I have been wanting to make this sewing tips directory forever. A list of all the best sewing tips, tricks, and techniques from around the web all in one spot. I had some pinned, some bookmarked, others referenced on my other posts, and some just in my head. Finally, one tidy list – kind of like a yellow pages for the best sewing tips. I hope you find it useful too, because it took for.ev.er. and if you just go on and on about how great it is I will feel much better about the kink in my neck from all the linking :). So bookmark it, pin it, or feel free to link to it – just please don’t copy and paste it (that would make me sad with a kinked neck!).
I will continue to update this as I find more too, so if you have one that should make the list, let me know!
Stitches
- How to sew a straight line ~ Ruffles And Stuff
- Sewing stitches reference guide (great idea!) ~ Simply Modern Mom
- Basic stitches – with tension reference ~ Simply Modern Mom
- Sewing with a double needle ~ Pickup Some Creativity
- How to get a great Topstitch ~ The Mother Huddle
General Tips and Techniques
- Easy mitered corner tutorial ~ No Big Dill
- How to cut with a rotary cutter, mat, and ruler ~ Izzy & Ivy Designs
- How to sew darts ~ Shwin&Shwin
- Tips & tricks for sewing darts ~ Sew Daily
- How to sew a cascading ruffle ~ Shwin&Shwin
- How to sew perfect corners ~ Rag Pets
- Sewing pleats ~ Shwin&Shwin
- A series on how to make just about any kind of pocket ~ ikatbag
- How to gather for skirts and such ~ Pickup Some Creativity
- How to felt wool for sewing ~ The Cottage Home
- Fold over elastic tutorial ~ Angry Chicken
- Magic Tube Turning Trick ~ Sew Mama Sew
- How to sew an exposed elastic waistband (like boxers) ~ The Mother Huddle
- How to make knit covered elastic waistband for pants ~ The Mother Huddle
Sewing Machine
- Understanding your sewing machine ~ Martha Stewart
- Sewing machine needles and how to choose them ~ Sew Mama Sew
- Sewing machine needles and how to use them ~ Sew Mama Sew
- Sewing machine parts guide ~ Simply Modern Mom
- Guide to sewing machine feet ~ Sew Mama Sew
- Understanding thread tension on your sewing machine ~ Threads
Zippers
- Guide to zippers – How to choose the right zipper ~ Sew Mama Sew
- Great tutorial for adding invisible zippers ~ Adventures in dressmaking
- Use regular foot to sew a zipper ~ The Purl Bee
- Another great invisible zipper tutorial ~ Sew Serendipity
- Adding a zipper to a skirt ~ Simply Homemade
- How to sew an inner zippered pocket ~ U-Handbag
Bias Tape & Piping
- Fabulous tutorial for piping ~ The Cottage Home
- No swearing bias tape method (love this video) ~ Angry Chicken
- How to use bias tape as faux piping ~ The Mother Huddle
- How to make your own bias tape ~ Made
- How to make your own piping ~ The Cottage Home
Shirring
- Great shirring tutorial ~ Ruffles And Stuff
- Very detailed shirring tutorial ~ Flossie Teacakes
- How to shirr using a drop-in bobbin ~ Prudent Baby
- How to shirr on a Brother sewing machine ~ Creative Heart
Seams
- How to sew a basic seam ~ Martha Stewart
- Seam Finishes Simplified ~ Sew Mama Sew
- Sewing flat-felled seams (like on jeans) ~ Oliver + S
- How to sew a French seam ~ Freshly Picked
- Bound seams using bias tape ~ Oliver + S
- How to finish seams without a serger using a zigzag stitch ~ The Mother Huddle
Making and Working with Patterns
- How to buy and use PDF patterns ~ Sew Mama Sew
- How to print and assemble PDF patterns ~ Sew Mama Sew
- Tracing a pattern and cutting fabric ~ Sew Mama Sew
- How to modify pants patterns for toddlers and babies (for big bottoms ;)) ~ Sew Mama Sew
- Lengthening and shortening a pattern ~ Oliver + S
- How to measure yourself correctly ~ Sewing In No Mans Land
- An entire series for drafting patterns ~ ikat bag
- How to make your own patterns from clothing ~ Sweet Verbena
- Create a custom sleeve pattern ~ Craftstylish
Hems
- How to make crisp even hems ~ Martha Stewart
- Blind hem stitch with sewing machine ~ Make It & Love It
- Rolled hem tips for a serger ~ Sew Inspired
- How to sew a rolled hem on a serger ~ Stitch Craft
- How to sew a rolled hem on a sewing machine ~ Made It On Monday
- Tip for feeding fabric into rolled hem foot ~ Quilt In Progress
- Tips and Techniques for hems ~ Sew Mama Sew
- Making a lettuce hem with a sewing machine ~ Oliver + S
- Lettuce hem using a serger ~ Janome
- How to hem jeans leaving the original hem ~ Sew Much Ado
Fabric
- Great tips for fabric selection ~ Oliver + S
- Choosing boy fabrics ~ Made
- Fabric – Selvedge, bias, and grain questions answered ~ Make It & Love It
- Rae’s big list of fabric shops (great resource for where to buy fabric online) ~ Made By Rae
- 30 great places to buy fabric online ~ The Humble Nest
- How to shop for fabric online ~ Whipstitch
- Everything you need to know about organic and sustainable fabric ~ Sew Mama Sew
- How to buy fabric with kids on tow (funny) ~ ikat bag
- Tips for sewing with knit fabric ~ Oliver + S
Adding Fasteners
- Pearl prong western snaps tutorial ~ Sew Mama Sew
- How to sew magnetic snaps ~ Simply Modern Mom
- How to attach snaps ~ Make It & Love It
Applique
- How to machine applique ~ Design Sponge
- How to applique on knits ~ From An Igloo
- How to reverse applique on knits ~ Sew Daily
Buttons
- How to sew on buttons using a sewing machine ~ Make It & Love it
- Sewing Buttons and button holes ~ Made
- Making a threaded chain for a button loop ~ Oliver + S
- How to anchor a shank button ~ The Mother Huddle
Handy Articles
- Tips for sewing on a budget ~ The Mother Huddle
- Great list of non-traditional sewing tools ~ Anne Weaver for The Mother Huddle
- Great tips for speeding up sewing ~ Pickup Some Creativity
- Interfacing guide from Amy Butler ~ Sew Mama Sew
- All about lining a garment ~ Sew Mama Sew
- Tips for getting a “Handmade not Homemade” look ~ The Mother Huddle
Phew! That’s the end folks!
