5 Tips To Improve Your Hand Sewing Before You Even Begin to Stitch!

Learning how to create beautiful, neat, and strong stitches by hand is not always easy. Since hand-sewing is no longer considered a "basic life skill", we're often left on our own to try and figure it out, without any real guidance. I've been hand-sewing, both professionally and privately, for years, and I have learned so much from my teachers and years of experience and research. Today, I want to share with you my 5 tips to improve your hand sewing, without having to really sew anything.

Beginning with using a thimble (obviously...😂), I walk you through what types of sewing threads are best for hand sewing garments, and things to keep in mind for silk, cotton, and linen thread (hint: not all threads are created equal, and sewing thread quality and weight really matter!) Next, we talk about needles - sharps vs. betweens/quilters vs. embroidery, the quality of different needle brands, like John James, Colonial, Dritz, and others, and what size needles to look for! I also rant a bit and demonstrate how important sewing technique and basting are, and how they shouldn't be overlooked.

Hopefully, whether you're a beginner sewist, looking to improve your hand sewing skills, or feeling ready to take on a large 18th-century gown project by hand, hopefully, I have something in this video that will help you on your sewing journey!

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[XOXCGEANE]

Fun fact: Pin cushions usually come w/a smaller version of it attached by a string. That small version hanging off a dongle is NOT an extra pin cushion. It's filled w/graphite & its purpose is to sharpen your needles. Just jab it in & out until you reach your desired sharpness! 😊

[MorganDonner]

BASTING BAES! It's the mockup of the stitch world, 100% recommend!

[zoenightshade]

"Most needles made today are crap." totally agree. I accidentally sat on a needle once, and instead of poking me, it BROKE! It just shattered into like 5 pieces!

[WandaKayuc]

I had NO IDEA needles had changed so much! I have been fighting with newer needles thinking that age sure does a number on your ability to hand sew. It never occurred to me that I was dealing with inferior tools. Thanks for the education! Will be purchasing proper needles right away... Getting a thimble too... Had always been told I should use one, but never saw the proper technique demonstrated like you do.... Who says you can't learn new tricks?

[sonipitts]

Holy crap, that needle close-up. I had no idea there was so much difference in quality. No wonder I have so much trouble threading needles these days. ~glares in betrayal at plastic circle container of cheap needles~

[AnimalVegetableMineral]

Re: basting instead of pinning; head explode. I thought hand sewing just...always...sucked.
"Ah crap, caught on a pin. Ow, poked by a pin. Gah, I'm tangled again."
Also, now I'm going to go through all of my needles. Before this video I thought, "it's pointy metal with a hole in it, how can they mess that up?" The decline in quality of literally EVERYTHING over the past few decades really, really, really blows.

[yulebones]

I started teaching myself to sew this year, and I was just ranting to my spouse a few days ago about how hard it is to find good information about basic stuff like what makes a good needle, what we should look for with thread, etc. I'm so glad I found this! Thanks for making it.

[r]

Many years ago, when I was young ( back in 1970's small town Australia) every pupil in my school was taught the basics of hand sewing once they entered roughly 3rd class or 4th class, from memory (about 9 or 10 years of age for those non-Australian readers ).
We had a lovely teacher who taught us our basic stitches and really encouraged us to focus on improving our stitch quality, as beginners, before attempting anything else. She always said, as you have here, Abby, that getting the basics in place was a foundational skill, and from there all other skills could developed.
Just like a lot of things in life, we all have to be able to crawl before we can walk! If we get our foundations in place, then everything else flows from there.

Being able to undertake basic sewing projects, such as mending, darning, hemming and minor alterations is, I feel, an invaluable life skill. Shame learning the basics is still not part of our school curriculum anymore, as it's such a handy skill to have.

Take care and keep up the great work, Abby! xx

[k_golly_g]

Ok, you convinced me. I'll try basting. I'm confused though. At what point do you bring in the big eye dropper thing with the rubber bulb on the end?

[nyxskids]

Note to beginners with low income... Do what you can with what you can get. And as you start to save money, save for better needles, thread, and fabric! (Because she's absolutely right... Yet life is... (Fill in the blank)) Yes, you're going to be frustrated if you need to do this, but if you're really looking to have more a more ethical, independently sustainable, long run cheaper wardrobe, and you can only really start with what you already have or can get on the cheap, think of it preparation for future sewing frustrations as you learn.

Also made in China products are crap largely because of the working conditions. So definitely get better products in general when you can manage it and not feed into the system that makes sweat shops the only way to make affordable items.

Last point... Recycle. If the crap needles (or anything) you wanna pitch can be recycled, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do recycle them.

**** Edit for new info... Only recycle needles if your local recycling takes them. They will only take them if they mechanically sort the recycling. Safety for workers sorting by hand is extremely important. You can also recycle them into parts of crafts if you're so inclined.

[bethanya]

Sew, I'm trying to teach myself to hand stitch via youtube, and I really appreciate you explaining the rational behind basting and how it boosts technique and efficiency. I'm halfway through my first ever project and that will really help me on my next few steps. Thank you Abby!

[andrewbigelow]

Thanks so much for this! As an "accidental sewist" this was really useful to me. And please, don't sugar-coat it; tell us how you really feel about cheap needles!

[PiscesVirago]

Wow. I feel very lucky. I inherited my grandma’s sewing machine and full kit when I was 17. I have beautiful sewing needles in the packet from Sheffield UK, I think my Grandma bought them in the 50’s and never opened them.

[LaDivinaLover]

I feel like I’ve gotten VERY lucky with my free packs of assorted needles. I couldn’t tell you what brands they are now because they’re in a cushion but I just did a quick inspection and all of my needle eyes are very well finished and have held their points FOREVER. Lol

[annamcnarin]

I inherited all my sewing stuff from my grandmother. I checked my needles & chuckled when I realized my Gram bought all good stuff- England, all of it. I've been sewing up dog toys and kids pockets with English embroidery needles. 😆

[tpauling]

fun fact, on sewing machines, the needle's point wearing out isn't what is going to cause the most trouble, it's the eye with the constant motion of the thread. It's why you'll develop tension problems and thread breaks with an old needle on a sewing machine.

[lauramiller]

I wish people talked more about needles. I feel like that's the one area I know nothing. I have been working on these felt animal kits during my at home time and it's really helping with my neatness and precision in hand sewing. Also learning how important basting is. Felt stretches and slides all over the place if it's not basted.

[breannadyck]

This convinced me the needles i've been using lately (from one of those plastic circle things) are indeed garbage - they've actually been cutting through my thread as i'm sewing!

[Oldstudent]

This is wonderful! I'm a historical interpreter for the early 19th century and I do a lot of hand sewing. I've also been sewing since the early 1970s. This FINALLY put things in an understandable manner.

[ChannellCWalker]

I love these videos! I tossed 3 packs of needles I'd bought over the years. I was never taught to hand sew. I was 5 when I sat in a corner and mimicked the motions of sewing that I saw on a Looney Toons episode. In middle school, I took a Home Ec class where we made a quick pin cushion but mostly I was taught to use a sewing machine and a serger. Finding this little corner of the internet has been the best thing ever. I'm so glad that your viral video brought me here. Thank you for this video and the video on metal thimbles. I watched it and Bernadette's video on her leather thimble and I learned so much from both of you. From Bernadette, I learned that leather thimbles were a thing and from you, I learned about how thimbles should fit and that there is a thing as a tailor's thimble. With your powers combined, I was able to make my own leather thimble in the tailor's style. It fits so well and is so comfortable I forgot I was wearing it just around the house. I haven't even done any sewing with it yet. Thank you, thank you.