Sewing Basics

The very sewing basics you need to know to make a success of your project

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Mastering the Art of Sewing: A Comprehensive Guide on How to Sew

Title: Mastering the art of how to sew

Learning how to sew opens up a world of creativity and endless possibilities, allowing you to create custom garments, accessories, and home decor items tailored to your unique style and preferences. Whether you’re a complete beginner or looking to refine your sewing skills, mastering the basics of sewing is essential for successful and enjoyable sewing experiences. In this guide, we’ll explore the step-by-step process of how to sew, from selecting materials and tools to stitching techniques and garment construction. Additionally, we’ll provide instructions on how to sew a basic dress using a pattern, empowering you to embark on your sewing journey with confidence and enthusiasm.

Getting Started: Understanding How to Sew Before diving into sewing projects, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with the fundamental principles of sewing. Here’s a breakdown of the key steps involved in learning how to sew:

  1. Gather Materials and Tools: To begin sewing, gather the necessary materials and tools, including fabric, sewing machine or needle and thread, scissors, pins, measuring tape, and a sewing pattern. Choose a fabric suitable for your project and select a pattern that matches your desired garment style and size.
  2. Prepare Your Workspace: Set up a dedicated sewing area with ample workspace and good lighting. Ensure your sewing machine is in good working condition, threaded correctly, and equipped with the appropriate needle and thread for your fabric.
  3. Learn Basic Stitching Techniques: Familiarize yourself with basic stitching techniques such as straight stitch, zigzag stitch, and backstitch. Practice stitching on scrap fabric to master control and consistency before starting your sewing project.
  4. Follow Sewing Patterns: Sewing patterns serve as guides for cutting fabric and assembling garments. Follow the instructions provided with your pattern, including layout diagrams, cutting lines, and seam allowances, to ensure accurate fabric cutting and proper garment construction.
  5. Practice Patience and Persistence: Sewing requires patience and persistence, especially for beginners. Don’t be discouraged by mistakes or setbacks—view them as learning opportunities and opportunities to improve your skills.

How to Sew a Basic Dress Using a Pattern Now that you’re familiar with the basics of sewing, let’s walk through the process of sewing a basic dress using a pattern. Follow these step-by-step instructions for a beginner-friendly sewing project:

Materials Needed:

  • Dress pattern
  • Fabric (cotton, linen, or lightweight woven fabric)
  • Matching thread
  • Scissors
  • Pins
  • Sewing machine

Instructions:

  1. Choose a Dress Pattern: Select a simple dress pattern suitable for beginners, such as a shift dress or a basic A-line dress. Ensure the pattern includes your desired size range and any necessary adjustments for fit.
  2. Prepare Your Fabric: Wash, dry, and press your fabric before cutting to prevent shrinkage and distortion. Lay out your fabric on a flat surface, ensuring it is free from wrinkles and folds.
  3. Cut Out the Pattern Pieces: Using fabric scissors, carefully cut out the pattern pieces according to your size and the layout diagram provided with the pattern. Transfer any markings, such as darts, notches, and grainlines, onto the fabric using tailor’s chalk or fabric markers.
  4. Pin and Sew the Bodice: Pin the bodice front and back pieces together at the shoulder seams, right sides facing. Stitch the shoulder seams using a straight stitch, then press the seams open or to one side.
  5. Attach the Skirt: Pin the bodice to the skirt, right sides facing, aligning the waistline edges. Stitch the bodice and skirt together using a straight stitch, then press the seam allowance towards the bodice.
  6. Insert the Zipper: If your dress pattern includes a zipper closure, follow the pattern instructions to insert the zipper into the back seam of the dress. Use a zipper foot attachment on your sewing machine for precise stitching.
  7. Finish the Hem: Fold and press the raw edges of the dress hem under, then stitch in place using a straight or blind hem stitch. Press the entire dress to remove any wrinkles and give it a polished finish.

Learning how to sew opens up a world of creativity and self-expression, allowing you to bring your design ideas to life and create garments that reflect your individual style and personality. By mastering the basics of sewing and following step-by-step instructions, you can confidently embark on sewing projects of varying complexity, from simple garments to intricate creations. So, roll up your sleeves, thread your needle, and let your creativity soar as you explore the art of sewing!

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Understanding Sewing Machine Needle Thickness: A Comprehensive Guide

Understanding Sewing Machine Needle Thickness

Sewing machine needle thickness plays a crucial role in achieving flawless stitching and optimal sewing performance. Choosing the right needle thickness for your sewing project is essential for preventing fabric damage, skipped stitches, and other sewing mishaps. In this guide, we’ll delve into the significance of sewing machine needle thicknesses, exploring different sizes and their applications to help you make informed decisions for your sewing endeavors.

