There are just so many things that you need to learn
when you start beginning sewing and through my own experience and
through teaching,
having taught sewing for a number of years now,
it seems that we all tend to fall in the same
patterns and we all make the same mistakes when we're learning
to. So now I have my top five.
Well, it is actually six,
but five sounds better top mistakes that we all seem to
make as new sewers,
that these are the top five that when you start to
realize how important these are and make some changes,
you'll see instant,
instant improvements in your sewing and at the finished garments that
you end up making.
Welcome back.
My lovely ladies and gents,
it is a pleasure to see your smiling faces here.
As always.
Now, I have been teaching sewing for quite a while.
Now I am the creator of Vintage Sewing School.
And even before that I was teaching in-person sewing classes and
lessons, and it is through that experience and through my own
experience that I really come to realize that we all make
the same sort of mistakes in sewing.
Like we all make the same ones that we just don't
realize what we're doing at the time.
I remember having these huge aha moments when it's like the
clouds part.
And all of a sudden you can see the light and
see the,
the things that you were doing wrong and why you should
do them differently.
But it's not that you're doing anything bad or,
I mean,
it is wrong in a way,
but it's just that you just don't know.
You're, you're only learning it's at this point that you haven't
realized how important some of these things are.
That makes such a difference to your end garments.
And it is by obviously making these mistakes that we learn
and that,
that is how we get better and better.
So as by making these mistakes,
honestly, I actually came up with a huge long list of
all of the little things that we do,
but I thought I'd actually compile it down and shorten this
one to the top five that really make the biggest impact.
I think that at least in my experience and the things
that really helped me once I sort of realized and began
to understand these things really improved my sewing.
Now on that bigger list,
I will get,
I think I'll do that a future video,
but I would like your help with that.
But I'll ask,
we'll talk about that at the end.
So get your pen and paper and take notes because these
are the things that I wish that someone had really told
me or pushed upon me the importance of these things when
I was learning to so,
so what are they?
Five, six,
you get a bonus on six things.
And then after we go through the list,
my advice on how to best overcome these and get better.
Okay. First one is poor fabric choice.
Yeah. So when we all begin,
I remember making this mistake so many times,
you just don't really realize the impact that fabric choice has
on your garment.
So not all patterns are designed for all fabrics.
They are designed with a particular type of fabric in mind.
And when you select just any fabric that you liked,
that takes your fancy,
which we tend to do,
it might not suit the design and it doesn't work very
well. It doesn't look good.
It doesn't do just does not work.
And then choosing poor fabric for your skill level.
So I see so many times beginners picking up knit fabrics
and chiffons or satins something slippery and just thinking,
it seems easy.
It's just cotton t-shirt right.
Ah, those of you that have sown a little bit know
that knit fabrics require a whole other set of skills and
slippery fabrics are again a whole separate thing on their own.
And that is a challenge in itself.
Let alone just starting how to,
so understanding your machine,
putting garments together,
they're all different things to learn at different times.
So choosing the correct fabric for both the design and your
skill level is something that,
as I said,
I did this so much when I was beginning,
you just see something you like,
and you want to just make things that you like.
And it just turns out horrible.
So always pay attention to the suggestions that they make on
fabrics on the back and stick to those types of fabrics
for that particular design and stick to nice easy things,
or at least wherever your skill level is stick to fabrics
that are in there and you'll see much more success.
The next one is not testing.
So I really learned this through my own trial and error.
And it's something that I just do now as a standard
on anything.
And I wish that I had been told that how important
this is,
and it's just part of sewing.
So what do I mean?
Exactly. So,
I mean,
testing everything.
So testing,
getting the fabric that you're going to use and test your
stitches test the same finish that you plan on doing on
this particular fabric.
So the seam you wish to sew and then test the
same finish are all the settings,
right? Do you need to do something different?
How long are your stitches,
that all of that stuff,
figuring all that out first test out the same finish that
you want to do on that fabric.
So one to test to see if it works on that
fabric and to test so that you get a little practice
before you do the real thing.
So test,
if you've got piping and you've never done it before,
don't go straight into it to your garment.
I mean,
we all do it first because we think what could go
wrong, right?
And then you realize there's at least 145 things that could
go wrong.
And that is why I had doing a test or a
sample of everything.
So if you've got piping,
zip, all of your stitches,
all of your finishes,
all these types of things,
test them all before you actually do it on your real
garment. Trust me,
I still do this now because this is how important it
is. I want it to be perfect before I go to
my real one.
And I'm sure that you do too.
So think about just testing everything.
And I know it seems a bit laborious at times it
might seem like you're doing extra,
or you just want to rush through things.
I always think if you want better results,
it's about slowing down and doing all the extra things that
make the big difference.
