How to Sew with a Sewing Machine

Learning how to sew with a sewing machine is no rocket science.

Trust me, been there, done that. The process might seem overwhelming and intimidating from afar, but it’s twice exciting and thrilling.

Oh, you’ve no idea how much fun you’re missing out on.

I will show you through this article how you can learn to sew with a sewing machine without an instructor.

For the next couple of minutes, this article will serve as your instructor.

Read till the last full stop to know what you need to do to start learning this skill.

How to Sew with a Sewing Machine

We will not go into unnecessary detail, but the steps shared here will be enough to help you start sewing beginner-level projects.

•  Machine’s Placement

First, you need to reserve a proper place for your sewing machine – perhaps a spacious worktable nearby a power source. Make sure your sewing corner has adequate lighting.

•  Fabric Choice

It is most imperative for a beginner to choose fabric carefully for learning how to sew.

Why I am stressing about this is because not every material can be easily manipulated under the needle.

Fabric is generally divided into three categories based on its weight, lightweight, medium-weight, heavyweight.

Pick a medium weight fabric, preferably cotton, for initial projects.

•  Get Your Machine Ready

This step involves needling and threading. Usually, a needle is already inserted into a sewing machine.

In that case, you need to check its compatibility with your fabric choice.

Insert the needle suitable for mid-weight fabric in its designated place.

Next, you need to wind the desired color thread around the bobbin and put the bobbin case in its location.

Afterwards, use the same thread and pass it through the threading channel to properly thread the machine.

•  Stitch Choice

Since you’re learning how to sew with a sewing machine, starting with a straight stitch is the best course of action.

Besides, adjust the stitch length – medium stitch length is the best.

•  Place the Fabric

Keep the needle and the presser foot in the ‘up’ position to place the fabric under them.

Afterwards, bring the presser foot down.

A helpful hint is to draw straight lines on the fabric.

These will help you sew in straight lines.

Now, you should use the machine’s handwheel for guiding the needle through the fabric.

This hand-guided first stitch will let you know about the precise needle placement.

•  Start Sewing

It is time to start your training. Turn on the machine. Make sure the power cord of the foot pedal is plugged in.

Press the foot pedal gently to start sewing. Place your fingers on the cloth to guide the fabric.

This is the time when you will thank us for making you draw those lines on the fabric.

Stop the machine after completing your first seam.

The hand-drawn lines will tell you how well you did. It will be a miracle to sew exactly onto those lines in your initial attempts.

Yeah, we do expect your seams to go a little astray. So, resume sewing.

•  Practice

Practice makes a man perfect. Practice till your seams appear straight as an arrow.

After that, practice some more on fabrics of different weights, including both stretchy and non-stretchy fabrics.

This approach will get you accustomed to each fabric type, letting you know how to work with all.

Some Tricks & Tips

1. Try to maintain a constant so that your stitches appear even. Start with slow speed. Once you get used to the foot pedal, then increase your pressure on it to accelerate stitch speed. Yeah, like an accelerator.

If your sewing machine has speed adjustments, adjusting and maintaining speed will

be easier.

1. Teach your fingers how to touch and grasp the fabric when you’re guiding it during sewing. Neither too gently nor too harshly.
2. While sewing, you might see that some stitches are longer than others. If that happens, it means either you aren’t maintaining a constant speed or pulling the fabric a little too forcefully. Don’t play tug of war with the material. Just gently guide it with fingers and let the feed dog do its job.
3. Make sure your stitching area is as bright as the sky on a new year when fireworks start. Most sewing machines these days have a built-in light, so you will not have to worry much. However, we would advise you to use a table lamp as well. Make sure its light is directed towards the project and not your eyes.
4. If your project involves several fabric pieces, hold them together using pins. Otherwise, you may misplace or lose a piece. Ugh…that would be hell frustrating.

Make sure you remove pins before sewing that particular area to avoid any other

trouble – crooked or snapped needle.

1. Always use the same thread type for the top and the bottom. You can do that by taking an empty bobbin and start filling it with the chosen thread spool. Use that same thread spool for the top thread. The use of the same kind of thread prevents thread breakage, jamming and uneven tension.
2. Decrease the stitch speed when you’re rotating the fabric to make sure your curve appears neat.
3. Don’t hate me for expanding your work. Flatten the fabric before sewing. If possible, iron it first. I know it’s extra work, but you will thank me for it in the end because it will help you avoid crooked stitches or puckering of the cloth.

Conclusion

Now that you’ve come this far, you might be asking yourself why you kept yourself deprived of so much fun.

Didn’t I say earlier that learning to sew with a sewing machine is easy?

Mistakes are a mandatory part of the learning process, but we hope our tricks and tips will help you avoid most of them.

You already had a sewing machine at home. Now, you know how to sew with it too. So, let’s start sewing. Leave becoming-the-master part to practice.