Tips for a starting sewer?

[mommyswenn]

I can *kind of* sew, but Grade 9 Home Ec. was a loooooong time ago.

For some reason, tonight it just hit me that I NEED to sew. It's weird, it's really calling to me, in a way it never has before.

I can follow a pattern, did make dd#1 a wicked-cool kangaroo costume for Halloween one year, but need to start out... simple.

Please point me in the right direction -- what are the easiest fabrics to work with? Where do I find easy-to-follow patterns?

Of my kids, the one who most needs clothes right now is dd#1, she's 10.5. She's really hard to find clothes for, don't even get me started on how a not overweight, just not rail thin, ten year old can't wear a youth size 16. :

Please, help a mama out. : I look forward to getting to know you all and learning from you!

[Phoenix_Rising]

i started with regular woven fabrics. just a regular weight, nothing heavy or sheer. simplicity's patterns are fairly easy. i know what you mean about clothes sizing. my friend's daughter will be 11 next month. pretty skinny and not tall but can't fit into kid's clothes really. she is in a size 3 juniors because the size 16 kids don't fit her waist and the size 18 are just ridiculously sized for her.

[Corri]

Start with your basic fabrics - cotton, linen and some blends. Stay away from slippery fabrics for now - silk dupioni is great, but something like silk charmeuse will have you throwing your machine out the window. Always wash everything before you use it, and dry it if you own and use a dryer. Artificial fabrics won't shrink but natural fibres will, and you want to get rid of the sizing chemicals that the factories add.

I agree with Susannah - Simplicity has some of the best commercial patterns out there (from the big companies), and they have an 'easy to sew' line that's great for the beginner. Remember that their sizing might not be quite what you expect, just like buying clothes in the store, and be sure to take measurements and adjust the pattern accordingly (add length, take in the waist, etc).

Get some new needles for your machine and change them often; needle sharpness and general machine cleanliness can make a huge difference in the quality of your sewing. (don't even ask me what kind of junk & fluff I've pulled out of machines at the studio after a show build... ew!) Clipping your curves and grading seam allowances are small touches that can make a massive difference in how a garment hangs, so don't forget to do those when appropriate.

Oh, and have fun with it!

[momuveight2B]

Your little girl is at a wonderful age for you to take on this hobby together. I would take her shopping and have her help you pick out a pattern and material. Start with simple pajamas, a poncho or other fun item that if it comes out looking homemade will still be ok. I don't know the name brand but the ones at Walmart in the carousel displays are usually super easy patterns that sell for about $2.
I teach my girls to prewash their fabrics and then how to lay out the patterns and cut out everything. They I sew it usually on the serger cause that way there is no seam finish to worry about.
It is getting warm now but my girls love to work with the fleece fabrics to make blankets, pillows, bathrobes and pajama bottoms. It is always fun to make a throw and pillow to decorate your room, can be done in a few hours and impossible to mess up.
Have fun!

[mommyswenn]

Dd is actually a better sewer at this stage than I am!

She is really excited about doing this with me and I really really hope we can find her some cute tops (she's good for bottoms, just really needs shirts) that are easy to make and she'll be willing to wear. I'll be sure to post pics once I have something under my belt.

Um... what does it mean to grade a seam allowance? I would love a Serger (my mil has one) but until I start to really sew a lot I couldn't justify the purchase. We'll see, down the road.

[Corri]

what does it mean to grade a seam allowance?

Sorry! Got carried away there.

A seam allowance is the extra fabric that you leave so you can sew the seam - most commercial patterns come with 5/8s of an inch seam allowance built into the pattern, so you sew the seam 5/8s of an inch in from the edge. Once you sew a seam, you need to press both sides to set the stitches, then press the seam open. If you're finishing the seam somehow (binding, serging, zigzag, stitch and pink, etc), you do that, but if the seam is going to be enclosed - inside a facing, topstitched, that kind of thing, you want to make sure that it's not really bulky. You do that by cutting one layer of the seam allowance a little bit shorter than the other, so that when they lie flat, you get more of a slope than a big ridge.

So instead of having

----------- (where both edges of the seam allowance lie flat and are the same length)

you have

======== (where one is slightly shorter than the other). The longer side should be the one against the outside fabric.

Does that make sense?

[mommyswenn]

Perfect, thanks! I know what a seam allowance is (and am actually even half decent at keeping it to 5/8" ), I've just never graded one before.