Did you ever think that the more experienced sewists must be
holding back on you and things they're doing that they're just
not telling you well,
in this video,
let's talk about the five things that experienced
Sewists do that beginners don't because I can tell you,
after 20 plus years of sewing,
I did not do these things.
When I first started sewing.
Yeah. Friends,
welcome back.
It is always so lovely to see you.
If this is actually your first time here,
welcome. My name is Evelyn Wood and I'm the creator of
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and here on this channel,
we do everything well,
vintage sewing skills to really help our modern day sewing.
So you can create anything.
It is that you want in your mind when you have
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So after teaching hundreds of students sewing and how to,
so I see the common things that people start to point
out. So I've created this list of the five things that
experienced sewists do that,
you just don't do as a beginner.
Now this list will be a little bit different than probably
what you're used to.
It's things that really well,
you don't actually notice,
even until you're more experienced.
So take,
for example,
when I was a beginner,
if someone told me this list,
when I was a very beginner,
I'd kind of think,
okay, but I don't really see the difference.
I don't get it much.
And it's because it's just comes with experience that you start
to see these things and notice these things,
and that's why you implement them into your sewing routine.
So hence why this list will be a little bit different
than the kind of top point is that you're used to
hearing about.
Okay. So the first one is expecting the machine to do
all the work for you.
When we're beginning.
I definitely remember doing this is you just let me demonstrate,
you put this in,
right? And you say this,
and then you say,
go, go,
go. And you just so,
and you kind of just,
just kind of gently help it along and you just say,
go, go,
go. That's what it feels like.
Anyway, my members of vintage sewing school hear this so often,
and that is me saying,
you are in control.
You tell the fabric what to do,
learning to maneuver and learn the skill of maneuvering and telling
the fabric.
What to do at the machine is the single biggest,
best skill that you can possibly learn to improve your sewing
skills. For example,
one of my students was wondering whether or not to get
a walking foot,
and then she remembered listening to one of my videos.
I mentioned,
I have one I've never used it.
And that's because I've learned to maneuver the fabric and get
skilled at doing this.
And therefore a walking foot has never really been necessary in
my sewing.
And so she decided that she was also going to learn
to really get to grips and learn how to sew.
So, and a few of my points lead on to telling
the fabric what to do more specifically,
but it's getting here and maneuvering and,
and really skillfully telling the fabric what to do.
I get pointed out from my students all the time when
they watch me really closely,
just how much I'm going slow and just telling the fabric
what to do,
not sitting here and just gently like go,
go on the machine.
So I promise learning that skill is the most important skill
you can possibly learn in sewing to heighten your end at
Results. How well your garments turn out.
The next one is sewing in a curve.
Yes. Okay.
So let me demonstrate again,
because I know I did this when I first started sewing,
what you do.
For example,
if we have a curve like this,
generally our brain tells us to pull it straight and we
so like this and we make everything straight lines and we
try and sew it straight through the machine because it's really
hard. Right?
I absolutely get it.
I remember doing this so much,
but when I really started to look at what I was
doing and upskill,
my sewing machine maneuverability is sewing in a curve and you'll,
you'll see all experience.
So really do this and use this to their advantage where
instead of pulling it straight and selling like this,
you work with the curves,
right? So we put this here and actually,
so in the whole garment will move with us.
And we so in that curve,
because then how could it possibly go wrong?
There couldn't be any puckery stitches.
The stitch can't look weird when it is sitting flat.
And we're literally sitting over the top of that exact shape
that the garment is supposed to form.
Of course,
it's going to turn out well,
if it's sewn in the shape that it's going to end
up, rather than forcing it into a shape,
it's not meant to be stitching it.
And then trying to hope that it,
that it curls back to the shape that it should be.
So think about this as sewing with the curves,
with the shapes of your garments,
rather than just trying to pull it straight and so straight
under the machine.
And then there is the fact that experience.
So just always focus on the stitch line.
Now, if you're unfamiliar with this term,
that is your actual line that you will stitch on.
So if you have 1.5
centimeter seam allowance or five eights,
your stitch line is that five eighths of an inch line
all the way inside your gament,
where you would actually stitch definitely as you get more experienced,
you really start to focus on this and nothing else.
I call seam allowance as dead space.
Particularly when we talk about pattern-making,
you'll see an,
all my members know this,
that all of my patterns,
and I encourage everyone to actually mark out the stitch line
all over yours.
so you can actually see what your pattern is,
and you can understand the stitch line is the most important
thing. Everything is measured off that stitch line,
but even when you're pattern-making and including when you're sewing,
it comes down to pinning.
I always like to pin like vertically in line with my
edge, with my seam allowance.
So I'm pinning my seam line like this,
and I'm using my pins as a stitch,
basically on my stitch line,
rather than you see some pinning,
crosswise, like this does not work for me at all.
It comes into different methods,
but the focus is on the stitch align and nothing else.
So when you get more experienced,
you really start realizing that everything around sewing around patterns in
particular, and then obviously that's how it's all sewn together is
that it's all based around the stitch line.
And when you start working from that outwards,
it makes everything a lot easier.
It's kind of what you actually have to do to make
things work sewing over pins.
