Once you have your button holes, you need to sew on a button for each button hole. The problem comes in when you don’t know how to do this correctly. You could end up sewing the buttons all skew and they look funny as the button hole and the button isn’t aligned properly.
In this easy explanation I will show you exactly how to sew on a button for the button hole. The first thing you can do is put the garment face first down on the table or a hard surface. The button holes should now be at the top facing you. Now you are going to mark the buttons positions through the button holes already there. Take a fabric marker, tailors chalk or even a pencil to do this. Make a mark through the button hole on the fabric below the button hole. This will show you exactly where the button should be sewed on.
The next step to sew the button for the button hole is easy. Now you put the button on the bottom part of fabric where you have just made the mark. The mark should be in the centre of the button. You can either sew the button on by hand or you can use your sewing machine to sew on the button.
If you’re wondering how to sew on the button for the button hole using your sewing machine, just use the 2-4 setting of the button hole sewing setting. Carefully by hand, turn the nob of the sewing machine to make the needle go down through the button and go to the next hole. Do not use the pedal to sew the button, but use the nob and gently turn it making sure that the needle doesn’t hit the button but goes through the button hole. Do this about ten times until the button has been sewed on.
This is a very easy hack if you are wondering how to sew a button for a button hole. I hope this has helped. If you want to know how to sew a button hole, please look at my page titled how to sew a button hole.
Today I had to complete a dress with a pattern I had drawn a while ago. And as a result, I had no button hole guide and no way to instruct me on how to sew the button hole. However, I have done plenty of sewing in my life and fortunately I know how to sew a button hole without a pattern.
So in the explanation below, I will walk you through a step by step instruction on how to sew a button hole without a pattern. The first thing you need is your fabric and your buttons. The buttons are very important because when you sew the button holes you need to know how big it’s going to be. You cannot sew the button holes and get the buttons later as the buttons may not match the size of the button hole. You use the buttons to measure the size for the button holes.
Step one in learning how to sew a button hole is to spread the buttons out according to the way you want to sew them on. Have a look at the picture below. I have spread the buttons out where I want to have the button holes. The next thing I do is that I mark the size of the button with a line above the button and a line under the button. You can use a sewing pin or a pencil to do this. You could also use a pattern marker. See the following two images on how to sew a button hole below.
When you have done the markings for the button holes, you move your fabric to your sewing machine. The next step is to sew the “frame” of the button hole. For this setting, your sewing machine needs to be on the button hole 1 setting like I’ve indicated in the image by the place on the sewing machine that says “type”. The size of the stitch should be on button hole if your sewing machine has that size, otherwise make the stitch small. The goal is to sew a “frame” around where you want the button to go through the fabric.
One you have sewn the left frame, change the sewing machine setting to 2-4 which will sew the bottom part of the button hole. Complete the sewing of the button hole by sewing with setting 3 back up on the right hand size with leaving a tiny bit of fabric in the middle for the button to pass through (about 2mm) and then finishing it with another 2-4 setting at the top. You should now have a rectangle, with a tiny bit of space in the middle. The image below shows how we made the rectangle for the button hole.
The next part in my page titled “how to sew a button hole” is where you take your seam unpicker and unpick the fabric in the middle of the button hole that was not touched by the thread you sewed onto the button hole.
Once you have done that, your button hole is complete! To see how to sew on the buttons for a button hole, you can click on the link or just navigate to the page “how to sew on a button for a button hole“.
It’s easy to sew on a button hole and with a little bit of practice you could easily become a professional at sewing on a button hole. It’s easy and now that you know how to sew a button hole, you can go ahead and use this piece of knowledge on a lot of your sewing projects now.
So, you are ready to start sewing! You have gotten your basic sewing basket together and you have bought a pattern! You’ve even cut out the pattern like I explained in another article and now you are ready to pin the pattern, cut the fabric and start sewing. But no, you cannot do this just yet. Did you know that all fabric needs preparing for cutting and sewing?
That’s right, before you can start cutting fabric and sewing it, you need to look at preparing the fabric for cutting and sewing purposes. This is a process you need to start at least a day before you start sewing. In colder countries, if you are not using a dryer, you will have to start a couple of days before.
