Learning to Sew Online

Hi,
I’d really love to learn how to sew and am wondering whether I should do it online or not. Does anyone here have experience with online learning? It’s much cheaper than a regular sewing school. Or do you know of any other options?

Best regards
Strickliesel

Hey there… there are lots of great videos on YouTube, and you can find some good blogs online, too. I think a book on sewing that covers the basics would also be a good choice to start with.

You just start with small, simple things—like covers for pillows, cell phones, etc.

Practice is key, especially if you want to sew on a machine.

You have to get a feel for the machine

and try out different stitches.

I personally got frustrated with the machine, and since they’re pretty loud, I couldn’t do it in the evening because the kids would wake up, and during the day it wasn’t possible because the kids were around...

That’s why I prefer to sew by hand

but maybe the experienced sewers here can offer more tips.

Hello Strickliesel
I would have suggested YouTube videos for learning, too. There are tons of videos there, so there should be something for everyone.
and in the shop at Crazypatterns there are also sewing patterns again and again that say
- suitable for beginners
- great for learning sewing skills
- with sewing tutorial
I also saw something recently along the lines of “great if children want to learn to sew”; that’s probably not just great for children, but also for beginners, because if it’s easy enough for children, then it’s surely easy enough for beginners too, or so I assume, even without having bought/worked through the pattern.
I don’t sew, but I do like browsing around the shop and looking at what’s available there, not just crochet. Browsing is educational, so to speak, and you can broaden your own horizons. ; )

How about picking a relatively simple sewing project to start with? For example, sewing a hem on a dish towel or something like that. And then ask here in the forum specifically about that topic or look on YouTube. Hemming a dish towel is doable for beginners, even if it may not be the most exciting project in the world, but you can even do it by hand if you don’t have a machine, and it has a practical use too, because the dish towel won’t fray right away. And while doing that you can practice all those basic sewing stitches, which you can probably learn really well from YouTube videos and, so to speak, sew along right in front of the computer screen. A dish towel isn’t that big/heavy, so you can also put it on the desk while you’re working on it without it immediately causing a major space problem. Just give it a try. Sewing along is probably easier at the beginning than sewing on your own.

I just think it might be a good idea to pick out one project at the start, so the whole topic of sewing doesn’t overwhelm you, and then see how it goes and what you need for it, and then move on to a project that builds on what you learned. That way you work your way into sewing step by step. I assume there probably isn’t any other way.

Even though I don’t sew myself, I would advise you to buy some cheap fabric where it won’t matter if the sewing doesn’t quite work out at first and you maybe sew it together every which way and then unpicking the seam just won’t work anymore. Unpicking seams is pretty annoying too, as far as I can remember.
And of course you need a good pair of scissors too, though I maybe wouldn’t take the very cheapest ones, but rather ones that feel good in your hand and that you can work well with. Well, otherwise you’ll need needles, of course, sewing needles and pins. A pincushion too.
I think there are lots of pincushions in the shop to crochet yourself. I can’t remember any sewn pincushions right now, but that doesn’t have to mean there aren’t any in the shop.
So maybe put together a small set of supplies and see what you can do with it. You can then expand and add to your supplies step by step. I think nobody buys a full professional setup with all the bells and whistles right at the beginning.
And if questions come up along the way, you can always ask here in the forum again.
I’m really pretty sure there are many sewing beginners here who maybe don’t say anything or don’t dare to say anything because they might think it’s more about crochet and knitting here, or that maybe there are only pros here and that as a beginner you don’t quite dare to say anything. But I mean, here everyone who writes their questions politely gets an answer. Whether they’re a beginner or a pro or something in between. It doesn’t cost anything to ask : ) that’s what the forum is here for, so people can talk about questions and maybe learn something too.

Do you already have sewing supplies, or are you starting completely from scratch?

Hello,
to everyone who knows about this or is currently learning to sew: It would be great if you had any YouTube recommendations or general tips for sewing beginners! My daughter would also like to learn to sew. I’d love to help her, but I don’t know much about it myself.
What’s easy and might also be suitable for kids?

Thanks :)

Hello,
I personally think Patty Doo's patterns are very good.
On her website you can find quite a few patterns, especially the easier ones are free.
There are also videos for many patterns, which are super easy to understand and follow.

Best regards
Kirsten

With kids, I might not necessarily start right away with sewing on a sewing machine—I’d probably start with a needle, thread, and some fabric. Maybe a little doll dress or a doll blanket. Or a little doll pillow. If she doesn’t like dolls, she could sew something for her stuffed animals.

I also started out with a needle and thread back then. That was in elementary school, and we sewed ducks and then stuffed them with cherry pits. I had so much fun doing that, so a lot of people ended up getting those ducks for their birthdays :D
Maybe that would be a good way to learn the basics, too. I mean, sewing gifts!

I think there’s one provider that’s really great—though it’s not free.
They also teach how to use a sewing machine and so on.
I don’t think I’m supposed to mention the name of this provider.
So give it a try.

Hi,
there’s also the option to combine both: buy a book and watch related videos online. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to recommend one here, but there are books available in specialty stores that mention you can watch instructional videos for the projects. I sewed my first wrist warmers with a thumb hole using a book and video like that. Without the video, I wouldn’t have figured it out.
Warm regards
Petra

Hello
I’m a huge fan of www.pattydoo.de
Ina is amazing with her video tutorials. Even complete sewing beginners can follow along really well. Her calm manner and pleasant voice simply make you want to sew along :-)))
Take a look... it’s 100% worth it ....... there are sooo many great ideas.
I’ve learned a lot and even bought an extra laptop so I wouldn’t always have to keep moving from my sewing table to my computer desk, although I suppose that counts as exercise ;-))

Best regards
from Switzerland
Olgi