As we begin a new year, it’s the time to think about starting new hobbies, resurrecting old ones or learning new skills.
We have to put our hands up here at Crafty Bug HQ to say that sewing is not really in our skill set. Sewing on buttons, OK and shortening the odd pair of trousers (being somewhat “vertically challenged” that’s borne of necessity) are about as far as it goes. So with this in mind, we thought this year would be a good time to start learning some of the basics by pulling together some of the easiest to understand and to follow tutorials available. You never know, even more skilled sewers may find some new useful hints and tips to help them with their latest projects.
As you know, our aim here at Crafty Bug is to bring together great information and interesting content to save you from spending time looking at things which, quite frankly, aren’t all that helpful and in some cases, quite badly written. With this aim in mind I would like to introduce you to this brilliant online tutorial to get you started with learning how to sew. It is not a quick view, running at 26 minutes but if, by the time you have watched it, you aren’t itching to fish out your old sewing machine or dash out to buy one and get sewing, then you are probably not human! One viewer has commented “Wow! The best beginner’s sewing video I’ve ever seen. Your instructions and explanations are so easy to understand!”. The presentation style is clear and engaging – no monotones here! What this tutorial does is:
- introduce you to your sewing machine;
- explain what everything on your sewing machine actually does;
- remove the fear factor: as one viewer says: “there’s not too many things in this life that scare me but that singer sewing machine is one thing I’ve avoided up to now it’s been a fancy paper weight for years, but now thanks to you … I think I may be ready to actually thread this machine”;
- explain what threads are best to use with your machine;
- demonstrate extremely clearly how to thread up your machine;
- walk you through, step by step, how to make a simple napkin;
- not only gives you confidence to have a go yourself but provides the inspiration to get you going;
- beautifully filmed with multiple camera angles used including those all important close ups of detailed actions (such as threading the needle).
We love the way in which Gretchen has her pincushion handily strapped to her wrist for ease of access. It’s such a great idea – you’re never without a pin or two to hand when undertaking a sewing project. We recommend trying this wristband pincushion for the same effect. Who hasn’t wondered where to put their pins down safely so that you can find them again easily and not do yourself a mischief in the process?For anyone aspiring to take up sewing in some form, whether it be dressmaking, sewing accessories such as bags, toymaking or getting stuck into homewares such as cushions and throws, making friends with your sewing machine is essential and I hope the above video has helped allay any fears you might have had. If you are new to sewing, you will need a basic kit to get you started. As time goes on and you decide what sort of sewing projects you want to tackle, you will inevitably build up your own store of sewing accessories but you might like to take a look at the following video as a starting point.
This video by The English Tailor walks you through the equipment you will need for your sewing projects and runs to just over 17 minutes in total. While it covers the basics and each item is shown to the viewer with an explanation, I didn’t find this as engaging as our first recommended video above. Nevertheless it is well worth a run through for the information given. One recommended accessory is a sleeve board, this being a mini ironing board to make ironing garment sleeves easier (my mother had one but this is not something I possess). If you aren’t planning to make clothes (or clothes with sleeves), then this is something you are unlikely to need so I wouldn’t recommend buying one at the beginner stage. You can, of course, always add this and other items as you experiment with your sewing and decide what you really enjoy making.
I hope you have found these two videos interesting and feel inspired and all fired up to have a go at your own projects. In our next couple of posts, we will suggest some straightforward beginner projects which are easily achievable to get you started. If you have any great ideas for fun projects to inspire our readers, please get in touch by filling in the comments box below.
