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10 Sewing Mistakes Beginners Make

coolirpa

1,403,734 views

Whether you're new to sewing or not, I hope these tips can help you have a better learning experience! Don't forget to like and subscribe for more tips and tricks in the future :)

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20 Comments

@Elkycreates 4 years ago

Mistake #11: Not checking which way your one-way stretch fabric stretches before laying out and cutting your garment pieces.
You want to make sure the fabric stretches around your body not the length of your body. This was a costly mistake I made once.

@soffialv2209 4 years ago

I use to have a "teacher" (she wasn't, she barely knew a bit more than I did) that always said true seamstresses NEVER use pins, then I went visiting my grandma who has +50 years of experience as a seamstress and told me to always pin everything... I love seeing this advise other places bc validates her every time ❤️

@lockheart619 4 years ago

If you're a beginner sewer don't be discouraged! Sewing is something you never stop learning. As someone who has been sewing for a good amount of years I still make mistakes.

@RedKombiSafaris 1 year ago

I didn't use to iron before I sewed my hems but I bought a cheap hair straightener to function only as a sewing "iron". Way faster and perfect for hems, straps and tubes. It makes such a difference to the quality of my sewing and I can still be lazy with most of my projects

@phyllismay4384 4 years ago

Tip #12 always wash and dry your fabric before cutting and sewing. If not...your garment could shrink after it is made. Not good at all. I've been sewing for 46 years and I have always washed my fabric in the manner that I will be washing my finished garment.

@lrs7838 1 year ago

As a complete beginner and non native English speaker—I’m 2 minutes in and completely lost because of all the sewing vocabulary I don’t know how to place in context yet lol

@davemeade4371 2 years ago

I learned so many things from a jail tailor shop over 14 months. Not only to run sergers with foot to the floor with accuracy and speed attaching t-shirt arms or track pants, jumpers, "dollies"..
And the staff were incredible.
One of the women spent probably a month hand sewing a giant wedding dress, apparently she made alot of period costumes for those medieval cosplay events people like to put on.
I soaked up everything i could from them with what limited things were made, but they were extemely supportive. One of them openly was "my jail mom".. because i never really had parenting i learned.. . But this woman showed me genuine care, maybe even love.
She even made the point to give me a singer sewing machine when i got out, and tickets to the first concert i ever got to attend. As an audiophile, at 23. Got to see Heart.
Thanks for refreshers and memory reminders, ive hardly touched sewing since i got out.. and past couple weeks it's been very healing for the rough last couple years its been.

@emmalinalion4776 4 years ago

I've been convinced my sewing machine is broken for ages because it's been skipping stitches. Now I'm going to go and double check my needle and thread sizes! This is a great video 😊

@ering1107 2 years ago

You mean #1- forgetting to put the foot down. The mistake you only make once.

@kathrynmarentette7120 4 years ago

I’m mostly self-taught so even after years of sewing, I often find beginner-level holes in my knowledge. These videos are often so helpful. 💛
Also, I have an ironing mat similar to yours. It’s a life saver in my tiny apartment!!

@zoe.r.4544 3 years ago

I'm a beginner sewer and I think the most frustrating thing that happens to me is when the thread in the bobbin runs out mid sew. Then I have to unstitch and resew an often times large section

@NoTengoIdeaGuey 1 year ago

One other tip I'd add is "don't let the first time you make a specific project (especially one that stretches your current abilities) be the time you expect to make the final finished piece".

Recently ive started trying to make a version of the project I'm planning but with shitty old scraps rather than the nicer fabric I bought for the project. I might do it once or twice just to wrap my head around the steps and possible pitfalls without fear of ruining the project entirely. Its extremely freeing and also you learn alot. Not only do you get to see alot the possible blunders you could make but you also get a chance to see where you could be more efficient or cut corners.

@MS-ne6ld 4 years ago

I think one of the main mistakes I made was thinking that "sewing" means spending time at the sewing machine xD once you understand that making notches, pinning in place (or even basting) and pressing are all part of the process, you can realistically estimate what time each garment would take.

@m0rethanahandful 4 years ago

i’m an somewhat experienced sewist, but it never hurts to brush up on some skills. thanks april!!

@daneekaplan4284 4 years ago

I see SOOOO many YouTubers pulling the fabric through the machine. Your room looks great! watching YouTube taught me that I definilty rush through my projects. Watching people like you and Bernadette Banner and Cathy Hay take so much time- and care- to cut and sewing either by hand or by machine slowly was an eye-opening experience. I always go full throttle then get mad because it isn’t even or straight.

@mightyfetheredone 4 years ago

If you swipe a marker over the engravings of the machine needle & quickly wipe off the excess, the ink will stay in there & you can now see the size info.

@Virtual-Playground 2 years ago

"what the heck is a grain line??" * Me realizing how much I gotta learn 😅*

@evilempryss 4 years ago

When I open a pack of needles that aren't just universals, I dab some nail polish across the shanks while they're in the case so it colors both, making it super easy to not only remember which one it was, but to put it back if I only use it briefly

@carriestephenson3102 4 years ago

This video is excellent!! Thank you April!

Working for a fabric store, when people come back in and I ask how their last clothing project went, the most common mistake I see is not cutting with grainline and it causes SO many people to quit making clothes because of the ill-fitting nature of those clothes.
The second most common is armhole and neckline fitting, which is due to not making notches or marking where the pieces are intended to come together.

@xchasingthefallx 4 years ago

The best way I got better at sewing is slowing down my machine so I could actually keep my stitches straight at a pace I'm comfortable with. Some machines are already set to a pretty fast speed that is more for experienced sewers. So if you search up how to slow down the speed of your specific machine (you will have to use a few tools but it's nothing too hard), it helps so much!