Sewing Tips & Help Archives - Page 3 of 4

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?

September 30, 2021October 6, 2021

Beginners Sewing Dictionary Part 1: Essential Sewing Terms about Fabric You Need to Know

As a beginner, the world of sewing may appear to hold many dark and mysterious secrets. I am here to show you that by learning a few basic sewing keywords, going fabric shopping and sitting down at a sewing machine will become much less intimidating and way more fun!

Words like “tension” and “bias” and “allowance” almost sound like they come out of a how to get along with people in business text book! But these sewing terms are really used in sewing speak and actually extremely important for preparing to sew and actually putting your foot to the pedal

Recently I shared a post about how you can avoid 5 common mistakes that sewing beginners make. Have a read of that article in conjunction with this post to help you start your sewing journey.

In today’s post I will be focusing on the most common words you’ll come across in fabric terminology. These can help you understand different fabrics and what fabric your sewing pattern recommends for your project. Be sure to stay tuned for more upcoming parts in this sewing dictionary series 😉.

Let’s dive in to learn these important fabric terms!

September 2, 2021October 29, 2021

5 Common Mistakes that Sewing Beginners Make & the Easy Ways You Can Avoid Them

Sewing is such a fun and creative hobby to learn. The variety of projects you can make are practically endless and can be as small or as grandiose as you are willing to put your time, effort and imagination into.

Like any new skill, learning to sew will be full of small wins, proud smiles and a more than a few moans of frustration. Remember this though: Nobody nails anything the first time they try it. Learning to sew is no exception.

BUT how do you get better at anything if not through practice, experimentation and learning from mistakes?!? The best way to get better at sewing is to keep trying. Like that old saying “If you fall off the horse, get back on”. Don’t let the mistakes dishearten you and stop you from improving. If you’re still unsure whether it’s worth learning to sew, take a look HERE at why sewing is so good for you.

There are plenty of websites out there listing gazillions of mistakes that sewing newbies make. You may even have come across some of those sites already. You might recognise that you have made some of those mistakes too.

I have seen so many mistakes made be sewing beginners that don’t even make it onto these other lists. And I want to help you avoid the frustration of making those mistakes too.

How do I even know that these things are “mistakes”? Well, just between you and I, *wink wink* perhaps, just maybe, I might have made some of them too.

Most sewing mistakes- we won’t call them a “sewing fail”- can be all too easy to make. BUT they are also avoidable with a bit of know-how and paying careful attention (i.e., not being too tired when try to nail that outfit at the last minute!).

Are you ready to learn how to avoid making 5 big sewing mistakes, stop feeling so exasperated, and improve your sewing experience? I’m here to help you! Read on…

January 14, 2021October 8, 2021

8 Essential Tools You Need in Your Sewing Kit

Happy New Year! I’m not sure whether you dared make any plans for this year. (Last year put the brakes on a lot of people’s plans.) My goal for this year is to create create create! One thing I love doing is sewing unique clothes for my kids. But another thing I love creating is super helpful tips and fun ideas for my busy readers!

I have been asked before about what types of machines and tools I can’t live without for my sewing projects. There certainly are a few that I love! So how about I share my list of essential sewing tools with you, right here, right now?!?

October 15, 2020May 22, 2024

Sewing Project: How to Sew Your Own Layered-Look Shirt

Otherwise known as:

SOS! Help! I don’t have enough fabric to finish my sewing project! What can I make with my leftover fabric?!?

Have you ever made plans to sit yourself down and finally take care of a sewing project you’ve been pushing back for a while?

You grab the fabric. Maybe you bought it a long time ago. Maybe you were given it from a friend. Perhaps it was some leftover pieces from another project or even another item of clothing you wished to upcycle.

*Gasp!* The fabric pieces are not large enough to complete the sewing project as you imagined it. Oh no! What to do?!?

This is EXACTLY what happened to me the other week! A lovely acquaintance of mine gifted me some pieces of fabric and immediately Miss 12 claimed 2 of them as her own, implying that I should conjure up a long-sleeve shirt for her. At the last minute though, we realised that the fabric she wanted me to use for the long sleeves wasn’t quite long enough!

Have no fear! Not all was lost. Us creative types often need to modify our project plans, right? My daughter did get her long sleeve shirt, but in a new and funky, layered-look.

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Are you intrigued how I did it? This post is going to walk you through the steps to turn a feared fabric shortage into a perfectly cool, one-of-a-kind shirt.

June 4, 2020June 26, 2021

The One Sewing Trick That Will Save You Time

Who loves a good time-saver?

**raises hand and yells “Me! Me! Me!**

Life is busy enough already, what with work and kids and managing the household and keeping everyone fed and healthy. And then on top of that you need to get in some time for yourself.

When sewing is your thing and you’ve finally been able to sit down with your machine you want, no NEED, to be able to use your time as effectively as possible. Who wants to waste time chopping and changing between 2 or more of the same projects?!?

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Do you know what I mean? When you have decided to sew multiples of the same thing, like those DIY Fabric Face Masks during Corona virus times. (I have now sewn close to 100 😳). Or fun easy-sew bean bags for the kids. Once you’ve gotten started on one, you may as well just plough through at least a few others at the same time.

I really wish I had known of this trick a while back as it not only saves you time, but also your thread! How cool is that?!?

Allow me to show you exactly how it works and you’ll be zooming through your next sewing projects in no time! Let’s go!