Sewing Tips, Tutorials, Projects and Events

We’ve been writing the Sew Essential blog for a couple of months now and I hope you’ve enjoyed the mixture of ‘how to’ guides, interviews, reviews and general interest articles. As we’ve always said we want the blog to become a bank of sewing advice and tips that make it a go to resource for sewers everywhere. We also want to share my personal beginner’s sewing journey under the guidance of founder of Sew Essential and resident dressmaking guru Angela. She’s my Yoda I’m her Luke (you really can’t avoid Star Wars anywhere at the moment, even sewing blogs aren’t safe!) and I thought it was high time we shared a make on the blog so here it is!

Here are our top tips for sewing a lined top or bodice to achieve a truly professional finish. We're sure all the tips we share will be useful, but there is a particularly juicy, little known trick of the trade we're sharing with you! This little gem will will allow you to complete the task without any hand stitching. Sounds good right? Then let us enlighten you...

Using the wrong type of sewing machine needle is one of the most common mistakes we come across at Sew Essential. It can lead to needle breakage, difficulty working with the chosen fabric and poor stitch quality. You'll never have to experience these problems with our sewing machine needle guide! We've outlined the different types of needles available and the fabrics and threads they should be used with. Even if you're a confident stitcher and are in the know about needles its worth having a quick read. You might just surprise yourself and discover a life-changing needle you never knew existed!

This is the first in a series of unique interviews with a select few super skilled sewists who also happen to be Sew Essential customers. These super sewers have turned their favourite pastime into a successful career and we’re sure you’ll enjoy having a peek into their world, hearing their stories and seeing their makes as much as we did!

First up an incredible young lady called Cherilyn Leeson. Full of energy and an insatiable passion for sewing and dressmaking she is currently building and growing her bespoke dressmaking business ‘English Country Vintage’ using her experience and skills gained from a glittering career in the world of costume making.

There are plenty of reviews of the latest Kate Winslet film ‘The Dressmaker’ written by film critics who are really good at that sort of thing. We, on the other hand, probably are not! So rather than attempt a review of this film we thought we would talk about what our followers and customers are really interested in - the clothes, clothes, clothes and the sewing patterns and fabrics you can use to make them!

So you’ve heard the hype, you’ve watched the videos and seen the price tag - £7,499! Now you’re wondering if the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic is as good as everyone is making out. The simple answer: it SO is! We took part in our training at Husqvarna's head quarters on the 22nd October and collected our showroom model. Since then our sinks have been full of dirty crocks, we haven’t cooked a decent meal and we’ve barely left the house!

Ok, so maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but you get it - we’re smitten! Below we’ve outlined our favourite features so far to give you an insight into this incredible piece of modern machinery. We think it makes sewing and embroidery easier and more enjoyable than ever before! We've also included a picture of our first project completed using the Epic so you can see the results for yourself.

Sewers without a ridiculous fabric hoard are hard to find, but why? Here we ponder the reasons behind our inability to resist fabric - one of the most addictive substances known to man!

There are thousands of sewing patterns available on our website, but the biggest mistake you can make when choosing your sewing pattern size is to assume it will be the same as the ready to wear size that fits you on the high street. Dress pattern sizing schemes have no connection or correlation with ready to wear sizing schemes and each sewing pattern company uses its own sizing scheme. Having the ability to adjust a sewing pattern for the perfect fit is a useful skill and isn't as difficult as it sounds.  All of the sizing charts are available on both our website and the sewing pattern packets so you can have a good look before you buy.

We’ve spent the last two years redeveloping our website to bring it right up to date and make it easier and more enjoyable for you to use. Whilst we’re still making updates on a weekly basis we’re finally in a position to introduce our blog! We are so excited to be able to share the advice, tips, trade secrets and makes we’ve been sharing with our local customers for years with a wider digital sewing audience. We want this blog to be a go to resource for sewists on a range of hobbies and topics and also to provide you with a bit of light entertainment through our attempts at humour, interviews, events and news stories from the sewing and craft world. We’ll update you on Facebook and Twitter when new articles are added so you can easily keep up to date with the blog as it grows. So who will be writing it we hear you shout! Let us introduce you to the blog team...