The first thing you do in preparing fabric for cutting and sewing is to test for color fastness and shrinking. You do this by ironing a corner of the fabric with a hot iron. What is happening to the fabric? Is it shrinking?
The next thing you do in preparing fabric for cutting and sewing is to give it a wash through the washing machine. I personally never do this but I highly recommend that you do it. Washing fabric can shrink certain materials so you want to make sure that the garment you are making won’t shrink in it’s first wash. There is nothing worse than wearing a new garment once, washing it and then finding that it does not fit you anymore.
Once you have washed the fabric you are preparing to cut and sew, you need to run it through a dryer (if that’s the way you plan on drying your garment in the future). Otherwise you can just hang the fabric up in the sun.
There we go, you are almost done preparing the fabric for cutting and sewing. The last thing you need to do is fold it neatly in half, length wise. Length wise because most patterns lay out length wise. Make sure that the edges of the fabric you are preparing for cutting and sewing matches each other well. They must not overlap. Now lay the length wise folded in half fabric out on a table where you can pin your sewing pattern onto it and do the cutting. After the cutting you will then proceed to the pattern markings and sewing of the garment!
It’s easy to prepare a piece of fabric for cutting and sewing. Wash, dry and there we go!
When you first open your sewing pattern, you will see different sets of symbols and lines on the pattern. These are the sewing pattern markings. Your sewing pattern markings is like a unique set of instructions for on how to use the pattern. Without these markings on the sewing pattern, you would not be able to complete the project.
Well, what on earth do these sewing pattern markings mean and how do I apply these sewing pattern markings to the fabric and the garment that I’m busy sewing? If you are wondering this question, you have already opened the sewing pattern to take a look at it, but the markings are confusing you. In the next couple of paragraphs, I will attempt to try and show you how to apply the pattern markings to your sewing pattern.
First, the sewing pattern markings helps with the layout of the pattern on the fabric. If you understand the symbols and lines indicated on the pattern, then you will have no problem applying them to the garment you are making. What’s more important, the garment you are making will then be a success. But if you do not understand the sewing pattern markings then things can go horribly wrong.
Below, I have a list of the sewing pattern markings and how to apply them. However, it’s important to note that most patterns come with a set of pattern instructions which very often have the explanations for the markings on their patterns. Depending on the brand, for example Burda, Simplicity or New Look etc, the markings may differ slightly although they are all pretty standard and look very much alike.
The first sewing pattern marking you should be aware of is the cutting line. This marking indicates the line along which you will be cutting the fabric once the pattern is laid out and pinned on the fabric. It is usually a solid line with a little pair of scissors indicated somewhere on it in one or multiple places. It looks like this:
The next sewing pattern marking that you should be aware of is the stitching line. This is usually indicated on the pattern as where you should be stitching. It is worth marking this line on your fabric as that’s the exact place the pattern is indicating your stitching to occur. The stitching line is usually a broken line and is indicated like this:
The grain line is a marking that is indicated in a vertical position on the sewing pattern. It usually has two little arrows at the ends, pointing up and down. Sometimes the grain line is indicated horizontally but in most cases it’s indicated vertically on the pattern. This means that the pattern needs to be placed so that the arrow shows in the direction that the grain of the fabric is running. It looks like this:
The next sewing pattern marking that you should be well acquainted with is the “cut on fold” marking. This marking on the sewing pattern indicates that where this part of the pattern is, the fabric should be folded in half, and the pattern placed on the fold of the fabric so that you can have half a piece of shirt to cut for example that you cut and then fold open to complete a full piece.
The bust point sewing pattern marking indicates where you match the bust point on the pattern with your own bust point. This will help with greater accuracy on the garment as you sew it. It’s a small circle and looks like this:
A lengthen and shorten line can be indicated anywhere on the pattern. Especially if you are sewing a pair of trousers, shorts, skirt or ladies top. It’s important to note, especially if the sewing pattern is a multi-pattern, meaning it’s a pattern that can either do a short or trousers with the same pattern pieces for example. In this case, the sewing pattern markings will indicate whether it’s a short and you should cut by that line or if you should use the bottom part to mark the end of the pattern piece.
