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to walk you through the actual sewing process.) You may want to keep this garment and once you've gained more sewing experience, it will allow you to see how much you have improved, or you may simply want to donate it to a local charity. |
Pressing Matters: A word about steam irons |
As we've seen during the construction process, proper pressing is very important, which means that having a steam good iron is vital. Make sure that you have a good iron that has the ability to create lots of steam and will last. Many irons today have an auto off feature, which is a great safety feature, but not so great when you're in the middle of sewing a project and need to press seams, so it might be wise to look for a good steam iron that has the ability to override the auto off feature. It is also important to make sure that the iron sole plate is cleaned regularly. There are different products on the market that will help keep your iron's sole plate clean. I'm not sure where I read this tip for cleaning the iron's soleplate, but I've started doing this and it works for me. Run a hot iron over a dryer sheet. |
Sewseamless |
Common Beginner Mistakes |
Using short snips with the tips of the scissors when cutting out the pattern. *When cutting out the pattern, always use long strokes with the scissors. Not cutting out the notches on the patterns. *Notches are important because they indicate where the pattern pieces are to be matched. When sewing, many beginners watch the needle instead of the edge of the fabric. This prevents them from sewing in a straight line. *Watch the edge of the fabric, not the needle. If you watch the needle, you will not be able to sew a straight seam. Watch the edge of the fabric and keep it at the 5/8 inch mark on the bed of your sewing machine to ensure sewing a straight seam. Sewing over pins. * Never sew over pins because this will weaken the seam, and you may risk breaking the machine needle. Trying to sew too fast! *Slow down! Not pinning enough. * When pinning the fabric pattern pieces together, beginners might need to use more pins to help prevent the fabric from shifting when sewing. |