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How To Sew Without a Machine – video

How to Sew without a Machine

I know everyone’s eager to get on the machine – but sometimes you have to do a bit of handwork and this is the most basic hand sewing stitch there is. It’s not tricky and it actually goes much faster than you’d expect. And once you get the hang of it you can sew ANYTHING ANYWHERE. Really. Clothing, quilts, toys, repairs – you can do it all with just a needle and thread.

Just grab a scrap of fabric and a needle and thread and practice some hand sewing. Once you get a feel for the stitch – try to make something! You can sew any pattern by hand. 🙂

Happy sewing!

Best,
Wendi
Applique Wendi (with fabulous hat)

11 COMMENTS

  1. wow, thank you for showing such an easy and clean way to sew. Just what I needed!

  2. Anna Maria Quagliero SAYS...

    It is very important to know how we can sew without machine! Thank you very much! 🙂

  3. Okay, but how do I tie it off? Also, what kind of knot did you use to tie off the end when you threaded the needle? Did you have to knot more than once? I’ve experienced the trouble of having the knot slip through the weave of the fabric. How do you deal with that? Thanks! 🙂

    • I’ve got separate videos for some of those things. Here’s how I knot the thread to start. http://wendigratz.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-tie-knot.html You can wrap the needle more times for a bigger knot, but what works better to prevent the knot slipping through the weave is to pull it up so the knot is snug (but not pulling too tight) and then carefully take a very tiny stitch. That stitch will keep your knot from slipping through a looser weave. I don’t have a separate video showing how to tie off when you’re done – but you can see how I do it near the end of this video. http://wendigratz.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-whipstitch-easy-way-to-sew-up.html Good luck!

    • Anonymous SAYS...

      Why is it bad to knot the ends of the thread together? Doesn’t “doubling up” on the thread make the stitching twice as strong?

      Just wondering because this is how I’ve always done it; never had any problems.

      Thanks!

    • If you’re able to sew “doubled up” then keep doing it. It IS stronger, but a lot of people have some problems with it.

      One – since the needle is always pulling on the same spot where the thread is folded, you can have trouble with the thread breaking there. This is really only a problem with very long seams or heavyweight fabric.

      Two – some people (especially kids) have trouble with the needle moving a bit so the aren’t always pulling on both strands evenly, resulting in little loops on some of your stitches.

      Three – and this is a biggie – it’s really hard to fix mistakes when you’re doubled up. With a single thread and a loose tail, you just slide the needle off, pick out the bad stitches, rethread and keep going. With doubled-up thread you have to cut the thread, pull out the stitches, then reknot and start over. This is more an issue with embroidery than handsewing, but it’s an especially big issue when sewing with kids.

  4. Anonymous SAYS...

    Thanks for answering my question!! Glad to hear that doubling up is not a major “no-no,” just more difficult. 🙂 Not suprising. Seems like I always have to do things the hard way! lol

    – Lisa 🙂

  5. Anonymous SAYS...

    I have no sewing skills but now I can at least do a basic stitch! Thank you for this!

  6. Anonymous SAYS...

    Hi well I love hand sewing and wondere if I could sew clothes thanks for answering my question x