Notches are important sewing pattern markings because they indicate where the pattern pieces are to be fitted together. The notches on the back of the pattern will match the notches on the front of the pattern and that is where you put the back and the front together. Notches can be colored in triangles or they could look like the image below. They could be one alone, two together or three together. Even up to five together. The matching notches on the front and back of the pattern is where it fits together. Remember, a sewing pattern is like a puzzle that you build and put together. For example, I have cut out the front and the back pieces of a shirt. But I don’t know where exactly to match them so that they fit together. The notches will tell me. I put the back panel together with the matching notches on the front panel. Here is an example of notch markings on a sewing pattern.
If your pattern has pleats like mens trousers or lady skirts, then the sewing pattern marking you are going to see looks like the image below. This is used to indicate pleats and used to indicate the fold lines for the pleats on the fabric.
Another sewing pattern marking that is quite common is the button hole. This marking indicates the button hole placement and size.
If your sewing pattern has button holes, you are likely to see a sewing pattern marking similar to the one below which indicates the button placement on the fabric.
Sewing patterns can also be equipped with zippers. The intention is to have a zipper inserted into the garment that is being sewn. The zipper sewing pattern marking is indicated below:
When you are deciding on which size of sewing pattern to cut, there will be different cut lines for you that’s indicated. The different cut lines will have a specific pattern for each size. That is the line that you would cut your fabric along to get the correct size garment.
The last sewing pattern marking that I will talk about is a group of markings called the pattern transfer markings. Those indicate that the markings for those need to be transfered on to the fabric itself.
Following your indicated sewing pattern markings are very important for the correct sewing of any type of garment, curtain or oven-glove! You cannot expect your garment to come out correctly if you do not follow the sewing pattern markings indicated on the actual sewing pattern. So with this bit of information on this page, I hope I have helped you to understand what all the jargon on the pattern means and how to better apply it when you cut your pattern.
So you finally bought your first sewing pattern. But not you’re sitting with the next question. How to cut your sewing pattern. There are so many confusing lines and things. What if you cut the wrong part of the pattern and mess up the pattern? After all, the sewing pattern cost a lot of money and now you have to go cut it!
The first thing you need to know before you even consider how to cut a sewing pattern is NOT TO USE THE SHEARS YOU BOUGHT TO CUT FABRIC. You need a completely different set of sewing shears to cut a sewing pattern. The reason is that the sewing pattern is made of paper, however thin that may be, and the fabric scissors cannot cut paper. If they do, the fabric scissors may go blunt, or most certainly will go blunt over time. This means you won’t be able to cut the fabric anymore.
Alright! Get on with it! I came here to learn how to cut a sewing pattern! Not to read about sewing shears! Well it’s fairly easy. The sewing pattern is made to cut along the size that you need. I will assume that by the time you are reading this page, you have already found out how to measure yourself or the person you are going to be sewing for. The measurements you took, along with the measurements on the back of the sewing pattern’s envelope should give you an indication of which pattern size to cut. So to go ahead, you can cut along the size line of the size of the sewing pattern that you want to cut.
But STOP! Do you want to use this sewing pattern again for something else? Do you want to use the other sizes too? Because if you do, I wouldn’t just go ahead and cut the sewing pattern. I would firstly cut the biggest size, the outer layer of the sewing pattern. That way, you have the other sizes too. You correct the size issue when you cut the sewing pattern on the fabric by making folds in the pattern that you have just cut. I can show you how to make the folds in the pattern if you click on the highlighted link.
Many people will tell you that you do not cut a sewing pattern using only the outside line (biggest size). They have their methods. That’s all good and fine. They can have their methods for cutting a sewing pattern. I have my own methods that have worked for me over twenty years.
The sewing pattern has now been cut to the biggest size. The next trick is to put it down on fabric and cut the correct size of the sewing pattern for the garment you need to make. To find out more about how to cut the sewing pattern out on the fabric you want to use, click here to find out how to lay out a sewing pattern on fabric.
Ever looked at all the different sewing pins that are available in the shop? I mean there are ones with tiny metal heads and then there are ones with colourful plastic heads (ball point pins, plastic heads and glass heads). So many sewing pins to choose from!
Now if you are new to sewing you may not know which sewing pins to get. I have good news for you though. There are five different types of sewing pins and they are pretty straightforward to use. Glass, round plastic ball point, flat plastic, flat metal and T pins.
