How to Sew

Although humans have been able to sew since the Paleolithic era ^{[1] X Research Source,} it seems that learning to use a needle without instruction is still a daunting task for many people. It’s hard to cover such a large topic in one post, so the instructions below are aimed at the complete novice who wants to do some hand stitching.

Table of Contents

Introduction

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Iron or pre-wash the fabric. If the fabric is prone to wrinkles, you’ll be glad you did. Please perform this step carefully before sewing, the cloth needs to be completely dry.

Follow the instructions for washing the cloth. Whether machine wash, hand wash, or air dry, you must follow the instructions.
If you put the cloth in the dryer and it creases a little, use the cloth to make sewing easier.

Thread thread. Take the thread as long as possible. Cut a piece of thread twice as long as you really need. Hold one end with just your thumb and index finger, thread it through the eye of the needle. Then, pull the needle to the midpoint of the thread. Knot both ends of the thread.

Cutting the thread with sharp scissors and wetting the end of the thread will make it easier for the thread to pass through the eye of the needle. If you can’t, the thread is probably too big or the needle is too small.

Sew the First Straight Line

Pierce the needle through the wrong side of the fabric. That is, insert the needle from the side of the fabric that we can’t see. Pull the needle out with the thread (you may need a little more force to do this), up to the knotted part. If the knot is pulled through the fabric, tie a larger knot.

The reason you start with the wrong side is so that the knot is not on the right side of the fabric or garment (the texture is visible).
If the knot goes through the fabric, there are several causes, which are:
- You need a bigger knot
- Your needle may be too large, creating a hole in the fabric as large or larger than the knot that causes the knot to go through the fabric.
- Maybe you pulled the thread so hard that the knot went through the fabric

Pierce the needle through the right side of the cloth. Then, poke the needle through the reverse side near where you originally stitched. Pull the entire thread through until you feel a stretch. You just stitched the first stitch on the right side! Congratulation! It looks like a dash, doesn’t it?

The stitch is just tight enough to lie flat on the fabric, but don’t be too tight as this will cause the fabric to wrinkle.

Repeat the two steps just done. Always insert the needle to the wrong side of the fabric near the stitched point. Pull the thread out and this is your second stitch. Continue stitching, making sure the stitches are even.

Usually, the stitches will be in a straight line, like using a computer to type letters like this:
– – – – – –
- Stitches with wide breaks between each stitch are called comb stitches. This is often used to hold pieces of fabric together or to join fabrics.

Finish by inserting the needle through the right side of the fabric. You have completed! The needle and thread will be on the wrong side, you’ll end up with another knot. Tie the knot very close to the fabric or the stitches will move and loosen.

Also, there is another way. You can insert the needle to the right side but loosen it to make a loop on the reverse side only. Next, pierce the needle to the wrong side again, close to the stitch you just sewed. Pull tight so that no loops remain on that side but keep the original thread loops intact. Thread the needle through the loop and tie the knot. The loop is used to hold the thread above the fabric. Thread the needle through the loop only twice to be sure.

Set of Other Stitches

Practice good stitches. Comb stitching as described above is a good way to start. However, the longer the stitch, the easier it is to tear and expose the thread.

Comb stitch with long stitches – stronger stitches are medium or short in length. When inserting the needle from the right side to the left side of the fabric, the next stitch should be as close to the previous stitch as possible.

Zig-zag stitch. This is a forward and reverse stitch and is used when a straight stitch is not appropriate, such as a buttonhole or stitching on stretch fabric. This is also used when side stitching two pieces of fabric together temporarily. Stitches that look like a zigzag (hence the name) can be long, medium, or short.

The sink stitch is a variation of the zigzag stitch. This style is also known as “hidden nose stitch”. Similar to a zigzag but this stitch also features regular straight stitches. This stitch is used to create a hidden border; it’s a full stitch because the new zig-zag stitch is focused only on the right side of the fabric. The fewer stitches, the less visible the stitches are. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Sew two pieces of fabric together. In this technique, place two pieces of fabric so that the left side is facing each other (the right side is in the same direction). Straighten the edges of the fabric that you want to join together. Sew a line along the edge of the fabric.

After the stitching is done, open the two pieces of fabric. They will be joined together by the stitch you just made, but the thread will be exposed. So the better way is to hide the nose.

Patch. Patching a tear is not too difficult. You just need to pinch the edges of the tear together on the inside (the reverse side of the cloth). Sew the edges together into a line. Use a short stitch pattern (no space between stitches) to avoid openings.

Advice

Use wet mouth only to easily penetrate the needle hole.
If you are new to sewing, you should use thread that is close to the color of the fabric, not the same color of the fabric so that you can see the stitching and remove the thread if necessary.
Try to choose a color that matches only the fabric color so that if you make a mistake it will be harder to see.

Warning

Accidents can happen. Use a hand guard if you don’t want to be pricked by a needle!

Things you need

Needle
Drag
Knotted needle and pin pillow
Hand guard
Only
Fabric

Steps