The Importance of Sewing Machine Needle Thickness Sewing machine needles come in a variety of sizes, each designed to accommodate different fabric types, weights, and sewing techniques. The needle thickness, or gauge, refers to the diameter of the needle shaft, which directly affects how the needle penetrates the fabric and forms stitches. Understanding needle thickness is essential for achieving smooth, even stitches and preventing fabric puckering, tearing, or distortion during sewing.

Common Needle Thicknesses and Their Applications

  1. Size 70/10: A size 70/10 needle is one of the thinnest needle options available, suitable for lightweight fabrics such as silk, chiffon, and lightweight cotton. The slender shaft of the needle minimizes fabric damage and produces delicate, fine stitches ideal for intricate sewing projects like lingerie, appliqué, and heirloom sewing.
  2. Size 80/12: Size 80/12 needles are considered standard needles for general-purpose sewing on medium-weight fabrics such as quilting cotton, linen, and rayon. The slightly thicker shaft of the needle provides increased stability and penetration power, making it suitable for a wide range of sewing applications including garment construction, patchwork, and home decor projects.
  3. Size 90/14: For sewing heavier fabrics such as denim, canvas, and upholstery fabrics, a size 90/14 needle is recommended. The thicker shaft and sharper point of the needle allow for effortless piercing of dense fabrics and multiple layers, resulting in strong, durable stitches without fabric distortion or breakage. Size 90/14 needles are ideal for sewing jeans, bags, and heavy-duty garments.
  4. Size 100/16: Size 100/16 needles are extra-thick needles designed for sewing heavyweight and densely woven fabrics such as leather, vinyl, and canvas. These needles feature a reinforced shaft and a robust point capable of penetrating tough materials with ease, making them suitable for leatherworking, upholstery, and industrial sewing applications.

Choosing the Right Needle Thickness for Your Project When selecting a sewing machine needle thickness, consider the following factors to ensure optimal stitching results:

  • Fabric Type and Weight: Choose a needle thickness appropriate for your fabric type and weight to prevent fabric damage and achieve smooth, even stitches.
  • Sewing Technique: Different sewing techniques may require specific needle thicknesses to accommodate stitch formation and fabric handling.
  • Project Requirements: Consider the specific requirements of your sewing project, such as seam type, stitch length, and fabric layers, when choosing a needle thickness.
  • Needle Compatibility: Ensure that the selected needle thickness is compatible with your sewing machine model and sewing accessories to prevent compatibility issues and potential damage to your machine.

Sewing machine needle thickness plays a crucial role in achieving professional-quality stitching and optimal sewing performance. By understanding the significance of needle thickness and selecting the right size for your sewing project, you can ensure smooth, even stitches and prevent fabric damage and sewing mishaps. Whether you’re sewing lightweight garments, heavy-duty upholstery, or intricate quilts, choosing the appropriate needle thickness is essential for achieving flawless results and enjoying the art of sewing to its fullest.

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The importance of sewing machine oil

Sewing machine oil

I once bought a new sewing machine. It lasted about about year. The reason: I did not take heed to the instructions of using sewing machine oil to oil the sewing machine. I just thought that it would go on and on like my sewing machine which had the pedal blow up.

The sewing machine has gears which needs a regular maintenance. It’s important to clean it and oil it with a special sewing machine oil which can be bought from a sewing machine store or a fabric store. Sometimes a big store like Wal-Mart will also stock sewing machine oil.

If you neglect to use the sewing machine oil, your sewing machine will very quickly stop working. The gears will get stuck, the knob will stop turning and you risk total engine failure. Just like with a car.

How do you oil the sewing machine? There are special holes in the sewing machine where the sewing machine oil needs to be inserted. Sometimes, you will have to open a part of the sewing machine to insert the oil in additional places. It is important to follow your sewing machine instruction manual to know where to insert the sewing machine oil.

And the last part: no you cannot use any oil you buy in the supermarket. You need special sewing machine oil. Not canola!

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Do fabric pens wash off?

Do fabric pens wash off?

If you’re starting out sewing you have probably figured out by now that you will need a fabric pen. But the biggest question remains for you. Do fabric pens wash off?

Well the answer to the question “do fabric pens wash off” is really dependable on the type of fabric pen that you use and whether the fabric pen will wash off or not.

When you buy a fabric marker you must be aware of the fact that a fabric marker is not a fabric pen and therefore very likely not to wash off. A fabric marker is designed for marking clothes meaning, permanently so that you know which items are yours and your name is in it.

If you are using a fabric pen that will wash off it has an entirely different purpose. It is used for when clothes are being made and sewn. In other words, drawing the markings of the pattern onto the fabric that’s been cut out and ready to sew.

