5 SEWING MISTAKES THAT MAKE YOUR CLOTHES LOOK HOMEMADE! ✂

I think we all aim to sew high quality, well made professional-looking garments. So what are the biggest mistakes we make as beginner sewists that make our clothes look homemade?

0:00 Intro
2:52 Top stitching over under stitching
4:16 Not pressing
5:24 Machine stitching instead of hand finishing
6:26 Seam finishes
8:01 Using the wrong interfacing, or not interfacing
9:35 My thoughts

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// WHAT TO WATCH NEXT:

How to DESIGN AND PLAN YOUR BEST SEWING SPACE, using the space you have!-Get 'Sew Organized' Phase 1

The best way to SORT AND ORGANIZE YOUR SEWING supplies! Get Sew Organized Phase 2!

How to STORE AND DECORATE YOUR SEWING supplies for your ultimate sewing space! Sew Organized Phase 3

WHAT IS UNDERSTITCHING? Why you don't want to skip this crucial sewing step (esp. for pro finishes)!

5 THINGS EXPERIENCED SEWISTS DO THAT BEGINNERS DON'T!

PROBLEMS SEWING FACINGS? The 3 main reasons your facings look terrible and how to fix it!

14 things I wish someone told me about sewing as a beginner!

6 PROFESSIONAL SEAM FINISHES you can do without a serger or overlocker

#1 WAY TO MAKE YOUR SEWING LOOK MORE PROFESSIONAL... plus (spoiler!) 3 tips on pressing and ironing!

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Until next time
Evelyn

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#evelynwood #sewing #sewingforbeginners

[Evelyn__Wood]

Which one are you going work on to take your garments to the next level?

[artsymarsy]

My grandmother has a favorite story about someone complaining to her that she could only make 1 dress in the time it took Sue to make 3. "Yes, " my grandmother said. "But have you *seen* the inside of her dresses?"

[auntieann]

I'm a beginning sewist (in my 50s 😊) & I just started making tops for my daughter. She came home from work beaming because a customer asked her where she got her top. She told her that her mom made it. It makes my heart happy that I can create garments that make my daughter feel beautiful. Thank you for your wonderful videos.

[Bunny-chul]

I feel like the number one mistake I see intermediate to advanced home sewers making that's just unnecessary is trying to replicate industrial techniques at home. I'm trained in Haute Couture (in Paris, for real. Not fashion school in Montana or something) *and* industrial sewing stateside. I've also worked conserving vintage Haute Couture garments for a museum. In the 80s and 90s there was a huge push for home sewers to incorporate industrial techniques into home sewing to save time and "make more professional garments." Here's the thing, industrial techniques don't really work that well at home. In an industrial setting, one person does the same one or two garment sections day in, day out on the same purpose built machine. Flat felling the inseam on your jeans? No problem. They just put the two pieces through a machine that folds the edges together, and twin needle stitches all in one go. There's no folding by hand, pressing, trimming, whatever. It's all done in one go, by someone who does the same thing over and over and over. And it's the same whether your jeans come from Old Navy or Dior. Pressing isn't the same. They have machines that block fuse entire sections. They can blow out instead of pressing a garment like a dry cleaner does. Industrial sewing and home sewing are worlds and worlds apart.

On the other hand, Haute Couture techniques translate really well to home sewing. Aside from great pressing equipment, there aren't a ton of specialty tools or gadgets you need. You don't need to know a ton of fancy folding and twisting methods to get your linings and whatnot to come out right. In general, there are a handful of easy hand stitches you can use to make practically any garment, in any fabric. If you're sewing at home, don't expect your clothes to look like the clothes at Macy's. Handmade clothes don't look like that. They should be softer. If you can see the odd hand stitch here or there, that's okay. Take the time to do things by hand. Yes, hemming a skirt can take a few hours, but does that matter if you're going to wear something for ten years? Don't sew to save money. Period. Don't. There are cheap clothes you can buy off the rack. If you're going to make something yourself, pay yourself for your time by buying the absolute best materials you can afford. (I like to factor in the amount of time I'm going to spend making something when I price out materials. If I spend $300 on materials for a jacket, and the jacket takes 100 hours, that's $3 an hour that I get to spend sewing, so that's pretty cheap enjoyment. And I get a jacket that probably retails for $3, 000+ when I'm done.) If you'd spend $150 for a dress off the rack, spend that on materials, and spend eighty hours properly finishing your garment. You'll wear it for ages. It will be well worth the effort and expense. Pick up those lovely 50s sewing books, even if you're not interested in vintage sewing. (Full disclosure, I can't stand the "sew your own vintage clothes" movement. I'd rather make something exquisite that I can wear any day of the week.) The techniques are great and they work well at home.

Take your time. A lot of sewers will say, "Oh, you're just a beginner. You'll get faster." If you're completing projects quicker, you're probably not challenging yourself enough, and you can be spending more time on things like seam finishes, or using traditional sew in interfacings instead of fusibles. (Fusibles have a place, even in Couture, but they're not a magic bullet for everything.) I like to say that good sewers sew because they like the results. Great sewers sew because they love the process.

