Hand sewing guidelines • Use a single thread and avoid having thread too long, as this leads to knots.
• Pin and tack seams and hems before stitching. • Begin and finish stitches securely to prevent your sewing from coming undone.
• Usually stitches are worked from left to right – unless you are left- handed. If you are left-handed and finding it hard to learn how to stitch watch another left-handed person sewing or the mirror reflection of a right-handed person sewing. You will find it much easier to see what is happening.
• Stitches should be even, and not too long. • Use a thimble to protect your finger when working with tough materials like denim.
Tacking Tacking is also known as ‘basting’, and is a temporary stitch used to hold two or more pieces of fabric together until they get sewn properly. It acts as a guide for the permanent stitches and holds a garment together for fitting.
Method: 1. First, pin the fabric in place. 2. Use a single contrasting colour of thread with a knot at one end.
3. Begin with one backstitch to secure the stitching. 4. Make your stitches around 1 cm long, with 1 cm spaces between them.
5. Do not pull the thread too tightly or the fabric will gather up. 6. Finish with at least two backstitches to secure.
Running stitch
Running stitch is worked like tacking, except that is much smaller (1–2 mm instead of 1 cm) and is used as a functional stitch for sewing seams. It can be larger when used as a decorative stitch in appliqué or embroidery.
Gathering stitch
Gathering stitch is used to make a wide piece of fabric fit into a narrower piece, e.g. gathered skirt into a waistband. It can be done by hand or on a sewing machine.
Method: 1. Using the largest stitch width and loosest tension, sew two parallel lines along the area to be gathered. Alternatively, use two lines of running stitch.
2. The threads are then carefully pulled gathering the fabric until it fits into the required size.
3. The gathering stitches are then removed to give a neater finish. 421
Did You Know? Tacking should be done in a contrasting colour of thread so it is easier to remove once the permanent stitching is in place.
