Sewing 101: Following Sewing Pattern Instructions
You’ve managed to buy your sewing pattern and fabric, figure out your size, and cut out your fabric pieces. Now it’s time to get started assembling your garment and putting all those pattern pieces together. So you look at your pattern instructions and in that first step, you see something about staystitching. What the heck is that?
If you’ve never followed sewing pattern instructions before, they can be fairly confusing. It’s not as straightforward as attaching one piece to the next. There are always little steps in between that can make the instructions difficult to follow for beginners.
All patterns will include unique instructions for that particular garment. However, the types of steps you will see are very often the same or very similar in every pattern. You can learn to understand the symbols used in the instruction sheet to make the actual step-by-step instructions easier to follow.
This article will go over many of the basic instructions you’ll find in sewing patterns and how to follow them.
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Read through the pattern instructions first
First and foremost, it’s a good idea to always read through the directions in your pattern before getting started on any new project. This will give you a better understanding of how the garment is put together and what skills you will need to use to get it done. If there’s a skill you haven’t done before, you may want to consider making a mock-up version first so that you can practice it.
Reading through the pattern first also gives you a chance to highlight the important parts and give yourself some notes. For example, if you want to add a pocket to a design, writing down where in the pattern you want to add the pocket will remind you when the time comes. I’ve definitely made the mistake of not making notes and forgetting to make the edits or changes I intended.
Know which view you’re sewing
Most sewing patterns have multiple styles or designs included in the same envelope. When looking at the directions, you only have to follow the steps that pertain to the view you’re making. So, if you’re making view A, you can ignore the parts that are written for view B, C, etc.
Reading through the pattern first will also give you a good idea of the flow of the pattern instructions. You can highlight the parts that you need to follow for your particular design and quickly skip over the parts needed for a different view.
Common pattern instructions and what they mean
Every sewing pattern will have unique instructions based on the specific garment you are trying to make. It will be your job to try to work through the steps on your own and figure out how to put it together (you can do it!).
However, there are some common steps you’ll find in a lot of pattern directions. I’ve compiled some of those here to hopefully help you better understand the sewing pattern you’re working with.
The pattern directions key
The first thing to take note of is the key at the beginning of the instructions. This will help you know when the pattern pieces in the images are showing the front side, the reverse side, or when interfacing is used on a piece. Keeping this key in mind will keep you oriented when following the pattern directions.
Staystitching
It’s common to see staystitching as one of the first steps in the pattern directions. With staystitching, you are sewing through one, single layer of fabric to stabilize the area. Sew through the layer as normal with a (2mm to 3mm stitch length) just inside the normal seam line of the fabric.
You’ll do this on areas where the pattern piece is curved or diagonal (such as necklines, waistlines, or armholes) because the fabric in these areas has a greater tendency to stretch or warp out of place.
Facing
This isn’t so much a skill as a basic definition. When I first tried to teach myself to sew and picked up a sewing pattern, I had no clue what a facing was so I figured I’d include it here since it confused me as a beginner.
A facing is a reinforced pattern piece (meaning it has interfacing) that is sewn to the neckline or waistband to strengthen the area and enclose the raw edges of the fabric. It’s the narrow flap of fabric that’s on the inside of many different types of woven garment necklines.
Understitching
Understitching is difficult to describe, but it’s a skill that is very useful for keeping facings tucked under the fabric so they are invisible when you wear it. With understitching you are sewing the facing to the seam allowance.
After you sew the facing seam and clip the curves, maneuver the seam allowance from the neckline so that it’s underneath just the facing and sew just inside the seamline. Make sure you do not catch the front of the garment in your stitches.
Curve clipping
Whenever you sew a curved section of a garment, you need to clip the curves so that the seam will sit flat. There is usually a little diagram earlier on in the pattern instructions to illustrate what is meant by curve clipping.
Top stitching
Top stitching is exactly what it sounds like. This is when you stitch over the top of the garment at ⅛ to ¼ inch in from the seamline. It’s used to reinforce seams (like pockets and shoulders) or as a decorative addition to designs.