And for me,
testing everything before I go to my real one,
to make sure I work out all the kinks was something
I just really learned through trial and error to do so.
Not understanding Greenline and cutting out your patterns.
Therefore incorrectly is I think the next one that I see
a lot,
a lot of actually,
most of all of new sellers make,
because I did this one too patterns.
I like puzzle pieces and they all go together.
But the importance of grain line when you're cutting out,
all of those pieces is just something.
And this is something that when you're learning to,
so you just don't realize and understand how important the grain
line of the fabric really is.
And you don't know the impact that it has on your
end gamut.
So this is what we all do.
We've all done this right on our first or second or
third pieces of gum it's that we make,
you know,
you have all your pattern pieces and you see,
they all fit in here.
And then you see all these gaps in between all the
pattern pieces.
Then you think what a waste I'm just going to squish
all of those together and twist them and turn them and
just cram them all in.
So they use the least amount of fabric as possible.
Just willy nilly just jamming them all in because you think,
what does that straight line even mean?
Can't be in that important.
Probably not.
Yeah. Right.
And we all know what happens after that.
It turns out into a giant disaster that can't be fixed.
There is no,
there is no going back on that mistake,
unfortunately, and that is a big practice run.
So really,
really I will press upon.
I always do any new Sowers is to really understand what
the grain line is.
I actually have this video that I have made before on
sort of more the terminology of what green line is and
what bias screen is in this other video,
they'll help you understand more the terminology behind them,
but really go further and understand how you want all of
your pieces,
each side of your garment to be on the same grain
line. Otherwise they're going to fall differently on the bias.
How will you get there?
Stretch on the straight grain,
how it doesn't,
all of these things make such a big difference.
And it's something that we have absolutely no clue that is
going on when we first sewing and it causes all kinds
of dramas.
So try not to do the,
just cramming the puzzle pieces in when you've cut out all
your pattern pieces,
you must exactly measure,
not just eyeball,
but measure your grain line and make sure everything is perfectly
on grain that the pattern has been designed to do before
you go any further.
So understanding and notice like one of the things when you
get good is when you know what the green line does
and what shifting it will actually do.
That's how you,
that's sort of next level.
And you can really start creating things,
you know,
quite differently and understanding what it is you're doing with the
grain line.
Cool. The next thing is not reading the instructions all the
way through first.
So this is the sewing pattern instructions that that is on
a pattern of life.
So this one I really,
really learned through hard work and through not doing it.
Of course,
we all do.
I make sure when I teach and I stress upon all
of my beginner sellers now,
because it was so important when I figured this out,
it was like a light bulb moment.
You really need to read through the instructions all the way
through, like,
you need that 10,000
foot view of what it is that you're doing through the
whole lot.
So that all the little steps that you're doing along the
way actually then make sense.
So, I mean,
imagine, you know,
I'm in Australia here.
Imagine if I just decided to go on a trip to
Paris, France,
and had no idea about the big picture view that I
would have to take.
If all I knew that was in front of me was
like, go to my door,
take a left turn,
get in the car,
then drive here,
then go to the airport and having no idea of what
the end journey was going to be.
It would be a lot more difficult,
right? I wouldn't know that I actually needed to drive on
the other side of the road when I get there or
something silly like that,
like needing an invisible zipper for the invisible zipper foot that
you're going to put in your garment.
For example,
it's good to know everything ahead of time,
have that big picture of you,
of the whole process that you're doing in order for all
the little steps to make sense.
And this is when you,
it's really important.
I think to,
to do this,
to have this view all the time,
because if you ever want to get really good at sewing
and break free of the only use the pattern as it
isn't instructed,
et cetera,
you want to break through and free of that and make
your own choices on the order of construction or make adjustments
to your pattern and different things.
You need to know the order of construction and the way
things are made.
And you,
that means that you need to know the start to the
end of the whole thing all the way through to know
all the little steps that lead up in the correct order
to get there.
So it's really important that you start doing this as a
beginner to see the whole process ahead of time.
That way you'll really start to see that there is an
order of construction.
That's what,
it's what it's called.
The order of construction.
You know,
you need to do your darts first,
before you do your side seams and you need to do
those before you do.
You should do your shoulder seams before you do any neckline
finishes, et cetera,
et cetera.
So you'll see that there's a process and it's the same
kind of things that get done in the same order all
the way across.
And it's easier for you to put this together in your
mind when you see that big picture of you ahead of
time. I wish someone had given me that advice when I
first started sewing,
skipping steps.
Oh boy.
Yes. You probably think I'm talking to you now because we
all try and do this at times.
One of the things that we do when we're a beginner
is we skip steps because we don't understand why we're doing
them. And we don't realize how important they are.
