Sewing: The Bachelor's final frontier? (1 Viewer)

[Max Leung]

I've been trying to find pointers on how to sew...I'd like to know how to mend broken seams and restore buttons on my shirts! And I guess it would be useful when making custom black-cloth lens covers for RPTVs!
I got myself one of those cheap sewing kits you find in drugstores...30 needles, some thread of various colors, and a handy little threader thing, that has a piece of wire looped around a round piece of tin. Using my incredible bachelor brain, I was able to deduce that it greatly simplifies threading a needle!
But, how do I sew?

 

[teapot2001]

I think you need someone to show you in person.

~T

 

[Kevin T]

max:

sewing is fairly easy. the best way someone could "tell" you to sew rather than show you is...

take a long piece of thread. pull one end of the thread through the needles eye. now take that end, and tie a not with it to the other end of the thread. you'll have a loop with a knot at one end. make sure the not is at the opposite end from the needle. you may need to make the knot bigger by continually tieing it. now poke the needle through the fabric. the knot with stop the thread from coming out. poke the needle back through the fabric. repeat until you feel the item is sufficient secured. cut the thread from the need and tie these two ends together into a strong knot. viola...sewing for bachelors.

kevin t

 

[Steve Berger]

Hand stitching will always be a little crude looking, it takes mechanical assistance to produce neatness. For something like a lens cover, assemble it outside in, stitch it up and then reverse it so that the stitching is on the inside , hidden. I taught myself basic stitching patching my tubular bicycle tires. I borrowed my mother's old sewing machine , bought a pattern kit for hiking gaiters and learned how to use it. Practice . If you make a mistake you can usually pull out the thread and start over. Oh, after you thread the needle with enough thread to cover the distance 2 or 3 times you tie a knot in the end so that it doesn't pull through the fabric when you pull on the needle. I'm sure you could find some books in a book store also. A lone man in a fabric shop is still a rare occurrence but you'll have to do it eventually. Good luck.

 

[Mark Philp]

My mom tried to teach me to sew, but I never could master it.If you're really interested in learning check around to see who gives lessons. Many community colleges have non-credit courses in such things. You might also try stores that sell sewing machines as they sometimes have classes too. Of course, it might turn out that you'd be the only guy in a room full of women, but that might not be too bad.

 

[Max Leung]

Thanks for the advice guys! Hmmm, I like how Mark phrased his answer.
I forgot about that knot trick (kevin)...I'd sew in one direction (without looping the thread by tieing one end to the other), then double back and tie a knot to the other end of the thread, but of course that uses twice as much thread than necessary.

 

[Luis Esp]

The instructions below are as simple as I could make them. Mind you I have been sewing for over 20 years with some background of men's tailoring. This technique was shown to me by a tailor and I have'nt had any buttons fall off, but I have broken a few, because the stitches were so strong.

When I sew buttons onto a shirt, I use double the length of thread, which should be no more than an arm's length, from elbow to wrist, otherwise it gets tangled.

With the double length of thread I double it again, so I have four times the arm length. This way I don't have to do multiple stitches to secure the button.

After insert all this thread into the needle (make sure the four thread tips are cut at angle so they go into the eye smoothly) pull the thread through a cake of bee's wax, then iron it to melt the wax. This will prevent the thread from tangling while you're sewing.

I usually start by doing 1 to 2 tack stitches on the spot where the button will be then sew on the button by using a "cross" format. I usually do 2 passes on the horizontal holes and 1 on the vertical holes( when using a four hole button) then with all the stitches that are on the reverse I secure them 2 to 3 tack stitches then pull the needle and thread through the fabric to the centre front of the cloth/garment. This way you have at least 12 strands of thread through the holes, with 12 to 16 strands in the tackings.

If this is too confusing, I reccomend the Vogue Basic Sewing book which can be found at the library. Plus there 1000's of website that can probably explain sewing much easier than I ever could.

 

[Max Leung]

Thanks for the tips luis. I don't know what a tack stitch is though.

 

[Luis Esp]

It's basically sewing over the previous stitches with the same needle and thread a couple of times, but I usually pick up several strands of the thread in the process.

Works for me. Hope this helped a bit.

 

[Max Leung]

Thanks again.
I decided to try a google search again, after unsuccessfully finding any good info a year ago. I think this site has a few decent how-to-sew lessons:
http://www.sewing.org/html/learntosew.html

 

[Brian Kleinke]

Sewing is easy, and having someone to talk to is best when you wonder about something. There are some good books on the subject, since lots of terms seem confusting at first.

But practice is the key.

 

[Ryan Wright]

pull the thread through a cake of bee's wax, then iron it to melt the wax. This will prevent the thread from tangling while you're sewing.

What? Now he has to buy bee's wax and an iron? How do you explain THAT to your buddies?

 

[Luis Esp]

Tell them you found the iron when you moved in and the bee's wax was left over from the bee's nest that you clobbered with your baseball bat.

If that doesn't work, tell your friends that the items belonged to your ex wife/girlfriend and that's all you got in the end of the relationship with clothes on your back.

 

[Max Leung]

Where the heck do I get beeswax anyways (fabric store maybe)? Will applying it be messy and gooey?
I'm not a seamstress! I'm a tailor.

 

[Luis Esp]

I'm not a seamstress! I'm a tailor.

You know it! According the Webster's dictionary, the word seamstress dates back to 1644 and it applies to a woman who's occupation is sewing.
Last time I checked, I peed standing up.
The beeswax come in a plastic container and is hard.
http://www.clotilde.com/cl/product_g...ax&g_id=286902
You can find it at any local fabric store or even Walmart, if you can handle the constant screaming over the store p.a. system.
http://www.agreatnotion.com/ also carries it and are Canadian, with stores in B.C., but do have an online catalogue available.