As a brand new member, but also an experienced sewist, I have been learning so much just by reading through your past messages with a notepad and pen in hand. While I am taking notes on other things, I keep seeing some of the same sewing difficulties pop up, so I thought I might return the favor and add a few bits of wisdom for beginners. For those of you who have been sewing awhile why don't you add a few general sewing tips for beginners to this thread.
1. Read your sewing machine or serger manuals from cover to cover and keep it beside your machine. Consult it often for correct threading, cleaning, and settings. I've been sewing again for 18 months after a long dry spell and still use mine often.
2. Change sewing machine needles frequently. With the number of layers and variety of fabrics you work with on CDs that might mean every 3-6 diapers. Consult your manual for the correct sizes. I'm sure that Schmetz has a chart on their website if your manual doesn't have a chart.
3. Clean your machine frequently and oil it as directed in the manual. Oiling the race hook in the bobbin area is important. Most of the fabrics you are using with CDs make a lot of lint. Keep a brush near your machine and brush the lint often from the bobbin area, especially the area directly under the feed dogs. A clean machine is less likely to jam.
4. Use the correct thread. I will scrimp on gadgets, but not on thread. My sewing machine performs best with Mettler or Gutterman. The wrong thread will cause you grief.
5. Buy a decent general sewing reference book or borrown one from the library. Consult it often. You'll save yourself time by doing something right the first time. Many times the advice you may get from fabric store clerks, friends, or relatives is wrong. Read about things like cutting on the grain, grading seam allowances, sewing on knits, casings and bindings, etc.
6. I would make up the first diaper with any new pattern from either cotton muslin or an ugly cotton flannel. Write construction notes on it with a sharpie marker, add patches to areas that need more fabric, and fold out tucks where you need to take it out. This is how any good designer or seamstress begins a garment. You resolve fitting issues and errors in pattern drafting before using costly fabrics. If you're taking the time to make your own diapers, customize them to fit your baby and your needs!
7. If you are a beginning sewist, then I would recommend that you start with making a few simple flannel diapers to practice using your sewing machine. A cotton woven (not a knit) is the easiest to work with, so once again flannel would be the best diapering fabric to practice on . Don't venture out into combining different fabrics until you are confident with sewing on the easiest stuff. Heck, you can make yourself a whole set of NB flannel diapers while learning to use your machine!
8. Save the scraps of flannel fabrics to make a sampler of all the stitches your machine can make. Try them out on different thickness of fabrics. Open out the trial seams and tug on them to see how balanced the stitches are. Pencil notes to yourself in the sewing machine manual or make a chart for the best stitch sizes and presser foot for different types of fabrics.
9. No matter your skill level, sewing on multiple layers of different types of fabrics should be praticed on scraps before you begin sewing your CD. Even though I am experienced, I would still do this, because I can't be sure how a PUL, hemp fleece, and microfleece layer might behave when stitching together. I may need to adjust the type of stitch or its width and length according to the fabrics used. I might even need to serge each layer seperately if a soaker is really thick. After reading your posts, I think I will wash and dry these samplers to learn more about the fabrics' performance in the laundry.
10. I have visited most of the free pattern websites given as resources. I'm sure that they work just fine, but not alot of detail is given. Even though I'm going to make incontinence panties for an adult, I will still buy at least one commercial pattern for a baby AIO. Why? For yardage charts, recommended fabrics and notions, and learning more about construction details. I'll put my notes in the pattern envelope and consult them during my modification phase. I also enjoy supporting independent pattern companies.
11. Bookmark a sewing website such as http://sewing.patternreview.com for sewing tips and reviews about anything sewing.
Happy sewing,
Elizabeth
1. Read your sewing machine or serger manuals from cover to cover and keep it beside your machine. Consult it often for correct threading, cleaning, and settings. I've been sewing again for 18 months after a long dry spell and still use mine often.
2. Change sewing machine needles frequently. With the number of layers and variety of fabrics you work with on CDs that might mean every 3-6 diapers. Consult your manual for the correct sizes. I'm sure that Schmetz has a chart on their website if your manual doesn't have a chart.
3. Clean your machine frequently and oil it as directed in the manual. Oiling the race hook in the bobbin area is important. Most of the fabrics you are using with CDs make a lot of lint. Keep a brush near your machine and brush the lint often from the bobbin area, especially the area directly under the feed dogs. A clean machine is less likely to jam.
4. Use the correct thread. I will scrimp on gadgets, but not on thread. My sewing machine performs best with Mettler or Gutterman. The wrong thread will cause you grief.
5. Buy a decent general sewing reference book or borrown one from the library. Consult it often. You'll save yourself time by doing something right the first time. Many times the advice you may get from fabric store clerks, friends, or relatives is wrong. Read about things like cutting on the grain, grading seam allowances, sewing on knits, casings and bindings, etc.
6. I would make up the first diaper with any new pattern from either cotton muslin or an ugly cotton flannel. Write construction notes on it with a sharpie marker, add patches to areas that need more fabric, and fold out tucks where you need to take it out. This is how any good designer or seamstress begins a garment. You resolve fitting issues and errors in pattern drafting before using costly fabrics. If you're taking the time to make your own diapers, customize them to fit your baby and your needs!
7. If you are a beginning sewist, then I would recommend that you start with making a few simple flannel diapers to practice using your sewing machine. A cotton woven (not a knit) is the easiest to work with, so once again flannel would be the best diapering fabric to practice on . Don't venture out into combining different fabrics until you are confident with sewing on the easiest stuff. Heck, you can make yourself a whole set of NB flannel diapers while learning to use your machine!
8. Save the scraps of flannel fabrics to make a sampler of all the stitches your machine can make. Try them out on different thickness of fabrics. Open out the trial seams and tug on them to see how balanced the stitches are. Pencil notes to yourself in the sewing machine manual or make a chart for the best stitch sizes and presser foot for different types of fabrics.
9. No matter your skill level, sewing on multiple layers of different types of fabrics should be praticed on scraps before you begin sewing your CD. Even though I am experienced, I would still do this, because I can't be sure how a PUL, hemp fleece, and microfleece layer might behave when stitching together. I may need to adjust the type of stitch or its width and length according to the fabrics used. I might even need to serge each layer seperately if a soaker is really thick. After reading your posts, I think I will wash and dry these samplers to learn more about the fabrics' performance in the laundry.
10. I have visited most of the free pattern websites given as resources. I'm sure that they work just fine, but not alot of detail is given. Even though I'm going to make incontinence panties for an adult, I will still buy at least one commercial pattern for a baby AIO. Why? For yardage charts, recommended fabrics and notions, and learning more about construction details. I'll put my notes in the pattern envelope and consult them during my modification phase. I also enjoy supporting independent pattern companies.
11. Bookmark a sewing website such as http://sewing.patternreview.com for sewing tips and reviews about anything sewing.
Happy sewing,
Elizabeth
