I took a decently long break from sewing and now that I found the time to start creating again, I’ve realized that figuring out where to start is a bit overwhelming. This is a way to get back into it – a guide on where to start and what to watch, especially for beginners.
The first thing, and the most important note, is that you don’t need a sewing machine. A lot of DIY garments are also easily made by hand. If you wanna learn how to sew effectively by hand it comes down to researching sewing techniques and, of course, having the patience to sew it all. Tik Tok is one of the quickest and easiest platforms that showcase this. There are tons of creators you can find who have gone viral because of their innate hand stitching techniques.
On another note, you don’t have to start from scratch. I often see videos of people creating amazing and grandiose pieces that I find to be pretty intimidating, but you don’t have to do all that. You can start small by repurposing, upcycling, or by using old clothes you already own to clone and create some of your favorite pieces. Some small projects I will be doing to get reacquainted with sewing are by cropping some of my older pieces of clothes in order to refamiliarize myself with basic sewing techniques. Two other projects I will do will be taking off the sleeves of some of my pieces to re-teach myself basic garment construction, along with adding to or readjusting the waists on some of my older pants to force myself to take body measurements into account. Starting small is okay, but you need to actually start to get anywhere.
A final note is to use social media to your advantage. Youtube is your friend. You don’t have to break your head figuring out how to start or what to do because more than likely someone already did the heavy lifting for you and it’s just a couple of clicks away. There are so many great DIY creators, my personal favorites are Nava Rose and With Wendy. They have taught me just about everything I know and are big inspirations. Another great resource to look into is books about sewing. They are also great and teach you a lot; I personally own Patternmaking For Fashion Design which has been very helpful in my construction. Pinterest is another good resource for inspiration. Some creators will drop pattern pdfs for free or will sell them to you for a typically small price.
It takes a lot of practice, patience, and commitment, but at the end of the day, you’ll have created a unique piece that is tailor-made for you; the best part is, if anyone asks you where your clothes are from they’ll have the designer right in front of them—or in our case now, it’ll probably be through the phone screen.