[Music] hi my name is april and you're watching cool lurpa that was my take on the disney channel intro in my new sewing studio right here eric and i moved into his parents home because the home we were renting our landlord sold it so luckily i have the sweetest in-laws and they let me turn one of the rooms here into my studio they do have a lot of chickens outside though so don't be surprised if you hear some chickens growing in the back of my videos sometimes so in today's video i'm going to share 10 sewing mistakes that beginners make and i say beginners but even experienced sewers make these mistakes as well but if you are new to sewing i hope that these tips will help you have a better learning experience and i hope that it saves you some time fabric and money because starting a new hobby can get expensive i hope you enjoyed this video and let's get started mistake number one not cutting your pattern out on grain so on woven fabric there is the warp which is the lengthwise grain that goes up and down and that grain line is parallel to the selvage edge of the fabric and then you have the crosswise grain that goes horizontal and that is called the weft then you have your bias which goes diagonally across both of those and that will give you the most stretch and the most beautiful drape if you're using a commercial pattern normally it will tell you the grain line or if you are draping and creating your own pattern you will be aware of where you put your grain line and then you would transfer that onto your pattern for example here's a pattern i drafted and since the center front is cut unfold the fold line is my grain line the next pattern piece is not unfold and i marked a long arrow on my pattern indicating the grain line you want to line the arrow with the selvedge edge or the lengthwise edge of your fabric and use a ruler to make sure it's parallel all the way down it's also important to make sure your fabric is on grain and you can tell by folding your fabric in half and matching up the corners before doing this you should find the true warp and weft so the corners are squared and so you're not just following the uneven cutting from your scissors if the corners are not matching up grab the shorter corners and stretch the fabric diagonally until the grain line is straightened [Music] in between i like to steam and gently press the fabric to help the grain stay in place this process can take some time so it's important to choose your fabric wisely so you're not working with anything too difficult mistake number two not ironing and pressing your seams after sewing pressing your project before sewing the next step is going to help your seams lay more flat and allow for more accurate sewing and overall it's going to give a very professional look even if your sewing wasn't perfect p.s check out my new wool ironing mat since my room is smaller i got rid of my ironing board to save space and now i can film my pressing on the table top when i use steam on this mat though it does smell like sheep or the goats that our neighbors have so if you're sensitive to smell i don't recommend it but honestly it's so useful and saves lots of space link will be below in my description box if you want to check it out i also learned that pressing your seams allows the thread to meld into the fabric making the seam a lot stronger and giving it a more finished look mistake number three forgetting to add seam allowance so your garment ends up being too small and tight if this is the top i want to recreate and sew the seam line when i'm sewing it is here but if i don't add seam allowance and just trace it as is my seam line will actually move in more and i'll be sewing it smaller so if you want your clothes to fit you properly make sure to add seam allowance along all the sides i normally add a half inch seam allowance on all of my patterns but it really depends on where the seam allowance is being placed if you are unsure or making it for someone else it's best to always give yourself a bigger seam allowance so there's room for adjustment mistake number four using the wrong needle for the fabric type you're working with i do think the problem is also not knowing what fabric you're working with if that's something you struggle with this book textile pedia can help you learn more about fabric types i'll link it below along with my 10 off code for anyone interested once you do know you can do a quick google search to learn what size and type needle to use i also want to share what the numbers on the needle packs mean because it looks confusing but basically the higher the number the thicker and heavier fabric you can sew and the lower the number is the finer the needle and the more lightweight fabric you can sew it's confusing because there's two numbers but the bigger number is just in european size and the smaller number is in us size not only is the needle size important the needle type is as well because there's different types of fabric like woven knits and leather that you might be working with for example when i sew stretch fabric i make sure to use a jersey or ballpoint needle because the tip isn't as sharp it's more rounded so it doesn't tear the fabric or break the elasticity here i was using the right needle type but the stitches were still skipping so i had to also change the needle size to a higher number and then it sewed properly lastly make sure using the right size thread for your needle size you don't want to be shoving a heavy thread into a fine needle because that will cause problems with your sewing as well my problem with having a bunch of different size needles around is that if you don't put it back then you kind of forget what needle it is but the size of the needle is actually engraved on top it's just super hard to see but you need a what is it called a magnifying glass that's what it's called you would need a magnifying glass to see the number but if i squint really hard or hold it in the right light i can sometimes see it um so if you also you know misplaced your needle or forgot what size it is or what it's meant for you can try looking there number five choosing the wrong fabric for the project you're making again the book textile pedia would be super helpful if this is something you struggle with so here i flipped it to chiffon and under that it gives a description of like the properties and the common things that people make out of chiffon so it says blouses scarves lingerie gowns bridal wear and embroidery for me because i've been sewing for so long and i study a lot of the clothes in my closet i can kind of tell what material would work well for a blouse or bottom if there's something similar in your closet that you can bring fabric shopping with you that would be really helpful as well that way you can compare the two in person mistake number six sewing stretch fabric with a straight stitch this was a mistake i made as well as a beginner and for some reason when we're learning how to sew beginners are just more drawn towards stretchy fabric and i think that's because we don't want to sew a zipper the problem with sewing a straight stitch straight stitch on stretch fabric is that it doesn't stretch with the fabric so what happens when you try to put it on the seam pops a better stitch to use if you have it on your machine is the stretch stitch or aka lightning stitch and this stitch basically is a zigzag stitch that is very narrow so it looks like you're sewing a straight stitch but it's not so it allows the stretching of the fabric still if you do not have this stitch setting on your machine a zigzag stitch will work fine as well and as you get more experience with sewing and want to invest in a serger that would be my number one option mistake number seven not pinning and notching your fabric before sewing when we're doing a lot of diy sewing at home we want to do things quickly so we'll skip pinning and notching our fabric but it actually saves you some trouble down the road if you take the time to do so when i don't notch and pin my pieces together one side can end up being longer after sewing even though i cut them exactly the same if i know i'm working with simple fabric that won't move i can skip doing so but ultimately i always regret not pinning and creating markings for my own reference mistake number eight pulling and pushing the fabric and forcing it through the machine when learning how to sew we think that we have to really help the fabric through but there are feed dogs on the machine that kind of grip the fabric and move it along all you have to do is gently guide it and make sure you are sewing straight or on your seam line mistake number nine not double checking your work before cutting and sewing as the saying goes measure twice cut once and as easy and quick as experienced sewers make sewing look we actually spend a lot of time checking and double checking our work it's a very tedious process but i promise you it's going to save you a lot of time seam ripping and it will save you from having a lot of headaches in the end and lastly mistake number 10. this one seems obvious but when i asked on instagram what were some sewing mistakes my followers made when they were first learning to sew a lot of people said forgetting to backstitch if you're new to sewing you should always backstitch in the beginning and then at the very end to finish off your seam this way your seam doesn't just unravel and your garment comes undone if you're just sewing something temporarily there's no need to back stitch that way it'll be faster to seam rip and take apart later alright thank you so much for watching i hope this video helps some of you out especially those that are just beginning to learn how to sew as usual don't forget to like and subscribe and stay tuned because i have more sewing tutorials coming up now that we are almost done making over my room so stay tuned for that and i'll see you next time bye [Music]