Sewing can seem intimidating, especially when you think about the tools and materials you need to get before starting. However, it’s still a very useful skill to pick up, allowing you to make simple alterations and mend clothes to extend the life of your garments.
Is sewing hard? Hand sewing is not hard. You can master all of the stitches you need to know to make simple alterations in under an hour. However, if you want to make clothes from scratch using a sewing machine, then you will need a lot more tools and practice to finish a project.
In this article, we will discuss the basics of sewing and provide some tips to help beginners get started.
Hand Sewing vs. Machine Sewing: Difficulty Level
Hand sewing and machine sewing have varying difficulty levels, and they can be useful in different situations. Let’s take a look.
Hand Sewing
Hand sewing is most practical when you need to make simple reparations or alterations, like hemming your pants to make them shorter or patching a hole in your jeans. With a simple thread and a needle, you can make those simple alterations in under an hour.
The best part is you can teach yourself how to hand-sew because it really isn’t very complicated and requires just a few simple tools, like thread, a needle, and a thread cutter.
Since the stitches are quite simple, you also don’t need a lot of practice to master a stitch. You only need to learn a few basic stitches, including the running stitch, the back stitch, and the cross stitch; you can use them over and over again for every project.
Machine Sewing
Machine sewing is a much more efficient method of sewing, but it does require a little bit of work to master.
You can also learn basic stitches using a sewing machine to make simple alterations at home. Usually, simple stitches like the straight stitch or zigzag stitch will take about a day to learn and master.
If you want to make clothes from scratch using a sewing machine, there are a lot of skills that you will need to learn, including:
- How to collect measurements and draft a pattern to make clothes that fit
- How to follow a sewing pattern
- How to choose and cut fabric
- How to set up the sewing machine to work with your particular project
- How to create stitches using your sewing machine
- How to sew complicated details like pleats, pockets, buttons, invisible zippers, ruffles, etc.
As you can imagine, there are quite a few steps involved in learning how to sew from scratch using a sewing machine, which makes it quite intimidating.
That’s why a lot of beginners opt to attend a local sewing class at first, which covers a lot of these topics and allows them to master the skills and learn how to work with their particular sewing machine.
These classes usually take anywhere from a month to six months, and you often need to practice for a few hours a week at home to master the skills.
Can You Teach Yourself To Sew?
Since hand sewing is relatively simple, you can teach yourself to sew a few basic stitches in just an afternoon.
With machine sewing, you can also learn how to work with your machine to sew a few basic stitches, which are useful for making simple repairs and alterations.
However, if you want to start making clothes from scratch, it’s better to sign up for a class that can help you learn the right skills.
Let’s take a look at basic sewing skills that you can teach yourself.
Hand Sewing
It is relatively simple to teach yourself to hand-sew because you only need a light cotton thread and a needle that is big enough for the thread.
If you are just practicing, then it’s best to work with an even weave cotton cloth, where you can see the crisscrossing threads that make up the fabric.
The spaces between the warp and weft threads will help guide your needle and make it easy to help you achieve straight and even stitches.
Here are a few basic stitches that you can learn and master in under an hour.
Running Stitch
The running stitch is the simplest and easiest stitch that you can learn to fix rips in clothes, and it is also often used as a decorative stitch for embroidery. The running stitch is also useful for gathering fabric for making ruffles.
To make the running stitch, simply insert your needle from front to back and back to the front of the fabric repeatedly to create a continuous dashed line. All the dashes should be equal in length to create the neatest result.
Backstitch
The back stitch is a more sophisticated version of the running stitch, where you create a continuous line by doubling back to cover the gap between the running stitches.
This stitch is very useful because it’s less likely to become undone compared to the running stitch. The continuous straight line created by the stitches is also great for adding embroidery details to your fabric.
See this useful tutorial to learn the back stitch:
Blanket Stitch
The blanket stitch is useful for sewing two pieces of fabric together while creating a decorative edging by wrapping the edge of the fabric with a line of thread.
The blanket stitch is also very useful for sealing the raw edges of the fabric, which comes in handy when you are hand-sewing a buttonhole.
See this useful tutorial to learn the blanket stitch:
Machine Sewing
Machine sewing is more difficult, mainly because you need to know how to set up and work with your sewing machine.
Fortunately, there are beginner-friendly sewing machines that allow you to automate simple tasks like threading the machine’s needle and adjusting the right stitch length and tension so that you can achieve a neat result without having to customize too many things.
Below are a few simple stitches that you can learn yourself in a day to make simple alterations.
Straight stitch
The straight stitch is the default stitch setting for every sewing machine, and for good reason. You can use it in almost every sewing project, and it’s very useful for making simple alterations like taking in seams and adding pleats.
You can use the default setting for the stitch length in your sewing machine to practice. If you are sewing with thin fabric, a stitch length below 3mm will work well. If you are sewing with thick fabric, you will need to adjust to a longer stitch length.
Zig zag stitch
A zigzag stitch is also quite useful to learn because it works better with stretchy fabric like knitted fabric and jersey fabric. It’s useful for sewing seams on stretchy fabric, as well as sewing two pieces of stretchy fabric together.
This can be a difficult skill to learn, so you will need to practice for a few hours to know how to work with stretchy fabric and feed it through the sewing machine seamlessly.
Sewing Tips For Beginners
Learning a new skill can be quite frustrating and time-consuming.
Wax Your Thread
One difficulty that comes with hand sewing is that your thread can become tangled, especially if you leave a long tail.
Using waxed thread is a great way to avoid this problem. Waxed thread is just a sewing thread that has been coated with beeswax to stiffen the thread, which helps the thread glide across the fabric easily without getting tangled, which will make sewing much easier and more seamless.
You can purchase waxed thread or even wax your own thread using store-bought beeswax.
Use Washi Tape
Washi tape is quite useful for all kinds of crafts, but it can also be excellent for sewing.
When you first start sewing, creating straight lines (either by hand sewing or machine sewing) can be quite difficult. You can practice sewing straight lines by using washi tape as a guide.
For example, if you need to sew a hem, apply washi tape all around the hem first and then sew next to the tape to create a straight line. The washi tape can also help to stiffen the fabric in this case, which makes sewing much easier.
Learn Using Patterns
If you would like to teach yourself how to sew your own clothes from scratch, the easiest way to start is by using patterns.
Patterns come with pre-drafted shapes and instructions that work with standard size measurements, so you can just cut your fabric and sew according to the instructions in the pattern.
This process allows you to experiment with different fabrics and learn new sewing stitches and techniques while still guaranteeing a good result.
Over time, you will learn how to customize the pattern to work with your preference and become more creative using the skills that you have picked up along the way.
Free Sewing Patterns
Here are a few beginner-friendly sewing patterns to help you practice your sewing skills:
- How to Make a Pillow Cover – In 15 Minutes Or Less!
- How to Make a Handkerchief – Easiest Method
- How to Make an Infinity Scarf
- Easy Kid’s Tote Bag Pattern – Crazy Little Projects
Once you are confident, you can try these intermediate sewing patterns:
- Easy Peasy Drawstring Backpack {free sewing tutorial}
- DIY Journaling Bookmarks (and pencil pocket) free sewing tutorial
If you want to make your own clothes, check out these intermediate to difficult sewing patterns:
- The Snapdragon Skirt – Free Sewing Pattern – Mood Sewciety
- Walking Shorts Pattern & Sew-Along – Part One
- Perfect Beach Dress for Summer Fun | So Sew Easy
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