10 Ways to Begin Sewing

For the next few weeks I have to decided to post some "Top 10" lists. I've been feeling a bit dry lately with my posts and haven't had much inspiration. So I decided to just share with you all what I've been so busy with. These top 10 lists will be about just about everything ;) Hope you enjoy! I'm having fun with this.

Okay today's topic is one that is near and dear to my heart: Sewing.

My Mom taught me how to sew when I was younger but I didn't ever do much with it and sadly I don't remember a thing. But this past year a spark has been lit and I am dieing to try my hand at it once again!

My mom gave me her almost brand new singer {okay technically she let me borrow it} but it was missing the cord :( I finally got around to ordering one and I am excited to have a go at it! My Mom was going to show me how to sew before we realized the cord was missing and we live very far apart. So until I see her again I am figuring it out on my own!

During this learning process I have come across some great sites and tips to help someone begin to sew. That's what this "Top 10" list is all about.

10 Ways to begin to learn how to Sew

1. Take.A.Class. This is by far the best way to learn {for most people}.

If you bought your sewing machine at an actual sewing machine store they often provide a free lesson or two with your purchase. If you didn't buy it there you should still check with your local store to see if they have lessons.

My personal favorite is that if you have a Jo-Ann's craft store near you {We have them everywhere in California!} or a similar craft store they often do beginning and advanced sewing lessons. Our local Jo-Ann's offers beginning sewing lessons for $35! This is a great option if you don't even know how to turn on your machine..like me.

{Jo-Ann's has a ton of great PDF Patterns for download for free. Like this one. Beginner level 1. Download HERE}

2. Ask Around. This is especially helpful to do at church. You never know how loves to sew and would love to show you. Spread the word that you want to learn. In fact this would be a great way to get a sewing group together! Find some other ladies who would love to learn as well and then scout out a teacher! Or all go together to a Jo-Ann's!

3. Ruffles and Stuff. Okay this is one talented lady! Unfortunately she has decided her life is too busy right now and has taken a break from blogging. But she has been so kind and decided to leave her blog up so we could all get to her tutorials still :) But I need to copy them all down soon or they may disappear.

She did a series on beginning to sew. And it.is.wonderful! She has called her series Sew Basic!

This is exactly what I needed! I don't know a thing and her blog spells it out perfectly. She gives detailed photos of everything from what supplies you'll likely need {scissors, cutting mat, rotary cutter, etc}, to how to pick the right fabric for the project, how to thread your machine, and so much more!

This is a great place to start if you are not familiar with sewing at all. She also has many great tutorials on  how to sew more advanced things!

4. Pick Some Creativity. Okay here is another great blogger doing a series on beginning sewing. Her series is called Sewing 101 and she has pulled many guests to do posts on how to begin and how to do more advanced things.

She also covers things such as tools you will need, fabric choices and goes into detail on more things. My Advice? Go through Sew Basic! first and then head over to Sewing 101 and check it our for even more sewing goodness!! And it looks like more tutorials in this series will be added every month! How great!

5. About.com. I'm not usually a fan of About.com. It seems so hard to find anything and let's face it. It doesn't look very attractive and they don't have enough picture for my taste. BUT they have some great tips on how to start sewing such as sewing term definitions, tips on shopping for a new machine, and sewing machine care. This place has got a lot of great tips on the mechanics of your machine. Go HERE to get to About.com's Sewing 101 page. And if you go to their main sewing page {sewing.about.com} they have a lot of other fun ideas, tips, and patterns including a project index that allows you to search patterns by your skill level.

6. Books. There are a ton of great sewing books. Just go to Barnes and Noble and you will find dozens. My favorite are the beginning one's that have patterns in the back of the book. That way you can read how to do it and do the same movements as you read.


But how do you find a good sewing book? I will recommend a few I have heard are good {though I haven't actually tried any of them} but a GREAT way to judge a book is to read the reviews of the books. Read a bunch of reviews and try to read them from a beginners standpoint.

One book I have heard great things about is Bend the Rules Sewing.  Click on the link on the right to check it out on Amazon. One thing I have heard is that it is great for beginners but a little touch for those who "have never touched a sewing machine before". So you may want to get familiar with your machine before picking this one up.


7. YouTube.com. Yep, Youtube. When I was learning to crochet Youtube was my best friend!  Looking at pictures to do a tutorial is great! But it doesn't beat actually seeing how it's done. There are many great women who have channels on YouTube that do sewing lessons all the time.
Her Channel seems neat and includes a lot of more advanced techniques and tutorials
Go HERE to check her out. {I have not screened this and only watched a few of her clips. I would screen this before watching with anyone else.
And want to figure out how to do something fancy like sew on a zipper? Simple type "how to sew Zippers" in Youtube and see what you come up with ;)

8. startsewing.co.uk. This is yet again another great Internet site. I realize most of these are online resources but hey what can I say? I'm a blogger!
Start Sewing also has a lot of videos on how to get going with sewing and also info on machines, fabric, and so much more! Go explore their site today HERE. {This site is packed full of too much info to share..just go to their link to see for yourself ;)}

9. Crafts and Fabric Link Free Sewing Lesson Book. Another great free resource for you to use! This will go great to compliment the videos and online resources you have found. And it even covers things like button holes and zippers. Go HERE to check out their free lessons!

10. SewingSupport.com. They also offer free online lessons and are jam packed with great information! Go HERE to get to their Beginning Sewing Lessons page.

While your there don't forget to check out all the other great things they have to offer. You could literally spend hours browsing through their resources!

I hope this helped! Let me know what your favorite one is and any other great resources you have found! Happy Sewing :)