My First Time Properly Sewing: Errors and Small Victories

I've dabbled in sewing before, but I never had the patience or rigor to make it enjoyable or to have things turn out the way I actually wanted.

I made a few tops and a dress, but mostly without proper patterns, ignoring seam allowances or ironing. My supplies? Ancient. My mom’s Singer from the ’50s, a machine that weighs as much as a military tank and is about as beginner-friendly as one. Later, I got a £20 machine from Amazon for a gift I wanted to make for a friend. The gift worked out, but the machine was little more than a toy, only capable of a straight stitch. I might as well have done it by hand.

Honestly, what was I doing? Not sure if it was hubris or pure delusion, but anyway…

Since crochet had rekindled my love for making clothes, I started thinking about giving sewing another go - properly this time.

Choosing a Project (That I’d Actually Wear)

Since I’m already building a crochet capsule wardrobe (Part 1 article here), I figured I’d try sewing something that could fit into it. I needed a pattern I’d actually want to wear, and more importantly, one that wouldn’t send me into a rage spiral as a beginner.

I scoured Instagram and Pinterest, lurking in the comments section looking for patterns that had a good success rate - especially for beginners. I narrowed it down to:

• The Rossi Wrap by The Bold One

• The Willow Dress by Cinnamon Daisy

• Jumpsuits by Katie Sewss

• Most of RosysPatterns (because they all looked good)

In the end, I went with RosysPatterns and got the shorts and top set plus the Maya dress. No buttons, no zippers - should be easy(ish). Also, for some reason, the one non-negotiable in my mind was linen. And I wanted a yellow dress, since I struggle to find a mustard/turmeric shade I like in stores.

Getting the Right Tools (For Once)

I bought a sewing machine (link at the end of the article) - the cheapest from a well-known brand that had tons of good reviews. After my past experiences, it felt like trying to run in stilettos and then finally switching to proper trainers.

I tested it out by hemming some trousers. It looked professional and took two minutes. Confidence? Sky-high. Maybe too high.

Fabric & Slightly Dubious Decisions

I debated between navy and cornflower blue for the set but went with cornflower. In hindsight, navy might have been more forgiving; especially because I completely disregarded thread choices and just used what I had (a cheap multipack I use for mending). That… was an error in judgment. None of the thread matched and it was poor quality. I ended up using three different colors because my bobbins were too short. You can’t really tell in the final set, but in places, it highlights my questionable stitching. Oh well. First attempt. I’m trying really hard not to be a perfectionist and just appreciate that I made something wearable.

The Pattern Printing Fiasco

Before I even got to cutting fabric, I had to print the pattern. Disaster. My printer refused to cooperate, then ran out of ink, forcing me to hand-draw missing pieces on random A4 sheets, matching them up like a puzzle. So professional. This step alone took up ⅔ of the total sewing time. I remained as calm as I could, but I wanted to throw the printer out the window.

Finally, the Sewing

I laid everything out on the floor, used a towel as an ironing board (professional again), and actually traced pieces with tailor’s chalk. This was much better than my old method of eyeballing it (which I do not recommend).

The pattern was straightforward, but choosing a size was not. My measurements ranged from Medium to 3XL. All of that to accommodate the butt... I ended up sewing a Large top and 2XL bottoms, tweaking things slightly so the top wouldn’t overlap weirdly. I also wish the waistband was tighter, but I was scared I wouldn’t be able to pull them up if I went smaller. So here we are. (Belts are an easy solution)

Final Thoughts

All in all, this was fun. Stressful at times? Yes. But fun. And it definitely made me want to keep going - maybe even mix sewing with crochet!

I have a few events coming up this year (a bachelorette and a wedding), so maybe I’ll make something for those… or maybe I’ll just wrestle my printer again. We’ll see.

Links

• my final look and main takeaways Instagram reel

• Sewing Machine

• tailor's chalk

• sewing scissors

• pins (the clips)

• fabrics I got: blue linen, yellow gingham linen

This article contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them at no extra cost to you.