Advice on learning to sew and knit

[Shutsumon]

I hope this is the right forum to ask this.

I'm a bit of a useless muppet when it comes to stuff like sewing and knitting.

I'm trying to teach myself to knit and it's very slow going.

The thought of trying to teach myself to sew, however, fills me with dread. Now when I say I can't sew I need to be clear. I can hand sew well enough to darn stuff if need be but I've lost a lot of weight in the last couple of years (deliberately - I was 17.5 stone) and I'd like to rescue some of my old clothes from oblivion and even make new ones. But that's a bit beyond me ... sewing machines look awfully scary and complicated and I vaguely recall making a fool of myself in sewing lessons at school which doesn't help.

Can anyone advise on finding a good (inexpensive) class where they won't laugh at my complete muppetness? Or even just point me to some simple tutorials to get me started.

Becky

[Annpan]

perhaps watching a couple of guides on youtube wold be as good a start on any (I have certainly found good needle-felting guides on there) There must be a good book out there too....

Sorry I am not much help, if I was closer I would be happy to show you some basics.

[Berti]

you could see if you have the manual of the sewing machine.
if so, then "dry practice" with how to thread, and look what all the buttons are for.
once you are comfortable with that, you could take a breath ;) and a scrap piece of fabric and practice again with how hard your foot has to press the foot pedal, and just slowly sew stitches until you feel comfortable with that and have a basic idea how the machine works.

it is really not that hard.
look at your already made clothes and how they stick together, that will also tell you a lot.
when you have a sewing magazine for making clothes, it has patterns AND INSTRUCTIONS how to do things.
some even with pictures on the hard things.

make a trip to a secondhand shop and look for books on sewing with pictures showing things.
best of all of course would indeed to be take a beginners class.
they don't do classes for muppets I am afraid........ ;) but I am sure the beginners class will let you in

being able to sew is wonderful.....clothes, things for the house, you name it.......

good luck
berti

[prison break fan]

I tried a beginners class at night school and was bottom of the class! I complained about the fact that everyone else knew how to dressmake, not just sew. but it didn't do me any good. I tried for ages to get my money back with no success. I reckon just sit quietly and practice on something old and you'll get there. pbf

[Rosendula]

I'm useless with that sort of thing too. I only did needlework for one year at school. It was considered a "girls' tech" then, and I hated it (and the teacher) and so I successfully requested a transfer to "boys' tech". I was useless at that too, having missed the first year and so not knowing what the tools were called or what they were for, or even how to saw a piece of wood straight.

One thing that I do remember about the needlework class, though, is that we did our very first attempt at "sewing" on a paper towel with no thread in the machine. The next lesson we did the same but with thread. It might be a good idea to practice on a bit of newspaper without the thread so you can get a feel for the machine, see the pattern made by the needle, get used to the noise and the sudden burst of activity when you press down on the pedal, etc. I think it would help build your confidence.

[Shutsumon]

I'm useless with that sort of thing too. I only did needlework for one year at school. It was considered a "girls' tech" then, and I hated it (and the teacher) and so I successfully requested a transfer to "boys' tech". I was useless at that too, having missed the first year and so not knowing what the tools were called or what they were for, or even how to saw a piece of wood straight.

My school was a bit less sexist. We did "art and design" which basically amounted to half a term of art or pottery, half a term of sewing, half a term of technical drawing, half a term of woodwork (I'm still using that cutlery tray over 20 years later) and half a term of metalwork. Unfortunately such dabbling didn't really leave you time to learn anything (though one girl did get so into woodwork that she studied it at GCSE and A level and went to university to study it more).

One thing that I do remember about the needlework class, though, is that we did our very first attempt at "sewing" on a paper towel with no thread in the machine. The next lesson we did the same but with thread. It might be a good idea to practice on a bit of newspaper without the thread so you can get a feel for the machine, see the pattern made by the needle, get used to the noise and the sudden burst of activity when you press down on the pedal, etc. I think it would help build your confidence.

Yeah I remember that bit as well. I haven't got the courage up to buy a sewing machine yet, but I will and then I'll try that (and the youtube search someone else suggested). I do know someone at work who can sew - perhaps they can give me a lesson or two.

Becky

[contadina]

I was also fairly useless at sewing at school (not helped by an unpleasant teacher) but got given a sewing machine a few years ago. By doing simple things first (duvet cover - nice straight lines) I'm gradually building up the confidence to be more adventurous. I've found http://www.craftster.org/forum/ pretty helpful. It has many pattern-free instructions on how to make some very wearable clothing plus reconstructed clothing ideas which may be useful for you to revamp your wardrobe. As with most things in life, the more you sew, the more comfortable and skilled you get. Good luck.

