Make It Sew, Number One

I often find myself frustrated with the clothing that is available in stores. Much of it seems cheaply made and feels like it will fall apart after 1 or 2 washes. Sometimes I like the style, but not the fabric. Other times, it is the fit that is the problem.

For these reasons, I have resorted to sewing some of my own clothing.

If you have a sewing machine, and can read the instructions inside a pattern envelope, you can sew your own clothes. If you start simple, and focus on pieces with good "lines," you can avoid the "happy hands at home" look that keeps a lot of people from doing their own sewing.

If you haven't tried sewing clothing before, a great place to start is knits (jersey, poly-lycras, pique). The fabric is very forgiving, and you rarely have to change the fit. But, may people shy away from knits, thinking they are difficult to sew, all the seams pucker, and if you don't have a serger it is no use to even try.

I used to avoid sewing with knits, too because I didn't have a serger. But, I have learned some techniques that will allow you to have nice, finished seams that don't pucker. And best of all, you don't need a lot of specialized equipment. All you need are three things:

1. A sewing machine that can sew a zig-zag stitch, and has an adjustable stitch length. Pretty much every machine has this. In fact, you would have to work really hard to find a machine that does not.
2. A good pair of scissors.
3. An iron and ironing board.
   

Since I have discovered this, I have made a lot of clothing items using knits, and they don't look "homemade":

There are a copule of important things to address before you embark on your first project:

1. Measure yourself and buy the pattern according to your measurements, not your "size." In ready-to-wear, I wear a size 10 or 12. Depending on the manufacturer, I will use patterns sized anywhere from 16 to 20.
   
2. Acutally MEASURE yourself. If you wear a 36D bra like I do, that does not mean your bust measurement is 36. In fact, my bust measurement is 40. It is my rib cage that measures 36.
   
3. The most important measurements to take are your bust, your waist and your hips.
4. Also, use a pattern from one of the "big three," Simplicity, McCalls, or Butterick. Pick one that is rated "easy." Don't use Vogue! The Vogue definition of easy is not the same. Also, avoid Burda, they have cute clothes, but the instructions are translated from German. You can try Vogue and Burda later. Not for your first project.
   

Once you have settled on a pattern, select your fabric. I tend to not buy fabric that is more than $10.00 per yard. Once you get to the point where you are spending more than $30.00 to $40.00 for the materials for an item of clothing, it is no longer cost-effective. You could just buy a finished item in the store. Make sure you also get interfacing if the pattern calls for it. Purchase a relatively thin and flexible fusible interfacing. The ladies at the fabric store can help you if you ask.

Once you have your fabric and your pattern, you are ready to cut out your pattern pieces. If your fabric has an obvious vertical or horizontal pattern on it, make sure when you lay your pieces out, the pattern is going the same direction on all the pieces. Here is an example:


Also, make sure you line up your pattern pieces so the pattern is distributed evenly across the piece:


Go ahead and cut the fabric and begin assembling your project. Patterns have 1 or 2 sheets inside that have all the instructions that you will need. Follow their instructions for the order of assembly, but you will not sew them using a straight stitch and pressing open the seam allowances. Instead, you will sew everything using a zig-zag stitch, the secret to flat, unpuckered, professional-looking seams without any special equipment.

First, set your machine for a zig-zag stitch of medium width, and set your stitch length at 1 mm. This is what the settings look like on my machine. See, it's just a simple Singer. No special equipment! I promise!


As you sew your seams, place one finger in front of the presser foot, and one finger behind. Stretch your fabric slightly as you feed it through the machine. With such a short stitch length, it's not going to move very fast, so don't worry, you won't sew your finger to it:


This is what the seam will look like:


After you complete your seam, trim away the seam allowance rather than pressing it open. Cut very close to the points of the zig-zag stitch:


As you can see, the seam does not pucker. Also, unlike a straight stitch, this seam will stretch. Then press your seam. Always press your seams, and do it as you are assembling the garment, don't wait until you are done:


In some places you don't want your seam to stretch, for example, around the neck and at the shoulder seams. But you also don't want a giant seam allowance flopping around in there making things look messy. So what you will use is a technique called "nailing down" the seams. You will start by making a straight seam with a 5/8 inch seam allowance. Then, move your presser foot to the right and make another seam 1/4 inch away, in the seam allowance. How do you know you are 1/4 inch away? You line up your first seam with the left side of the presser foot. Like this:


When you finish your second seam, cut away the seam allowance, as close to the second seam as possible. Remember, always press your seams! That way they won't pucker:


Here is a completed garment (inside out) to show you what the zig-zag construction looks like:


And here is the finished garment, all hanging properly, no puckers:


Now go try it yourself! It is easy, I promise!