Our Sew Along bloggers share their ultimate sewing secrets. Whether you are a beginner sewer or an experienced Sewista. There is always room to learn. Who knows, you might discover a useful sewing hack that makes your sewing life just that little bit easier.
Check the sewing markings
My ultimate sewing tip? Take marks and check that you really have them all! That way you can sew much faster and more accurately. A trick that has helped me get ahead is to iron the hem value in advance before you stitch the side seams closed. This makes it much easier to iron and stitch the hem afterwards.
Sewing anecdote: Just before a deadline, overlocking the last piece of a jacket, only to notice that you have made a hole with the knife. ???? I suspect I am probably not the only one who has experienced this.
- @stikcel, Dutch speaking Sew Alonger
Sleep on it for a night
When things are a bit off and you're stuck on a sewing project, simply leave it for a while and sleep on it. Continue working on the sewing project the next day. One of my sewing tips is to press the hem immediately after cutting the pattern pieces. Then the hem will fold right over later and you can just sew it to finish it off.
Sewing anecdote: I think every sewer has experienced it before. Sewing something together wrong and the despair was huge. In my case, this happened during the Social Sew Along of the Benita trousers. During my explanation, I suddenly noticed that I had sewn something together incorrectly. Even though I had told it before that you have to look carefully to sew everything together correctly. Well, that happens even to a sewing professional. In short, the seam ripper is the most important sewing tool! ;)
- @insolitabymanuela, German speaking Sew Alonger
No need to have a fancy sewing machine
You don't need a fancy sewing machine to make great clothes. When it comes to stitch options, less is more! To this day, I only use 3x stitches plus buttonhole. If you want to upgrade, invest in an overlocker first if you don't already have one. Choose sleep over sewing, even if sewing is very addictive! Otherwise, you'll spend more time unpicking the next day. And that means less time to work on all the sewing projects you want to do. Not to forget: it's a hobby. Have fun and accept that not every project will be a huge success.
Sewing anecdote: My sewing teacher looked at a coat I made. At the collar - lapel, he said: “ugh, feel that bulk!” (= bumpy bits at the corner where I did not trim my seam allowances well enough). Then he dropped the coat in disgust. After that I always took care to trim my seam allowance corners when sewing thicker fabrics. ????
- @timetosew, English speaking Sew Alonger
Practice makes perfect
My ultimate sewing tip is to try and try again. The best way to improve your sewing skills is to practice. Try some new techniques, make mistakes and try again ;) A lot of techniques have helped me progress. Among others, using a lot of pins and making the knot match is really helpful when sewing a sleeve. It changes everything!
Sewing anecdote: My first handmade dress was with a collar. The collar looked anything but good and the hem was not a real hem because at the time I thought one fold was enough... I ended up sewing the sleeve on the wrong side, so I had to unsew it (and it was a cotton fabric!) It looked like crap.
- @happy_as_a_bee_, French speaking Sew Alonger
Steam your fabrics
I have an obsession with finishing. The steam station is one of my essentials for decatizing fabrics. That way I don't have to wash the fabric which is convenient in my small space. There are a lot of useful techniques I use. For instance, the Japanese rule. Also make sure you have perfect scissors. And another very important one, sew with enough patience and concentration.
Sewing anecdote: I've done so many projects, that almost every project has a story! I well remember that time I sewed a top with ruffles. Once the top was finished, collar and collar stand included, I burned the front and sleeve with a holiday iron. I had 3 options: abandon the project, start the shirt all over again (but it was a precious fabric for me) or remove the burnt pieces as well as the collar and continue working with the intact pattern pieces. I went for the last option! You really have to love sewing to do this, right? I learned that mistakes are as formative as successes, or more so!
- @joliesbobines, French speaking Sew Alonger
We hope this article inspired you! Share your creations on our website under the ‘Your creations’ tab or share on Instagram with #fibremood. We can’t wait to see your makes! ????
