Sewing has been a part of human life early periods. Like everything else, it has evolved in a lot of ways during this long time period. This history is nothing dramatic, but knowing about the roots always brings out a new level of appreciation to everything.

We have proof of sewing in the palaeolithic era. So from there, it was a long journey till today. So let us dive into that long history.

Origins of Sewing

The beginning of sewing is said to be in the palaeolithic era. Back then animal hides were sewed together to make a shelter. It was during the same period Africans sewed leaves together to make baskets. Sewing of cloths came much later in the Neolithic era. This was after cloths began to be waved from natural fibres.

During the 19th century, sewing became a part of life. It was mostly a women’s job and clothing was still a luxury.

From the middle ages to 17th-century decorative sewing was a sought-after skill. Young women who practised this made quite a lot of money. These embroidery works are valued around the world. These works are said to have spread from China to the rest of the world through the silk route.

Industrial revolution and sewing

The industrial revolution brought dramatic changes to sewing. Till then sewing was much a household thing, but the industrial revolution moved it from houses to mills. everything began to change when the first sewing machine was patented by Thomas Saint in 1790. it was only in 1850 a machine that can surpass the accuracy and speed of a tailor sewing by hand was developed. First such machine was developed by Issac singer. It’s amazing how good the best new sewing machines are compared to the ones first invented.

During this period most clothes were in low-class families were sewn by female members of the family. But middle-class families began to move towards mills during this period.

Tailors become associated with higher end families and sewing machines were yet to become a common item in households. But this was when people began using sewing patterns.

The 20th century and today

Sewing underwent a lot more changes during the 20th century A lot more versions of the sewing machines were introduced and a lot of them were actually affordable for the working class. This lead to an increased demand for sewing patterns. The widespread popularity of women’s magazines also helped in increasing this demand.

As the western world of sewing revolutionized all other world following. The repercussions of the revolutions were felt throughout the world. All of the world from Africa to Asia moved to the new sewing methods pretty fast.

A lot of other changes happened during the industrial revolution. Synthetic fibres were made for the first time and changed the textile industry as a whole. Towards the end of the industrial revolution, a lot of textile industry in the west was shut down and moved to less expensive developing countries. Till today these industries thrive in the developing nations. People engage in sewing individually or as a part of a small scale industry as the part of their lively hood. Small-scale sewing is said to be the backbone of economies of a lot of developing nations. And sewing patterns are being sold to all of these people around the world.

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Making your own sewing patterns somehow makes sense. They save a lot of money and the size problem is also solved. There are two ways to make a copy of a dress you own. But that is the hard way. We are looking at the hard way today. IE, making your own sewing pattern from scratch.

1. Taking measurements

The measurements needed are of the torso, neck and arms. You will be measuring the following things

The half neck: The length around the neck divided by two.

The half shoulder: the distance between the shoulders divided by two.

The quarter bust: length of your bust divided by four.

The quarter waist: length of the smallest part of your waist divided by four.

The quarter hip: widest part of your hip divided by four.

The high shoulder point (HSP) to upper chest: The distance between the base of your neck to under the armpit.

The distance between your HSP and natural waist.

The distance between your HSP ad hip.

The bicep half: length of the fullest part of your bicep divided by two.

The sleeve length: length from shoulder to where you want the sleeve to end.

The wrist half, the circumference of the wrist by two.

2. Draw the pattern

Take a big ass paper

Draw a perpendicular line 2 cm away from the top of the paper in the length of half neck. This is called the HSP.

Draw another line below in the length of your half shoulder.

From the HSP, measure and mark distance to the upper chest.

Draw a perpendicular line that goes over the mark in the length of the quarter bust.

From your HSP, measure and mark distance to your waist. Draw a perpendicular line that goes over the mark in the length of quarter waist.

From your HSP, measure and mark distance to your hip, Draw a perpendicular line that goes over the mark in the length of quarter hip.

3 Connect the dots

You’ll need to do it so as to replicate the front side of a t-shirt.

