How to Sew By Hand

How to Sew By Hand Knowing and successfully implementing a skill can save you a lot more trouble.

And knowing how to sew by hand is one of those skills that are on par with other greats like plumbing, carpeting, and other mechanical works.

If you are to give a sewing machine to anyone, it will take some time to get used to it, but eventually, they will. But learning how to sew by hand is an art of creating and modifying different types of fabrics.

And you can use this art in solving your sewing problem, and your friends, and also make a living out of it.

Within this article, we will look at what are the things that you’ll need to learn this skill, where they are used, what technique to use in different situations and the whole process of sewing by hand.

What you should require

Every profession needs its tools, and the sewing profession has some very recognizable tools. Different types of needles, threads, scissors, and fabrics are extensively used in this profession.

A needle

A needle with a pointy end and a small hole on the other end should do the trick, but beware, sewing is not dependent on just one type of needle. There are separate needles for different purposes. It surely depends on the kind of work you are trying to accomplish.

It can be a thick one for sewing through thick fabric, long ones, one with a sharper end, or the one with the ball on its other end.

So make sure what it is you’re about to sew. In your case, if you are a beginner, have a long and a short one. The long one is easier to grab onto, and the short one is used when you have to sew long and detailed work. There are even sewing needles with two holes.

Spool of thread

You’ll need the right amount of thread. They, too, come in different lengths and sizes. There are cotton threads used when working with cotton fabric and silk thread when working with silk fabric. But right now, a general thread will do.

Scissors

For the best sewing scissors, you don’t need to worry. For now, you can use a regular scissor but try to go with something smaller in size.

Generally, sewing scissors are sharp so that they do not mess up the thread and are small in size, which makes them easier and more comfortable to hold and use.

Fabric

Don’t try to buy new fabric for this purpose if you are on the way to learning this art. Take any type of thin fabric that is available at your home and make sure it is light enough because the needle you’re using might not support a thick cloth.

When you get better and faster at sewing, you will be introduced to a wide variety of sewing materials. This ranges from thin fabrics to thick carpets.

4 Acute Processes Explaining How to Sew by Hand

And that is NOT going to be a hard-assed list of processes of how the sewing by hand is done.

Whatever it involves, we have it all streamlined for you to follow up in a bit.

Step 1: Cut the thread–How to Sew By Hand

The first step is to take out the thread. It does not need to be very long, just enough to get through the needle; otherwise, it will result in a bigger and unexpected mess.

Take out the thread and make the end of the thread pointy so that we can insert it through the needle. You can do it by cutting the thread with a scissor in a way that makes it pointy or by following the traditional way, with the use of water or saliva.

As you have taken out the thread, you need it. Cut the other end as well. Don’t worry, and you will see what we will do with it.

Step 2: Tying the Knot-How to Sew By Hand

Threading and stitching, are two terms often mixed by many. They are an essential element in sewing but are very different from one another.

Where threading is the technique of how the thread gets around the needle, stitching is the technique by which the piece of clothes is stitched.

In this section, we will discuss threading briefly.

Now take the pointy end of the thread and insert it in the pinhole. Don’t worry if you failed to do it. Most people do, even the experienced ones. Try again, and you will succeed in your third or fourth attempt, and you will get better at it eventually.

Now for the knot, take both the needle end and the other end of the thread and then hold them between your index finger and thumb. Now rotate the other end of the thread three times around the needle and then pull out the needle from your finger.

There, you have learned how to do a knot and cut the remaining. Practice it as this does not involve being one heck of a difficult task.

There are two ways the thread is tied after it is inserted into the needle. And the outcome depends on it. One is called single-threaded, and the other is called double-threaded.

Well, I like single threading, but we will go through both of them.

Single-Threaded:

The pointy end goes in the needle, and you’ll take the other end of the thread and tie a knot to itself. This is mainly a simple process for me, and according to the work I did, I never found the need for the double-threaded method, but anyway, let’s check out another one.

