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Confidence Sewing
How To Get A Clue About Sewing - An Overview
The Least You Need To Know About Sewing
I confess that I do not know a great deal about sewing. When I was in junior high (that dates me), I took a course called Home Living. They taught us guys and gals how to do basic sewing stitches. But, believe it or not, when I was a boy scout, there was a merit badge in there somewhere for knowing how to sew and stitch. Sewing is not a skill that belongs strictly within the female ranks and everyone should know how to do some very basic sewing. What is the least you need to know about sewing?
We need to know the elemental items of Sewing 101 in order to begin. Depending upon what it is you need to do, whether you need to create something from patterns, screen print a t-shirt, or maybe you need patterns for free quilting, or dressmaking patterns, you have to know what tools and materials go into making the creation that you want.
That may sound like a screwy approach to getting the sewing tools you need, but it is really just like anything else. When I learned to play guitar, I learned my first three chord song. Then I learned a second song that had a couple of extra chords. After so long of doing this, before you knew it, I had a complete collections of chords in my head and I could play almost any song I wanted to play at will from this collection.
This is what will happen with your sewing. You may start off wanting to make a t-shirt. You will need the fabric, the thread, the band material, the patterns, and the instructions on how to sew it together. Next you may want to make a pair of jeans. For that, you will need different material and tools. After you have targeted a dozen things to make, you will watch your sewing tools increase exponentially, but at least you will not have tools you never ever use. Following this method will be a little expensive at the outset because you are going through "tooling up" costs. But, once you have been doing it for awhile, you will find that you have most of what you need, and that you need to pick up the occasional item or two.
So, what is the least you need to know about sewing? You have to know the actual things you are going to need to make something. That will involve at the least, sewing thread, a machine, a fair knowledge of how to use that machine, fabric, and patterns with detailed instructions, along with any other materials that the patterns call for.
You may want to know what fabric stores exist in your area. More importantly, you may want to know where the thrift stores are. I have seen so much thrown away in the dumpsters in the back it is unreal. If you are not so persnickety that you are willing to look for a bargain in less than normal circumstances, you can certainly find them.
How To Get Fabric for Sewing, for Knitting, for Free Quilting
As I just mentioned, thrift/second hand stores are great places to pick up deals on fabric for almost anything. Too many people worry about what fits and what does not fit in a second hand store. You should not worry about such things because you are probably going to cut it up into pieces that you can use for your projects anyhow. Depending upon your project, you should be able to find patterns in these places as well for all sorts of things like free dressmaking patterns, swatches for free quilting, and you can even find yarn for knitting. Usually there is a section that stores books and I just bet that there is something there that covers how to sew as well.
And now that we have been inside the store, let us not forget to ask if they have stuff that they want to get rid of that they cannot sell and they cannot store any longer. Even if some stores are not willing to admit this, the fact that the dumpsters in the back alley are stuffed with patterns, fabric, beat up old garments they cannot sell tell the real story. Do not be afraid to show up at garage sales late on Saturday afternoon and ask if they are unloading anything for free. People have certainly done it at my garage sales, so I know they must have some success at doing this.
If you have never done any creation sewing in your life (as opposed to mending sewing), you may want to look into getting a Sewing/Fitting Course so that common beginner mistakes can be avoided. Like anything else, it takes a few projects under your belt before you feel confident to know where your strengths and weaknesses are. And it never hurts to be able to look ahead into the difficulties before you invest a lot of time and energy into a prospective project you may not be able to complete.
If you walk into a thrift store, a craft shop, a craft chain store, or other like Mom and Pop type establishments, you will begin to notice items that you could easily make from the things you throw away.
Knitting is a completely different discipline, and usually does not require a machine. You will be doing everything for knitting by hand, but you will still need patterns of some kind. These patterns may not be as plentiful as a pattern for sewing, but you should be able to find them, even online, if not as in your favorite fabric store.
How To Get Free and Almost Free Sewing Patterns
I just went to my favorite search engine, Google, and typed in "free sewing patterns" in the search field. You should see the results! There were 541,000 results for this. Now most of these patterns are of the downloadable variety, which means whether they are dressmaking patterns, or a pattern for free quilting, or even a screen print, you will download the patterns file, print it off on your printer, and sometimes have to tape the pattern together if it requires a sheet that does not fit on the standard letter sized paper.
I typed in "Free Dress Patterns" in quotes and I got 251,000 results. In other words, you can specify, pretty much, whatever it is you want to make, and there is a free pattern online that you can download. When I typed in How To Repair Sewing Machine in all quotes, I got 21,000 results. If your machine is on the blink, and you are feeling handy enough to tackle it, well chances are you can find the answer you need for whatever that problem is online, using a search engine.
Also, the more you use your imagination, the more things you will be able to make out of junk. Think of the things you currently use, or have ever used, that were made of cloth, or yarn, or just old rags. How much of any one item could you make if you would but just recycle one material?
Of Course, You Will Need A Sewing Machine
There is a lot of good information out there. There is probably a lot of bad information out there too. This is something you will want to take your time to get to know. A sewing machine is going to be around a very long time. It would help if you have a friend who is a seamstress (or seamster) who knows something about sewing machines, their ease of use and their ease of repair.
There are great deals online, but do not forget that local thrift shop, pawn shop, or garage sale. Before you ever learn how to sew, you will need a machine to do it with at some point.
Finally, you will make a decision, hoping it is the right decision. Right decisions come from correct investigations and not from emotional choices. Whether you decide to buy your machine new, or decide to buy it used, do your homework.
It will always help to go read a sewing circle forum and look for a thread that references their various machines. What have been their problems? What machines do they like the most? Are the beginning seamstresses using a less advanced machine than the pro's? You may even want to join one of these forums. The last time I went to buy five pairs of pants and five shirts, I spent $200. And that was on the bottom of the line clothing. If you want to start saving some real money every year, money you never think about, then start sewing with free or almost free material, learn how to sew with dressmaking patterns or whatever it is you may find yourself needing.
Learn how to sew and you will save a TON of money!
About the Author
Alex spent a lot of time living in the country, but then found himself trapped in the city for decades. He writes about self-reliance and living off-grid in the wilderness. His articles are reminiscent of Thoreau, but practical enough for modern times.