Celebrating my first month of sewing.
Today is my one month anniver-SEW-ry!!! 4 weeks ago to the day, I went to my first ever sewing class and fell in love with sewing. I have barely stopped sewing ever since and I am loving every minute of it! I posted a quick message on Instagram to mark the occasion. Here’s to many more weeks, months and years of sewing to come. The sewing journey is well and truly underway and long may it continue.
My first attempt at a zipper pouch.
I finally completed the project I recently set myself: a zipper pouch. I opted to use some PVC coated cotton I recently purchased. It looks and feels as though it is relatively durable, which is exactly what is required from a zipper pouch. In order to make the zipper pouch, I followed a tutorial from ‘MADE Everyday’. This is the third tutorial from this vlogger that I have used, simply because they are really easy to follow and she has a range of projects that I am particularly interested in creating, which are suitable for beginners like myself.
This project enabled me to see that my sewing skills have really improved in a short space of time. I think this is predominantly because I am currently sewing almost every day (I have a lot of time on my hands at the moment). Plus, I make sure that each new project builds on a skill that I have previously learned, as well as teaching me a new skill.
The most challenging part of the project was working with PVC coated cotton. Sewing on the wrong side of the fabric did not pose any problems and I was able to install the zip without any issues. In hindsight, this was because the right side of the fabric was sandwiched between the silky cotton fabric I used for the lining, when I was sewing the wrong side. Had the right side of the PVC coated cotton been exposed to the feed dogs, I would have discovered the impending problem much sooner. Next, it was time to topstitch on the right side of the fabric.
I used the standard presser foot for this and immediately noticed that something was not right. The fabric would slowly go through the feed dogs then grind to an unexpected halt. I unpicked the stitches and started again but the same thing kept happening repeatedly. When I looked at the threads in the fabric I was attempting to sew, I could see that the stitches on the wrong side of the fabric were pulled up really tightly, compared to the stitches on the right side of the fabric, which were as normal. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that the tension needed adjusting. *Note to self – always check on the simplest of potential errors before rushing to fix presumed larger ones.* Thankfully, this thought came to mind before I started playing around with the tension of my sewing machine!
I tried increasing the length of the stitch, to no avail. I re-threaded the sewing machine and re-wound the bobbin but there was still no change. By this time, I was fed up and decided to pack away my project for the rest of the day. Overnight, I kept wracking my brain to try and work out where I was going wrong. The two changes I had made with this project compared to all of my previous projects was to use a different type of needle (I was sure that this was definitely not where the problem lay) and a different type of fabric.
The next morning, I woke up determined to find the solution to my sewing conundrum. I decided to Google “Working with PVC coated cotton,” to find out if anyone else had encountered similar problems to me when working with this particular type of fabric. If I could rule out the fabric as an issue, then the solution would most likely be to readjust the tension of the sewing machine, something that for me needed to be the very last resort. Lo and behold, there were blog posts galore about the difficulties of working with PVC coated cotton.
The most common suggestion was to purchase a Teflon presser foot, which would easily glide over the surface of the material without sticking to it. I went on to order one via ebay, but there would be a significant wait for it to arrive and I wanted to complete the project as soon as possible. The second suggestion was to cover a standard presser foot with scotch tape, in order to get a similar effect to the Teflon presser foot – I tried it but this technique did not consistently work for me.
Unsatisfied after another unsuccessful attempt at completing the project and with frustration quickly setting in, I stepped away from the sewing machine and gave myself the rest of the day to mull things over. I set about finding my own solution to the problem. After much thought and careful consideration (to document my thought processes would require another post, so I’ll spare you…this time) the next day, I set about my mission: to successfully complete a zipper pouch!
I thought it might be a good idea to cover the right side of the material in baking paper. YES, BAKING PAPER! I sewed my topstitch to the right side of the garment and through the baking paper. The fabric went over the feed dogs with ease and the stitches on both sides were even. Once I had finished the topstitch, I carefully ripped the baking paper away from the stitches.
This method worked perfectly every single time. The baking paper was strong enough to provide a barrier between the presser foot and the sticky PVC coated cotton, yet fragile enough to enable me to tear it away, leaving the stitches intact. Using this method enabled me to finish not one, but two zipper pouches within a few hours. SEWING TIP ALERT: having issues sewing oilcloth/PVC coated fabrics and you don’t have a Teflon presser foot or scotch tape? Using baking paper works like a dream.
