Beginner Sewing Tips + How I Started

Often on Facebook or TikTok I get the question “how did you learn to sew”?

And the short answer is I learned the very basics at a young age but taught myself more advanced skills more recently.

How I Learned

My mom used to sew when I was growing up so I would sometimes watch her and she let me use the machine from time to time.

However, I would say I didn’t really learn how to do it myself until I was in middle school and took a home ec class. It was very basic stuff, but still I learned how to thread the machine and do a straight stitch.

Then my junior year in high school I took a fashion design class where we spent almost the whole semester sewing a dress.

That was in 2011, and I didn’t touch a sewing machine again until 2020.

Last year, I bought the Brother SE600: Sewing and Embroidery Machine Combo which is fabulous and I started to relearn how to sew. I watched many YouTube tutorials to remind myself how to do the basics, as well as learn some new skills.

Beginner Sewing Steps

Since I get asked where to begin frequently, I thought I would put together a progression of steps that I think will help you work up to being able to sew.

Look Through the Sewing Machine Manual

You don’t have to read it cover to cover, but definitely flip through your machine’s manual to learn the basics of how to use your particular machine.

You could also type your machine model into YouTube and see what comes up.

Pick a Small Project to Start

Honestly the best way to learn how to sew is through trial and error, so get sewing!

Two easy, beginner projects I recommend are this fabric hair bow tutorial or this envelop pillow tutorial.

Small projects like this are quick and will build up your confidence for when you’re ready to start some bigger projects.

Pick a Pattern and Try it Out

After you get used to using your machine, go get a pattern or tutorial and try sometime out!

You can buy fabric or bedsheets at the thrift store if you want cheap fabric to play around with in case you mess up.

As I mentioned before, it really just takes practice to get better. So don’t worry about your first few projects being perfect, they won’t be.