The fabric pen will wash off any markings that has been left on the fabric. This way, your pattern is clear and washed from any fabric pen markings.

Of course check the labels if you are uncertain and ask the store assistant if the fabric pen washes off before you buy it. You can also use a normal pencil. I’ve found that it works and washes off. That’s my trick instead of getting a fabric pen to wash off. Use the pencil.

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Finding the right online sewing course

The right online sewing course

So you want to try sewing, but you aren’t exactly sure how to do it. The next step is to find a sewing course. But if you don’t have the time or opportunity to do this, you will need to find an online sewing course.

There are thousands of online sewing courses out there. But finding the correct one can be a difficulty. The last thing you want is an online sewing course that you pay money for and that won’t teach you much.

The right online sewing course would have a decent lay out of course contents and what will be covered in the lesson material. There are other features to look for as well when you look for the right course to “attend”.

Some of the features for this would include things such as comprehensive material explaining the how to do the sewing and how it works. The course would contain many images and examples as well as online videos on how to do some things. Another thing the right online sewing course would cover would be things such as fabrics, sewing techniques, sewing basics, sewing accessories, pattern making basics, adjusting patterns, measurements, working with sewing machines and sergers, sewing straight, preparing fabric, how to read commercial patterns and much much more. If the course does not include these things, it’s probably not for you and probably not as comprehensive as it should be.

Another thing the right online sewing course would contain is exercises for you to practice, and feedback on what you’ve done. Perhaps even a chat with the instructor or at least access to the instructor so that you can ask questions.

If you are looking for the right online sewing course, then these are essentials that you need to take into consideration before you sign up for a sewing course online that would cost money, but not be worth much in learning.

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How to choose the right color thread

How to choose the right color thread

Choosing the right color thread is very important when sewing a garment. Many people don’t know how to choose the right color thread. The reasons for getting the color correct are many, but the last thing you want is for your skew sewing to be shown up with white thread on a red background for example.

Knowing how to choose the right color thread has saved me on many occasions and has brought a professional look to the clothes that I make. It really is actually quite easy and simple.

Let’s say that you have a garment with a plain color. It’s easy. your plain color should determine your thread color. If it’s read, you will use red thread. If it’s green, you will use green thread etc.

But what happens if you have a garment where there are multiple colors? How do you then choose the right color thread?

The thing to look for when choosing the right color thread is the background of the garment. The predominant color of the background. For examples, I have added about three images below with the color thread for each background. The dominant color. The first one, the dominant color is red. The second one’s dominant color is white. The third one is not so easy. Green could work, but sea green works better. The idea is to choose a thread that will now show up as much of the stitching as it would if it was for example purple on any of these.

It’s the simplest and easiest thing to get the right color thread, but if you do not know how to choose the right color thread, your garment could end up looking like a hash job instead of professional job.

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How to sew pleats

How to sew pleats

If you are sitting and wondering how to sew pleats, I have good news. It’s the easiest thing in the world.

Pleats can look so good on a garment and add that tiny bit of extra look and feel it needs to look fantastic. But few people know how to sew pleats and find it hard to understand the patterns.

The first thing you need to remember when your pattern has pleats is that you need to make certain that you mark it on the fabric that you are about to sew the pleats onto. You cannot proceed and think you will get the pleats right if you haven’t marked it on the paper. This is not how to sew pleats. It has to be marked.

The next thing you do, as indicated in the image below, is to fold the marked lines of the pleats together, right sides facing.

You then take the rest of the area and fold it back over the fold you have just made. This is indicated below. I did use an already finished garment to demonstrate the next picture as I forgot to take the picture while I was busy sewing as all the other pictures. But it’s the same step.

The last part of the sewing pleats is to just sew them with a stay-stitch at the top where they will ultimately be sewn together in either an elastic, seam or hem. The last picture indicates this.

I hope this has shown you how to sew pleats. It really is an easy process and once you learn how to sew pleats you will be well on your way to beautifying whatever you sew.

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How to sew a shirt

How to sew (a shirt)

If you are new to sewing and have no idea how to sew, you’ve come to the right place. In this short tutorial I’m going to show you how to sew a shirt. It’s really not as difficult as it seems.

This particular shirt that I’m going to show you how to sew is a kid size shirt, made from a pattern I had previously enlarged for a six year old girl. The first step to sew a shirt is to sew the facing, if it has facing. If there is no facing, then you can go ahead and just sew the shirt, but in this case, there is facing. I laid the facing out inside out as shown in the picture and sewed it around the edges, only leaving the bottom open. I then turned it the right way round, ironed and stay stitched the edges. The following three images will show how I sewed this part of the shirt.

