Sewing

Sewing allows you to mend and create all kinds of fabric gear and clothing.

Everyone should have a sewing kit and know how to use it!

RESOURCES

• Craftster - huge forum that covers all the crafts, including sewing
• BurdaStyle - the newest edition to the Burda sewing empire with free downloadable patterns and a community spirit
• Pattern Review - searchable database of patterns and the resulting creations and a forum for more advanced techniques
• SewStylish magazine - made by Threads but with a younger, more DIY focus to sewing. Each quarterly issue accompanies one Simplicity Pattern (sold separately) and tells you all the ways to pimp it out
• Burda World of Fashion magazine - A monthly magazine with 50-60 clothing patterns included in each issue. Very very fashion forward, but with very sparse instructions and no seam allowances so not for beginners
• Threads magazine - The ultimate advanced sewing magazine, which covers couture and professional techniques but has the tendency to be for an older audience

EQUIPMENT

• Sewing machine - you can sew without one, but you're going to be moving rather slowly. The old vintage machines were built like tanks, for women who sewed every day, not like the cheap plastic ones brought out for curtains every few years like they are now. Resist the urge to buy a gizmo machine with a thousand stitches - you really only need straight, zigzag, and buttonholes. Advice for beginners buying a machine
• iron - You absolutely MUST use an iron as you sew, pressing every sem as you go along. Pressing is not optional.
• Overlocker/serger - These aren't necessary, but they do make sewing stretchy fabrics a lot easier and make your garments look more professional inside. Have a look inside the shirt you're wearing - see how the edges are coverd in a big chain of threads? That's the work of a serger.
• Toolkit: hand needles, thread, scissors (to be ONLY used for fabric), seam ripper, assorted machine needles, chalk, assorted sewing machine feet, pins, pin cushion

PATTERNS

• Major Pattern Companies - Simplicity & New Look, Vogue, McCall's, Butterick, Burda
• Tips for following a dress pattern
• How to resize a pattern - very useful if your chosen pattern is slightly too big or slightly too small for you
• Good beginner patterns - Look for ones labeled "easy" and have a minimum of pieces. Stay away from stretchy or slippery fabrics to begin with, so try a pair of pajama bottoms in cotton or flannels, or an A-line skirt in cotton or twill as your first projects to build confidence.
• Do NOT buy patterns based on the size you wear in stores. You absolutely must measure yourself and buy a pattern based on your measurements. Yes, it will be a higher number than the size in RTW clothes, but no one's ever going to see that number anyway!

FABRIC

90% of the fabrics at your local JoAnn's and Hancock's are cheap, synthetic crap. Buy for you muslins if you want, but low quality fabric will make your garment look cheap, no matter how good your techniques. Listed below are some stores stocking high quality fabrics (note: some of these also sell cheap crap in addition to the nice stuff). The names of fabrics can be confusing at first so compare names against a list of fabric descriptions to help you out.

• Fabric.com
• Gorgeous Fabrics
• eQuilter
• Fabric Mart
• Wazoodle
• Vogue Fabrics

HAND SEWING

• Illustrated hand stitches - Shows you how to do the basic hand stitches. The hem, running, and backstitches will be the most commonly used - if you haven't got a sewing machine you should backstitch everywhere instead for the most strength.
• Sew on a button - if you take your button-less shirt to a dry cleaners again, I"m going to slap you. It takes under two minutes to fix.
• Darn a sock - Toes poking through? Here's how to sew it closed without getting a big lumpy line

TECHNIQUES

• Video: And easy, fly front zipper (like the kind you find on jeams and other trousers
• BurdaStyle How Tos - lots of step-by-step echniques for anything from making puffy sleeves to inserting pockets to making pleats
• How to Hem Jeans - This technique cleverly uses the original hem of the jeans but tucks a bit further up so the finished result is invisible
• Threads Tips & Tricks - huge list compiled by Threads magazine
• Fixing buttonhole mistakes - hosed up your buttonholes? Here's how to fix them.
• Make your own dressform - out of paper tape or duct tape to mimic your shape
• Sewing darts - all about darts and where to place them and when to change them

TUTORIALS / FREEBIES

• Make a lined, zippered pouch - an easy pouch to make that uses up scraps and gets you practicing on zippers
• Make a lined messenger bag - great for making anything from purses to manbags to shopping bags with a thousand variations
• Zipper pocket tutorial - fantastic for adding a zippered pocket pretty much anywhere on a bag or garment
• BurdaStyle patterns - loads of free clothing and home dec patterns to print out at home or at a copy shop
• Free Patterns for Clothing - Craftster-compiled list of links to freebies elsewhere including the ShowStudio designer ones from Alexander McQueen, Junya Watanabe, etc
• DIY Toy tutorials
• Quillow instructions - make a big ol' blanket that folds into a pillow
• Make a basic A-line skirt
• Make a sock monkey

A great video podcast and forum to check out for sewing and other DIY fashion how-tos is at ThreadBanger's website.

Other resources include

• Sewing Guide
• Experts: Skye Estes