Transcript
When you are learning about garment construction, this is the perfect time to sit back and learn as you go. There are SO many elements to sewing, you can never really stop learning! But when you are first starting, don’t overwhelm yourself. Think about what you need in the moment for the project that you’re working on. Here are just three concepts to keep in mind, and you can learn all of the individual techniques as you go.
First is stitches. When constructing a garment, you need a construction stitch, most commonly a straight stitch or a zigzag if you are working with knits—and a finishing stitch—to keep your seams from fraying. Your pattern’s instructions will tell you what to do, and the rest of the details come in between.
Next you want to think about pressing: remember to press versus iron. Again the pattern instructions will indicated when and how to press.
Finally, you will think of finishings for your garment, including hems, zippers, facings, and closures.
So those are three garment construction details to think about before you begin your first project. But I really want to emphasize that most of this class, and most of sewing is about keeping a certain mindset. When you’re starting to sew it’s just as important to think about what’s going on in your mind as it is to think about what’s going on with your machine. You want to stay curious, stay positive and you want to spend time thinking about your craft as you learn it. It’s supposed to be fun! You’re supposed to enjoy it! So be curious, research new techniques, look them up on the fly, or spend some of your free time reading sewing books and blogs - we have a ton of helpful tutorials here on our YouTube channel and at Seamwork.com.
There are a ton of different ways to approach this craft and none of us do it the same way. The only thing we do have in common is we’re all having fun, we’re all making clothes that we love to wear and that’s really what we wanted to show you in this class. So if you’d like to stick with us, we will take you through each step to make the Bo top. Again it’s one of my favorite Seamwork patters, it’s a really great first project if you’ve never sewn anything before, and if you have done a little bit of sewing it’s really, really satisfying because you could easily make a dozen of them over the weekend. I hope you found a lot of these tips helpful and that you’ll watch the rest of the class we us at seamwork.com. Happy Sewing!