My MIL is moving and sent me a Singer sewing machine.
I haven’t sewn on a machine since the disasterous 9th grad home ec class where I sewed the teacher’s skirt to my project as she was bent over helping the girl next to me. When she walked away she pulled over my table/machine and the dominoed three others. :eek: I have avoided sewing machines since.
But, now I have this nice little machine staring at me. Mocking me with the “easy to operate” label on the manual. Yeah right…easy for somebody. I’m having a hard time threading the needle.
So, I want to learn to use it. I have found a bunch of “learn to sew” websites, however, most of them seem to assume a little bit of knowledge on the users part.
So the question is, does anyone know of a good "teach yourself to sew "website or book that is for REAL beginners?
Or if you have any other resources or advice, I would love to hear those too.
Do you have a manual for the machine itself? If not, they are usually download-able from the manufacturer’s site.
My usual advice to people who are tackling anything new from scratch is to start with children’s books.
Writers for adults seem to assume that grown-ups know everything, and need instruction only on the finer points. Kids book authors are much better at explaining rock-bottom basics.
Some machines are just a pain to thread. When I learned to sew we had a bunch of Jukis and a few Berninas. The jukis were always easier. People complained about threading the sergers but I never had real problems with them. Something that always helps me is to use a magic ink pen to mark out the stitchline so that I have a bright purple line to follow. Especially when I’m sewing a long distance like a hem, it seems to end up straighter than just using the guidelines on the machine. I don’t have any advice about sewing itself, all my books are focused on costume and clothing construction rather than the sewing part.
What you might want to do is cut some squares of fabric like 5"x5" and practice sewing them together with various stitches. Some of the ones I practiced were a french seam, a flat felled seam, a straight stitch, a zigzag stitch, and inside and outside curves.
YouTube has a series that looks good too.
The instructor goes slowly explaining winding the bobbin and threading the machine.
I’ve owned two different Singer models; but now I have a Janome.
I can’t help with websites but here are some pointers:
Threading a needle is easier with magnifying glasses. Get a couple of cheap pairs at Target.
Pins go PERPENDICULAR to the line of stitching so you can run over them without breaking your needle.
Practice first with an unthreaded needle and a piece of paper with lines and curves drawn on it. The needle holes will let you know how good/bad you are at following a line.
Don’t try to be a speed demon at first. Go at your own speed. Most machines have a variable speed adjustment.
Buy extra accessories like pins, needles, seam rippers, etc.
Expect to rip out every seam at least once in your first projects before you get them right.
PATTERNS AREN’T SIZED THE SAME WAY AS READY-TO-WEAR. TAKE MEASUREMENTS AND FOLLOW THE SIZES PRINTED ON THE PATTERNS. Pick one of the Easy To Sew/It’s So Easy patterns for your first projects.
You pin the 2 layers of fabric together so they do not slither around and fuck your seam. You need to sew fabric together so it doesn’t bunch up and make blorps of fabric, you want it to look like something someone would want to wear =)
I am going to start with something really hard. A nice (well maybe nice…we’ll see.) square pillow.
The MIL also sent alot of accessories. Pin cushions, bobbins, seam rippers, and a whole bag of fabric scraps I can play around on.
Now the big question. The needle is hitting the foot thingy and not going in the hole. Can I adjust that myself or did something get out of alignment in shipping and I need to take it somewhere to get it worked on?
Learn how to thread the bobbin and the top thread. I could demonstrate that in under five minutes. It will become routine in short order. Then practice stitching different stitches that the machine offers using practice throw away material. Change thicknesses of cloth. Experiment with different tension on the top thread.
The major value to me of a machine has been the ability to repair rips, make cuffs and a few other basic maintenance procedures. This is all straight line sewing with regular stitching, not zig-zag or special stuff.
Jump in. It doesn’t take any skill, just practice.
PS. Some machines don’t do everything right. Find out what yours does best and stick to that. Don’t blame yourself when it might just be a faulty machine.
Find a craft/fabric shop - ask about classes. Find an adult education provider (you know the sort that has pottery etc) ans ask about classes.
Read the manual. Learn how to thread the machine. Experiment with the stitches. Finally when you want to actually make something choose a **simple **project (like a drawstring bag - you can use all those practiced stitches to decorate the bag)
And the perpendicular part is so that you can run over them like it’s a speed bump, rather than - were the pin parallel to the line of stitching - catching the pin in the foot of the machine and risking bending the pin/yanking the fabric/jamming the pin into the foot, etc.
I learned to sew by volunteering in the local community theater’s costume department. We luckily have a very nice one with its own in-house workshop, and they can always use a hand. I spent a year there learning to make lots of different kind of clothing, from Dickensian wool dresses and suits to lingerie to evening wear, and was taught how to take measurements, modify patterns, and “frankenpattern” two different patterns together (for instance, you really like the body of one shirt pattern but you want to use the sleeves from another to make it more period-appropriate.)
If you have any kind of community theater program in your city, spend a couple of months volunteering there - you’ll learn a TON, you won’t have to buy and waste all your initial pieces that will inevitably not turn out so great, and you’ll have helped out a local community You’ll be amazed at how much you pick up!
The needle could be bent or the wrong foot is on (straight stitch presser foot when the machine is set to zig zag) are the two most common reasons. Try a new needle and check the settings before taking it to a repair shop.
The needle will miss the pin a lot of the time if it’s perpendicular to the stitch line. When it does hit the pin, it will mostly slide off it (I imagine this dulls the needle a little, but never so much that it has given me a problem). If the needle hits the pin full square, the needle can break, but it doesn’t happen very often. It’s a pain if it does, but you save so much time not having to pull the pins out as you go that it’s worth it.
I have avoided sewing machines since.
How does that help?
You’ll be amazed at how much you pick up!