Sewing is not difficult. It is a set of small skills that build on each other, and the usual reason a first project fails is that it needs three skills at once. Start with something that needs one.
The short list of tools
You can make a first garment with seven things. Everything else on a shop shelf is something you buy when a specific project asks for it, not before.
- A sewing machine that makes a straight stitch and a zigzag. Nothing more is needed to start.
- Fabric shears — a decent pair, kept for fabric only.
- A seam ripper, or three, because they go missing.
- A measuring tape that has not stretched.
- Pins and a pincushion, or pattern weights if you prefer not to pin.
- Thread in a colour close to your fabric, 40-weight polyester.
- A machine needle to suit the cloth: universal 80/12 for most wovens.
Do not buy a box of thread
A multi-colour box looks like value and is not. The thread is often poor quality and the colours rarely match real fabric. Buy one good spool to match each project.
Choose a forgiving fabric
For a first project, pick a stable woven cloth with no stretch and no slipperiness. Quilting cotton is the classic choice: it is stable, it does not fray badly, it presses well, and it is cheap enough that a mistake is not a disaster.
| Fabric | Good for a first project? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quilting cotton | Yes | Stable, presses well, easy to cut and sew |
| Cotton poplin | Yes | Similar to quilting cotton, a little lighter |
| Linen | Partly | Lovely to sew, but frays badly and creases |
| Cotton jersey | Not yet | Needs a ballpoint needle and a stretch stitch |
| Silk, satin | Not yet | Slippery and shifts under the needle |
| Chiffon, organza | No | Frays and slides; save it for later |
Pick a first project with straight seams
A tote bag, a simple skirt with an elastic waist, or a pair of pyjama trousers. All three are mostly straight seams, all three forgive an imperfect seam allowance, and all three produce something you will actually use.
Read the pattern all the way through
Before you cut anything. The instructions tell you which pieces are cut on the fold and where the notches go, and those two things are the most common first mistakes.
Pre-wash the fabric
Wash and dry it the way you will wash the finished item. Cotton shrinks three to five per cent, and it shrinks after you have sewn it if you skip this.
Cut on the grain
Line the pattern grain line up with the selvedge, not just with the table edge. A piece cut off-grain will twist when it is worn.
Sew a test seam
On a scrap of the actual fabric, before the garment. Check the stitch length and the tension, and adjust until the seam looks right.
Press every seam as you sew it
Not at the end. Pressing a seam open while it is still the only seam you have made is easy; unpicking the whole garment to press it at the end is not.
The three habits worth learning first
Sewing accurately matters less than sewing consistently. A seam allowance that is always 1.5 cm instead of 1 cm produces a garment that fits; a seam allowance that wanders between 0.8 and 1.6 cm does not. Watch the seam guide, not the needle.
Second habit: press, do not iron. Ironing moves the iron across the cloth to smooth it. Pressing sets the iron down, holds it, and lets the cloth take the shape. They are different actions with different results.
Third habit: test on a scrap. Every new fabric, every new needle, every new thread gets a test seam before it goes near the garment. It takes thirty seconds and saves an evening of unpicking.
Safety from the first day
Unplug the machine before changing a needle. Keep your fingers clear of the needle and the presser foot whenever the machine is plugged in. Keep blades closed and capped, and never leave a hot iron face down.
What to learn second
Once straight seams and pressing are automatic, add a zip, then a buttonhole, then a set-in sleeve. Each one is a self-contained skill, and each one is much easier to learn on a project that only needs that one new thing.
