When we were growing up, most of our mothers and grandmothers knew how to sew. As clothing has become cheaper and cheaper, sewing has become almost a lost art amongst the younger generations. Thankfully, the past few years have seen a resurgence in sewing and other handicrafts. This is leading to the new availability of information on how to sew and supplies to learn to sew with.

Sewing requires a unique set of skills. These skills are not complicated to learn, but there is a definite learning curve in learning to sew. If you jump in with both feet without a few basics, you are surely setting yourself up to fail. The best way to develop your sewing skills is to start slow, learn, and work your way up to more complex projects as time goes on and you learn what you are doing.

The first step in starting to sew is to gather up all of the items you need to complete your project. Get out your sewing machine booklet and thread your machine. Before you attempt a project, your machine should be threaded correctly and working well. This will save you a ton of frustration.

If you will be sewing something from a pattern, take the time to read through all of the instructions and make sure that you clearly understand them. Make sure to read and understand everything before you start to cut out your fabric. Remember that once you cut your fabric, it will be in pieces and you can’t just re-cut it.

Before working with your fabric, make sure you wash and dry it. This will ensure that your finished project will not shrink when you first wash it. Once it dries, you will want to iron it out. Once your fabric is washed, dried, and ironed, then you can pin your pieces to the fabric and cut them out. Cut all of your pieces out using the sharpest pair of scissors. Using sharp scissors cuts down frustration and keeps your fabric looking good at the edges.

When you first start sewing, you will want to baste your pattern pieces together with long hand stitches. This allows you to see how your project will look once you have sewn it together on your machine. And, it allows you to make adjustments much more easily if you happen to need them. One good tip here is to use a bright-colored thread for basting. This will allow you to easily remove it once your project is sewn together.

The most important thing for you to remember when you first start sewing is that “Rome was not built in a day.” Start with a simple project and take your time. Then start a more complex project, and take some time to learn a new skill or two when completing it. As you progress through your various projects, you will feel more and more confident in your sewing abilities. After all, you are learning to sew because it is functional and fun!

The Business Plan

No matter what business you decide to start, you 100% have to have a solid business plan. There is no way possible to have a successful business venture without one. The best way to develop your business plan is to think about all of the variables which go into your unique business, and what your ultimate short-term and long-term goals are for the business. With all of this information, you can sit down and formulate a business plan without taking a lot of valuable time. 

If you are attempting to obtain financing for your sewing business, you will have to have a business plan in place to show your potential lenders. Your business plan shows lenders that you are serious about your business, and also how it will be profitable to allow you to pay them back. Do not attempt financing without a good solid business plan because you are simply wasting your time. 

Licensing and Regulations

Depending on the city, county, and possibly state you live in, you may have to get a business license to have a legal home-based business. The way to determine what the local rules and regulations are is to call up your local city and county government offices and ask them what you need to do. If you live in a state with sales tax, you should call up your state Controller’s Office and ask about obtaining a seller’s permit. You will most likely find that most government offices are supportive and helpful in getting you situated in a place where your business is legal. 

Insurance

If you are conducting business out of your home, you need to have a business liability insurance policy. Your regular homeowner’s policy will not cover any aspects of your business in the case of disaster. Home business liability insurance is fairly inexpensive and an absolute must-have. 

Financial Records

The best thing you can do for yourself is to keep good business records from day one of your business. Start with the fees to get a business license, and start recording every single business expense that you have. You will save both yourself and your tax preparer a ton of headaches come tax time. 

Setting Your Prices

The number one mistake many home-based sewing businesses make is to charge too little for their services. You need to make a living, and you need to be pricing your items and services accordingly. Whatever you do, do not sell yourself short! Ask a going rate for your items and services and expect that people will pay you what your time and product are worth. This allows you to work smarter and not harder!

Marketing

Marketing is simply getting the word out and letting others know your business exists. You can market online through a press release sent to your local newspaper, flyers, brochures, craft fair booths, etc. Anywhere you come into contact with potential customers, you can market your items and services. You can even do simple things like always carrying business cards, available these days very inexpensively online, and hand them out to everyone you meet as you go through your days. 

The absolute best way to market your business is through word-of-mouth. If you treat your customers well, they will tell their friends and family about you; this will bring you more customers without having to pay a dime to advertise. 

As you can see, there are things for you to consider when you are thinking about starting a home-based sewing business. However, your business can be very successful and profitable if you take the time to make it so. 

Whenever you are starting to learn something new, it is always a challenge. There is so much information online and in books that it can feel a bit overwhelming at times. However, if you take the time to start with the basic information and build your knowledge from there, then your skills will surely follow. 

Sewing Lessons – Formal or Informal

Learning to sew is one of those “hands-on” type things. You can easily learn to sew, but you have to take the time to try it out and see what works for you. The easiest thing you can do is sign up for a sewing lesson at your local craft, sewing machine, or quilting store. Generally, any store which sells the more expensive sewing machines will offer lessons for free or at a very reasonable cost. You do not have to buy their sewing machine to take a class and try out sewing for yourself. 

Another more formal lesson environment can be your local adult school or community college. Many of these learning institutions offer low-cost crafting and sewing classes to members of the local community that can be a great option for learning a new skill and meeting people with a similar interest at the same time. 

If you have a friend or relative who knows how to sew, ask them to show you how. Find an easy project to start on and ask them if they will give you a hand at completing it and show you what you need to know. Most people are more than happy to spend time teaching people what they know. 

If no one in your area offers lessons, and you don’t happen to know anyone who sews, you can always find tutorials and lessons online. Go to any search engine and type sewing lessons, and you will have thousands of options to choose from! 