Corner clipping
This is something you need to do anytime you sew a squared-off point on your garment. You need to clip the corner of the material off as close to the seam line as you dare without cutting it. If you don’t, you will not be able to achieve a crisp corner when you turn the area right-side out because there will be too much fabric in the way.
Gathering stitches
In pattern instructions, gathering stitches are usually illustrated with two lines of parallel stitches on a pattern piece. To make gathering stitches yourself, switch your machine to the widest stitch setting (usually it will be 4mm or 5mm). Then make two parallel lines, just as illustrated. After the gathering stitches are in place, pull on the thread ends to bunch up the fabric evenly along the seam until it’s the correct length for your pattern.
Sleeve ease
When you sew sleeves to a bodice, they need to maintain a curve so that they will comfortably fit around your shoulders. This is where sleeve easing comes in. Add gathering stitches between the little dots on either side of the sleeve head. When you pull the stitches, don’t pull it enough to gather the fabric, instead allow it to curve slightly, but not enough to cause wrinkles.
This is a skill that I had a lot of trouble with when I began sewing (still do sometimes). So don’t be too frustrated with yourself if you find it difficult to ease a sleeve without causing any gathers.
Some patterns will include this step, and some patterns will assume you already know you’re supposed to do this. So if your sewing pattern does not include this step and the sleeve head is too long to fit the armhole seam, then you need to ease it.
Narrow hem and double-turn hem
A narrow hem and a double-turn hem are very similar concepts. They both involve you folding over the bottom of your garment (skirt, pants, shirt, etc.) and tucking the raw edges underneath so they don’t fray.
For a narrow hem, you’ll generally turn up the seam allowance at the bottom of the garment. Then you’ll turn the raw edge underneath, halving the size of the hem.
For a double-turn hem, you will turn up the seam allowance. Then you will turn it up again to hide the raw edges.
Elastic casing
A casing is a tunnel that you create with your fabric to hold elastic. You make this by folding over the fabric and stitching along the bottom to create a flat tube, leaving an opening along the seam. Then you use a safety pin to insert the elastic into the tube and pull it through.
Basting stitches
Basting stitches are used to hold something in place before you sew it down. This is used as a temporary measure when multiple layers need to be sewn together. For example, if the top of a pocket needs to be sewn to a waistband, you’ll usually baste it to the top edge of the pants first.
Darts
When you make darts, you want to fold the fabric to match up the two sides of the triangle. Sew along the dart line from the edge of the fabric up to the dot at the tip of the dart. Then press your darts down (for bust darts) or towards the center of the body (for waist darts).
What’s not included in the sewing pattern instructions
Sewing patterns are not always written with beginners in mind. They often assume the person using the pattern has a basic understanding of clothing construction and sewing terminology. These are some concepts that are important to understand when sewing that aren’t always explained in the directions.
What is a seam allowance?
The sewing pattern instructions will tell you how much seam allowance is included, but it doesn’t tell you what a seam allowance is. This was one of those sewing terms that I did not know the first time I opened a pattern and ended up ignoring it because I did not understand it.
The seam allowance is the amount of buffer space between the edge of your fabric piece and the stitching line (because you can’t stitch directly on the edge of the fabric). When sewing your pattern pieces together you need to sew with the exact right amount of seam allowance for everything to piece together properly.
For most patterns, the seam allowance is ⅝”, and the pattern instructions will give you this number. Now you know what that means.
You need to finish your seams
If you’re using a woven fabric, the edges of the pattern pieces will fray over time. If you leave these edges raw, they will eventually fray to the point that your garment will start to fall apart at the seams. Every time after you sew a seam, you need to finish the seams to cover the fraying ends and prevent them from unraveling.
There are many ways you can go about finishing your seams, it’s a whole topic on its own so I won’t go into detail here. If you have a serger (or overlock) using that to finish the seams is the easiest and fastest. However, if you don’t you can switch to a zigzag stitch on your sewing machine, and use an overlock presser foot to get similar results on your sewing machine.
Press your seams between each step
If you want your finished garment to look professional when you’re finished, you need to press each seam as you go. Don’t wait until you finish to press everything because it will be too late for any seam that you’ve crossed over or covered with a facing or hem.
The pattern instructions don’t tell you this because it’s something they assume you already know. After you sew a seam, always finish it and press it.