Double Threaded:

It follows the same few steps in the start, like making one end pointed by using a scissor and then inserting this end through the needle. And, now take both ends of the thread and tie the knot we discussed above, and a double thread is created.

This type of threading is used when we need a strong stitch and can’t afford for the thread to break. Many find this technique useful.

Read: Best 10 Sewing Machine Oils to use

Step 3: Start working.

When you research or ask an expert, you will be introduced to 10’s of stitching patterns, and we will discuss some of the popular ones later in this article, but right now, try the basic one. The one that is right for you.

Take the two pieces of fabric that you have. Overlap them both from the end you want to start to the end where you want to finish it off. Remember, this is so that you know what you are planning to do.

What the right side is, and by the right side, I mean the side where the needle gets in first. But as you insert the needle into the fabric, your focus point should be your needle and its surrounding.

Push the whole needle through the fabric then pull it back through the fabric. Just keep doing it in and out of the fabric. Make sure you are saving some distance between every insertion.

Step 4: The final knot-How to Sew By Hand

Now, just go with the flow, and at the end, when you pull out the needle for the final time, insert it between the previous stitch, and it will make a loop of thread.

Pull the needle through the loop, and this will make the final knot. Do this step a couple of times to strengthen your knot, and you’ll be fine.

This is typically one of those areas a person who owns a beginner sewing machine, needs to work on, and while you are trying to do things right, remember to be fast at sewing, and this can happen only if you repeat the craft again and again.

The Different Stitching Patterns

Now that you have the basic knowledge of hand sewing, we will be going through the exciting stuff that I have been waiting to tell you. That is to discuss the more intricate knowledge about sewing and the techniques and stitching patterns used in it.

Running Stitch:

This is a straightforward stitching pattern. You start from beneath the cloth where you do the first stitch and pull the needle out. After that, you do the second stitch by pushing the needle back in the fabric and then just keep repeating the process again and again and, in the end, tie a knot.

Back Stitch:

This pattern requires absolute precision as you will start the first stitch usually, but the second stitch will continue right where the first one ended. Keep repeating this step, and in the end, you will have a straight line with no spaces. This stitch is durable and used mostly in fabrics that need heavy stitching.

It gives this pattern an edge over others by being the strongest of the stitch. By practicing this pattern, you will get a hold of it, and you should learn this skill.

Blanket Stitch

Multiple patterns help you stitch two separate fabrics. Some patterns are more comfortable, and some provide durable stitching. Blanket stitching can do nearly both, and besides, this one also looks good.

It is often applied when stitching two different cloth materials. What you have to do is to align the pieces of fabric and make the first stitch and then create a loop, pull out the needle from that loop and push away.

Then make another stitch close to the first one. Keep doing this with precision, and you will have a strong and good-looking stitched fabric.

Satin Stitch:

Satin stitch will be an unusual type of stitching technique for you. Previously we have been looking at a somewhat simpler version for stitching fabrics, and satin stitch changes that as this is a bit of a stylized version of our traditional stitching methods.

The process consists of the same old needle, thread, and fabric. What we do here is that the needle will come from beneath the fabric as it will be then pulled out from the fabric.

After that, the needle is inserted into the fabric, but this time it won’t push through to the other side, it will be added back into the fabric and then pulled back in. This is repeated many times. Every stitch needs to be aligned and combined.

Conclusion

So, when you are finding the real processes of how to sew by hand just gives you a lot of options. You can experiment with different kinds of stitching patterns on different types of fabric. Just keep on experimenting because this profession has so much to offer.

Whether many machines are taking over many jobs and especially in this case, sewing machines can help a lot in challenging tasks, and there are also sewing machines that do not need a human but still.

But nothing can take away your craft and your creativity, the art of sewing.

The fashion industry, movies, and the TV industry; requires a talented individual who can craft unique dresses and costumes that are well made. Thousands of different dresses are sewn by the hands of the designers just because they bring a realistic vibe.

So, this profession is well on its way up. You might encounter difficulties and hardships along the way, but keep on trying as this will pay up in the future.