Super Beginner Sewing Tips

Elisa — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 01:00:50 +0000

Lets look at the basics of the thread on your machine, before you even try to navigate a clothing pattern. The first thing you need is a machine that sews properly and evenly.

What if your thread wont pick up?
What if the thread is unevenly sewing, or snapping before you even get half a seam sewn?

Here are all the things I look to when this happens to me.

Check the thread.
Is the top thread and the bobbin thread from the same spool? Is it the same weight? If you use a thick thread in the bobbin and a thin one in the top, or vice versa, then tension problems can occur. Even if you’ve used different colours, that’s fine, as long as the weight of the thread is the same.

Check the machine threading.
Consult your manual to make sure your machine has been threaded properly. The thread tension is so important, that if you’ve missed a loop, or a tension gauge, then it can make all the difference. Make sure the thread is sitting in the tension plates as it ought to, sometimes it looks like it is, but it is just resting on it, or resting behind them.
Sometimes I will pull all the thread out and rethread it from start to finish just to be sure.

Check the bobbin.
Remove the bobbin from the bobbin case and make sure the thread has been spun evenly on it. Sometimes people set their machines up to wind the bobbin, and just trust that the machine will spin it evenly for them. The truth is, some machines need to be guided and spun slowly, otherwise you end up with what i call “bubbles” in the tension. You can see it clearly.
If that’s the case and there are bubbles in your bobbin, then you need to unwind it. Just pull all the thread off it, and start again.
Make sure it’s winding so that there are no “bubbles”
The uneven tension affects the flow of the machine, it’s rhythm stalls and starts and stalls and starts, and the thread gets caught, and sometimes knotted, and can snap, causing immense frustration.

If the machine is still not sewing properly, there could be other things influencing this.
Look at the thread line in your sewing sample to decide where to look next.

Check your sewing sample
If the bottom thread looks normal, or is a straight line, not even meeting the top thread half way, and the top thread is making loops underneath the fabric, then the top tension is too loose. You may find tightening the top tension makes a difference.
If the top thread looks normal, or is a straight line, and the bottom thread is making loops through to the top, then the top thread is too tight. Loosening the tension at the top may make a difference.

There is another way to regulate the thread tension, and that is to tighten or loosen one of the screws on the bobbin case. However, if you are reading these beginners tips, I don’t recommend you play with that. It should already be set where it needs to be. Take you machine to be professionally tuned rather than start playing with the bobbin case.

I used to go to a place in Bondi Junction. Unfortunately, because less and less people are sewing these days, the store had to close down. Now after a bit of fluffing around, trying this place and that place, I take my domestic machines all the way to Chatswood. They really know what they are doing, and sort out my machines beautifully, which is a relief after the run around I’ve had with other machine centres closer to Bondi. They tell you exactly what needs to be done, and give you a clear choice of options. I was so happy to find them, that I am now recommending them.

Chatswood sewing centre.

If the thread isn’t picking up, then:

Check your needle.
Use appropriate needles for the fabric you sew. Ball point needles for stretch fabric, and sharper needles for other fabric. Sometimes your needle may be bent. If that’s the case, change it. Sometimes the needle may be blunt. You may not even be able to tell, but sometimes simply changing the needle can make a difference.

And if you are still really stuck after all that…take it to a professional!

Now Happy sewing! Go get creative!

Elisa

Creating accessories

Elisapeta Marigold — Sat, 17 May 2008 00:41:10 +0000

If you need help creating a headpiece, or broach, or any type of accessory, then why not enquire about lessons?

Use a well furnished workspace and guidance from an experienced costume maker with expertise in the area you are requiring.

Let us know if you are interested in attending a class that could be tailored to suit a personal project of yours.
Maybe you want to Make a sun hat, make a pattern and stitch it together!

Maybe you’d like to make a funky hand bag for a friend as a birthday present and would like some help in constructing it.

Agent costume will be able to show you some short cuts and tricks of the trade.

Let us know what kind of classes you are interested in attending and feel free to ask any relevant questions that come to mind.

Where do you live, and how far would you be willing to travel?

Home sewing is a dying art form. Let’s bring back the interest, and redevelop the talent!
Not only can it be extremely satisfying, it enables you the means to express your personal creativity, and the ability to produce the exact item of clothing, or costume that you want, for you and your family!

Agent Costume, Costume Hire, Custom Made Costumes, Fancy dress, Sydney, Australia » Tutorials

Super Beginner Sewing Tips

Creating accessories