Crafts

Sewers (sewists?) are really individual, so you'll end up picking answers that work best for you. Everybody has quirks and being self-taught, I'm probably quirkier than most. Take my opinions for whatever value you place on them.

Machines - figure out your specific needs, and then level up just one step. You'll have skills to grow into without getting the sewing version of a Lamborghini. Too many options are intimidating. Too few are frustrating. You'll eventually want a new machine, but at least it won't be every year.

Old machines are fantastic, if basic. They don't wear out with reasonable maintenance and can be fixed. However, my first machine was an Elna 'FunStyler' and I think it was designed for teenagers. It did, inevitably, fail but I still have it. I can no longer choose a stitch, but I've forced it into being frozen into the buttonhole function. A lot of cloth went through that machine. But I love my 1971 Bernina Record. All 50 pounds of it.

I think backstitching is good enough. Sometimes I knot the threads instead. Never both.

I haven't found an online place I really like yet. Joann is often a disappointment, unless you're heavily into acrylic fleece. I got some good cotton batik there recently, though. I've also got access to a really good, if small, shop and a big factory outlet, so I'm spoiled.

The seam finishing depends on the weight and structure of the cloth. You'll need some kind of overlock for ravelly knits. Assuming the seam allowances are relatively narrow and the piece isn't really form-fitting, they're not too uncomfortable. Once you get into negative ease, all bets are off.

Once in a while for a light blouse-weight, I've done French seams - they use a lot of thread, but they're comfortable and never ravel out. Heavy cloth, like denim, can be more comfortable with a fake flat-fell. (Zigzag or otherwise finish the edge of one side, then just flatten it over the other side, which has been cut down after the seam was sewn. Stitch it from the right side to look like a flat-fell, enclosing the unfinished edge.) This is flatter and a little more flexible than a true flat-fell.

Slippery, very stretchy or napped fabrics are challenging for me, but I'll still work with them. I love corduroy. Otherwise, I do ok with the basics. For true sewing joy, my all-time favorite was some wool I deliberately felted in the wash and used for a Siberian Parka (Folkwear pattern). It's still my "it's 30 below and I am Not Effing Around" coat. Handled like a dream and needed no seam finish at all.

Yes, you always have to treat your fabric before sewing it, unless you like surprises. Conventional wisdom says to treat it like you're going to treat the finished garment. This is where I get really quirky.

Fabric comes in my door and goes straight into the wash on the hottest cycle, wash and dry. What comes out may not resemble what went in. Sometimes I have a fabric that's going to be perfect - for a different project. But I can cut around any damage and what's left is indestructible. I'm still going to treat it properly from now on, but at least I won't have that sinking feeling as I open the dryer door and find that it got into the wrong load. And I know any fabric that made it up to the sewing room is good to go.

I wore my Siberian parka to the store I bought the fabric (originally a medium-weight men's wool suiting). They admired it and asked where I got the fabric. I told them I bought it at their store and they looked really puzzled because they didn't recognize it. I told them I'd put it through multiple washes on 'Boil' until it stopped shrinking. They blanched visibly. It worked, though.