[hamster]

I taught myself to knit with http://www.knittinghelp.com as distraction from my finals, but I looked at sewing books and videos online and just couldn't figure it out on my own, so I took a beginners class at the local college and it was really helpful. We were all allowed to work at our own pace and the teacher was really encouraging and helpful. I find it really difficult to buy clothes that fit me as I'm such a weird shape, and I had all these visions of being able to make things from charity shops fit me and cobble fantastic outfits together from old bedsheets and suchlike, but I've realised that I actually needed to spend time getting to grips with the mechanics of how clothes fit together and not try to run before I could walk.

The best bits of advice I was given sound rather counterintuitive, but essentially you need to make things you will want to wear or use, but also don't be disappointed if your first efforts don't work out as you envisaged. Even quite experienced dressmakers say they sometimes need to make a pattern 2 or 3 times to get it 'right'. I'm a real perfectionist and hate doing things if I can't do them well, but I've had to lower my standards, otherwise I won't practise and won't get any better...

I did write a blog post about my experiences a while back if you're interested: http://sproutingbroccoli.wordpress.com/ ... wont-bite/.

Also, if you're intimidated by sewing machines, you might be able to get an ancient non-electric one that essentially does 'forwards, in a straight line, fast' or 'backwards, in a straight line, fast' and doesn't have a baffling array of computerized options. It can be annoying, but mine was only £5 and it's fine for most things, so my thinking is that if I get really into it I can buy a more expensive, complicated one later when I'm a bit more competent myself.

[Shutsumon]

Thanks Hamster,

That knitting site looks really useful.

After due consideration I think I'll work on learning to knit first. I only have so much time to practice so trying to learn both while also working full time, doing the garden and everything else would probably be impossible - or at least improbable.

Thanks,
Becky

[george]

The good thing about learning to knit is that once you have the basics you can easily make a scarf and have something to show for it!

I have been knitting for so long that I can't remember how I learned but I do remember it was for a school project - we had to make something so I decided to knit a jumper. It wasn't flash but it was a good start.

I also would like to learn how to do dressmaking. I can use a sewing machine which I taught myself. I bought a cheap second hand one and just played around with it using scraps of material and probably a book from the library. I then used it to make a couple of teddy bears which I used to sew by hand and also to do the sewing for re-upholstering a chair. I have made a couple of clothing items from patterns which turned out ok but I would like to take a class (when I have some time) in order to learn how to do some of the technical dressmaking things properly.

Good luck with the learning to knit.

[snapdragon]

I was rubbish at sewing at school - didnt like it, and wasn't interested - and yet I made all the stuff for my wedding because I wanted to - machine's aren't scary if you have the instruction book

If you're altering clothes, then taking them apart gives clues as to how to put them back together - difference between sewing and chopping wood is with sewing if you go wrong you can always unpick -

[Shutsumon]

Thanks to that site I think I've made more progress on learning to knit in one day than I previously had in several months. :)

Given that this progress amounted to casting on 15 stitches, kintting 15 rows of plain knit and then successfully casting off you can see how slow going had been. Casting off always baffled me for some reason...

Tomorrow evening after work I shall attempt to repeat the process but purling instead of knitting.

*Wonders what on earth she's going to do with all the practice swatches she's going to end up with.*

Becky

[MuddyWitch]

Also, if you're intimidated by sewing machines, you might be able to get an ancient non-electric one that essentially does 'forwards, in a straight line, fast' or 'backwards, in a straight line, fast' and doesn't have a baffling array of computerized options. It can be annoying, but mine was only £5 and it's fine for most things, so my thinking is that if I get really into it I can buy a more expensive, complicated one later when I'm a bit more competent myself

I collect sewing machines and find I use the manual treddle for most jobs. I picked it up for about £25-30 and it came with some wierd & wonderfull attachments and its original 1920s instruction book. The one I use least is the does-everything-but make-the-tea £350 that hubby treated me to for our 10 anniversary!

I will echo other posts though, and say start with summat simple like a pillow case or duvet cover, then a simple garment and progress slowly. Starting with easier items is much more encouraging, as you can wear them quickly and will get a great sense of acheivement, (quite rightly). If you try to run before you can walk, you'll fall over & become discouraged.

Of course we expect piccies...

MW

[snapdragon]

.
*Wonders what on earth she's going to do with all the practice swatches she's going to end up with.*

Becky

You'll stitch them together into a fantastic designer something

[Berti]

do a search on prudence mapstone, for inspiration...........her things are all made out of "bits" :) I love it and think its ART!

berti