PICKING UP THE SEWING NEEDLE

How and Why You Should Learn to Sew

by Alexandria Sharpley

Learning to sew can seem like a daunting task. It appears to require a huge amount of skill when, in reality, it's not complicated to learn basic techniques that can help you customize your closet.

I recommend learning to sew to anyone and everyone. Being able to alter your clothes to fit you better or customize pieces to how you want them to look is a great skill to have. Thrifting, in particular, becomes much more enjoyable when you have the means to get that one dress or pair of pants you fell in love with to fit you perfectly.

There are two routes you can take when learning to sew: hand sewing and machine sewing. I recommend starting off by hand to get a feel for the materials and process. That being said, ever since I bought my sewing machine, I’ve barely touched my sewing needles. The ease and quickness of the machine makes projects go much faster.

To start off, you can buy a small repair sewing kit at any convenience store, but Amazon has slightly higher quality kits for around ten dollars. YouTube is your best friend for all things sewing related. This tutorial shows you the basics of threading the needle and tying the tread, as well as the basic stitches to get you started. As for how to approach specific projects, check out this video.

If you’re interested in taking it one step further and purchasing a sewing machine, I recommend any basic Singer machine. They’re very simple to operate and go for anywhere between $100 and $250. While that may seem like a big investment, I can guarantee that if you use it often, it’s worth it.

Happy sewing!