Gathering your Materials

Before you can sew, you need to round up your supplies. Make a list of anything you'll need to buy or get for your project. Think:

• Pattern - when choosing a pattern, make sure to get one in your size. Make sure you know in advance what size you need!
• Fabric - write down how much fabric, contrast, lining, etc. you will need. Many patterns call for different amounts of fabric based on whether the width of your fabric is 110cm or 150cm. You might want to write down both these numbers.
• Thread - My mother taught me to always choose thread to match my fabric. Many of my garments, I simply sew with white or black thread. Matching or contrast thread is important, however, for stitching that will show - such as hems or topstitching.
  My mother also taught me to always buy good-quality thread, such as Gütterman thread (which is sold in pretty much every sewing store I've ever seen). Cheap thread will break, both while you are sewing and in the finished garment. Don't cheap out on thread.
• Notions - remember to write these down -- think zippers, buttons, lace, elastic. Write down lengths and numbers.
• Interfacing - many garments call for this but I only use it infrequently. Places I do use it include belts, corsets, and some collars.

Ideally, you buy the fashion fabric first, and then match everything else to that. If you buy the fabric on a separate trip from the notions, you can cut a small triangle from the corner of your fabric called a swatch. I carry all my swatches pinned together with a safety pin in my purse for impromptu sewing shopping.

When you get it all home, you should launder your fabric before cutting it. This is another step that really shouldn't be skipped. Fabric is liable to shrink when first washed, and much of the fabric you'll buy hasn't been. If you cut and sew fabric that hasn't been washed, the seams may pull the first time you wash the finished garment. I try to wash all my fabric when I first get it home; that way, I can be sure that any fabric I pluck from a bin is ready to go. If, however, you are confused about whether or not you've washed a certain piece, look at the edges -- many fabrics will fray a little after a wash, instead of having the crisp edges they did when they were first cut.

If I bring home all the articles for a new project (pattern, fabric, trim, thread, zipper, etc) but don't plan to start it right away, I tend to store it separately in a plastic bag or something until I am ready for it. This way, there is no digging around when I begin.

The Impatient Hem

Except for the rare cases when facing takes care of it, most garments have hems. I don't know about you, but I hate pinning those things up the way my mother taught me -- it's time-consuming and hard on the fingers. So I stopped doing it that way, and simplified the process.

The Impatient Hem

Step 1. Zigzag edge of fabric.
Step 2. Fold up the edge of the fabric to the width of your presser foot (usually 3/8")
Step 3. Using your presser foot as a guide, stitch a 3/8" single-fold hem.

The first time I tried this, I neglected to include step 1. It was a wool dress. I'm still snipping "fleebers" from the edges. But finish the edge first, and you are golden.


Some other tricks to keep from having to sew hems:

• Use a fabric such as felt, which doesn't fray. Knits tend not to fray either, but it's up to you to decide whether you like the aesthetic of "the roll".
  
• One trick I use for things like patch pockets is to zigzag the edges with a short (buttonhole) stitch. It uses a lot of thread but can create a lovely effect, especially with contrast thread.
  
• If you fuse a piece of interfacing to your fabric before cutting out a shape, the edges will not fray.
  
• You can always use a product like Fray-Check but keep in mind that this will make the edges all crusty and hard.