Sewing Tips & Help Archives - Page 2 of 4

May 25, 2023May 24, 2023

Unlocking Sewing Success: Why Tracking your Sewing Projects is so Valuable

Does the phrase “Dear Diary…” bring back any teen memories for you? Those youthful moments of recording your wishes, worries, dreams, and memorable experiences? 🥰

Keeping a journal isn’t just for teenagers anymore and there isn’t only one right way to write out your plans, gratitude and hopes.

Just search around online and be prepared to be overwhelmed. 😳 You’ll find all sorts of ideas from bullet journals, gratitude journals, dream diaries, travel diaries and more.

But what does this have to do with sewing? 🤔

Do you ever find yourself knee-deep in a whirlwind of exciting projects and ideas, always buzzing with inspiration and itching to create something awesome?

Well, my creative friend, I have a little secret that can help you make the most out of your creative journey: keeping a sewing journal.

March 9, 2023March 28, 2023

Sewing Made Simple: What Sewing Beginners Should Know Before Starting

One of the best things about sewing is that you never stop learning! But everybody has to start that learning somewhere, right? What are the most important things that every sewing beginner should know? What tips and tricks can help to soothe sewing nerves and set you up for sewing success? What sewing tools do you really need to have at home? And what are some of the common sewing mistakes you can avoid?

Sewing is supposed to be fun, not overly-stressful! But like any new skill, it’s good to have some basic know-how before diving in.

Not everyone is able to attend a sewing class in person, so having basic sewing tips and terminology within easy reach can be a lifesaver when you are just starting out!

In this blog post you’ll discover links to loads of pages with easy-to-understand sewing information that you’ll refer back to over and over again. Hint: save this post so you can get back to it every time you need more sewing support. I’ve got your back! 😉

February 9, 2023March 28, 2023

Avoid a sewing disaster! How to easily clean & oil your sewing machine at home

If you own a sewing machine and hate the idea of it, or any of your precious sewing projects getting damaged, there’s a really simple way for you to not get stuck halfway through your creative joy: cleaning and oiling your sewing machine!

It is easy to do, quick to finish and clean up, and your sewing machine will love you for it! 😍

In this post I’ll walk you through how to give your sewing machine some regular care and attention. Read on to find out how (and how I found out the hard way why maintaining your machine is so important!)

January 26, 2023May 15, 2024

13 Smart & Simple Sewing Machine Hacks You’ll Love

If you know anything about me at all, you’d know that sewing is a passion of mine. I think that being able to sew is an awesome skill to have and a brilliant hobby for anybody to fall in love with. 🥰

Which is why I can’t stop talking about it!

But you may not already know this: I do remember (not so long ago) when I was a complete sewing newbie. I hadn’t even touched a sewing machine until I’d already had 3 kids of my own.

And I remember being VERY nervous the first few times I sat down to sew. I mean, what if I pressed something wrong? What if I broke something? What if my fabric went sailing sideways out of the machine and I just ruined everything?!?

Because I think that sewing is so fantastic and I want to help you to feel more confident when you sit down at your own sewing machine (without fear of pressing the wrong thing!), in this post I am sharing a bundle of helpful sewing tips and hacks that you may never have heard before.

Are you ready to enjoy your sewing time with more confidence and less stress? Then take a few minutes to read through this list of sewing tricks before you take hold of your sewing machine!

August 12, 2022August 12, 2022

How to Easily Unpick Serger Stitching Sewing Tutorial

Did you know that there is TRULY an easy way to unpick a 4-thread overlock stitch?!?

No really!

Nobody (well, nobody that I know) enjoys picking stitches. And especially not a seam made with 4 separate threads on an overlocker!

A seam ripper is one of those necessary evils when it comes to sewing. Even when you don’t want to have to use one, there will come a time, my friend, that you can’t avoid reaching for it. And a seam ripper is just one of several essential tools you’ll need for sewing.

But instead of going like a wild child at that seam that needs unpicking, how about learning a simple way to do it that will help you save time and avoid choppy threads, torn fabric and perhaps shredded nerves too!

Once you know this trick, you’ll never look back, trust me!

June 2, 2022June 1, 2022

What You Need to Know: Serger vs Sewing Machine

What can a sewing machine do? What about a serger? And an overlocker, coverstitch machine, embroidery machine, and more?

The number of machine available for sewing fans is brilliantly distracting and enticing. And also confusing!