Personally I don’t like the metal flat head sewing pins. You can’t see them and they just irritate me when I try and pull them out. They are small and not worth struggling with in my opinion. And very boring. I love to use the colourful head sewing pins. They’re easy to grab and pull out. And easy to find!
However I may feel about the flat head sewing pins, they do have their purpose. They work well for delicate fabrics like silk that can get dammaged easily. They can be ironed over. So can glass head pins. Plastic ones can’t.
The plastic ball point head round sewing pins actually work well on items such as wool or knit fabrics as their tips are slightly hollowed. If you worry about fraying a garment or leaving a hole in the fabric then you shouldn’t use these types of sewing pins on delicate fabrics. I do, but that’s me.
The glass head sewing pins are slightly stronger and more rigid than other pins. They are great for pinning heavy and thick fabric…… and extra layers! I’ve on many occasions broken and bent a sewing pin or two because I only use the ball point ones (plastic round colourful heads).
The plastic head sewing pins are wonderful for general things that needs pinning. They are also called general sewing pins but don’t always just get used for sewing. They can be used for anything. They are great to use when you need to pin a pattern you are designing on paper to make sure it works. That’s one good place to use the general sewing pins.
The other type of sewing pin that not everyone seamstress knows about is the T pin. It’s head is literally in the shape of a T and it’s used for upholstery when you need to pin a piece of fabric onto a couch for example.
With all this being said, I’ve been sewing for over twenty years and I’ve only used the round ball point head pins. Yes my silks have gotten marks from sewing pins but I’ve only ever used silk once, when I made my wedding dress and it was on the seams where its invisible. I’ve done upholstery and used the same sewing pins. I’ve sewn breastfeeding pillows for a clinic and used the same sewing pins. And lots of clothes. All using those same old ball point sewing pins. In fact, I don’t own any of the others. I have no need for them.
Here is a cool little idea I like to use. You could have a system in place for using sewing pins. You could use pearly head sewing pins at the top of your outfit to mark the top or front or back and you can use black plastic head sewing pins to mark the front of the garment and bottom. It does sometimes help working in color codes with sewing pins, especially when you don’t mark your patterns. Don’t follow my bad habits though! Mark those patterns and use a fair amount of sewing pins!
So I was going through my new sewing basket the other day looking for a decent pair of sewing scissors. I had to start over after relocating countries and didn’t bring my sewing stuff with. And I realised I only had one of the essential pairs of sewing scissors and was seriously lacking in the others.
Why is only one pair of sewing scissors an issue you may ask. Surely scissors are scissors? Well, different pairs of sewing scissors are used for different things, depending on the type of thing you want to do.
I will start by explaining the most commonly used sewing scissors and rats your fabric scissors as they call them in somerror countries. In others they are called dressmaker’s shears.
The next pair of sewing scissors are your pinking shears. These are special scissors with a jagged edge on the blade. They are designed for people who don’t have sergers and need to stop fabric from fraying when it’s cut. It cuts fabric with a zig zag edge. Your pinking shears work in place of the overlocker / serger. Of course having a sergers would be the best but it’s costly and when you are just starting out you may not be able to afford it.
The fabric scissors have long blades that cut like a knife. They are designed in such a way that they are ideal to cut fabric smoothly. There are no snags and hooking on the fabric that’s being cut. That being said, they must be used for fabric and fabric only. Someone once borrowed my sewing scissors and used it for paper. At sixteen with no money except an allowance that was a hard lesson to learn. The scissors loose their sharpness when they touch anything but fabric so when you do invest in a good pair of sewing scissors do make sure that it’s out of reach to family members. Either that or you have to make it clear that those are sewing scissors and not to be touched.
The last pair of sewing scissors that you must absolutely have in your sewing kit is a pair of general purpose scissors. They are use to cut anything from bits of thread to ribbons and beads and things. It’s a small pair of sharp scissors, handy to pick up and use and not as heavy as rheumatoid dressmaker shears. I cannot get along without them and yet I’ve had to. When.I have a chance I’m definitely going to the shop to get a pair of small general purpose scissors that my sewing kit is seriously lacking at this point.
These are the essentials of sewing scissors. I hope it has helped to figure out which sewing scissors you need for your projects. And as I always say, enjoy sewing!
