on the fold. In other words, once you open the piece after cutting, it will be a full piece covering both sides of the body, not just a half size.
Lay out the other pieces of fabric as indicated with the grain line matching up to the grain direction of the fabric.
Once you have been successful in the lay out of the sewing pattern, it’s important to indicate all pattern marking. You can do this with either pins or a fabric marker or even just a pencil. You do not need fancy tools when working with sewing patterns, even though they will make your job easier.
Now that you’ve learned how to lay out a sewing pattern, and you’ve done all the pattern markings, you can go ahead and cut out the sewing pattern on the lines. Be careful not to cut the pattern itself as that will ruin your pattern and make your sewing shears blunt, which is something you don’t want.
Remember to pack away your sewing pattern that you used to learn how to lay out the sewing pattern so that you can use it again on the next item of clothing that you want to make with this particular pattern.
I hope that you’ve learned how to lay out a sewing pattern today. This is the way I lay out my sewing patterns and it’s always worked for me. There is an article on how to cut your sewing pattern that you can read if you’re unsure about how to cut the pattern before you lay out the pattern.
I recently picked up a lovely girls summer outfit pattern at quite a cheap price. The pattern was perfect, but the size was not. First I needed to figure out how to enlarge the pattern that I bought. Once I figured that out, the rest was easy.
When you are looking at how to enlarge a pattern there are some crucial tools that you need to start with. These include a 90 degree ruler, tape measure, french curve, marker and pattern paper. Well, I don’t have the pattern making tools yet, they are on order from Amazon so in the meantime, I made my own which you can also do. I also am not going to spend a fortune on pattern paper, so I used the inside of gift wrap paper to do my pattern. In addition to that, I have a pattern marker / cutting tool and of course, my pattern.
The first thing I did with enlarging the pattern is to get all the pattern pieces I needed. The next step was to iron the pieces with a light iron so that they aren’t creased. Creased pattern pieces makes for wrong measurements. I’m someone that often use un-ironed pattern pieces, but that’s because of my experience. For enlarging patterns though, I am venturing into waters I haven’t done much of and so I want the measurements to be exactly correct. Especially if I’m going to have the pattern correct.
The next thing to do is to lay out the piece of pattern you need to enlarge on a pattern board or hard surface. A table is also fine. Trace the paper onto the pattern paper you have chosen exactly. Make sure every mark and line is exactly correct. You can do this by putting weights down on the pattern while you trace it so that it does not slide.
The next thing I did, as indicated by the figure above, is to measure the different sizes of the pattern exactly. I measured how much space between each line (indicated by the red arrow), and added double that space as I enlarged my pattern two spaces (indicated by the green arrow). I then used the french curve to hollow out my pattern’s arm hole as indicated by the blue line. The blue line is where the curve was hollowed our by the french curve, and joined to match the lines of the measurements I’ve taken with the green arrows. The other markings were mistakes which can be ignored. I did the same to the other side of the pattern.
At the bottom of the bodice pattern that I’m enlarging, I carefully measured again and once again used my french curve to draw the line, as indicated in the next image.
The french curve can work nicely when placed in the hollow of a pattern to hollow our an arm or to do something such as the bodice.
The last thing was to finish off the pattern, add all the markings and cut the new pattern piece out. Enlarging this piece of the pattern was not so hard after all. Here is another picture of another piece of pattern enlarging I did from this particular pattern.
It is easy to do some enlarging of a pattern. You just need to add the exact measurements to each size enlargement that you do and the pattern will work. You also need to use the french curve to perfect the arm holes and the other curved pieces of the pattern. The french curve was used again in the second piece of pattern, towards the top where I enlarged the sizes to make those lines follow the pattern.
The basic stitch settings on a sewing machine can be tricky to get right. There are several zigzag settings and several straight settings, but these stitches don’t all do the same thing. It is important to know what you’re doing when you are just starting out with sewing and you are struggling to understand the different basic stitch settings on the sewing machine.
I’m hoping to help you by taking a look at the sewing machine stitch settings and seeing if you can understand them after I’ve explained it. So without much more pomp, let me get straight to what you are here to read.