Draw curves where ever needed and make a line through the centre of the pattern to make it easier to understand. The curves should be at the neckline.

4. Repeat this for the back side

Repeat the same process for the back side only with some minor differences. The only difference needs to be the neckline. The neck drop of front and back should have a difference.

5. Plot the sleeve

Plotting the sleeve is pretty easy. Just make sure that measurement stays always bigger than the half bicep so that it stays loose.

6. Connect the dots on the sleeve

Connect the dots of the sleeve plot. Just keep in mind that you are drawing a sleeve.

7. Add seam allowance.

Add a 1/2 inch parallel line to the edge of the design. This is the allowance for the seam. If you want more seam allowance you can do that just remember to be consistent.

8. Cut out the pattern pieces

Cut out the drawn pieces using scissors. You own sewing pattern is now ready.

Sewing patterns are the blueprints of any dress. They are mostly bought from stores. But making them ourselves makes more sense. Making your own sewing patterns help you save money and also make dresses to your own size.

The easiest way to make your own sewing patterns is to copy the dresses you own. You can add a spin to it after. Making a dress with your own sewing pattern feels amazing. So here are the steps to make your own sewing pattern by copying a dress.

1 Trace the seams

The first step is to trace the seams of the dress with a chalk. For this lie the dress flat up front on a pattern paper. Start tracing with the bigger portions of the dress and move on to the smaller portions. This technique works best on simple garments. Once the front side is complete move on to the back.

2. Spread the pattern paper

Always spread the pattern paper on a hard surface, doing this on carpets or any other soft surfaces will make the process much harder.

A stiff cardboard piece can be used if you pin the dress to the board.

Brown postal wrapping paper is the best to use as the tracing paper. It comes in large sizes and trace marks are super visible on them.

3. Lay down the design paper

Flatten the original garment on top of the paper. Place your garment chalk-side down on your paper. Straighten the garment out, then carefully apply pressure on the back of the garment along each seam.

Use your non-dominant hand or weights to keep the garment still and flat against the paper. Simultaneously use your dominant hand to rub over the back of your garment around any area you chalked previously.

If done correctly, the chalk on your garment should rub off onto the paper.

You can pin the garment to the paper as you work but only do this if you are working on top of corkboard or a similar porous surface. Stick the pins straight through the garment, the paper, and the corkboard.

4. Trace the perimeter

The first thing to trace is the largest perimeter around the dress. Trace the top bottom and sides of the dress first. Make sure that the dress is staying perfectly flat and still.

First, trace only the main section. We can get to smaller sections later. Focus on the session you are tracing right now. Every section separated by a seam needs a different pattern piece, keep that in mind.

5. Make traces of small sections

Repeat the tracing process for smaller sections. Make sure that each portion is still and flat before tracing. Making pattern pieces of smaller sections is an important step. Start with the front and move on to the back pieces.

Make sure to mark the pieces you are drawing not to make any confusions. Also never draw section next to each other, always leave a gap to cut them out.

6. Add seam allowance to the pieces

Once the garment is removed from the pattern pieces, add a 1/2 inch parallel line to the edge of the design. This is the allowance for seam. If you want more seam allowance you can do that just remember to be consistent.

7. Cut out the pieces.

Use scissors to cut out the design.

Most people start their sewing journey from a sewing machine. Maybe it will be a gift or maybe it was something that you’ve wanted for years. Anyway, your journey only really starts when you get the machine. But once you get the machine all of it becomes too real.

Beginning of anything can be a bit overwhelming. Since you don’t know how to do anything there is a learning period. You can get better only if you take the time and effort. So let us get into how you can master sewing.

1. Getting comfortable with the machine

Every sewing machine is different and it takes time to learn all the different aspects of a machine. The users manual is the best place to start. It will have all the basics about your machine. So read it thoroughly and learn about all the parts and work. learn about the maintenance of the machine so that you can keep it in good condition. learning about the different parts of the machine is important too. The manual will help you with that.

