One of the benefits of sewing your own garments is being able to choose design elements that will flatter your shape. These guidelines will come in handy when you’re choosing off-the-rack garments as well. Steps: Assess your shape honestly and decide which areas of your body you would like to emphasize. Similarly, decide which areas […]

Some sewing projects, such as mending, needlepoint and quilting, require hand stitching. Become familiar with the different types of hand-sewing needles in order to choose the right one for your next project. Steps: Make sure that your needle is small enough to penetrate the fabric without stretching it, and large enough for the eye to […]

A sewing pattern is a blueprint for a sewing project that shows how to cut fabric into pieces and then sew the pieces together. The Pattern Envelope Most sewing patterns come in an envelope called the pattern envelope. All the information you need to make a sewing pattern is either printed on the pattern envelope or contained inside. […]

To start using a sewing machine, first place a wound bobbin inside a bobbin case and install it in the machine’s bobbin mechanism. Next, place the spool of thread on the spool pin and wind the thread through the thread guides and through the eye of the needle, leaving a tail of a few inches. […]

Before you can start sewing with a sewing machine, you must wind thread around the bobbin. The exact method for winding a bobbin varies slightly depending on the type of sewing machine you’re using, but the general process is as follows: Place an empty bobbin on the bobbin winder. Place a spool of thread on […]

Sewing machines come in a variety of makes and models but all work in much the same way. As opposed to hand sewing, which works by moving a single strand of thread in and out of the fabric, sewing machines use two strands of thread that are intertwined to form stitches. This use of two threads instead of […]

Hemming is a sewing technique that lets you finish the edge of a piece of fabric cleanly by folding and sewing it. Hemming by hand involves a stitch called the hemming stitch, which is almost invisible on the right side of the fabric. How to Hem Using the Hemming Stitch To create a hem: Fold the bottom […]

When fabric or clothing that you own comes apart at a seam, you can fix it by mending the seam. Iron the Fabric Before you mend the seam, iron the item to prevent wrinkles from being embedded in the seam as you mend. Before you iron, fold the fabric so that the right sides (the sides that […]

One of the most common sewing projects is reattaching a button that has fallen off an article of clothing. Always replace a button with a new button of approximately the same size. Buttons that are too big won’t fit through the buttonholes, whereas buttons that are too small will slip out of the buttonholes. Align the Buttons […]

You need to know just a few basic stitches to begin hand-sewing. The three most important basic stitches are the basting stitch, backstitch, and overcast stitch. Basting Stitch (Running Stitch)   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by RIBBONS’N’STITCHES FASHION ACADEMY (@ribbonsnstitchesacademy) The basting stitch, also called the running stitch, is used to sew […]

Threading a needle involves cutting the thread to a manageable length and then passing the end of the thread through the eye of the needle. Cut the Thread It’s generally easier to sew using thread that’s no longer than 18–20″. You can cut the thread shorter if you wish, but any shorter than 6″ is difficult […]

To buy the right fabric, you need a basic understanding of  how different types of fabric are constructed. How Fabric Is Sold Fabric is sold in bolts. A bolt of fabric is a long rectangle of fabric that’s wound lengthwise around a cardboard tube or slim box. Fabric on the bolt is sold by the whole or fraction of […]