User blog:RealLeniLoud/Fashion Advice: Learning How to Sew

Hello guys, if you want to learn how to see, you have totally come to the right place! I will teach you the basics of sewing. After this post, you'll be sewing in no time!

Step 1: Basic Sewing Tools
Needles - You'll want to look for "sharps" for basic sewing. "Betweens" are used for quilting. "Embroidery" or "crewel" needles have larger eyes (an eye is the hole at the top of the needle) and are used with thicker threads, like upholstery or embroidery floss.

Scissors - You'll want a good pair of shears (normally sold with names like "dressmaking shears") and a pair of pinking shears. Pinking shears have small triangular teeth that cut the fabric in a such way that it lessens unraveling. Smaller embroidery scissors are also good for cutting threads.

Pincushion & Pins - You'll pin most everything you sew to keep the fabrics from slipping. A pincushion keeps them neat and tidy.

Measuring tape - For measuring.

Air soluble/water soluble marking pens - perfect for embroidery and using patterns!

Seam Ripper - This will help you correct mistakes.

Beeswax - Sounds odd, but essential for hand sewing. When you run your thread over the beewax, it gives the thread a nice coating that will keep it from tangling and making it stronger.

Thimbles - These can be wood, leather, or metal. They'll keep your fingers from getting sore and/or picked.

Thread or Floss - An all-purpose cotton thread is good for most things. However, there are many threads to choose from. You'll often pick thread based on your project - cotton fabric = cotton thread, silk = silk thread, etc. Floss is much thicker and normally comes in six-string strands. You'll use this for embroidery and finishing.

Fabric - Might I recommend going to your local sewing store and buying some remnants to start off with? Remnants are small bits of fabric from the end of a fabric roll. They're quite cheap.

Sewing Needle Booklet - You can either keep the packaging the needles come in or make your own!

You may also want to invest in an iron, self-healing cutting mat, rotary cutter, and rulers. They're not entirely necessary!

And now that we have the basics, let's thread a needle!

Step 2: Threading the Needle
Basically there are two ways to do this.

One thread or double thread. Many people also see using a single thread so I'll teach them both ways!

You'll want to trim the end of the thread that will be put through the eye with very sharp scissors. This will give it a clean edge and help you ease it through the eye of the needle.

If you have problems with this, you can buy a needle threader. They can be quite useful for those with bad eyes or shaky hands.

Now you'll decide whether to do double or single threaded.

Single threaded: pull the thread through the eye so that the needle is a few inches from the end. You can then cut the length of thread that you like. You will knot the longer single thread however you like and begin sewing.

Make sure you're holding the shorter bit of thread close to the needle while sewing - otherwise, it will slip through the eye and you'll have to keep rethreading it!

Double threaded: pull the thread through the eye and double it up. The end that's threaded through the eye will meet up with the thread from the spool. This way, you'll have two tail ends. You'll knot these together and then sew with the doubled up thread.