When you know how to sew a shirt this part is quite easy, but when you’ve never done this before, it can be quite complicated to understand. It’s simple. It gets sewn the wrong way around and then turned over.

I proceeded to do the same with the back part and facing.

The next thing you need to know about how to sew a shirt is to fit the two panels together along with the bottom part of the shirt. I proceeded to insert the pleats into the bottom part (see my post for how to sew pleats) of the shirt (top of the bottom panel) and once again, with the wrong sides together, sewed the two pieces together. The image below will show you how that was done. Edge to edge, so that it’s aligned properly.

You will see that when you flip up the top part of the shirt, the front part of the shirt would look complete. I sewed the back and front together, inside out. When you turn it around, you do not see the seams that you’ve sewn.

The important thing in learning how to sew a shirt or any other garment is that you need to always remember that most often, about 99% of the time, sewing is done back to front to hide the hems. Nobody buys clothes in the shop that looks like it’s made inside out. The hems are always on the inside.

After having sewn together everything, the shirt is turned around and completed. The only thing left was to add one button at the back, which you can check out in my article on how to sew a button hole.

I hope this has shown you how to sew a shirt in a couple of easy steps. It’s really easy and with a bit of practice, you can learn how to sew a shirt and almost anything else that you want to!

How to sew a shirt – tips:

As always, I have explained how to sew a shirt. But I find that just reading about it does not always help. One has to also practice how to sew a shirt to do it properly. So my suggestion would be to go to your local fabric store, get some off cuts for a cheap price and an old pattern and start practicing how to sew a shirt.

When you choose a practice pattern, don’t choose a button up fancy shirt but more something like a tshirt. It’s easier to practice how to sew a shirt with a plain t shirt type of pattern than a fancy pattern. Once you get the hang of how to sew a shirt, you can move on to more complicated projects.

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    Buying Sewing Patterns

    Buying Sewing patterns – A Guide

    Finding and buying the right sewing patterns can be frustrating. There are millions of them online. Pinterest has a huge selection of sewing patterns you can buy or download, but not all of them are free and some of them are old and don’t exist anymore. Some of the sewing patterns are in different languages that you cannot understand.

    So how do you actually find and buy a sewing pattern that you like, or better yet, when you find one, you don’t know if it’s going to fit you!

    The most popular sewing patterns that you can buy can be found on websites such as Simplicity, Burda, New Look, Kwik Sew, Butterick, Mccalls or Vogue. These are the main companies that sell sewing patterns. You can order and buy the sewing patterns online or you can just download them and try to print them out. But if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re not going to print them out correctly and they won’t work.

    When you buy a sewing pattern you can also go to a fabric store. They have catellogues with the current season and latest fashion patterns. You then tell the assistant at the counter that you want to buy a sewing pattern and give them the number of the sewing pattern and make, for example Simplicity or Burda. They will then get the sewing pattern for you to buy.

    The thing to note though is that you cannot buy the sewing pattern until you know what your size is since patterns sometimes come in different sizes when you buy them. All patterns have multiple sizes but it could be split into sizes such as 10-14 and another pattern for 14-20 for example. You need to ensure that you buy the right sewing pattern size. For this, you will need your measurements of your bust, hip, middle and shoulder especially. You then compare them to the average size on the pattern that you will need. It will not match the size exactly, you just see which size measurements are the closest and that’s the sewing pattern that you buy.

    I hope that this helps the next time you want to buy a sewing pattern. Hopefully knowing a little more about what to look for will assist in the process for you to buy your own sewing pattern to sew.

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    Testing Fabric for Shrinking and Colorfastness

    Testing fabric for shrinking and color fastness

    Something every person that sews need to know is how to test fabric for shrinking and color fastness. Yes, you do actually need to test because it would be a huge shame if you have made your garment and spent hours on it, only to wash it and then it doesn’t fit anymore.

    In this article I will show you how to test fabric for shrinking and colorfastness.

    The testing process of the fabric is actually quite easy. Not only can you do it at home, but it can be done in five minutes. All you need is an ironing board, your new fabric and a hot iron.

    Testing the fabric for shrinking and colorfastness has never been easier. Take a little corner of the fabric and iron it under the hot iron. What happens? Does it stay the same? Does it shrink? This is how you know if the fabric has actually undergone some shrinking or if it’s ok to just start sewing.

    Testing fabric for colorfastness is a different story all together. You simply put it in hot water in the basin and see if it gives off color. If the water is colored when you squeeze it out, it is most definitely not colorfast and will probably give off lots of color in the machine, staining your other clothes. You can test this on new clothes too and it will work.

    I hope this article on testing fabric for shrinking and colorfastness has been useful. Remember to always do these checks before you even consider starting a sewing project so that you know if you need to prepare the fabric or not.