The Truth About Sewing Explained in 5 Minutes
With the pandemic, many hobbies and interests started to gain popularity. Some who’ve never touched a spatula or whisk, started baking, and some who’ve never touched a needle or unpicker, started to pick up sewing.
Labouring through the process up until the final stitch may seem like a long journey. But the truth is, crafting a chosen creation with your own hands and sweat, always gives rise to this sky high feeling that lasts beyond its utilisation value.
But can you learn sewing on your own?
Yes you can. With the internet, countless tutorials, videos and classes are available to anyone and everyone. However, like most other skill-based hobbies or sports, learning on your own requires triple-fold patience. It entails searching and sieving through a reservoir of material, hands-on practice and learning through multiple mistakes and having the will to spend time correcting them.
If you’re learning on your own, start with something simple, like a tote bag or cushion cover and progress from there. It will help to ease into your learning experience and build your foundation without getting frustrated at something complicated.
Having a good foundation is really vital. You need to learn the following skills:
- How to operate a sewing machine
- Sewing terminology so that you can read and understand patterns
- How to place patterns and cut fabrics in the right direction and with the right grip (yes, there is a direction to follow!)
- Sewing and construction techniques
Where do I start learning how to sew?
The internet can be a good place to start! But if you are like many of us, the drive and motivation to continue learning a skill may soon start to deplete when learning something one-directionally through a computer screen with little way to seek for clarifications.
Counter this with learning together with family or friends, or signing up for courses near you - like our introductory Starter Bundle. Perfect for beginners and you can bring your friends along!
Students in our Starter Bundle focusing really hard in their cutting practice.
What sewing classes do I need?
It all boils down to what you want to sew - will it be bags and pouches? Or perhaps clothes for yourself and for your loved ones. Maybe you would love to sew your very own wedding dress for the big day! Whatever your goals might be, if you are starting from ground zero, it’s always best to get the hang of the basics and go for some introductory classes. For a clearer picture, we highly recommend jumping over to this post.
Once you’ve become familiar with the sewing machine and essential sewing tools, always start small and practice, practice, practice! Learning a skill requires you to keep utilising that skill, and sewing is the same.
How fast can I learn sewing? (How long does it take to learn how to sew?)
That depends on what is your definition of having learnt sewing. We’re assuming it’s not just referring to sewing a straight line, because ultimately to learn sewing is to create or fix something.
But if you really, really need a gauge: For making something simple, then perhaps half a day might suffice, especially if you’re new to this. Having someone experienced to guide you also makes the learning process faster and enables you to realise and correct your mistakes earlier.
On the other hand, to be able to create your own garments from scratch, we’d say about 2 weeks if you do it everyday. 3 months if you keep at it once a week, seeing how we may not have the luxury to do it everyday.
3 months is the perfect duration for our Fabric Studies and Fashion Production Course too! This course allows you to make your own top & skirt from scratch even if you have no experience. You get WSQ grants, subsidies and on top of that, the balance is Skillsfuture claimable! (And if you have read this far, you now know that there’s also a limited-time offer of getting FREE $100 credits OR $100 off a new sewing machine if you sign up before the end of September 2022!)
We can definitely tell you that becoming an adroit seamstress or tailor takes years of experiencing different types of garments, designs and fitting various body shapes. No skilled baker perfects the whole recipe overnight.
How hard is it to learn how to sew?
If your end goal is to dig out patterns from the internet, buy your favourite fabrics and just follow sewing steps, we’d say it’s pretty easy!
What distinguishes a skilled sewist comes in knowing the construction method in putting pieces together. Like knowing how to install different components from collars, zippers, pockets, or lining on a garment. And what distinguishes a skilled patternmaker comes in when you start making your own patterns from scratch. This makes the learning curve steeper, but everyone starts somewhere!
You could start right now too - check out all our sewing tips for beginners and commonly asked questions by beginners. You can also enquire with us on our introductory or basic courses to get you started on this lovely sewing journey!
Is it too late to learn how to sew?
Never!