Whether you're an experienced sewist or a beginner just starting out, here are 15 sewing tips and tricks you need to have in your arsenal.
More Learn to Sew Tips and Techniques: Before there were sergers, people who sewed knew how to Finish Seams without a Serger. Learn How to Finish Seams.
Sewing straight can be challenging; even seasoned sewers like myself encounter wobbly stitches on occasion. The good news? We have an arsenal of tools and tricks to turn those unwanted wanderings into wow-worthy precision.
My husband surprised me with a sewing machine a few years ago and I've loved it. It's been so handy having it to hem the kids' pants and take in a waist or two. And then there are the crafts I've made with it. I'm still a beginner but oh boy do I love to sew! But of course, it's only fun if you know what you're doing. Here are 20+ fabulous sewing tips that will help anyone wanting to learn a few new sewing tips and tricks! 20+ Incredibly Helpful Sewing Tips and Tricks 1. Let's start with the
Learn 5 different ways to sew a knit hem in this tutorial with video and written instructions
My husband surprised me with a sewing machine a few years ago and I've loved it. It's been so handy having it to hem the kids' pants and take in a waist or two. And then there are the crafts I've made with it. I'm still a beginner but oh boy do I love to sew! But of course, it's only fun if you know what you're doing. Here are 20+ fabulous sewing tips that will help anyone wanting to learn a few new sewing tips and tricks! 20+ Incredibly Helpful Sewing Tips and Tricks 1. Let's start with the
You need to properly wind and thread the bobbin to sew beautifully. This step-by-step tutorial will show you exactly how to do that!
Continuous Bias Binding or bias tape is a great way to finish sewing projects. Here is how to make your own continuous bias tape. DIY Bias.
I’ve wanted to try out this method of sewing half-elastic waistbands with one continuous piece ever since theosakakoneko shared her amazing results on sew_loli. And boy, I’m never going back. It’s so much easier and cleaner than trying to do the flat section and the elastic section in two pieces,…
15 Sewing Tips and Tricks that Make Sewing "SEW" Much Easier!
Gathering on a Serger To speed up gathering on a sewing project, I simply change the settings on my Janome 1100D Professional Serg...
When it comes to zippers, believe it or not, the invisible zipper is one of the easiest to insert. Learn how it’s done with this step-by-step tutorial.
Need a refresher on the different types of seams at your disposal? Or maybe you’re starting out and doing research to better acquaint yourself with your
Learn what is a grainline in sewing and how to align your fabric to the grain. Because it really matters which way you cut your fabric!
Learn sewing secrets that every beginner should know. These sewing tips will save you time and frustration!
Shortening Metal Zippers from the Top Tutorial For when you can't get a short enough zipper for a project that you're working on, don't despair, you can shorten it. I needed to reduce the length of a couple of zippers (from 7 inches down to 3.5 inches) for exposed zipper pockets for a pair of pants I was sewing for my son, here's how I achieved that. Supplies needed: :: metal zipper :: 2 top stops (I got mine from a clothing zipper repair kit that I bought at the local fabric store) :: diagonal cutter pliers :: long nose pliers :: ruler :: disappearing ink marker :: scissors :: liquid seam sealant Starting from the bottom stop, measure the desired length of the zipper, then using a disappearing marker, make a mark on the tape. Using a disappearing ink marker, make a 2nd mark 1 inch above the 1st mark. Remove the zipper teeth between those 2 marks, using a diagonal cutter pliers cut and or pull each tooth. (Note: these metal zipper teeth can be difficult to cut, at least they were for me & watch out, they can go flying... I'm still finding little cut up metal zipper teeth all over my sewing room) Place a top stop above the highest zipper tooth, using the long nose pliers, pinch the top stop together so that it is secure. Repeat this for the other side of the zipper. With a scissors cut off the excess zipper at the 2nd mark that you made. Apply a small amount of liquid seam sealant to the cut edges, this will prevent the fabric from fraying. All done. Now you can use your new shortened metal zippers.
Sewing tips and tricks you need to know
I often get a question from my readers - how to sew straight? In this guide, I will show you how to easily keep stitching lines straight. I will talk about topstitching mostly because keeping seam allowances equal is a different topic. Have you ever had problems with crooked stitching lines? I bet you had. Even intermediate sewists are struggling sometimes to do it and had to rip and redo stitching. But sewing in a straight line is much simpler than you think. And I want to help you to sew straight every time.
In this article The Sewing Loft shares tips on how to clean your sewing machine to keep in running smoothly. -Sewtorial
The 6 best seam finishes for beautiful sewing inside and out. Neatly finishing seams make your sewing look professional and prevent fraying.