Another con of working with PVC coated cotton is the fact that the remaining holes from unpicked stitches can be quite noticeable. I did make sure to press the wrong side of the fabric with a warm iron after unpicking seams, in order to help minimise the holes. However, this fabric can be unforgiving if constant mistakes are made. Of the 2 zipper pouches that I made, I kept one and gifted another to a relative in order to obtain some much needed feedback about the pouch’s usability and durability. My plan is to eventually start selling handmade items on Etsy – zipper pouches being a favourite of mine to make – so the more feedback I can get on my handmade items, the better.
I really enjoyed completing this project, particularly independently overcoming the difficulties with using my choice of fabric. I stretched and challenged myself just enough to learn some new skills without getting too disheartened when I reached a stumbling block. Over this next week, I plan to consolidate what I have learnt so far by making more of the same items that I have completed over the past 3 weeks. My next challenge is to sew my first ever garment, so I will need to practice the basics as much as possible beforehand. For now, I will leave you with some photos of my finished zipper pouch. Until next time, happy sewing!
Thoughts from a new sewist.
I’m very new to the sewing community and to say that I’m a very keen sewist is an understatement. The most frustrating thing for me at present is this: my skills do not match my creativity. Sound familiar? This can make me feel downhearted, particularly as there are so many wonderful projects I would love to attempt. Even the simplest projects get me flustered and take much longer than I anticipate. I am happy to report that I am making progress and in each project I am challenging myself in a variety of ways, whether it’s learning a new skill, or using a more challenging type of fabric. As I come to the end of my third week of sewing, I want to share some of the most significant things that I have learnt on my sewing journey thus far.
1) There’s a lot of getting it wrong before you get it right:
Make friends with your seam ripper. Seriously!! Be prepared to feel frustrated, mildly annoyed, and even to shed tears and want to give up. Not wanting to finish a project for a few days (or even longer) because you’re struggling with hemming/interfacing and you can’t face unpicking ANOTHER seam is completely normal. Having lots of these moments when you first start out is a given. The quicker that you embrace the fact that making mistakes are inevitable, the better that you will get at rectifying them and independently finding solutions to your problems. This helps to improve your sewing skills.
2) A sewing room is the dream. The dining room table is the reality:
My fiance and I live in a 2 bedroom, mezzanine flat. The small living room where our dining table lives is now bursting at the seams with sewing-related items, as well as everything else we’ve managed to fit into it (musical instruments, coffee table, bookcases, sofas etc). The dining table, which often turns into an office desk, or a place to collect regularly used items that never get put away, has most recently turned into a sewing table. It’s where my sewing machine, overlocker, material and various sewing tools live. Navigating the living room is a challenge at the best of times, but its a space that helps with my creativity. When you first start out sewing there’s not always an ideal space. What matters is that you find any space you can in order to get going with your sewing. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to work for you.
NB: Try to keep your sewing space as tidy as possible, especially if it’s not very spacious. After every sewing session, I tidy up all of my off-cuttings, scraps, etc and leave the space presentable for the next time. There’s nothing more depressing/off-putting than returning to a project and there’s mess everywhere.
3) You are NOT alone:
It seems as though everyone else in the sewing community is an experienced dressmaker/sewist and you are the only one struggling to improve. This just isn’t true and even the most experienced dressmaker/sewist will have times when they feel as though they just can’t seem to get it right. There is no project that is perfect the first time around – there are always things that you wish you could have executed much better, additions/alterations you want to make in the future, lessons to be learned, unpicking to be done!
I must admit that I have struggled to find established blogs of sewists that have just started out, but there are a few out there and when I read about their experiences I immediately feel a sense of relief and camaraderie. I then start to have much more positive thoughts about my sewing journey, such as: “That happens to them too!” “So it’s normal to feel this way.” “I’m not the only one who thinks a project will take 2 days and it lasts 2 weeks.”
Starting from scratch is never easy, but it’s important to remember that you are not alone with those feelings. That’s exactly why I started blogging. If one person in a similar position reads just one of my posts and feels encouraged to continue their own sewing journey, despite the trials and pitfalls encountered at first, then all of my efforts have been worth it.
