Learning to sew....

natc

well, I have a confession :embarasse.......... I was telling my mum yday that ive been looking for classes/course for sewing, and how surpried i am that they are few and far between, she said "dont go wasting ya money on courses! I can teach you, its easy!" I forgot that she used to be sewing machinist before i was born!!!! OMG, how stupid am i.....my poor mum right there who could prob do it with her eyes closed, and theres me searching high and low to pay to have lessons!!! I remember now that she made me and my sis some stuff for our dolls prams, covers and things, and she made us a make up bag each using our grans old old sewing machine, id forgotten that she could do it as shes never had her own machine at home, and only ever used my grans for the lil things she did for us when we were kids, that id totally forgotten about until now! Bless her, shes looking forward to teaching me now. I cant wait either. Ive seen few machines on coopers that i have my eye on, will be getting one in a couple of weeks and then theres no stopping me! Cant wait.

misspenny, firstly congrats on ya lil bundle of joy! the lessons at Normaton sound very good, i will def keep them in mind, its not too far away on motorway. Cant you try and twist ya mums arm? It would be great if she would teach you. Time spent together too. Its a real shame if she wont, but no harm asking (begging!)

natc

Mmmm i have been on "the sewing forum" and they have said there is some bad feedback about coopers (sewingmachinesdicount) on that forum. If i were to buy a machine from a local shop, (the same machine i like in my local shop is £30 more expensive), would they expect to be haggled, or is it looked down upon?!! I would prefer to by locally, and keep the smaller shops open, but price is a big thing, and cant give them the business if its a fair bit more expensive.

HGLTsuperstar

Have been looking about and hitting a blank so far. Does anyone know of sewing or dressmaking courses etc in West Sussex please?

flea72

HGLTsuperstar wrote: »

Have been looking about and hitting a blank so far. Does anyone know of sewing or dressmaking courses etc in West Sussex please?

the local adult education colleges, run sewing and dressmaking course in Bognor, Horsham and Burgess Hill

Most courses start in September, so you have missed the intake for the courses that are currently running, however they do have one day courses throughout the year, that you might be able to get on

But it looks like your best bet will be to wait til the next intake. Sign up is usually from about June, but you have to be quick as the places go, very quickly

F

GettingItRight

Hi all,

I want to start learning how to sew, but I have no clue on where to start. I've looked on youtube and seen some good videos on how to hem trousers, but I do not know the names of any stitches (except 'running' stitch) and when they are suitable for use. I want to start hemming my own trousers soon and have a few old pairs that I can practice on - when I feel confident to try.

I was thinking about buying a sewing machine, but then thought that I'm perhaps jumping the gun a little bit and I do not know what features make for a good sewing machine


Can anyone advise me of any useful resources they know of that are online or give any basic advice on where to start?


A big thank you for any help, thoughts and opinions that you can share with me

MsHoarder

What do you want to make? Just repairs or making new items?

For a sewing machine, you're best going to a specialist shop or John Lewis, and get a basic machine, with at least a straight and zig-zag stitch.

purpleivy

https://www.thesewingforum.co.uk is a fabulous resource for help for both the new and the experienced. There are lots of people there that know about machines.

Regarding sewing machines, this is one area where you are not necessarily better off getting a new machine, rather than going for a reconditioned secondhand machine from a local dealer.

Cheap machines from Aldi, Lidl and the like are generally not popular with people who sew. The first sign of trouble and sewing machine engineers will usually say they are either not repairable or not economic to do so.

John Lewis do a good range and some are Janome machines made under their own label, however many of the stores are getting rid of their 'experts' so that they just sell machines in boxes.

I don't think that Mail order is a good thing when getting a machine, there's nothing like going into your local independent sewing machine shop and having a person help you select a machine based on your needs and your budget. My local shop has many machines that are passed on via the engineer, who gets machines from schools and so on. Quite often they're little used, so good value. You can try before you buy and see if you like a particular one more than another.

I don't know where you are, but there are some clubs run locally as well. Not with teaching in mind, but there are often people there who will help you out with stuff if you are stuck.

meritaten

ok - Sewing takes in a lot of different things - but if you want to start by hemming trousers then Running Stitch is not suitable - it shows on the other side of the fabric! I learned what my teacher called Herringbone stitch and my nan called Hemming stitch.
its not easy to describe without drawings but basically you press your hem up and turn the trousers inside out. then starting at the inside seam you take a tiny stitch then take a tiny stitch onto the folded up part move down a fraction and take a tiny stitch into the main trouser part (do this with the needle pointed away from you). keep going all around trying not to stitch right through the main part but only picking up as much fabric as will hold the thread and NOT show through onto the other side. You still with me? when you finish fasten off by taking a few back stitches and snip the thread. press gently with your iron over a damp cloth. this should result in a perfect invisible hem. the trick is to not pull the stitches too tightly and use a fine needle with a sharp point. I use this method for nearly all hems and once you get into the rythm its really a relaxing thing to do. you may find this demonstrated on YOUTUBE a lot of handicrafts are now.

butterfly72

Last year I went to night school to learn to sew. It was a 10 week course and really cheap. They had machines you could use and we were given us a list of the bits and bobs we'd need. I think you can do day courses too.

I don't go anymore.. I'm not a natural! I do the odd bit here and there at home. Tea towels are my speciality :rotfl:

I have a janome 525s sewist. It really easy to use and never jams on me. Actually its probably a bit advanced for me but I'm hoping that one day I can get back into sewing and really improve.


good luck

BitterAndTwisted

I think this is one subject where a scour round the local library would pay dividends. Basic needlecraft or whatever it's called is quite straightforward to get the hang of if you've got decent diagrams to crib from. From what I remember from needlework lessons in school pinning, tacking and pressing are the important things when sewing by hand. I do wish I'd paid more attention now as I'd love to have a go at making a couple of things. I do still remember all about French seams and using them to make a nightie in my first year at secondary school. It was very pretty and I was quite proud of it.