Sewing Machine 101: Make Your First Dress

Sewing Machine 101: Make Your First Dress

“I have had a great time sharing my love of sewing clothes with you and I hope you enjoyed learning too? Sewing your clothes is a very liberating skill as it gives you the total freedom to wear whatever you want on your terms. The fabric fibres, textures, colours, designs, and weaves out there can be quite overwhelming, but if you do start with the basics and gradually introduce yourself to new fabrics, you will appreciate how best to work with them. For this course, we selected a woven jacquard fabric which is of medium weight but many other woven fabric types can be used to create the dress. You do not require too much to start; a simple sewing kit with the essentials is what you need. It is also important to think about how you will finish the raw edges of your clothes because the clothes you make should look nearly made inside as well as on the outside. The three methods shared in the course are just a few out of the many finishing techniques. Step by step + tips The first step is to become familiar with your sewing machine. I can’t stress this enough: do your research on how your machine works before you start. It’ll spare you a lot of time, and you’ll end up with a much more professional finish in your garments.

After that, it was time to select the fabric. For this particular dress, I advise that you use a light type of fabric. A cotton lawn or viscose will be ideal. Make sure is it not see-through. Then take your pattern pieces and pin them to your fabric. If you’ve chosen a patterned fabric, remember to place the pattern in such a way that the motifs are in the same direction. Cut with precision, and don’t forget the notches and markings in the pattern. Next, fuse the interfacing to the neckline of your dress with an iron and iron cloth. This way, your neckline will fall exactly where you want it and it’ll give a nice finish to your pice. After that, sew the parts of the pattern together as I showed you. Start by joining the pieces of the bodice together and then move onto creating the skirt of your dress. Gather the top of the skirt using two rows of stitches and remember to do this process in parts. Finally, when all the pieces of your dress are sewn together, create the buttonholes and place the buttons in place. Sewing is about paying attention to detail. If you want your dress to look amazing, don’t skip the small parts of the process: press your fabric along the process and finish your raw edges. Don’t be afraid to experiment. It’s all about practice and patience. Also, don’t forget to participate in the forum. I will be there to answer questions and give some guidance. You can also give ideas or feedback to other members of the community. That way you will learn a lot! Just as there are many sewing tools, gadgets, and fashion fabrics out on the market, there are many other ways to transfer your body measurements and desired style onto a piece of fabric, such as freehand cutting. But in this course, you have an already prepared template, which is the sewing pattern, which you would need to download in your size and print on A0 paper. This sewing pattern can be saved and used as many times as you wish. The sewing pattern components can also be transformed and used to alter the design of your dress. For example, the sleeves can be lengthened, shortened or fuller, etc. The options are endless. Do remember to steam press your seams as you see them so that your garment will look neat and properly executed. It is also vital to protect your fabric from heat damage using a lightweight woven fabric or a tea towel from your kitchen. Above all, do enjoy the process and focus on the little steps which would eventually sum up to become huge wins in the long run. Remember the mental health benefits associated with switching off from everything else and focusing on turning a flat piece of fabric into an item of clothing for yourself. Remember to share your progress and engage with other sewists in the forum. Best wishes, Juliet. ”

Partial transcription of the video

“Final Project We have reached the end of this Domestika course. I hope you enjoyed the tips and tricks that I shared with you and you had fun in the process of creating your own garment. If you follow the lessons in this course, you'd see that creating your own clothes is quite easy. As I mentioned before, it's a great way to contribute to the sustainability of the environment as you won't fund the fast fashion industry. Also, I've found that creating your own garments generates a sense of well-being and a renewed self esteem because your clothes will be unique and will fit your exact body ...”

This transcript is automatically generated, so it may contain mistakes.

Course summary for: Sewing Machine 101: Make Your First Dress

• Level: Beginner
• 99% positive reviews (440)
• 25744 students
• 5 units
• 26 lessons (5h 5m)
• 3 downloads

• Category

  Fashion

• Areas

  DIY, Fashion Design, Patternmaking & Dressmaking, Sewing