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Gaynor Marshall Designs

Illustration and surface pattern

sewing help

Successful Sewing: My 5 Secrets

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The Secrets to Successful Sewing

I have 5 secrets to successful sewing and they will probably surprise you.

Sewing is a skill that we have to learn and not something we are born with.

Sometimes people refuse to learn anything new because they may feel vulnerable, but that’s how we grow. Staying inside our comfort zones is safe but it also means that we never experience anything new.

Read on to discover my 5 secrets to being successful, not just at sewing but anything creative.

1. Remember You Are Awesome.

Surprisingly, being successful at something creative, whether that’s sewing, baking, painting, knitting or something else, isn’t simply about having the latest, most expensive equipment or the largest studio in the most fashionable part of town. It’s much more fundamental than that.

It’s about YOU!

You are the one who has to put in the time and effort into your chosen field of study and practise. Again and again.

2. Practise Makes Perfect.

You don’t have to make complete projects every time you sew, just allow yourself time to play and experiment.

Make use of that basket of scraps, experiment with the stitches on your machine, treat yourself to a few new spools of thread. Check out my beginners guide to thread here.

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I’ve seen so many people panic about creating something because they’ve never attempted a particular project before. However, if you are used to handling different fabrics and sewing notions, it becomes much easier to learn a new technique.

Successful sewing really is about building your confidence.

I’m not saying that by playing we’ll all suddenly become experts in everything, far from it. What I am saying is, if you familiarise yourself with the various aspects of your craft, you broaden your experience and expand your skillset.

For example, if you practise inserting zips, the next time you have to insert a zip into a cushion or a piece of clothing, you will at least have an understanding of the process. You will be familiar with it and it won’t be so scary. Use small scraps of fabric and keep them for future reference.

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3. Handmade Not Homemade.

My mission is to encourage people to take up sewing and embrace all that that entails. To have a go, have fun and learn new skills. Join a sewing group in your area and make new friends.

Everyone makes mistakes, it’s part of the learning process. Your unpicker will become one of your best friends, believe me, I speak from experience! But, on the other hand, wobbly seams and uneven hems are not the end of the world and the next time you tackle them they will be much better.

However, I am not about cutting corners and making do.

It saddens me when I hear people say things like “life’s too short to hand close a seam”. Really? You would rather finish a beautiful bag by machine stitching the lining closed because it may take a couple of minutes to hand sew it with an invisible ladder stitch?

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In my opinion, if you are going to learn how to do something, you should at least learn how to do the basics properly.

4. Learning Resources.

I mentioned joining a local sewing group, but there are lots of options for you to consider when starting your successful sewing journey.

There are plenty of free videos and tutorials around, but be selective. Not all of the contributors are qualified or experienced, so my advice is to take recommendations or at the very least follow someone reputable.

Workshops are a wonderful place to start and can be less expensive and less time consuming than committing to a course of lessons. Being with a tutor is sometimes a better way to learn new techniques, especially if you are a kinaesthetic or hands on type of learner.

Sewing groups on social media can be a good source of information and support, again make sure they can offer what you need.

Last but not least, invest in a book or two.

5. Have Fun.

The main thing to remember on your journey to successful sewing, is to have fun.

Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, we all make them. The trick is to learn from them so that we don’t knowingly repeat them.

Enjoy the process and be proud of the things you make.

If you’d like to share photos of your creations, you can share them over on Instagram using #gaynormdesigns. I’d love to see them.

Until next time…

Gaynor xx

Who Invented the Sewing Machine?

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Have you ever wondered who invented the humble sewing machine? As I sew for a living, I thought I’d do a little research and share my findings.

The discovery that this everyday object emerged from very complicated origins may surprise you.

Who invented the Sewing Machine?

There are many claims to who originally invented the sewing machine, so I’ve tried to glean the main contributors from the rest of the pack.

The most prominent dates and names are listed below:

18th Century

1755 – Charles Fredrick Wiesenthal invented the first known mechanical device for sewing. He was awarded a British patent for his invention.

1790 – Thomas Saint is credited with the invention the first sewing machine design using a basic chain stitch. Unfortunately, he did not market or advertise his invention.

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Thomas Saint 1790

19th Century

1804 – a sewing machine was built by the Englishmen, Thomas Stone and James Henderson, also in this year, a machine for embroidery was constructed by John Duncan in Scotland. Sadly, neither of these machines were successful.

