Sewing Manual – You May Not Need One
Your sewing machine may come with operating instructions, but if you don’t have experience sewing, then you may soon be longing for a sewing manual.
Luckily, as long as you know some basics sewing tips, you should do just fine without a sewing manual.
Since you’ll probably be working from a pattern, you need to know all the do’s and don’ts that come with the territory.
First and foremost, don’t buy material until you’ve chosen a pattern. The only exception to this is when you know you’re buying more material than you need. Just don’t make a habit of buying excess fabric because it can get really expensive really quickly.
Once you’ve found a pattern, make sure you check the following things: size (for clothing-patterns are rarely one size fits all), how many yards of fabric are needed, what size fabric is needed, and if you need anything extra like buttons.
Bolts of material usually come in one of four sizes, 36, 44, 54, or 60 inches. It does matter what size you get! Buying larger than what you need isn’t a problem; buying smaller is. There should be a sticker on one end of the bolt telling you what width it is to make things easy for you.
Don’t know what a yard is? Most fabric departments have someone on duty to cut your material for you so they’ll know what you’re talking about.
But just for clarity’s sake, a yard is three feet. You don’t have to buy full yards, you can get partials (like 3 ½ yards) or you get a free sample of material if you need to.
Finally, make sure you pay attention to where you’re cutting the pattern; there’s no going back if you mess up.
It helps if you pin the pattern to the material first so it won’t slide around while you cut. The pattern directions will tell you where and how to place the pattern.
Don’t waste your money on a sewing manual. The art of making clothing has been around almost as long as man. It really isn’t as hard as it may seem.