Sewing a straight stitch seems like the most basic of sewing skills. It is the most used type of stitching, especially when it comes to beginner sewing
Use recycled plastic bags to help tame tricky fabrics.
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This is the easiest way to hem pants using a sewing machine. Even beginning sewists will do great with this!
In this video sewing tutorial, I will show you how to sew mitered corners. If you are looking for easy quilt binding corners check out my ideas on how to sew a mitered corner binding and mitered quilt borders.
Bonjour, my lovely otters! Earlier this week, we talked through altering a princess seamed bodice, when you've been blessed with, as my younger brother would say, bazoongas. We went from perfectly lovely pattern pieces to darling little monsters that can actually fit over our busts. Hooray! Now, the bad news: there's still work left to be done. The thing about princess seams is that they are much more fitted to your bust than a traditionally darted bodice. That's what makes them flattering, but that's also what makes them hard to fit. In light of that, today I'm going to share some guidelines for fitting and sewing a princess seamed bodice. Like my last post, they're specifically tailored for large busted sewists, because, well, that's what I am. Tip #1: Muslin, That Sucker! For a really long time, I was not a muslin maker. Sewing is something I do in my spare time, so consequently, I like it to be as fun as possible. Making a muslin is about as fun as eating a diet brownie: it feels like making a dress, but there's no "I can wear this!" joy. Nowadays, a great fit is as important to me as pretty fabric, so muslins are necessary evil. With princess seams, they're an imperative one. We now have two pattern pieces that will actually fit over our bosoms. This is a good start! What we now need is for those pattern pieces to actually fit our bosoms. Let's be honest, boobs are a magical mystery. People with the exact same bra size can have radically different bust shapes. As a result, your princess seams won't fit just like mine, nor should they. We've already come so far in fitting that we may as well get a perfectly individual bodice while we're at it. So: make a muslin. That way, you can take all the pattern adjustments you need, before cutting out that pretty floral silk. Tip #2: Pin From The Bottom You know how your side bodice curves all crazy like, but your center bodice is straight as a pin? We're going to put those two together. Such fun! In order to do this, you're going to "ease" the pieces together. All that means is gently pin your straight piece around the curves of your side piece, so that it also curves. So easy! My preferred method to do this is to pin the very top and very bottom together first, then pin from the bottom up. That way, your fabric is guaranteed to line up along the straight bits. Tip #3: Use a 1/2'' Seam! I cannot stress this enough, friends. When you sew up your fabric - whether it's your muslin or your fashion fabric - do not use a 5/8'' seam. Part of the whole problem with sewing princess seams is that they can fold and warp, as you sew around the curve. Sewing with a smaller seam allowance gives much more control over the fabric and prevents this from happening. I can't tell you how many seams I picked apart, before learning this trick! To do this, just trim a 1/8'' off of each seam allowance and sew as usual. If you'd like even more fitting wiggle room in the muslin-making stage, you can also just leave the original seam allowance in, but take this smaller seam size. This what I usually do, as inevitably the curve needs to come out a little bit on my upper bust anyway. It's entirely up to you! Just don't sew with a 5/8'' seam, I beg you. Tip #4: Don't Clip the Seam Allowances, Until After Fitting Invariably, every single princess seam tutorial has a part about clipping the seam allowances, in order to make the seams lay flat. This is fantastic advice, after you've properly fit the bodice. When you adjust the fit, you may need some of that room back, so clipping it away is a bad idea. Instead, press the seams toward the center. They'll be bubbly, but you'll fix that after fitting! So, this is my muslin of the Elisalex bodice we made on Monday! See how gaping and crazy my my lower bust and underbust are? This is why I don't clip seam allowances beforehand. There is some work to be done yet. The bubbly wrinkles on the seams, however, aren't actually a fit issue. That's just what princess seams do, until you clip them and open them. Those'll press out eventually, don't panic! Tip #5: Pin, pin, pin! When you're fitting princess seams, pins are your best friend. For each alteration you're planning on making, pin both sides of your bust line. Personally, I'm taking a 1/2 inch out of my lower bust on both sides, then a whole inch on each side of my under bust and waist. So, I pin where I plan to blend away from the seam allowance (top pin), where I want a full 1/2 inch out (middle pin), then where I want to transition into to taking an inch out (lower pin). Tip #6: Fit a Small Rib Cage! As you can tell from the pictures so far, I'm plagued by a relatively small rib cage. My breasts are generous, as are my hips, but the area between them is relatively small. (My waist is over 12 inches smaller than both of those measurements!) This is a great example of a fitting problem that only "plus sized" or "cross-sized" (fitting both size spectrums - sizes 12-16) women usually encounter. All too often, larger sizes on patterns assume we're large all over. I'm, as is obvious from the muslin, not. So, I've had to learn how to deal with it, when doing pattern adjustments. For traditional bust adjustments, I just make the darts wider over my waist and ribcage. Easy peasy! For princess seams, however, the fix is nontraditional. The side piece of the Elisalex bodice actually fits me really well. It's the center front that's too big - pooling into those unsightly wrinkles you see under my bustline. So...take more out of the center front! When I went back to this muslin, I unpicked all the way up to my lower pin. Then, I trimmed an inch off of each side of the center front bodice. Then, I matched it back up with the side bodice and resewed a 1/2 inch seam. This is my result, when I've done that and taken that extra bit out of the lower bust: So much better, right? As you can see, I've fixed the pooling under my bust and the too large curve around my lower bust. It's still a bit big over my rib cage, which I'll fix on the pattern itself, but not on this muslin. I'm just using this as a lining, in the end, so it doesn't have to be quite so fitted. Tip #7: Battling Bust Wrinkles! First off, we clip! Instead of going through that process, just hop over to the lovely and brilliant Gertie's blog. She gives a fabulous explanation of the best way do this. It's exactly my method, I just do it after I've sewn. Once you've clipped, grab your tailor's ham and a little cup of water. We're going to steam the heck out of these seams. Instead of just using the steam burst on my iron, I like to fully wet the seam. That way, I can really steam these pesky bubbles to death. I open the seams, put it over my tailor's ham, splash some water on them, then press press press! Once you've finished, try it on again! If you still have wrinkles, press again and again and again. If they're not fitting issues caused from a too-tight seam, they'll come out. Take a look at my final product: There are wrinkles caused by me crumpling my center fabric, but check out those bust seams! So much smoother. I still need to iron out some wrinkles on my top left, but they're infinitely better. Woohoo! Bonus Tip: Finding a new Bust Apex! What happens if you've put your new bodice pieces on and they can't be fixed by little tweaks? Your curves may not actually go over your bust center, for example. If that's the case, mark your actual bust apex on the center bust piece of your muslin and return to our original pattern. Is that apex lower or higher than our black side bust dot, when measuring up from the waist? Wherever it is, mark it on the original pattern pieces, then redo your FBA based on that spot, instead of the original apex. You probably won't have to do this, but it's a good trick to know, if you come across a pattern that's wildly out of sync with your body. There we go! Princess seams fully broken down. Would anybody like me to do a tutorial for a darted bodice FBA, as well? It's been fairly well-covered in the blogosphere, but if you want to see what those pattern pieces look like for a large bust, I'd be happy to document my process again.
Here you will find a collection of sewing tutorials from the blog that I have written over the years – I hope you find them useful. If so, please share the links so your friends can fin…
This is the ultimate guide to sewing with piping. Learn how to sew with piping, and how to make it yourself. Sewing with piping is easy - if you know the right tips and tricks.
How to Sew Spandex: In this instructable, I'm going to show you how to construct a one-piece spandex superhero costume using a home sewing machine. Contrary to popular belief, sewing spandex on a home machine is actually quite easy and effective with the right tools an…
Using invisible thread can be tricky when working on a quilt project. This video gives a few helpful tips on when to use the thread and the type you should look for.
This easy-to-follow instructional video demonstrates how to install a zipper using a self-basing zipper.
Everything you need to know about bias tape. Learn how to sew on single fold and double fold bias tape, as well as how to make your own!
Today I’ll be showing you how to use a twin needle or double needle on your sewing machine all in a video tutorial. There’s a photo tutorial as well along with some great close up examples to help you be as successful as possible with sewing with a twin needle. There’s something about sewing two […]
Find out what secret your thread spool has been keeping from you. One thread brand even has a hidden compartment!
Looking back over our sewing patterns so far, we've noticed that we seem to have a bit of a thing for hand stitching. A lot of a thing, in fact. Turns out, we've recommended finishing hems, waistbands and linings by hand in all three of our patterns - which comes as a surprise as we had no idea what perfectionists we r
Learn a quick and easy way to make a professionally looking invisible hem on the clothes you sew. Invisible hems are called blind hems.
Finish transparent edges with this simple-to-sew couture technique.
For making dance costumes, stretch fabrics are essential. Learn these 3 tricks for sewing stretch fabrics and you'll have happier stitching! :)
Following on from our Sewing Buttonholes : Tips n Tricks! post, today I bring you our Top 10 tips to stop you getting hot under the collar, curtousy of my lovely sewing friend, Suzy aka Suzy a…
