Guides
Blog
Ten guides on getting started, machines, cutting, pressing, fabric and fit. Every article is written to be worked through, not skimmed.
Understanding Sewing Machine Tension
What the tension dial actually does, why a fault that looks like tension often is not, and the order to check things in before you touch a setting.
Cutting Fabric: Shears, Rotary Cutters, and More
Two ways to cut cloth, when each one wins, and the marking and grain habits that decide whether the pieces match when you sew them.
Pressing Matters: Irons, Hams, and Clappers
Pressing is half the work and almost none of the credit. The tools, the sequence, and the difference between ironing and pressing.
Choosing Fabric: Cotton, Linen, Wool, Silk
What each fibre does, how it behaves on the body and under the needle, and how to handle the two things every cloth does: shrink and fray.
Pattern Drafting Basics: Blocks and Slopers
A block is a pattern with no design in it, drafted to your measurements. Once you have one, every other pattern is a variation on it.
Seam Finishes: Overlock, French, and Flat-Felled
A raw seam edge will fray, so it has to be finished. Four finishes, what each one suits, and which to use on a fabric that frays badly.
Fitting and Alterations: Common Adjustments
The five adjustments that fix most fit problems, how to mark them, and why a fitting is a conversation with the garment rather than a single try-on.
Sewing Machine Maintenance and Troubleshooting
Lint, oil and needles cause most machine faults. A maintenance routine, and the faults it prevents before they stop a project.
Setting Up a Home Sewing Studio
You need less space than you think and better light than you expect. How to lay out a workable studio in a corner, a cupboard or a spare room.
No articles in that topic yet.