Please feel free to link up any other posts you think might be useful in the comments. Sometimes those are the most popular links!
Hope you are having a sunny day…I am off to get a neck massage :)
~Destri
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{ 41 comments… read them below or add one }
WHOA. amazing list of resources, thank you SO much for compiling them! I’m a new blogger and this will DEFINITELY come in handy! Enjoy that massage, much deserved!! :)
Oh good, see you are already making it worth it! Thanks so much!
How do I insert a bra cup?
How bout this one?! Changed my sewing life!
http://gracielousquilts.blogspot.com/2010/04/tutorial-tuesday_13.html
Oh that is a great one! I have a bunch of hair thingy-s I am making and this will be perfect! I should have you show that nifty zipper tutorial you showed at Gracie Lou’s once – that was you right?!
That was me. I haven’t thought about making a tutorial on that one. Maybe!
WOW! What a great directory! Thank you so much for putting it all together!!!
Wow, wow, WOW! This is quite the list!! I’ve pinned it and look forward to looking at all your links!! Thank you! Good luck with the kink :)
Awesome! I know I will refer back to this often. Thank you Thank you Thank you!
Wow!! What an amazing resource :). Bookmarking N.O.W.
Wow, what a list- I think you most definitely deserve a neck massage!
Thanks so much for posting this, I look forward to checking out all the links!
holy cow — thank you so much!
This is “sew” great!!!! Thanks for taking the time and effort to compile this into a list. It is wonderful and I will pass this along to others (as I so often do with TMH posts)!
This is amazing I can erase alot of links in my favorites and replace it with this.
Thank you so much for this!
WOW – what a wonderful list. Thank so much for all your hard work. Hoping your neck is better!
Mary P
http://www.MarysCottageTreasures.com/
This is a fabulous list. I am familiar with some but not all . Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together for all of us!!!
Wow! I know how much work this took! Thanks for doing it and sharing. :)
hats off to you again girl. Must have been like referencing essays for university! as a non sewer I shall always keep it close – just in case!xx
Thank you so much for including my nemesis, the mitered corner!
Thanks for this incredibly complete link list! I posted a link to it on my Friday Favorites. This will come in handy for future sewing projects.
What a fantastic compilation! I just read through nearly all of them. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for the awesome list – know this will be a great resource that I will use forever – thanks again for taking the time to put it all together for us!!!
What an amazing list…thank you for taking the time to put it together and share with all of us. Such a wonderful resource. Consider yourself pinned!!
Thanks so much Lindsey!
Thank you for a great compendium, Destri! Thanks for including Katy’s great double needle tutorial. If your readers want some more great stuff, there is a whole Sewing 101 resource on my blog. You can find it here: Sewing 101
Thanks so much for including me on this list! Can’t wait to go through some of these other links as well! : )
Thank you so much for these tips. I’ll definitely be using a lot of them. Already read about 3. Great – thanks again. :)
This is just fantastic! Thank you so much for taking the time to put it together!
Wow… what a terrific resource! Just stumbled across it on Pinterest. Thank you so much for compiling it!
this is so awesome I could cry! thank you. no I MEGA thank you!
Wow! Thanks for putting this together. Your hard work is definitely appreciated :)
Wow. I don’t know what else to say. I’ve just recently started sewing clothing and this is so great. Many thanks for all of your hard work.
You’re welcome Laurie! Have fun with it :).
could you mark which (if any) are hand stitches? or make a separate section for them? i’m always in need of tips for hand sewing. (:
Oh that’s a great idea. I’ll have to look through them, and also find some more! I’ll let you know!
Ok so I havent even gotten to go through the list extensively yet and I am so excited! Thank you so very much. I will definitely be pinning this! (as well as some of your awesome tutorials) I am very new to sewing but I am loving it and just teaching my self as I go along so lots of trial and error going on in my home. I need to by myself a seam ripper LOL I am very sure I will be coming back to this page very often.
You’re welcome! And yes, seam rippers are the best. I had an hour therapy session with mine the other night :). We’ve become good friends over the years!
Hi
I was wondering how i transfer information on a piece of paper onto fabric. is there a special transfer sheet i can use? eg the old carbon paper? I was wanted to make a curtin for my kitchen and have differents explanations of what foods are good and which ones are bad that i want to transfer onto the fabric
please help
thank you
michelle
Hi Michelle,
I haven’t used it before, but you can pick up transfer paper at the craft store for this purpose. I have seen many projects that use it ans they look great! Hope this helps,
Destri
I am trying to lengthen the sleeves on a corduroy blazer. Anyone know any tricks so won’t leave a mark where previous hem was?
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