Common Sewing Mistakes – Part One

When starting to learn any new skill, the road to mastering sewing can feel long or even impossible at times. However, learning where you are going wrong can almost be as helpful as learning the ins and outs of the skills themselves. As, if you know what you’re doing wrong, you can more easily sew in the right way.

So, what are some of the most common sewing mistakes and how can you learn to avoid them?

Buying the Wrong Machine (or Parts)

When first starting out in sewing, buying your equipment can be the first hurdle that you have to face on your road to becoming a master sewer. Of course, you want a good model that will help you to learn all of the nicks and crannies of the art of sewing. However, if you buy a machine that is too advanced, too early in your sewing career, then you may find it over before it has even begun.

Upgrading once you are more of an advanced sewer is always an option, so choosing a machine for its learning possibilities rather than its ‘gadgets’ is always the best option for a sewing beginner.

Cut Once, But Measure Twice

Cutting out your pattern wrong in the first instance is the quickest way to end up with something that doesn’t look quite right. Aligning your fabric is half the battle when it comes to ensuring you have the cut right, as a bad alignment in the initial stages can be costly. Try to always lay out your fabric on a flat surface such as a table, without edges hanging over, to help keep the shape.

Always check twice and pin the fabric in place before you commit to the pattern layout. Once you are satisfied, then you should make the fateful cut. You may find that it still isn’t quite right the first few times, but with some practice, this technique should create some amazing finished products!

Buttoning Up

Buttons can be very difficult for the novice sewer. More importantly, the placement of these buttons. The trick to avoiding these issues is to avoid the guides that patterns supply. These are very general guides, so you may find that the distance between buttons is often too gaping for you or those you are making the product for (especially on shirts). To avoid this, you should try on the garment – having it pinned in place if needs be – and mark the fullest parts such as the bust. This way you can avoid ‘gaping’ button placements that make clothing feel uncomfortable to wear at times.

There are a number of other things to avoid as a novice sewer, but the more you practice the better you will become and learn to bypass them!

At Stocks Sewing, we are keen to encourage the learning of sewing skills and helping you to navigate the little bumps (or needle pricks) along the way to greatness. We have engineers based nationwide to help you maintain your sewing machine and help you keep up that amazing embroidery work. Contact us today by calling 0113 242 9378 and we will more than happy to answer any questions you may have.