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HomeUncategorizedHow to Sew - Stage One is Basic Skills

There are three stages to learning to sew. They are: 1) learning the basics, 2) garment construction skills and repairs and 3) sewing for fun and profit. When you reach the third stage, you will enjoy sewing and find that even if you are not a professional seamstress, you are competent to achieve most of the sewing objectives you seek.

This article will concentrate on the first stage, learning basic skills. Learning basics skills on a sewing machine is not rocket science, but does require time and patience. Many people have a goal of learning to sew on a sewing machine and have to start at the beginning. You, too, can learn to sew and mend with a sewing machine just as many others have before you.

What are the basic skills needed to sew on a sewing machine?

  1. Learn to thread the sewing machine.
  2. Learn to back stitch at beginning and end of seam.
  3. Learn to sew in a straight line.

Yes, with these three basic skills, you will be ready to step up to the next level of learning to sew on a sewing machine, that of garment construction and repairs. Let’s get started on learning these basic skills.

Learning to thread your machine:

Read your sewing machine manual. It may sound dry and boring, but you’ll save yourself lots of time and frustration if you read what the folks who made your machine advise you to do.

Practice threading your machine until you can do it in a few seconds. If the instructions aren’t clear, get on the internet and look for images and videos to help you follow the instructions.

Practice winding your bobbin. Anyway it’s nice to have a couple of bobbins all wound and ready to go.

Practice threading the bobbin once your machine is threaded. Again, there are images and videos available on the internet to help you understand your users manual.

Learn to back stitch:

Read your sewing machine manual. Yes, it’s the same first step as above. You need to find the reverse button on your machine. If you are working with a very old machine that only goes forward, you will need to forget a reverse button and just turn your fabric around.

Practice sewing forward a few stitches and then reversing and then proceeding forward. This habit will give you secure seams for years.

Learn to sew in a straight line:

Use the seam width lines on your sewing machine, or draw one with a ruler and pen.

Begin sewing and practice keeping the edge of the fabric exactly on that line. You can use the same piece of spare fabric over and over again for this exercise.

Do not underestimate the importance of this step. Remember that any curve can be broken down into very, very small straight lines. In other words, you will always be sewing in a straight line, so learn to feel comfortable with it.

That’s it. Once you are comfortable with these three skills, you are ready for the next stage of learning to sew, garment construction and mending. Everything else is really commentary on these basic skills. What about zig zag stitching you ask? You are still sewing in a straight line, only the needle or the fabric is being moved. What about gathering and binding and stay stitching? They are all just sewing in a straight line.

Okay, go out and practice until you are comfortable with these steps. Then on to the next stage of learning to sew.



Source by Robin A. Brown

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