So skipping steps like stay stitching,
like pressing,
like seam finishes at you getting the idea here.
So one of the big ones is stay stitching because I
know I see everybody's skipping this all of the time and
it causes,
if you don't stay stitch it,
then your neck line is probably going to stretch out of
place and then your band or your facing or whatever you're
putting on top of it doesn't fit.
And then it's all puckery and then it just snowballs into
more and more things go wrong along the way.
And it's all because you didn't sort of stay stage or
press as you go,
or you just skipping things or don't do seam finishes at
all because you think that's not necessary.
But remember we're just beginning and it's likely that you don't
quite understand why you're doing everything yet.
You will with time and practice,
you will.
And that is when you can start skipping things,
because you'll actually know why,
and you'll know,
you know,
what the problems might be and you can get around it.
You know,
I've been sewing for 20 years and I can at this
point, skip certain steps,
but only because I really know what I'm doing,
and I know that whatever I'm going to do after won't
be any problems,
et cetera.
But when you beginning,
you just don't skip any steps.
Don't be lazy.
Do everything like the instructions tell you because there is a
reason that they're all there.
It'll just take time and you will understand why you're doing
all of those things.
I promise this is the bonus one.
It is kind of a skipping step,
but not pressing as you go.
Ah, I cannot stress this one enough.
I think so.
I hear so many stories of the same thing.
This is kind of my story too.
I remember my sewing teacher.
It is standing over me putting the mantra into my mind.
You sew a seam,
you finish it and then you press it and then you
can move on to the next step.
So then I press upon this into all of my students,
anyone who will listen.
And I know that you were more advanced people say the
same thing as well,
because we understand how important it is.
And we want people to get good habits because we know
it's really hard to break bad habits and wish that someone
had told us how important this is.
Press as you go.
Let me say that one more time.
You so the same,
you would finish it.
So finish the edges with the overlook or felled seam or
whatever you're going to do,
finish it and then press it.
And then you can move on to the next step.
It makes everything a lot easier when that seam is all
finished. It's neat.
It's crisp,
it's pressed in the right direction and everything.
I actually do have this video here on pressing tips for
beginners. I definitely recommend you go watch that one after this
one, if you're a particularly new as well,
just how important pressing really is and how much of a
difference it makes to your garments is quite unbelievable when you
first start sewing,
but believe me,
the instantly instantly make your garments look more professional when you
do this.
So here's my advice.
It's one thing to,
you know,
know all these things that we do wrong.
It's another to,
how do you then know what you're doing wrong or make,
you know,
try and change.
This is,
this is the biggest advice that I tell all of my
students. And this is the big one overall that I wish
that I had really been sort of taught and made to
think this way in my dressmaking is that if something goes
wrong, I shouldn't say if it always goes wrong,
it never goes away.
And that is okay,
when something goes wrong or you do a mistake or it
doesn't turn out the way that you want,
or you think it should go back,
backtrack and figure out why,
why didn't that work out the way that it should have
all the way that you wanted?
Was it the way that you sowed the fabric?
Was it,
did it get stretched out without stay stitching along the way?
And that's why that side is bigger than the other.
Was it the way that it was pinned and it all
got puckery?
Was it actually all the way back to the cutting?
And we've actually accidentally cut one,
like a little edge around it and the is bigger.
And therefore that's why the seams didn't match backtrack and figure
out why it's figuring out why is when you can actually
get better habits and change what you're doing and understand how
that happens and how it affects your garment is the single
biggest thing is the fast track to learning faster and getting
better and better just exponentially,
better at sewing when you figure out why things went wrong.
So you can do better next time.
I wish that I didn't just learn that the hard way
through having to figure it out myself.
That that is the key,
the key to learning faster.
I think in sewing,
and this is one of the reasons why I started vintage
sewing school is to help all of the new soldiers of
the world,
figure out all these things and learn from mine.
And hopefully everybody else's mistakes as well.
So we can learn faster and all see more.
So is in this world because it's such a fun hobby,
right? So tell me what has been your biggest learning curves
in learning to,
so was it some of these,
do you see these in yourself or I actually,
this is where I would love your help.
Let me know below the biggest,
like the biggest learnings that you've had,
that epiphany moments,
the biggest mistakes that you found that you're making,
because you just didn't know any better at the time.
What are they tell me below in the comments and make
sure you go read them.
Of course,
because there'll be so many little golden nuggets down there of
tips. And I want to compile,
I think probably a big,
long video of this,
and I might just feature your tip in there.
So I really look forward to reading all of those.
Thank you so much for watching as always,
if you know a new SOA who could use this information,
please share it with them because sharing is caring after all.
And until next time,
bye.