Learn the Lingo

Sewing, just like many other crafts, has its language. It is helpful to purchase a sewing book or look online to learn the most basic sewing terms. By learning the sewing lingo, you can easily follow directions for completing projects. 

Start Small and Easy

Your first sewing projects should be simple and aimed at teaching you one specific skill. If you want to learn to make things for your home, for example, start with easy projects such as pillows. You can start with a simple square pillow, and then move up to more complicated versions as you master sewing the straight lines of the square. If your goal is to sew clothing, you might want to start by making a skirt or something else which is forgiving of any mistakes you might have. 

Don’t Spend a Lot of Money Until You Know What You Want from Sewing

It is always exciting to learn something new and go out and buy all of the stuff you need to make whatever you want. However, rather than going out and buying a top-of-the-line sewing machine and tons of other items, start with things you have around your home and a sewing machine. This will ensure that when you purchase things, they end up being what you want. 

Regardless of your sewing goals, be assured that you can learn how to sew. It is not a hard skill to learn, but it takes patience and practice. Have fun with it and see where it takes you. 

Here are some tips and tricks to get you on the road to choosing the appropriate fabric for any sewing project:

Read Your Pattern

If you will be sewing from a pattern, read the back of the package to see what fabric the pattern maker suggests. While you can ultimately use any fabric, the pattern maker gives you an idea of the fabric choices the pattern was ideally made for. You will generally have the best result if you stick to fabric similar to that listed on the pattern. 

Examine the Fabric

When you go to your local fabric or craft store to purchase your fabric, spend some time touching and feeling the fabric. Look it over very well and look for bad signs such as fraying. You can be assured that if the fabric is fraying on the bolt, it will be fraying when you try to make your project. Similarly, if the fabric is rolling up onto itself on the bolt, then it will do the same to you once you get it home and try to work with it. 

Another thing to look for is wrinkles. Does the fabric wrinkle easily? You can test this by scrunching it up in your hand and looking at the result. If the result is a wrinkled mess, and you can’t easily smooth it out with your hands, then you can be assured it will wrinkle once your project is completed. 

While you are examining the fabric, take the time to look at the top of the bolt and see if there are any special care instructions listed. For everyday items and casual clothing, try to stick to fabrics that are machine washable and dryable. 

Working with Satin and T-Shirt Knit

Two of the hardest fabrics to work with are satin and t-shirt knit. The satin is so slick that it wants to fall off your sewing table while you are cutting it. Once cut, it doesn’t want to stay together for you to sew it. The best thing you can do to work with satin is to buy special and small pins called “silk pins.” These pins will help your fabric stay together for sewing and will not leave holes in your finished product. 

T-shirt knits tend to want to roll up constantly. This means that when you are sewing, you will have to be unrolling it and holding it in place to sew your seams. While t-shirt knits can make some wonderful items, they are a bit of a bear to sew with. 

If you are new to sewing, you might want to avoid satin and t-shirt knits until you get a bit more sewing experience under your belt.   

Cotton Fabrics

One of the easiest fabrics to sew with is cotton. Cotton is comfortable to wear and looks great on. However, if you will be sewing with cotton, or a fabric such as wool or linen, know that it will shrink when washed and dried. The first thing you will need to do with cotton is wash and dry it before you ever cut out your pattern. This will help to ensure that your finished product will stay the same size after laundering. If you will be working with wool or linen, you can both wash it and let it shrink, or you can commit to only dry cleaning your finished items. 

The most important thing you will need to do is find the right fabric for your project. You can accomplish this by reading the pattern and looking well at any fabric you might want to use. Make sure when you get your fabric home that you know how to care for it and prepare it for use. Once you have done these things, you can ensure a wonderful finished project which will last for years to come. 

A blind hem stitch consists of 3 straight stitches in a row and one zig-zag stitch. The idea is to have the straight stitch on the folded material of the hem and the zig-zag just catch a few threads of the main panel of fabric. When you turn your piece right sound out, you will barely see small tacking that is holding your bottom hem in place.

You can use this technique for hemming lined drapes, curtains, roman shades, side hems for draperies, and hemming clothing.

The one thing I want to say about this stitch is to practice before you use this technique on your projects. The thicker your material, the trickier this stitch is. So practice, and worst-case scenario, you hand stitch the hem or straight stitch it.

You will need a blind hem presser foot, also known as blind stitch foot for your sewing machine, AND a blind hem stitch on your machine.

1. Lay your fabric with the folded hem facing up with the outer folded edge of the hem pointing toward your sewing machine.

2. Fold the pinned bottom hem under the fabric.

3. Leave ¼” of the folded hem peeking out from under the fabric. So… you will have your fabric panel laying right side down, with the folded hem folded under the panel… leaving only 1/4″ showing from under the panel.

4. Slide the fabric under your presser foot with the folded edge of the fabric panel against the flat vertical bar of the presser foot. The ¼” piece of the hem peeking out from under the panel is under the needle.

5. The needle should stitch the straight stitch in the ¼” of the hem and swing to the left to catch the folded edge of the fabric on the zig-zag. If this is done correctly, you will only see tiny vertical stitches across your hem on the front of your shade.

Practice this stitch on similar fabric and thickness to make sure your zig-zag is not too wide as this will cause a larger vertical stitch on the front of your shade, which you don’t want.

Mastering this stitch will take your projects to the next level. It’s the next best thing to an industrial hemmer. Most of us can’t afford a hemmer, but you can very similar effects with the blind hemstitch.

So, practice, practice, practice… and use if it for all hems including your side hems.

Happy sewing!

Jennifer Thoden

ps. for more free sewing tips and sewing projects visit www.simplesewingprojects.com.