Lets’s start with the different sides of the sewing machine stitch settings panel. There is a right hand side and a left hand side. On the left is your different stitches and on the right is the stitch length. Let’s look at the left hand side again.
The first stitch (A) is a straight stitch. To reverse this stitch, you need to press the reverse knob on the sewing machine usually located towards the bottom part of the machine or on the side. The reverse works the same for all other stitches.
The next stitch (b) is a basting stitch. This stitch is used for gathering or basting and usually has to be at it’s maximum size to work.
Stitch (c) is a zigzag stitch. This is used to applique or work an edge around the hem to stop it from fraying. Depending on the size of the stitch you may need a pressure foot with a wider hole than the standard pressure foot.
Stitch (d) is a stretch stitch. This is used on knit fabrics so that the fabric can still stretch after stitching has been done. It goes along the stretch of the fabric enabling the fabric to stretch. You would sometimes use a stretchy type of thread for this.
Stitch (e) is called a blind hem stitch. It is used when you don’t want much of the hem stitch visible and is useful for that purpose.
Stitch (f) is a shell stitch which is often used for sewing delicate fabrics and the hems on them.
Stitch (g) is an overcast stitch. It is used for keeping hems neat and tidy. Especially when you struggle with straight stitching! You need a special overcast pressure foot to use this stitch.
Stitch (h) is used for making scalloped hems and is called a scallop stitch. It is a difficult technique to master and I would not try this for a first time sewer.
Stitch (i) is a satin stitch and is used for decorative purposes on satin fabric. It’s a tight type of zigzag stitch to make it look pretty.
On the far left size there are three blue images. These are for the button holes. Turing the wheel (on my machine) or changing the dial on another sewing machine (or a button) would enable the sewing machine to stitch these basic stitches.
On the right hand side you get the different stitch lengths. Depending on what you want to sew, you would have to adjust your stitch length to the correct size. Usually for sewing straight hems and seams, a setting of 2 would work well. For gathering, a setting of 4 or 5 is required. For button holes, you would need to do a small stitch. It really depends on the exact project that you want to make.
I’m hoping this article is helping in making sense of the different stitches that are available. There are tons of research and articles out there on sewing machine basic stitch settings. As usual, happy sewing!
Sewing machine settings can be confusing to the new sewer. If you have never worked a sewing machine but want to start, the settings could be confusing. You could Google around for the different “sewing machine settings” or you could just read further.
Most sewing machines have the same type of settings, right across the world. If you can use one sewing machine, it should not be too hard to figure out the next sewing machine. That is, except for really old fashioned machines that they initially used by hand before feet were developed for them.
So without much further ado, let me assist you in the different sewing machine settings you get, and how to use them. The basic thing to remember is that there will be some sort of nob or wheel or button to press to change the different stitch settings on a sewing machine.
The different stitches you will find on the sewing machine will include plain straight stitching, a zigzag setting and settings to sew button holes and zippers etc.
If you look at the settings window, there is one place ( on the left) to change the stitch type and another place (on the right) to change the size of the setting. Usually to sew something, you would use about a setting of “2” for the straight stitch. But that is a different page and different article.
The different stitches are simple to change. Simply select the stitch that you want to use and set button or wheel or shift to that stitch. Do the same with the size of the stitch and there we go. The sewing machine settings are complete.
As I’ve mentioned before, we have as a family recently relocated to a different country. North America to be exact. Coming from South Africa, I have learned one way of speaking. But now, being in North America, I need to learn new terminology for everything, including sewing terminology.
Sewing terminology is very different on the two continents and I’m sure around the world as well. What you call one thing in South Africa is called something completely different in North America.
The main problem with not knowing the correct terminology is that when you walk into a shop to buy something and you ask for help, the assistant does not know what you are asking as your sewing terminology differs. You know exactly what you are asking but the assistant does not. This creates problems and frustrations on both ends.
To overcome this problem, I have compiled a list of sewing terminology that is used differently and that I came across.
Terminology used in SA – Terminology used in North America
Sewing machine – sewing machine (that one stays the same at least!)
