Discussion Thread: Learning to Sew

I received an email yesterday from a reader who saw my post on Monday and asked if I had any resource recommendations for beginning sewists/sewers.

Now, I am a beginner. I have only been making clothes for two years. Before that, it was just pillow cases and the odd window treatment. I grew up wearing homemade clothes and watching my mother sew, but she never encouraged me to learn. I have learned a lot in the past two years, though, and I found the information online. Here are a few of my favorite sites for sewing information:

PatternReview.com. This site has a free registration level, and a paid subscription level. There is a pattern store and a lot of free information, including reviews of sewing machines and patterns written by users. I don't even buy a pattern until I have read the reviews at PatternReview. The annual subscription gives you access to an advanced knowledge base. They also offer online sewing classes for fees in the $30-$50 range or so. I have not taken any of these workshops yet.

Deepika (the site's creator) has built an amazing resource, and I recommend supporting her if you can.

Burda Style is an open-source sewing site with lots of tutorials and downloadable free patterns.

HotPatterns.com offers free sewing and fitting tips and video tutorials that I find very useful. (N.B.: HotPatterns are wonderful, but they are NOT easy, and not suitable for one's first efforts. The free info at Trudy's place is terrific, though.)

Gorgeous Things' Blog . Anne Steeves puts up reviews and tutorials. Also, every link in her blogroll is useful. Pamela Erny's Off The Cuff Sewing Style blog has great tutorials as well. Both Anne and Pamela have excellent businesses associated with their blogs, but all the information is free, whether you buy their fabrics and notions or not. The Sewing Divas is a blog that has tutorials and a wealth of useful links. I also like Miss Celie's Pants. In fact, once you start going through the blogrolls at any of these blogs, you'll find more info than you can assimilate.

Emma One Sock is a fabric store with an exhaustive collection of sewing guides for working with different fabrics.

As for books, I only have two: Simplicity's Simply The Best Sewing Book and Sandra Betzina's Power Sewing Step by Step. Both are good. PatternReview.com has book reviews, and I've found useful chunks of various sewing books for free on Google Books. There's also my local library--I am fortunate to have a good one.

Personally, I found videos easier to follow than books at first, and there are lots of free video tutorials on YouTube and Expert Village.

The biggest material obstacle to learning this craft is the machine: even used ones can cost quite a bit, and it takes time and patience to learn everything you need to know about it.

PatternReview has sewing machine reviews, so if you are thinking of buying a machine, read there first. A machine is a big investment that many people can't afford to make. There may be a sewing studio in your area that offers open sewing time (we have a place like that in Pittsburgh). That would allow you to practice with a machine before you buy one. Some fabric stores (Like Jo-Ann) and sewing machine dealers also offer classes on using machines.

I am lucky: my mother gave me a hand-me-down basic machine (a Singer 1027) a few years ago. That surprised me, as she had openly laughed and said I was "funny" when I expressed interest in sewing ten or fifteen years ago. Perhaps she felt bad about that, but whatever her reasoning, I am grateful. If you do gain access to a machine, read the manual. I downloaded a manual from Singer's website for $5, and it was absolutely necessary.

At least as important as a sewing machine, though, is a basic steam iron. Sewing is pressing. Learn about pressing and you'll save yourself a ton of grief and wasted time. (here is a PDF on pressing techniques). Pressing hams and sleeve rolls are yet another expenditure; I have made do with rolled-up old towels so far. No, the results are not as good, and I can't recommend skimping on the right tools, but they aren't in my budget now.

As for first projects: after window treatments and pillow cases, my first attempt was hemming pants. Then I made some lined purses out of old jeans (I can't find the exact video I used, but there are lots of tutorials out there on recycled jeans bags). Finally, I bought a pattern: Kwik Sew yoga pants. Kwik Sew patterns are great for beginners. I also recommend Jalie. Do read about others' experiences with a pattern before trying it.

There is so much to know that it can be intimidating. But the good news is that it's pretty easy to do some basic things if you have access to the necessary equipment and the time and energy to invest in learning. (For many, those are big Ifs.)

I want to open it up now to all of you who sew or want to sew: how did you start? How did you learn? What if anything holds you back? What are your favorite sewing resources? Any tips for low-cost startup?