With patience, practice and a little imagination, you’ll soon be setting fashion trends! We’ll show you some basics and you take it from there.
Setting up your Sewing Area
You will find that the two most important features of the sewing area are comfort and convenience.
Comfort because working in a room that is attractive and having all the essential equipment at hand helps to make sewing a truly enjoyable experience. Convenience because, when you have a special sewing area, your work and tools can be left without having to gather up everything each time you interrupt your sewing.
See our post, Sewing Cabinets & Tables
Lighting
Good lighting in the working areas is essential to keep eye fatigue at a minimum. Daylight is the ideal light for sewing, but there are electric light sources which give the type of light needed for working indoors. The “high intensity” lamps and the color balanced fluorescents are brilliant and closely simulate natural sunlight.
Ironing and Pressing Equipment
While it’s important to iron out the wrinkles in your fabric before you even start, that’s not the same as pressing your project as you go. Seams should be pressed open after they’re sewn, and before sewing a cross seam. This blends the stitches with the fabric and gives the project a finished look. It also helps to use a tailor’s ham for pressing curved features, such as the hip area of a skirt and the shoulders. This gives the finished project a more flattering look.
The ironing board and pressing equipment should be set up near the sewing machine so that pressing is only an arm’s length away.
Cutting Surface
Your cutting surface should be high enough for you to work on comfortably while in a standing position. Cutting fabric on the floor or on top of the bed may not be accurate because of the uncomfortable position of your body. A drop-leaf against a window sill opens up to make a great cutting surface.
See our post, Scissors & Cutting Tools
Full Length Mirror
A full-length mirror should be close by for checking the fit and appearance as you progress.
Sewing Notions and Supplies
Notions and supplies should be arranged and stored in an orderly manner to save time when you need them again. See-through plastic boxes can be found in many shapes and sizes. Shoe boxes are great for notions; fabric is more easily stored in blanket boxes. Glass jars with tops painted in bright colors are great for buttons and small notions. Pegs are great for holding spools of thread, and space to hang tools, notes and sketches.
See our post, Sewing Accessories & Supplies
Room Dividers
A decorative folding screen can be used to shut off your sewing area from the rest of the room. The importance of being able to leave work and equipment undisturbed between working periods cannot be over-emphasized. A lot of your free time can be utilized if you are able to take-up your work where you left off.
Happy Sewing!
A sewing machine is a precision instrument and requires a lot of care. The instruction manual that came with your machine should show you how to maintain it and keep it in working order, how to make simple adjustments, and how to operate it. If you do not have a manual, you can order one through the manufacturer. The manual helps to identify certain parts mentioned from time to time in sewing directions, such as the threader, cutter, tension, and various feet that can be used.