4) Things do get better:
After 3 weeks of sewing I am amazed at how much of the terminology I now understand. I know the basics of a sewing machine, having never owned or used a sewing machine previously. I can make 5 different items reasonably well. I know the basics of using an overlocker. I even created a pattern for a tie because I wanted to make one but did not have a pattern to use. Most importantly, I have the desire to continue pushing myself and improving my skills – next up, making garments. Definitely not what I expected myself to be thinking of sewing after only 3 weeks. All of these mini victories are proof that things do get better and much easier with time. Just keep at it.
5) There’s an entire community out there:
There is an established sewing community that is welcoming, supportive and extremely helpful. Find ‘sewcial’ events that you can get involved in, or join the online community. There is help and advice available from a variety of sources. Make sure that you use them. I am just starting to get more involved in the sewing community. It’s a bit daunting and I really need to give myself a push but I’m willing to step outside of my comfort zone, in order to improve my skills and make some new friends along the way.
I really hope that this post gives encouragement to another newbie. I intend to read it back to myself whenever I feel discouraged or disheartened by my sewing abilities. I hope that one day I can look back at this post and appreciate how far I have progressed. For now, it’s back to re-starting my latest project – zipper pouches. Now THAT experience is a story and a half. I’ll save that for my next post. Until then, happy sewing!
My first attempt at making a tie.
With the pillowcases safely put to bed, I commenced my next project – a tie. I followed a tutorial from the same vlog where I found the pillowcase tutorial, ‘MADE Everyday’. The tutorial was easy to follow, however this was a bit of a trickier project from the outset because I did not have a pattern for a tie. I had to ask my fiancé for a tie he no longer liked and then proceeded to cut it apart. It was a win-win situation: I got to use the tie as a makeshift template and he got a much nicer, handmade tie as a replacement.
Using the tie as a template (bearing in mind that I had deconstructed a previously made tie, therefore would need to add point to the fabric, make the shape much neater, allow for seam allowances, etc) I proceeded to cut out the fabric I needed. I then pinned the fabric I had cut to the lining and used it to get an exact copy of the shapes for the front and back of the tie.
One of the hardest parts (aside from the faff of cutting out the shapes for the tie without the use of a pattern, coupled with my shoddy cutting skills) was pinning together the front and back of the tie and sewing them together, in order to make one long, continuous length of fabric. There was a 1/4″ seam allowance and I had to get the edges together perfectly. Needless to say, unpicked my first try!
I carefully followed the instructions of the tutorial and was very happy with the finished results. Unfortunately, I made the loop on the tie too small, so it could not be used to hold the back of the tie in place. Lucky for me, my fiancé informed me that he does not bother to use the loops anyway (RESULT). I had also placed the loop too far up the tie, which meant that had it been big enough to use, it would have been impossible to do so. Shortly after taking the photograph, I cut the loop off – problem solved!
Happy with the overall result from the first tie, I made a second tie (it turned into a skinny tie but mainly due to me making a mistake and refusing to unpick the entire length of the tie). Much like during the pillowcase project, my mistakes came thick and fast when I started making the second tie. I tried to complete the project with minimal assistance from the video (will I ever learn?!) and soon my best friend came out once again (the seam unpicker). Sigh….I HAVE learned my lesson since and I will follow tutorials, instructions and guidance relentlessly until they are firmly ingrained in my mind. Only then shall I try to sew from memory. I am blessed with the ability to somehow rectify any mistakes I make, regardless of how catastrophic, and still end up with a project that I can be proud of. I hope that this gift follows me throughout my sewing career. It is one that I am very happy to have.
The second tie turned out great and is a skinny tie to add to my fiancé’s collection. The first tie certainly got his seal of approval, as he proudly wore it to work at the beginning of this week. What a sweetheart! He made me a very happy lady that day. I must say that the other difficulty I had with the tie was turning it right-side out once completed. On the tutorial, the vlogger successfully attaches a safety pin to one end of the tie, turns the fabric on itself and pushes/threads the fabric and safety pin along the entire length of the tie.
I tried that method and failed miserably. I was also concerned about potentially ruining the fabric by using this method, so opted for a long-winded method that was much more time-consuming but worked for me. Horses for courses – I got the job done in the end. I would use this tutorial again to make other ties, which I intend to do very soon as my mum has requested one as a birthday gift for a relative. Another project all tied up. Next on my to do list is a zipper pouch.
My first attempt at making bedding.
Pillowcases were my next project, after finally completing the two aprons – my labour of love. I am planning to give my mum a collection of my sewing achievements as part of her Mothers’ Day present on 26th March. She is so thrilled that I have finally decided to take up sewing and is eager to see some of my projects, so I’m making an extra special effort to complete a few simple projects that I can do to the best of my abilities and make some special gifts for the special lady in my life.
