If you’re a beginner, it’s tempting to dive right in and make a garment. But it’s better to start with a seam. Yes, a seam is a ridiculously simple thing, but it’s harder to make a good one than you think. And it’s the perfect way to figure out how your machine works, how to control the fabric, and how to make decent stitches. So, cut two pieces of medium-weight cotton fabric into rectangles. Place them right sides together and mark a straight line down the center with your favorite marking tool. Then put the fabric under the machine and sew on the line. Go slowly.
It’s not as easy as it sounds. The fabric will slip and the line will waver. This is not the end of the world. This is just information. A seam can teach you almost everything you need to know all at once: how your fabric will behave, how much control you really have over the fabric, whether your tension is correct, and whether you tend to pull or push the fabric as you sew. Start with two pieces of cotton fabric. Cotton is a great fabric to begin with because it isn’t too slippery or too thick. Cut the fabric into rectangles because they are easier to handle than curvy shapes. Mark the seam line so you have a guide to follow as you sew. And sew slowly. Don’t look at the needle as you sew.
Instead, watch the line and focus on making sure the edge of the fabric follows it. When you’re done, press the seam open and look at it carefully. If the seam allowance is wider at the top than it is at the bottom, you are allowing your left hand to drift backwards as you sew. If the fabric is puckered where you sewed, your tension may be too tight, or you may be pushing the fabric forward instead of allowing the feed dogs to pull it through the machine. Check the seam after you press it because some flaws don’t show up until after you press. When you practice your seam, avoid the temptation to sew too fast. This is one of the biggest mistakes beginners make.
They put the petal to the metal and hope that their skills will magically improve when the machine gets going fast enough. But they won’t. You’ll just end up with wonky corners and wobbly lines, and if you try to correct them as you go, it will be even worse. If you sew slowly, you can see what the fabric is doing as you sew and correct your mistakes. Another mistake beginners make is looking at the needle as they sew. This causes the seam line to waver because you stop paying attention to the edge guide or the line you drew on the fabric as you sew. To avoid this problem, choose one thing to look at as you sew, either the line you drew on the fabric or the edge guide on your machine, and keep your eyes on it as you sew the entire seam.
As you practice your seam, don’t try to sew for too long at one time. With a new skill like this one, it’s better to practice for just a few minutes a day than to try to sew for a long time and get frustrated. Here’s one way you might break your practice into smaller chunks: take the first five minutes to cut out three pairs of fabric rectangles and mark seam lines on them. Take the next five minutes to sew them slowly, using one adjustment if necessary. For example, you might lengthen your stitches or change the position of your hands. Finally, take the last five minutes to press your seams and evaluate them. Write one sentence about what you did and what happened in a notebook each time you practice. You might write something like, “When I started sewing, my fabric started to shift out of place” or “I did a better job of controlling my fabric when I stopped pulling on it as I sewed.”
These notes will help you identify patterns in how you sew that you won’t otherwise notice. If you get frustrated as you practice your seam, simplify what you’re trying to do instead of giving up. If you’re still struggling to make a straight line, don’t try to tackle sleeves and collars and curves just yet. Instead, shorten your seam and try to make several seams in a row that look the same. Try drawing a straight line on a piece of paper with your machine before you add any thread. This will give you practice moving the paper smoothly and consistently without the variable of the fabric stretching as you sew. Then go back to your cotton rectangles and try again.
Sometimes when you’re learning how to sew it’s hard to tell if you’re getting better or not. The seam might look a little straighter, the corner might look a little cleaner, the fabric might lie a little flatter when you press it. These tiny improvements are a big deal. When you get to the point where you can make a decent straight line in your seam, it’s time to add some variables. Try sewing with the grain of your fabric going in different directions. Try sewing a seam and then pressing it open. Then try using your zigzag stitch to finish the raw edge if your machine has one. Make one more sample and pivot to sew around a corner. Don’t think that these are random, meaningless, exercises. They’re not. Everything you learn how to do as you practice your seam are skills you will use when you make a skirt or a simple top or a waistband or a facing. Ultimately, a garment is just a series of little decisions that you repeat over and over again as you sew. And if you can master the seam, you can master them.