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Dressmaking is one of the most
rewarding form of handicraft. There is great pleasure to be found in simply
choosing with care the raw materials---- harmonising colour, texture and style----
then going on to create a beautiful finished product, added to this is the
satisfaction of being able to wear your ‘work of art. Sewing your own clothes
is also a money saving proposition.
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Sewing
your own clothes requires some right kind of tools & equipment otherwise
the outcome will not be of the desired quality.
It is imperative to have the knowledge of following tools &
equipment’s while making dress:
THE RIGHT TOOLS &EQUIPMENTS
There
are certain tools and equipment’s which are absolutely essential for the home
dressmaker. As with any other craft, if
you intend to take out sewing seriously, and to produce neat, professional -
looking work, it is essential you have all the necessary tools of the trade.
Never try to make do with inadequate or poor quality equipment, accessories or
gadgets---- it just is not worth it. Scissors which are the wrong size for the
job, thread which is unsuitable for a particular fabric….. small details
perhaps but they are enough to spoil your finished garment, and an insult to
the time and effort might have spent in the sewing,
HERE WE WILL DEAL WITH NEEDLES
AND THREADS ONLY
NEEDLES:
Have
a good supply of different sizes of both machine and hand sewing needles. For hand sewing, No. 7 darners are best for
basting, and No.9 ‘sharps’ or ‘straws’ for fine work. ‘ Sharps’ are all
purpose, sound eyed needles of medium
length; ‘betweens’are short round eyed needles used for very fine sewing;
‘milliness’ are round eyed, long and
slender; they are used for, basting, hand shirring and similar sewing tasks;
‘crewels’ are medium length with long
eyes that make threading easy and they can carry several strands of thread at
the same time. For machine sewing use
No. 11 for fine fabric No. 14 for general use and No. 16 for heavy fabrics.
SEWING THREADS:
A
good varied selection of types, sizes and colours is best. Mercerized cotton is best for most everyday
purposes; for heavy fabrics, such as tweed, suiting and corduroy use size No.40
mercerized cotton; for light weight fabrics, use size50.
Unmercerized
cotton thread is also available in sizes 10-60. No.40 has the largest shade
range.
Silk
thread is strong and has a certain
amount of elasticity. It can be
used on silk like, silk and fine wool
fabrics. Button hole twist is a strong, silk thread with a special twist for
making hand worked button holes, sewing on buttons and decorative hand or
machine stitching, synthetic thread is a polyester stretch, man made and most
drip dry fabrics. Its elasticity makes
it compatible with knits and other stretch fabrics. There are also excellent multipurpose threads
available which can be used for all
sewing purposes, in a wise range of shades.
THE RIGHT NEEDLE AND THREAD
Whether
you are sewing by hand or by machine it is essential you use the correct weight
and type of thread for your fabric and also the right needle size. There are good multipurpose threads available
which can be successfully used with all fabric types, but as a general rule
natural thread should always be used with natural fabrics, and synthetic threads with synthetic
fabrics. Using a cotton thread, for
instance with a nylon fabric can cause ugly puckering of seams; and when
washing the garment the cotton thread might shrink slightly, where as the
fabric will not.
On
the other hand if you use a synthetic thread to sew a cotton dress ,when you
come to iron the garment you will in al l probability set your iron at a hot
temperature could quite easily melt the synthetic thread which should only have
a cool iron.
The following chart gives a general guide to the correct
thread and needle size for different fabric:
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Fabric
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Thread
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Needles
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Machine
Stitches per inch
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Hand
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Machine
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Fine: net
,organdie, lace, lown, voil,chiffon
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Natural: cotton50
Man made:Terylene
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9
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9-11
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12-16(Natural)
12-14(Terylene)
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Light weight: Silk,
gingham, muslin, poplin, crepe, taffeta.
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Natural: Cotton 50
Man made: Terylene
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8-9
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11-14
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12-14
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Medium
weight;tweed,wool, jersey,corduroy, linen, satin, brocade, velvet, suiting.
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Natural: Cotton 40
Man made: Terylene
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7-8
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11-14
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12-14
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Heavy weight:Twill,
canvas, furnishing fabric, foam backed
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Natural:Cotton
26-40
Man made: Terylene
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12-14
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13-26
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8-10
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Stretch fabrics
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Terylene:
Light weight
Heavy weight
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9
9-11
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10-14
Use Special stretch
stitch
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7-8
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Leather, suede
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Terylene
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9
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16-18
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6-10
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