Where to Begin?

I've been feeling slightly dissatisfied with where my sewing has been going and maybe missing teaching a little. I wouldn't want to go back to teaching school. I'm too old for that! But ,I really love it when I'm working at Fabricville and someone, young or old asks me a question about how to do a certain something concerning sewing.Well, the teacher in me just takes over and I'm as happy as a clam.


Now you might want to know what makes me think I am qualified to teach sewing. The answer to that is that I sew all the time and am always anxious to learn a new technique. I'm told that my garments are professional looking and I'm often asked for help by friends and acquaintances who want help to achieve more polished looking sewing projects.


If you'd like to have a look at my work, you can visit my blog Sew Passionista by Diana where I post my projects.
My intent here is to start at the beginning for beginners.I will try to post once a week, but will gladly answer your questions as they arise either by Email,in the comments section below the posts or in a new post..



In this post I'll explain what materials you will need to follow the lessons in this Blog. So in addition to fabrics of your choice you will also need:

scissors (for cutting only fabrics)
scissors (for cutting paper such as patterns)
a tape measure
a ruler (preferably at least 20 inches)
pins and a pin cushion
a seam ripper
a tracing wheel
universal sewing machine needles
(of varying sizes)
hand sewing needles
several bobbins
a point turner
a desk type light (optional)




In addition to the above , I also have

a Grab-it (to pick up pins I drop)
a fade out marker
a cardboard cutting board (very useful)
a press cloth preferably out of cotton (or silk organza).
a tailor's awl (We'll discuss it's use later)


to name only a few but they are my favorites.

For a start, I thought I'd show you my sewing room from different viewpoints.

As you can see by these photos, I'm a serious sewer with a real addiction for fabrics and anything else that comes in handy for sewing.
I actually have three working sewing machines that each have their uses as well as a serger which is a really wonderful addition to any sewing room.