[Moxiecat]

Evelyn,
I think it would be such a fun and educational project if you made the same garment twice. One with these "beginner mistakes", and then the expert handmade version. :) Just a thought.
Thanks for the video!

[gma]

oh, i just love this woman. She's so kind and sweet and positive.

[loriar]

I remember when I was a teenager in 4-H (here in the states) I always entered my sewing project in the county review-- that's where we modeled what we made. I was always in a hurry to finish my project bc I was so eager to wear it, so I gave little thought to the inside, and I skipped steps like finishing seams. One year as we were getting ready to start the review, (that was the year we made dresses for the first time) I saw one of my classmates in her dress. Her mom was fussing around her, adjusting and making sure there were no loose threads, and it hit me in the face how much better her dress looked than mine. Her choice of fabric was better, the finishing was better, and overall it looked well made. (I always suspected her mom made it for her-- she was that kind of mom.) After that I totally changed my approach to sewing. I take my time and make sure I finish all the seams and press as I go. Speed is never a factor. Funny, isn't it, how those experiences stay with us our whole lives?

[Janttura]

1. Something I wish I did from the start is to wash the fabric before cutting it.
2. Also, you don't have to finish everything in one sitting. It is totally ok to have a good night sleep and to return to it later! 🤭
3. It is ok to cut and alter a garment that is already something you wouldn't ever wear. Whatever to make it work 👏

[lilly-annkeister]

On my very first sewing class ever, at the local Singer Sewing Store, the instructor held up an iron and said, "This is your best friend. It doesn't matter what machine you have or how old you are, THIS is your best friend." She was a wise wise woman. I love your videos and though I've sewn for decades, I always learn something new along the way. You are a joy to watch with lots of reminders and memories of why I love to sew.

[carolin]

Before I started ironing and pressing my creations, my mom could *always* tell if my clothes were made by me or storebought. Now she's really struggling with her guesses, and very proud of my progress (even though the only thing that changed is me finally using an iron) 😄 It really makes a huge difference!

[peppi]

timestamps!
0:00 intro
1:52 Homemade vs. Handmade
2:51 Top stitching over under stitching
4:21 Not pressing
5:21 Machine stitching instead of hand finishing
6:26 Seam finishes
7:57 Using the wrong interfacing or no interfacing
9:31 outro

Hope these help!! :)

[bitbit]

I recently figured out what I hated about ironing was the old wobbly cheap ironing board I was using. Switched that out and now I actually enjoy ironing

[chazhoosier]

Lack of practice of course! I saw a marked improvement in my end results after using a whole weekend and an entire spool of thread doing nothing but sewing straight lines and spirals on scraps of fabric over and over again. My lines are straighter, my stitching is more consistent because I am feeding fabric better, and my speed is improving.

[katherinemorelle]

I will say that “looking homemade” is still better than looking like fast fashion!

I’ve found that learning historical techniques has been really helpful for me in elevating my stitching. Because a lot of the techniques that we think of as couture today, are the hand finishing techniques that come directly from historical sewing. Hand felling seams and gems, hand finishing binding (which I’m currently having an awful time with, trying to bind a pair of 18th century stays- the tabs are beyond maddening!).

I also discovered that I just really like hand sewing everything, because I found I have much, much greater control of each and every stitch. And it’s very soothing to me- except when I’m trying to bind tabs, that is. And that’s something I wouldn’t have learned if I hadn’t given historical or hand sewing techniques a try.

[splashluvallover]

I've moved from saying "thanks, I made it myself" to "thanks! I'm really happy with how it turned out!" because then the other person usually follows up with "did you make that?" and then I can say yes. It just sounds less like I'm fishing for compliments that way. Clearly I've overthought this 😂

[pattyashcraft]

I am 68 years old. I was blessed with the best sewing teacher at age 12 in 7th grade. She taught me sewing for four years. She was a hard task master at times. But she taught me the proper way to do things. I love sewing to this day due to that awesome teacher. I taught my daughter to sew and will soon be teaching my granddaughter. Sewing is relaxing and enjoyable for me. It's a great skill for anyone to have. Thank you for your teaching and inspiration.

[lizardqueen]

I call my “mistakes” learning curves. Once I straighten them out, they feel like second nature!

[missmatti]

The goddamn facings 😅 - they did drive me nuts for years and I didn't learn about understitching until I was studying fashion design. Re. pressing last night I made a single welt pocket and at first, when you pull the pocket from the right side to the wrong side of the garment it can look so bad. I almost cried last night because I didn't think it looked good - then I pressed... 😯 😍

[milchmadchen]

Thank you for your videos - it made me inventing the understitch for me.
My advice for avoiding the homemade or "cheap" look is to choose the buttons wisely. The wrong button, too colorful, too big, too textured or too many buttons can ruin an otherwise perfect garment.

[maryjanegibson]

You're right. I admit to loving it when someone say, "you MADE that?", and it confirms that I've done my best.