Sewing is a wonderful hobby. You can make beautiful and unique things for yourself and your friends and family. It’s a lot of fun and can be very relaxing as well as satisfying. It’s a great feeling when someone compliments a garment you’re wearing and you can say, all casual like, “oh, thank you, I made it myself”.

It’s not always plain sailing though, we all have to grab that unpicker sometimes and fix our mistakes, that’s part of the learning process. However there are lots of top tips that might not always seem obvious to a beginner which can really help make your sewing experience more enjoyable. Although you can’t guarantee perfection every time, you can increase the chances of a great outcome and a wearable garment considerably.

I’ve spent the last few months asking my sewing friends and acquaintances what their top tip is for newbie sewists. The same tips came up time after time. Starting with the most popular response, here’s what they said:

Pre wash your fabric

Only one person said they don’t bother to pre wash fabric and I can only assume is that they’ve never spent ages making something that has shrunk massively the first time it was washed, whereas the rest of us have!

I know you just want to sew. You get home with your fabric purchase, or receive your parcel in the post and you are itching to get started but pre washing your fabric is SO worth it.

If you fabric is a solid colour, especially a cotton or linen then another top tip is to soak your fabric in cold water until it is completely saturated first, then pop it in the washing machine and wash and dry in the same way you will be washing the finished garment. The pre soak really helps stop the annoying fading on the tiny creases that you can get with a solid colour, especially when it’s a natural fibre.

Don’t rush

Don’t rush; you’re not on “Sewing Bee”! You don’t have to make a garment in 2 hours. You can take 2 days, 2 weeks or even 2 months of you want to. Do all your prep, cutting out etc then why not take a break, have a cuppa or even start the actual sewing another day. If you are tired, take a break. Very few people make successful things late at night. Rushing at midnight because you want to wear that new dress tomorrow is highly unlikely to result in a beautiful wearable dress. I’m not saying it can’t happen, just that the odds are against you!