Beginner Sewing

Most modern sewing machines come with the option for sewing a one step buttonhole. This means the machine will create the right sized buttonhole for your button in, you guessed it, one step. In this tutorial we'll show you step by step how to sew it. Continue reading →

Nothing excites me as much as the ever increasing number of people who want to start sewing and dressmaking. Thanks to a thriving online sewing community, craft and sewing focused TV programmes and a wider understanding of how these activities can benefit your mental health and general wellbeing more and more people are getting the bug. Ok, you're sold, but just how do you start sewing? Continue reading →

You've decided you'd like to start sewing (yippee!) but what sewing tools do you need? Like any new hobby you want to have the necessary equipment to make it easy and enjoyable, but you don't want to spend a fortune in case it doesn't work out (trust us, it will!) Here's our no nonsense guide to getting that balance juuuuust right. Continue reading →

Put simply choosing the right dressmaking fabric can make or break your sewing project. A number of customers have told us they struggle with this aspect of dressmaking so we've written this guide to help you along the way. Fabric shopping should be nothing but a purely joyful experience after all! Plus we want you to reap the rewards of the time and money you invest in every project. Continue reading →

Having covered hand sewn hem techniques and hem finishes on an overlockerin previous articles, it's time to talk machine stitched hems. Whilst it could be argued a hand stitched hem is always preferable there is definitely a time and a place for machine stitching. Not only is it quicker (in most cases) it is also easier to achieve professional results for some fabric and hem types. For example it is much easier to achieve a flat hem when creating a narrow hem on a sewing machine than by hand. Hand stitching stretch fabrics can be tricky and if you don't have an overlocker or cover stitch machine a machine stitched hem with a twin needle is a great option for a professional finish. Plus there are now some fab sewing machine feet available (see our full range here) that make accurate, neat machine stitched hems easier than ever to achieve. Continue reading →

When I first started dressmaking I realised it isn't always immediately obvious from the sewing pattern instructions how to hem the garment. I often found myself wondering how deep the hem should be, which stitch to choose and whether it should be machine or hand stitched to achieve the best finish. In our series of articles on finishing techniques, we help you to understand which type of hems are appropriate for different garments followed by step by step instructions and videos for five hand sewn hem techniques. We will cover machine stitched hems later in the series. Continue reading →

Once you’ve selected your sewing pattern and have cut it to size following our guidance in the ‘How to Achieve the Perfect Fit from your Sewing Pattern’ article it is time to choose, prepare and cut your fabric. Here is a step by step guide, perfect for beginners, on everything you need to know. It is worth considering (and accepting) for most sewing projects you will spend around 80% of your time preparing and 20% of your time sewing. Getting the preparation right is crucial to success - my Mom always said: ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail!’ and as always (annoyingly) she was right! Continue reading →