Tips for home sewing

I may not be teaching textiles in schools anymore but I know are many of you who are keen to learn. As a great starting point, please check out my top tips for home sewing.

I am sad to see the demise of my favourite subject from schools all over the country at the moment. With the current obsession over fast fashion, people have lost the respect for how much skill goes into making the products we take for granted. Yet I am still hopeful. There is a wave of conscious consumers, that are opting for slower fashion. Eco conscious products and are revisiting lost skills. With this there are many that want to take up home sewing. So all hope is not lost.

Buy or borrow a machine

My Janome sewing machine has been going well for over 18 years and she shows no sign of packing in. Care for your machine by keeping the needle sharp and removing lint and giving it an oil every now and again. If you can’t afford a machine or are just dipping your toe into the world of home sewing their are some great places where you can rent or borrow machines.

Give yourself some room

Work on the flat. The kitchen table is great for this, but if needs be the living room floor will work just as fine for laying out and cutting pattern pieces.

Lighting

Natural light if possible. It’s much less strain on your eyes if you sew in natural light. Try and position your machine as close to a window as possible.

Tools for the job

Sharp scissors are a must! Get a good pair of Fabric scissors and a sharpener. Then never let anyone else use them.

This way you’ll guarantee they’ll be sharp and will cut really well. I don’t trust others not to cut paper or any other random thing with mine. So I hide them!

Pins or quilting clips. I prefer glass headed pins, when I need to use pins. As I can see them and pick them up easier. Make sure they are sharp and rust free. For holding pieces of fabric together along the edges, I much prefer quilting clips. Then hold more securely, don’t make holes in delicate fabrics and can be removed quickly when sewing.

Read the pattern

Read it and then read it again. Make sure you familiarise yourself with any codes or symbols they use before you get cutting. Other wise you may find yourself wondering later what it means when it tells you to match the centre back dots.

Work with easy fabrics

To start off with choose fabrics like cotton and fleece to work with. They come in a huge range of clours and patterns. You can source them from all over and they are relativity cheap. Plus they cut easily and are less likely to fray.