Sewing Basics

Parts of a sewing machine: working with your machine

Ensure that when performing the steps below the pressure foot is lifted up using the presser foot lifter. It does not necessarily matter if the power switch is set to on or not when performing these steps.

  1. Place your thread into the spool pin on the top right of the machine, make sure that the spool pin is all the way up. The spool pin exists to hold your upper thread (lower thread will be in the bobbin case).
  2. Take the end of the thread and follow the thread guides to guide the thread through the machine (there will be arrows).
  3. At some point, you will hit the thread take-up that your machine will rest around -- this is a metal piece that goes up and down when you move the balance wheel or when you sew. it allows the needle to move.
  4. You are then going to take the thread through the thread guide and then have it go into the needle
  5. Take your filled bobbin (I will put instructions later on how to fill the bobbin) and put it into the bobbin case
  6. Use the balance wheel and turn it toward you (never the other way -- will have to look up why) -- this should pull up some thread
  7. Once you see thread come through from the bobbin case through to the throat plate, you will push it to the side with the one that is through the needle and you will be able to start sewing.

    8. Other parts of the sewing machine

    • Feed dogs: These are the metal teeth (think Jaws) that come up through the throat plate that pulls the fabric forward in-between stitches.
    • Upper tension regulator: Present on the lefthand side as a wheel/dial (you may also see this near one of the thread guides -- yes, there are several). This should not be a first step if you have tension issues, but barring other actions taken, you can change the tension on the upper tension regulator to a lower number if upper thread too tight ot to a higher number if upper thread too loose.
    • Stitch width regulator: This can be useful for things like zigzag stitch as it determines how far to the left and right the needle will go when sewing It will be a wheel to the left of the stitch length regulator. On the wheel, there may be pictures with the different stitch types to turn the wheel to.
    • Stitch length regulator: This is a dial that is normally to the right of the stitch width regulator (but varies by machine). It helps for changing stitch length for things like basting, topstitching, edgestitching (for a more complete list, see here)
    • Presser foot: Helps keep the fabric down.

    Later, I will talk about using the bobbin winder to wind up the bottom to ready it for the bobbin case. This will be the basis of your lower thread.

    Similarities between wovens and knits

    Wovens and knits both have crosswise, lengthwise, and bias grains.

    Wovens are spun in a kind of criss-cross fashion off the loom; while, knits can sometimes be spun in a circular fashion (which can cause an issue of being off grain -- important to note, wovens can be offgrain, too, especially cheap ones).


    Grains

    Crosswise = perpendicular to the selvage.

    Lengthwise = parallel to the selvage.

    Bias = 45 degrees to the selvage.

    (Not a grain, but important to know) Selvage: Woven fabric edges (on both sides). May be different color, texture, have writing on it.


    What is the difference between wovens and knits?


    Wovens:

    Wovens experience less stretch overall than knits which makes them easier to work with for beginners than knits (generally, though some wovens are more fussy/less forgiving than others -- looking at you canvas).


    Crosswise will have a slight stretch for wovens, lengthwise will have no stretch, and bias will have the most stretch. Bias cut garments may need special handling such as being left to hang for 24 hours (in the case of skirt cuts). Bias cut garments are great for courture areas (think covering cord to create piping).


    Knits:

    • Have more stretch overall though amount of stretch varies in different grain lines.
    Recommended to test knit stretch ability of the fabric and also read carefully your pattern envelope when handling/working with this.


    Bias

    Garments cut on the bias will:

    • Appear softer
    • Appear more fluid
    • Have more stretch
    • Be more supple
    • Appear thinner than lengthwise/crosswise ones.
    • Need more fabric than straight grain ones.
    • Need to be cut one layer at a time (instead of folding) to prevent distortion.
      • Recommended to lay patterns out at right angles from each other (slant them).


    Did you know?

    The lengthwise grain is stronger than the crosswise grain. This is because:

    • The lengthwise threads are the first threads connected to the loom. These will be stretched across (hence parallel as listed before) and secured firmly at each end which gives it more stability.
    • There will be threads woven through them. These threads will be the crosswise threads which helps to make it stronger.
    • There are also more lengthwise threads than crosswise threads per sq in.

    Vocabulary:
    • Warp = Lengthwise
    • Weft = Crosswise 

    So, you want to learn to pin?

    Follow these tips for pinning:

    • Attaching pattern to fabric: pin parallel to the pattern to prevent damaging scissors/rotary cutter when cutting the fabric.
    • Sewing a seam: pin perpendicular to seamline with pins going to the left to remove the pins easily.
    • Keep pins from coming out of fabric: leave pin point in between layers or on the opposite end ends weaving in and out.

    Straightening Fabric

    As mentioned earlier, low-quality woven fabric can be offgrain. If it is offgrain, it means that both grains (the crosswise grain that runs perpendicular to the selvage and the lengthwise grain that runs parallel to the selvage) are not perpendicular to each other. This can lead to the garment looking offskew or being twisted, not fitting together correctly, and/or not hanging properly.

    Some tips to ensure that the lengthwise and crosswise threads are at right angles and on-grain are:

    • Straighten one of the cut ends.
    • If there is a design line (such as plaids or stripes), cut along the design to help line up
    • If no design line exists, the trick will be to pull at a crosswise grain (remember these are the threads that are perpendicular to the selvage and the lengthwise grain/warp). To do so:
      1. Snip into the selvage
      2. Grab a crosswise thread
      3. Pull the thread. (Loose fabrics can pull out; Tightly woven = pull every few inches so it puckers and push)
      4. Cut fabric along the pulled thread.
      5. Fold fabric lengthwise (along selvages -- with selvages touching)

    The still offgrain grain

    If woven still is a bit offgrain, pin together selvages and cut one edge (placing pins every few inches). You will need to steam press starting at selvages and push fabric to the fold. If fully offgrain, pull fabric on bias in direction that straightening needed until edges even and all corners are right angles. This will need to be repeated throughou the fabric.

    Okay...blah,blah,blah, can I sew already?

    Not quite, my very eager friend. You still have to make sure you preshrunk your fabric. This is because when you first wash the fabric, it may shrink. You would much prefer your fabric to shrink before you have sew with it, so that you can ensure it fits how you would want it to (or maybe you don't. I don't know you.). These fabrics can also run the risk of bleeding excess dyes or may have stiffeners on there. Washing them will remove the excess dye and also make it softer and easier to work with. One time, I skipped the prewash because life is too short, and wouldn't you know it dye was on the hands (or I just got a questionable piece of fabric. Who knows?).