So far, my mum can expect 1 cushion and 1 apron. Now there are 2 pillowcases that have been added to the collection. Making the pillowcases was the first time that I independently found a project to create, that I hadn’t already completed in a sewing class. I looked for a simple and easy to follow tutorial on YouTube and stumbled across the vlog, ‘MADE Everyday’.
Overall, the tutorial was very easy to follow and this vlogger is really upbeat and encouraging, without sounding patronising or condescending. There were times in the video when I had to rewind and go over steps that I was unsure of, however, I was able to create not 1 but 2 pillowcases in the space of an hour. The instructions were clear and the vlogger sews the pillowcases during the video, which was helpful for me to watch her technique and attempt to emulate it. The pillowcases that are created in the video do not have the inside, overlapping fabric that covers the end of the pillow. Following the tutorial to a ‘T’ will leave you with a very basic pillow covering, which is great if that’s the look that you are going for.
I, however, wanted a pillowcase in the true sense. This meant me scrutinising one of my own pillowcases to ascertain exactly how it had been sewn together, then making a few adjustments to my project, in order to create the overlapping fabric to cover the end of the pillow. It was a very simple alteration and the result was very effective. The amount of fabric used leaves more than enough room for slightly larger/bulkier pillows. Less fabric can be used than is recommended in the tutorial, in order to give a snug fit to a standard sized pillow. I liked how the pillows looked with the use of slightly more fabric, so I would keep to the same amount of fabric the next time that I make pillowcases.
For such a simple project, I made quite a few mistakes, but this is simply down to my status as sewing newbie. I am still perfecting all of the ‘easy’ skills that intermediate and advanced sewists take for granted. Another problem of mine is following instructions to a ‘T.’ My biggest problems came when making the second pillowcase. I thought that I knew all of the steps and could easily recall what should happen next, therefore I tried to make the pillowcase without the aid of the video…..EPIC FAIL!!
My brain was still getting to grips with all of the skills required to make this new project, so adding on the additional chore of memorising each step AND trying to get each step done as perfectly as I could led to many mistakes and the inevitable use of my best friend (the seam unpicker). Note to self – go easy with the seam unpicker, otherwise it leads to rips/tears in the fabric where rips/tears are not welcome.
THANKFULLY, the small tear occurred on the inside of the overlapping fabric that covers the end of the pillow, so I did a quick patch job to ensure that it didn’t turn into a major issue. I let my mum know about my slight error and she was very understanding, reassuring me that it didn’t matter and that she would be happy to accept ANYTHING that I made (oh, a mother’s love). I really enjoyed making these pillowcases and will make more in the future.
An upgraded sewing kit for my continuing sewing journey.
My sewing kit is no longer as basic as it was almost 3 weeks ago. I now have a growing collection of sewing accessories, as you can see:
I acquired a sewing box to house my accessories. My newest addition is an A2 self-healing cutting board and a rotary cutter. My cutting skills leave a lot to be desired (I am slowly improving) however the rotary cutter will enable me to cut fabric in a much more precise manner. This will be particularly important as my projects become more complex and also for when I start to make garments.
The cutting board will protect my dining room table, which also doubles as my sewing station. I’ve always been the kind of person who needs to know the use of an item before it is purchased. I suppose that I could have immediately bought all of these items at the very beginning, however I have preferred to collect them as and when I need them. This has helped me to understand the use of each item in my sewing kit and its importance for different projects that I have completed so far.
I’m starting to feel like a proper sewist…or at least as though I have the right equipment to become one. I regularly use all of the items in my sewing box, a fact that I am really pleased about because it feels as though it is money well spent. With any new interest there will be an initial cost and because I have started from scratch, everything I required at a particular point in time needed to be purchased.
I am relieved that I am now reaching the point where I will not have to make any more essential purchases to my kit. The last remaining items on my list are a French Curve ruler and pattern weights (I’ve got my eye on some particularly cute pattern weights from Oh Sew Quaint). It’s been an expensive few weeks getting started with sewing, but it has been well worth it. Long may the passion continue to grow and the skills flourish.
A collage of my sewing projects in 2017
This is the start of my third week of sewing. So far, I’ve made 3 aprons, 2 cushions, 2 pillowcases and 2 ties. More in the pipeline!
SEWING 4 SELF CARE 