You may be at the stage of your sewing skills where you are making tons of wonderful garments for your family and friends. Yet, your projects still look like they are missing something as if you could be doing more to make your sewing rock.
Here are several best practices you can adopt to bring more pizzazz to your sewing for every project you make:
1. Choose fabrics that LOOK and FEEL expensive
Like how I have told you a million times to get the best sewing machine for your budget, this is also true for buying fabrics. There’s a reason why high fashion clothing is so expensive. It looks good on nearly everyone because of the quality of the fabric and the way it drapes.
You can make your sewing absolutely stunning by investing in fabric that is better quality and looks expensive. Keep in mind that a fabric that looks expensive doesn’t have to be expensive. It just has to have the look and feel of being a designer fashion fabric.
2. Clip away as much as the bulk as possible
When creating seams, you will have a lot of excess fabric. This extra bulk can make laying down the garment even harder as it will be bumpy. For a smoother and flatter surface, clip corners at a diagonal angle close to the seam to get rid of the extra fabric. You should also do the same for curved seams.
There are two types of cutting techniques you can use: notches and clips. Notches are ideal when you have a curve that moves outward where it looks like a hill or mountain. The notch cut is simply a triangle or curve along the seam allowance.
A clip cut is when you create little slits along the seam allowance. You can use clip cutting when the curve goes inward toward the fabric, like a valley.
3. Switch to hand sewing if you are better at it for certain projects
For beginners and intermediate seamstress, they get so dependent on using the sewing machine for every part of the project that they actively avoid hand sewing techniques.
Yet there are some hand stitches that can make using the sewing machine easier, such as using a basting stitch, while you may be surprised that you can make hems that look so much better and are stronger when you do them by hand.
You will be impressed how these hand-finishing touches makes your sewing look totally awesome because of the extra care you took to do the job right.
4. Place dog ears on pockets for more stability
There is nothing more irritating than to be almost finished with a garment design only to have the pockets begin to pull away. A simple way to reinforce the pockets is to place in dog ears — little triangle stitches — in the corners of the pockets.
These dog ear stitches help to make the fabric more stable and gives that extra finishing touch that makes the pockets look really secure.
5. Press and finish all seams
Don’t forget to give the seams of your sewing project the attention they deserve. Finish the seams with the right stitch or serger machine to prevent the fabric from unraveling. It will also give a more professional appearance.
Also, don’t forget to press the seams as you create them. Pressing the seams will make the thread less bulky and it will set the stitches into the fabric, making them harder to see. Your garments will look 100 times better when you finish and press every seam.
6. Use stay-stitching along curved seams to keep fabric pieces together
After you cut two pieces of fabric that will be sewn together with a curved seam, create a stay-stitch. Stay stitching keeps the two fabric pieces together so they don’t shift and stretch out of shape.
It is ideal to perform stay stitching the moment the curved pieces are cut. If you wait to do this step, the more chances you have in moving the pieces about so much that the edges distort. Also, without the stay stitch as you cut in other places, the fabric won’t match up right anywhere when it is time to sew the two pieces together.
7. Keep it simple to show off your best features
It is easy to get carried away with the fancy stitches, embellishments and myriad fabric colors. Yet keep in mind that the more you add, the showier the project becomes as you may end up having a project that looks ostentatious.
Also, adding too much can simply illustrate that you are trying to hide poor sewing skills. Instead, keep the design simple and let people see how you are a professional seamstress. Show off your abilities to create a handmade garment that doesn’t look handmade in the slightest.
When you want to make your sewing stand out, you need to learn the best practices that will give your stitching, edges and other techniques a more professional look. Your crafts will be absolutely stunning as you will impress everyone with your projects.