Overlocker – Serger
Sewing scissors – Sewing shears
Base pattern – Sloper
Base pattern – basic block pattern
Material – Fabric
Material shop – Fabric store
More sewing terminology differences will be posted as I come across them.
I’ve recently relocated countries and well, everything is wrong. I can’t find clothes that I like. I left my belongings in my home country, and with that, my sewing patterns. So now I’m sitting with a huge problem. I’m in a foreign country, I have none of my favorite sewing patterns and so my only option is to resort to making my own sewing patterns.
I’ve done a lot of research into making my own sewing patterns. The one thing that I’ve realize is that with my twenty two years of experience in sewing my own clothes, and the success I’ve had recently in copying patterns, that I can in fact succeed in making my own sewing patterns. It IS possible. I can do this.
So without further ado, I will explain the different ways that we can make our own sewing patterns. There are several methods, but I will explain three of the main methods here, in this post.
Tracing my own sewing patterns
The first way that I started making my own patterns started back in my home country when I felt ready to start “spreading my wings” and exploring more sewing knowledge. It is basically called “tracing patterns from favorite items of clothing”.
To do this, you need your favorite item of clothing. For my example I would use a simple “short”. Basically, you would fold the front part of the shirt or pants in half, on the seams, and trace it onto some form of paper. After it has been traced, you literally have “half” the pattern as it’s a fold, so you need to also remember to make the part where you folded the pattern a “cut on fold” part of the pattern. I will explain more about tracing patterns in a future post. You then trace the back of the pattern the same way and to both pieces, you would need to add a seam allowance.
Making a block pattern
Another way of making my own sewing patterns as I have discovered is making a block pattern. This is a basic pattern that fits you snug according to your exact body measurements. It’s quite a bit of math and working out equations to get all the measurements right. But anybody can do the math and with today’s calculators this is made easy. Especially if you’re not good at division! It really is simple math and nothing to fear. Anybody can do it.
Making my own block sewing pattern is easy and I will explain it in detail in a future post. However, you do need to have your exact measurements to be able to do this.
Draping fabric
Another way of making my own sewing patterns is not really a sewing pattern to start with. It’s by draping fabric on to a mannequin. Yes. Literally drape the fabric in the way you want the dress to be, pin and sew. This is a method that I have not explored yet and hopefully never have to do. For the purpose of this website we will focus on patterns, adjusting patterns and so forth.
Making my own sewing patterns is fun and easy as I’ve recently discovered. I’m incredibly happy that I managed to successfully make my first block pattern a while back. And in the next post, I would love to share with you how I went about making my own block sewing pattern.
So I recently made a new block sewing pattern for myself. But I didn’t have the correct equipment. It was a rather difficult process making the block sewing pattern without the correct equipment.
In this post I will outline the different pieces of equipment needed and what I did, not having the correct equipment, to still be able to make my basic block sewing pattern.
The first thing you need is a measuring tape. You need the measuring tape to measure yourself as well as make measurements on the actual pattern piece.
The next piece of equipment you need for your block pattern is called a french curve. This is a ruler, shaped in the form of a curve. Because I didn’t have a french curve, I made my own. Click here to find out how to make your own French curve ruler
You would also need a hip curve. Well, I didn’t use one so I do not consider it a complete necessity.
I also used a 90 degree ruler. This ruler is in the form of an L shape and helps when you need to draw straight lines throughout the pattern, which the block pattern is FULL of.
In addition to the curved rulers, you also need some pattern paper. I am not someone who likes spending money on things, so I just used newspaper. It is not recommended though, especially if you’ve never worked with patterns before. For the pattern, I would recommend using a roll of blank paper, blank newspaper, pattern paper, brown paper, tracing paper or even baking paper (This works great for tracing)
In addition to all of the equipment listed above to make your sewing block pattern, you can add some markers, a pencil, pen, selotape, pins, a small ruler and a pencil sharpener and eraser.
I hope this is helpful. With these basic pieces of equipment, you can make your own sewing block patterns easily. Like I said, I use newspaper and thick markers for visibility.