I hear this one.
So, so often from in the comments here all the time
of more experienced,
so as always comment on that,
the fact that don't so over pins,
it seems like a really good idea when you're starting,
because it keeps everything in place,
right? And you can just so,
and it keeps it all there.
Oh no,
don't do it too.
Many of us have a broken needles,
actually do machine.
And it's just not a good print,
good habit to get into a sewing over your pins.
Now there are exceptions and you will see me doing this
as a general rule.
Don't have them pull them out just before you get there.
And another reason is because keeping your pins in will actually
force your fabric in positions.
That's maybe not meant to do as you.
So your foot actually puts pressure on this top layer and
forces more fabric of this top layer to bunch up.
And so if you're not really careful,
that's when you end up with little tucks little pools and
that's where men are.
Number one,
one maneuvering,
the fabric is pulling out your pin and adjusting just before
you're sewing.
So in that little bit,
pulling out your pin,
adjusting that next section,
sewing. And that's how you get really smooth.
Even all,
no puckers,
no, no funny bits happening everywhere.
And because your pins locked it in place.
You'll end up with little tucks underneath because it has nowhere
to go.
Your pin has locked in position,
but your top layer might move.
And of course,
as, as I said,
there was an exception.
So sometimes meeting seams where you say have a waist seam
and you have your bodice and then your skirt seam matching
up. And you're sewing this seam here.
I would put a cross pin over here.
What I call a cross pin,
open vertically all across the way seam and then one this
way to really hold that in place.
And I would actually very gently and usually I would even
hand wheel over it.
So I don't do any damage.
Even if my needle does accidentally hit it,
it's going that slow that it just pushes it to the
side vertically.
And I can sew over that one,
stitch and have my seam lines matching perfectly.
I would say that is the only exception is when you're
just going to gently hand wheel it over.
But sewing over pins is I hear all the time from
the experience.
So as do you,
have you broken a needle from selling over Europeans?
Leave us a comment down below.
It's always interesting to hear everyone's scary stories,
a cautionary tale for the people that haven't yet maybe caused
any damage by sewing over pins.
We can warn them all of given the cautionary tale so
that we all stopped doing this.
And we don't want to damage our machines by doing so.
A passion is merely a two of selling.
It is not sewing in its entirety.
I think All experience.
So as I going to say the same thing here and
that us sewing pattern is just a tool.
It's an aid of sewing.
It's something I helpful,
useful tool.
It is not sewling in its entirety whatsoever.
We just use this as an aid,
as a starting point,
something to help start our design,
but you know that it needs to be tweaked.
The size needs to be adjusted.
You'll end up making your own copy and then fitting it
to you.
And then you can even decide which different ways to so
different construction methods together.
As you get more experienced,
you realize that it is simply an aid of sewing.
It's a tool.
It is not sewing as we are led to believe.
When we first begin sewing that we can pick up this
pattern and we can learn to sew from a pattern.
And this is sewing,
right? You pick a pattern and you sew it up and
that is sewing in its entirety.
No, it doesn't take long,
Long before you realize they need to be adjusted.
And then as you get further and further,
more advanced,
you, you really understand that you're using it as a tool.
Only sewing patterns were never designed as a learn to sew
a device.
They were designed for home dressmakers who already know how to
sew, which at the time was fairly common knowledge.
Most people made their own clothing still.
So these skills were just common knowledge,
skills. They were an aide,
a tool you could mail order them so that you could
start designing different designs,
but you already knew how to sew them together.
Think it's very relevant when you see even antique and then
even more vintage patterns.
As you go further,
further back through the history of sewing patterns.
You see that the,
when they first started,
the instructions given at the time are basically zero.
It is just the pattern because when you know how to,
so you can,
you decide how you want to sew it together.
It's just a tool to use.
But as sewing skills have decreased through our common,
like in common knowledge,
as we come up to modern times in history,
they've had to include more and more sewing instructions to include
with the patterns because there is less common knowledge of sewing.
And that is what we call the assumed knowledge of sewing
and what I hope to answer here.
And it is my hope that I unveil all of those
mysteries and help others just like you on your sewing journey.
So it's not so hard to uncover all these assumed knowledge
of sewing patterns.
It's just that they're never designed as a,
as a learn to sew device.
They are a tool only,
and I hope that you learn much quicker than I did
that. You can use this just as a tool and learn
all the skills needed to use it in that way,
because that's how you really create what you want.
And of course,
if you're interested in taking your sewing skills further down that
track and learning all this in a really,
in an environment that you have access to a library of
all of this information,
24 seven,
that's what I do at vintagesewingschool.com
And I mean,
there's links down below.
So I would love to have you join me there,
but so tell me my friends.
What has,
what do you,
what do you think of my list essentially?
I would love to hear your comments and tell me the
ones that I've missed out.
What do you think that, what have you either noticed
or know yourself, that experienced
sewist do that beginners don't maybe in your own journey,
help all of us beginner.
sewers and maybe the points that we've never heard of
before, because by sharing all of the,
our information together is how we all learn and become better.
So, thank you so much for watching check the description box
below for all of the links.
And until next time,
my sewing friends happy sewing.
Bye.