If you are going to attempt sewing you are going to need a sewing basket. Trust me. I’ve recently relocated country with two suitcases per family member and had to start from scratch. There is nothing more frustrating than needing to quickly sew something up and not having the tools to do it with. Even more frustrating when it’s a quick mending job and your sewing basket does not contain the item you need to do the mending with.
So much gets done with basic things you don’t think you need but actually do need in your sewing basket. Below, I will list some of the things that no sewing basket should be without.
The first item in the sewing basket should of course be your scissors. A decent pair of sewing scissors that has not touched anything but fabric. Yes! Hide your scissors from the family! Just do it or you will regret it. Someone in the family will ultimately need a pair of scissors and your sewing ones would be at hand and poof! The moment the sewing scissors touch paper it no longer works as well for fabric. So this is one item you probably do not want to keep in your sewing basket but well hidden away somewhere.
The next item in your sewing basket must be a measuring tape. You measure everything. There is almost nothing you don’t measure when you sew. Everything needs room be to precise measurements to fit, whatever you are sewing. For example. If you have to cut fabric to make a pillow case, you need to cut it so the two pieces are the same size to make stitching it easier. This is where you use your measuring tape from the sewing basket.
The next thing a sewing basket absolutely cannot be without are pins. Sewing pins are essential for holding fabric together while you sew. You do this to avoid fabric slipping while sewing, sewing straight and to have the pattern pieces alligned correctly before you do the actual sewing. If your sewing basket does not have a pair of pins you should get them before you start sewing. Just because you need them.
A sewing basket should also never be without hand needles. Hand needles are used for a lot of things. Especially items sewed where a sewing machine cannot reach. There are lots of those, for example a giant pop up pompom made with wool on a cushion. Your sewing machine needle probably can’t reach the pompom so a pair of hands needles would help.
Speaking of needles, a good item to have in your sewing basket should be an extra set of needles for your sewing machine. I often break a needle especially when I’m too lazy to change needles for thicker fabrics or thick layers and the poor needle can’t stitch through it.
A sewing basket also should never be without a pin cushion. Pin cushions can easily be made and is a great help when you are sewing. It’s a quick and easy way to grab a needle or store or again.
A seam ripper is an essential in your sewing basket. What do you do when you have a seam that you stitched wrong by accident and need to unpick? It happens a lot. Especially when you’re tired and trying to push to finish a project late at night. You definitely need at seam ripper to make at success of the sewing basket.
These are the essentials. There are many other things that you can add room the sewing basket. Those are below.
A fabric marker is a marker designed for writing on fabric. It washes off afterwards. But you use it specifically for making pattern markings. I don’t use one of those and my sewing basket does not contain one. I use pins to mark my pattern markings on my fabric although I don’t recommend this until you’ve done lots of sewing. It’s better to have a fabric marker in your sewing basket.
Pinking shears are great for your sewing basket aso they help you cut fabric in a way that frays less. If you don’t have a seager or overlocker you may want to consider putting a pair of Pinking shears in your sewing basket.
There are other fancy things you can put in your sewing basket but they aren’t sewing essentials and I’ve never needed them. And since this blog is about my knowledge I will leave them out. What I have written about here for the sewing basket is what I normally have in my sewing basket. Anything else is optional and luxury items.
How do I know which sewing pattern size to use when I get a pattern for sewing? I mean, it’s confusing. Do I just pick my size from the local clothing store and cut out that size on the fabric? What if I need to convert it to another measurement or worse, the size I cut out of the pattern does not fit!
Patterns do not work that way. They are fully adjustable. That means you can cut the pattern to fit your body. You don’t need a specific size all the way around the pattern. Your sewing pattern size will be the one that fits your body. Let me explain how that works.
Firstly, on the front of the sewing pattern is a size that the particular pattern is sold for. For example 6-10. If you need a different size, you need to ask for one, say 12-18. See the image below. In this image the size of the pattern is in the top left corner under the pattern number.
Now, when you flip the pattern over and look at the back, you will see a size chart. The sewing pattern size chart starts with what you need to measure in order too know what size to make. Bust, waist, hips and neck to waist at the back. I will explain these below.
The bust measurement is the measurement either in centimetres or inches that it takes the measuring tape to get around your bust (chest). Start by 0 and finish off by where the measuring tape meets the start of the tape. That is your bust measurement.