2. Getting supplies needed for sewing

You can’t just start sewing with just some fabric and a machine. You need some other supplies too and they are important. Most basic supplies are fabric, thread, a thread ripper, pins, scissors and some bobbins. I understand some of it made sense and some didn’t. A seam ripper is something that you use to rip out stitches when you make a mistake and believe me you will make mistakes. Bobbins are cylinders used to wind threads. Others are basic supplies.

Also, try to learn the basic terminology related to sewing. Because every time you read a book about sewing a lot these will be used. And you can’t learn much without learning these. Let us not forget about sewing patterns. Every beginner needs them.

3. Attend a beginners class

This may seem like a kind of a stretch. But the help it can provide is huge. In class, you are coming in to contact with people who are the same stage of learning. You can ask a stupid question and doesn’t have to worry that someone will make fun. Also, the hands-on demonstration will help a lot in clearing your doubts. There is nothing to worry about since you will be using the simple sewing patterns.

4. Don’t look for perfection and keep practising

Practise is the only thing that can make you perfect at anything. So if you are chasing perfection, in the beginning, you are doomed to fail. Keep taking lessons, ask friends for help, look for help online. Whatever you do keep practising. Sewing takes a lot of practice and you are bound to make mistakes. Even experts make mistakes all the time. That is why you have a seam ripper, to make amends and do over the mistakes.

5. Finding out what are you passionate to sew

There are a lot of things you can sew. And most people love to keep sewing a particular item and that item is what is motivating them. So whether you love summer dresses or toddler’s dresses try to concentrate on one thing Everthing is available as simple sewing patterns, you can try the complex ones later. after a while. This is something you should think after a long time with sewing.

So you’ve started to sew and is looking to dive into projects. Here you have to be careful since selecting a strange or bad project can turn sewing into a bad experience for you. Always remember you are just a beginner. So your projects should reflect that. Hearing advice from people who have been through similar stages can help. So be sure to ask other people what their first projects were.

Here I will tell what to consider before selecting a project and list some projects for beginners. Like selecting things with easy sewing patterns.

Something you like

This is so obvious. You have to make something you like. There is a whole lot of things that you can sew. Think about what will make you happy. What will mean something to you? Surely something will pop up. Maybe it is a dress for your grandkid or an apron for yourself. It can be anything, but it should make you happy.

Something you can manage

So when I say make something you love, you may be thinking about a jacket. But that involves a lot of advanced techniques. You really can’t do it as a beginner. So always start with something small and manageable. Try something easy and succeed which will boost your confidence to work in the future. So if start with something complex, you may fail and it will ruin sewing for you.

I will be listing a few simple things you can try without difficulty. Start with one of these and then move on to complex items.

1. Apron

This is the most straightforward item you can sew. It only needs a few straight line stitches and is perfect for a beginner.

2. Fabric baskets

You can use it to hold buttons and other small stuff or maybe you can hold books or sheets in them. It is easy to stitch, and it could be done pretty fast.

3. Pouches and Bags

These are pretty straightforward. It could feel like a complex project, as long as you are not using a zip it can be done pretty easily.

4. Kimono Jacket

The ultimate aim of learning to sew a make your own dresses. So now we can look at some simple dresses you can make as a beginner. A kimono jacket can be part of your wardrobe any season and it is pretty easy to stitch too. Most of the shops willl have a simple sewing pattern for this jacket.

5. A-line skirt

These are amazingly perfect for everyone. This can be made in any size and they are pretty easy too. This only needs straight line stitches. And these stitches are pretty hard to mess up.

6. Pyjamas

Not the most fashionable item in the list, but they are personal. We use them in the comfort of own home and they make us more comfortable. These too only need some straight line stitches and is easy to make. There is no need for sewing pattern for pyjamas since they are really easy.

7. Tiered skirt

Perfect casual dress for any season, you can choose a light fabric for summer and dense for winter. Tiered fabrics are available. All you need to do is attach an elastic waistband to it.