1807 – Austrian tailor, Josef Madersperger began developing his first sewing machine. He presented his working machine in 1814.

1829 – Barthelemy Thimonnier, a French tailor invented the first practical and widely used sewing machine.

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Barthelemy Thimonnier Sewing Machine 1829

1832 – Walter Hunt invented the first American lockstitch machine. He eventually patented it in 1854.

1841 – British partners, Newton and Archibald, introduced the eye-pointed needle and the use of two pressing surfaces to keep the pieces of fabric in position.

1842 – John Greenough patented the first sewing machine in the United States.

1844 – John Fisher managed to combine all the elements of the previous inventions into one recognisable machine. His original patent was lost in the patent office meaning that he had to watch his contemporaries earn their fortunes instead of him.

1845 – Elias Howe created his machine in Massachusetts. After trying to attract interest in his machine in England he returned to America. He discovered that a number of people, including Isaac Merritt Singer,  had been infringing his patent. He took the case to court and won the right to claim royalties from the other manufacturers, including Singer.

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Elias Howe Patent howe-sewing-US-4750
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Elias Howe 1845 the first functional lockstitch machine

1851 – Isaac Singer eventually created an improved version of the sewing machines of the time and as a result he was granted an American patent in 1851. 

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Isaac Singer sewing machine

The Sewing Machine War

Throughout the rest of the decade so many patents were applied for it became known as the Sewing Machine War.

1856 – Isaac Singer, Elias Howe, Nathaniel Wheeler, Allen B.Wilson, Grover and Baker pooled their patents. This meant that all other manufacturers had to purchase licenses and pay $15 per machine. They called themselves the Sewing Machine Combination. This lasted until the last patent expired in 1877.

1874 – William Newton Wilson found Saints’ drawings, made adjustments to the looper and built a working machine. This machine is currently owned by the London Science Museum.

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William Newton Wilson sewing machine

Moving forward

The lesson to learn from this story is that you don’t need to keep re-inventing the wheel. Charles Frederick Wiesenthal was the first person to invent a mechanical way to sew, however, that did not preclude others from exploring the idea.

That said, it isn’t acceptable to simply copy someone else’s intellectual property, as Isaac Singer found to his cost.

Improving the Design

People kept trying to improve on existing designs. They tweaked the stitching method, made the machines more elaborate and even adapted them to use electricity when the time came.

We are continually re-imagining and building upon previous ideas and practices. We develop them, add our own twist and make them unique. That’s what makes our beautiful world go round.

Until next time…

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Sharing The Knowledge

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I’m passionate that we as a society, should share our crafting knowledge with younger generations.

I’m referring to the fact that in this modern, fast paced, throw away world we live in, skills and knowledge of crafts and pastimes will be lost forever unless we make a conscious effort to preserve them and ensure we hand them down to future generations.

Early beginnings

I originally started this blog as an aside to my design business. Somewhere to share my creative journey, albeit at the time on a very sporadic basis.

However, since those early days it has become a more integral part of my business, a product in itself, if you like.

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I enjoy sharing my knowledge not only on here, but also in classes and workshops with real live people.

Treasure the past

This “live” knowledge has a quality that learning from books or the internet lacks. It’s the human element…the sharing of ones time. Spending time with loved ones, whether that’s friends or family, actually creating something.

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Creating something tangible like this, gives it a story, a memory. You’ll look back and remember so much more about the occasion than if you only ever watch random videos on the internet.

In the old days, you know pre-internet when the world was in black and white (as my boys used to think), people shared their knowledge in a way that is fast being lost.

Skills such as sewing, knitting and crochet were handed down or passed on from one person to another. I learnt to sew by watching my mother, nothing formal, I just took it in. I loved it. It was something that we shared, just the two of us. She also taught me how to *knit, and I remember those times fondly.

Learning these skills wasn’t always straightforward. I’m left handed and so when my sister-in-law taught me how to crochet, it was a challenge. One that we overcame together.

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*For those who are wondering, I knit right handed! 

Embrace today

Nowadays, people move around far more, for university, for work or simply to experience new cultures. Wonderful on lots of levels, but it does mean that families are not really multi-generational anymore. We simply live too far apart.

This is why we need to make the effort to share our skills and knowledge while we can with those we love.

This may be as simple as attending a class or workshop occasionally, rather than only reading books or watching the internet. Make the most of learning from other people, while we can, before it’s too late.

Until next time…

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