The next is your waist measurement. Your waist is where an elastic would sit on your middle basically. Hips is about four fingers down from your waist at the widest section of your middle. The back of the neck to waist is from the knob in your neck at the back down to your midde. If you are short and stockey like me, you may want to also look at measuring the cecumference of your legs below your hips.
Now that you have those measurements you can work out the sice of pattern you will need. You just follow the line down to the size for your measurements.
What if your pattern size measurements stretch across two or three sizes, you can then adjust your pattern and cut for example the shoulder part a size twelve and the Middle part a size 14. I don’t recommend this for people who are just starting out with learning how to sew and choose pattern sizes.
For a more in depth explanation on sewing measurements click this line.
If you have never ever done any sewing before then this post is for you. It will help you understand what the basic sewing equipment are that you need to sew and make a success of your project.
I am a firm believer in the fact that you can get away with using almost nothing to sew. You need a couple of basic pieces of equipment to do things with, and not much more!
Sewing need 1: A sewing machine
The first thing you would need to sew is a sewing machine. Not having a sewing machine can make your life tedious, difficult and take hours and hours of your precious time. If you are anything like me, I don’t have much patience to sit and wait it out until I have finally finished a project. That is exactly why I don’t knit or croche. I don’t have the patience! But I do have the patience to sit and sew. Why? Because it’s quick, easy and fast on a sewing machine. Most of my projects have taken about three hours to complete, although there has been projects that have taken longer.
Make certain that you get yourself a sewing machine that is electric and can plug into the wall. This is a basic sewing need! The sewing machine must also have a foot that you can press on with your foot! Ideally, the sewing machine must also have several different types of stitches that can be used on the machine like in the picture below. At the very minimum, it must have the zigzag (c) and the straight stitch (a) in it.
Basic need to sew 2: Pins!
It doesn’t matter how good or how fast anybody can sew, you cannot sew without sewing pins! This is a basic need to be able to sew any item. I like to use the sewing pins that have nice colorful heads, although the plain ones also work. Below is a picture of these pins I am talking about.
Basic need to sew 3: A good pair of sewing scissors
Another thing you need to sew is a good pair of sewing scissors. Sewing scissors can be awful and that’s why you need to make sure that you have a good pair that’s sharp! If you don’t have a pair that is sharp and can cut fabric, toss it out the window! It’s no good! Not evening sharpening will be ok in that case. Go out and get yourself a new pair.
The secret about sewing scissors are that you need to keep it away from everybody in the house. The moment the scissors touch anything other than fabric or thread it is basically useless and can be thrown. Sewing scissors only work if it hasn’t touched paper.
Basic need to sew 4: Measuring tape
The last basic need to sew item I am going to talk about is a measuring tape. You need a measuring tape to measure yourself, your clothes and other items you are making. Without a measuring tape you could use a piece of string but it will leave you confused and really not help at all! Make sure that you get a measuring tape before you start your sewing project.
Basic need to sew 5: Thread
Another basic need to sew is thread! Yes, whether you are sewing by hand or by machine, you need thread! Make certain that the thread can fit onto the sewing machine no problem. I prefer the longer thread spools as shown in the picture below.
Basic need to sew 6: Needles
Of course your sewing machine needs a needle and probably comes with one. But sometimes it needs replacing. You can replace your sewing machine needle quite easily as the sewing machine needles are mostly universal and can be bought at any shop like Wallmart or Checkers, depending on what side of the hemisphere you reside on.
But if you do not have a sewing machine, you are going to need a good pair of needles that you can use to hand sew with. Even with a sewing machine you need hand sewn needles to sew little things on that sewing machines can’t take care of.
Basic need to sew 7: A steam iron
What? A steam iron? I asked “What do I need to sew?” not “What do I need to do washing and ironing?”. Well, actually, the two go hand in hand. When you are sewing, you constantly have to go back to the iron for pleats, seams and other things. So yes, you need a good steam iron to do the job!
I hope that I’ve been able to answer your questions in this post. If you are still wondering about what you need to sew you can look at the rest of my blog posts and see if there is anything in there to help, but this should cover the question “What do I need to sew”.
So go on out there, get these basic items and set it up! Enjoy!
