Blog: Tutorials

How to sew faster by batching tasks

September 29, 2022

I tried out a great technique to speed up sewing.

Recently, I had to make a dress on a deadline. By which I mean, I left it til the last minute to make it! I had so little time that it barely seemed possible to finish the dress. But rather than give up, I used the pressure to try out a technique that would make my sewing more efficient: task batching. And it worked so well!

Batching your sewing tasks is such a time saver - and it doesn’t even involve cutting any corners. (Insert joke about trimming seam allowances here.) You’re not skipping any of the important steps - you’re just rearranging them.

Closet Core Pouf - tips for sewing

August 14, 2020

I’ve now made two of these floor poufs by Closet Core Patterns - and I love them both!

This pattern has been written about a lot in the sewing community, and is very well-loved. I completely understand why: not only do you end up with a fun and practical pouf (useful as a seat, a footrest, or a majestic throne for a cat) but it also scores very nicely in the sustainability department. It can be made from fabric scraps, and it can be stuffed full of whatever bits of fabric you have lying around - scraps, cutoffs, bits of thread or yarn, retired blankets, ancient towels, the ugly curtains that were hanging in your house when you moved in, ratty old faded knickers (clean ones!), etc. Each pouf holds an inconceivable amount of otherwise purposeless fabric.

5 things I learned in my first month of sewing

February 11, 2016

Now that I’ve been sewing for over a month (okay, maybe closer to six weeks) I thought I’d write down five of the big discoveries I’ve made along the way. Some of these beginner sewing tips I had read beforehand, but I never truly understood them until I experienced them for myself!

1. A good pair of scissors is really, really worth it

I started out buying two cheap pairs of scissors (less than S$7 or £3.50 each), but I ended up going back to the store a few days later to upgrade to a pair of Fiskars (around S$60 or £30). The cheap ones felt like they were tearing through the fabric rather than cutting it. With the Fiskars I can make nice, clean, accurate cuts, and they’re genuinely a joy to use.