Never mind the number of brands of all those machines on the market!

And all the sparkly fancy sewing tools you could buy for your sewing space. (Psst, you don’t actually need to buy allllll the tools, you know! Take a look at these 8 essential sewing tools you need to have.

But when it comes down to it, which type of machines are really necessary for you to get on with successfully completing your sewing projects?

In this blog post you’ll find all the goods on the big 2 machines: what a sewing machine can do for you, what a serger can sew, and what the differences are between the 2.

You’ll also be able equipped to decide whether you need one or both machines to fit your big sewing dreams!

Ready? Read on…

May 19, 2022May 18, 2022

Love Sewing? 11 Reasons Why You Need A Sewing Machine

Did you know that sewing is one of the oldest types of textile arts? People started sewing thousands of years ago using animal sinew for thread and bones for needles to create their clothing and housing.

Humans are still sewing to this day, but thankfully we don’t have to go stripping animals to be able to do so! Modern sewing machines have made creating clothes and other fabric products a snap compared to way back when!

Sure, sewing by hand is still an option for some projects and a beautiful art form.

But I’ll be honest with you: I just don’t have the patience to hand sew anything! Which is why I own a sewing machine for my sewing projects.

If you want to get creative with fabrics and, like me, don’t have the patience to hand sew everything, here’s why you need a sewing machine too!

March 24, 2022April 30, 2024

How to Make a Useful Fabric Box in ANY Size You Need!

Spring is finally in the air! Thank goodness! There is something about a sunny day that makes my heart sing after a grey, damp and loooooong German winter. The sun and warmth sure do improve my mood and energy levels. BIG time! You too?

So, with that extra energy, you know what it is that we all tend to do each year? Spring cleaning! Get organised. Recycle what can be recycled. Throw away the accumulated crap. Tidy up.

What if you could do these things with one little sewing project?

One simple sewing project that can help you keep things organised, tidy (and cute!) is to create fabric baskets!

I published a sewing tutorial a while back, which walks you through how to make a square fabric basket step-by-step.

But what if that size fabric basket doesn’t suit you? What if you want to make a larger (or smaller) one?

I’ve seen other tutorials sharing how to make these fabric baskets in 2 different sizes. Or maybe even three.

What if I told you, that with the help of pen and paper (or maybe a calculator 😅) and this sewing tutorial here, I can show you exactly how you can make ANY size fabric storage cube you want! Then you will never be stuck for organising and tidying solutions to fit YOUR home.

Ready to get creative?

November 4, 2021January 26, 2023

Beginners Sewing Dictionary Part 3: Sewing Machine Terms Easily Explained!

In case you missed it, the last few blog posts here have been all about getting back to the basics of sewing and learning (or maybe just jogging the memory) some of the most useful and important sewing terms.

Because, let’s be honest, the more sewing vocabulary you know, the more confident you will be when it comes time to sit down with your fabrics (see HERE for fabric terms) and sewing patterns (check out THIS post for sewing pattern definitions) and your sewing machine.

And don’t you just LOVE the feeling of knowing what you’re doing?!?

Oh wait! We haven’t talked about all those fancy sewing machine terms yet, have we?

There’s no better time that the present to start! Let’s jump in!

October 14, 2021November 4, 2021

Sewing Dictionary for Beginners Part 2: Basic Sewing Pattern Terms You Need to Know Now

Sewing is such a fun hobby that allows you to create a huge variety of projects yourself. Whether you are new to sewing or just need to refresh your skills, it’s always useful to understand all the sewing jargon you read in patterns, tutorials and online.

Although some of the sewing vocab that gets thrown around sounds complicated and at times like a foreign language, it’s actually not as intimidating as it seems! Just give yourself the chance to read and understand them! Then your relationship with your sewing machine and sewing patterns will become much happier and your sewing projects are much more likely to turn out exactly how you’d envisioned.

This post is part 2 of my “Sewing Dictionary for Beginners” series. The last blog post contained a stack of sewing terminology specifically related to fabrics (like how to tell the difference between the front and the back of fabrics). In case you missed it, you can read the 15 fabric terms you need to know HERE .

Today’s sewing vocabulary post contains loads of technical sewing words and phrases to help you in understanding and working with sewing patterns. Once you understand what a pattern is talking about, you will be able to prepare, cut, and sew your fabric pieces together to successfully create your wonderful project!

Ready to dive into some knowledge?