You’ve got an hour of spare time and would like to finish the sewing project you’ve been meaning to get around to for a while. It’s acceptable to miss one of your responsibilities while sewing. Decisions like these might have long-term consequences. This is what we call sewing bad habits.
Take your time and enjoy the journey. When working on your next project, keep these suggestions in mind to make the process more pleasurable and result in a more appealing final product. Always try to get rid of the bad habits in sewing.
Putting needles in your mouth
Do you put the pins you take out of your sewing project in your mouth? If you keep doing that, you could end up in the hospital. People have eaten pins and had to have surgery to get them out. Your esophagus and stomach can be hurt very badly by pins. Don’t put pins in your mouth because you might accidentally swallow one. Instead, wear a pincushion on your wrist so you won’t be tempted to put pins in your mouth. This is one way to break bad habits in sewing.
Use your sewing scissors to cut paper
Have you ever cut something other than fabric with your sewing scissors? This is a bad habit because cutting paper, plastic, and other materials will dull the blade of your scissors, making it harder to cut fabric. Yes, you can get them sharpened, but it would not be pleasant to always pay for that. The majority of people are very careful with their sewing scissors. You also should be!
Failing to mark notch and dart
Do you cut out your sewing projects without marking the notches and darts? This is a bad way to sew because it makes it harder to line up the pattern pieces if you don’t mark them. This is one of the most common sewing bad habits. If you guess, your sewing project might not be perfectly straight. Using a fabric pen to mark your fabric only takes a few extra seconds. I still use the tried-and-true method of tailor tacks, though.
Not using pins before sewing
Do you never use pins or only use the fewest possible to hold your pieces together? If you do that when you sew, your seams won’t be as straight as they should be. Since pinning takes more time, it makes sense that people often skip it which brings it under bad habits in sewing.
Yes, you probably don’t need to pin if you’re making a long, straight seam, but it’s a big mistake not to pin around corners. You don’t have to put a pin in every inch, but you should put one in every corner and use more pins on every curve.
It is best to take one measurement of your model at a time
Do you only take one measurement of your model each time you work on the same sewing project for more than a month? This is a bad sewing technique because your model may thin out or grow taller if you don’t finish your job in one sitting. Your finished product will be unattractive and unwearable due to your stitching efforts.
Even as they get older, children and adults have weight fluctuations that can be quite significant. When you’re nearing the end of your project, always take a second measurement of your model. You won’t have to retrace your steps or unpick any threads to make corrections.
Repeatedly cutting yourself on your self-healing mat in the same spot
When using a rotary cutter to cut out squares for a quilt, do you always cut in the same place on your self-healing mat? Even if your mat is “self-healing,” it can’t handle an excessive amount of strain in any one area. This is a bad stitching technique. It’s one of my favourite cutting methods since it’s much faster than using a knife and a straightedge. If you repeatedly cut in the same spot, you risk shortening your mat’s life. Which is among the bad habits to quit in sewing.
Not changing your needles
This is one of the most common sewing bad habits. Do you use your sewing machine’s needle over and over again, sometimes for months on end? If you continue to sew in this manner, the needle will get worn and bent. This can lead to uneven stitches, broken thread, and other problems with the sewing machine.
Changing the needle at the beginning of each project is highly advised by sewing machine makers. Were your knitting needles last changed a while ago? If you can’t remember the last answer, it’s time to select a new one. Replacement needles for sewing machines are reasonably priced when purchased in bulk.
While you’re cutting and sewing, recline in a crouching position
What if you’ve never realized how bad your posture is when sewing or cutting out fabric? The habit of sewing in this manner is detrimental to your back and will cause you to fatigue more rapidly. Paying attention to your posture will allow you to sew for long periods.
To avoid exhaustion, you should get a sewing table that has an airlift installed. The needle plate of your sewing machine may be lowered so that it is level with the top of your sewing table if desired. This is a good way to break bad habits in sewing.
Buying new fabrics without checking your old stock
How many times have you made a trip to your local sewing supply shop without first examining what you already own? Ultimately, you will have lots of unwanted clothing taking up valuable closet space. This action ranks high among the bad habits to quit in sewing. Storage space is wasted, and money is being spent in the process.
Whenever I see a beautiful piece of fabric, I have to admit that I have difficulty resisting the urge to buy it. It’s a treat I allow myself to indulge in from time to time. While my husband insisted that I not bring home any new fabric until he was happy that I had explored all of the alternatives previously available to me, that has long since stopped being the case.
Never getting routine maintenance done on your machine
Have you neglected your sewing machine for over five years as it sat in your sewing room gathering dust? Changing hook timing and regularly cleaning the inner compartment is essential for sewing machines with a longer lifespan, which is a terrible practice.
Most sewing machine manufacturers recommend that you get your machine maintained once to twice a year to ensure its best performance.” Generally, you should bring your sewing machine every few weeks if you often sew or have a problem.
If you cannot recollect the last time you had your sewing machine serviced, you should make an appointment with a repair professional. If you do regular maintenance on your sewing machine, it will last much longer. Learning how to solve many of the problems that occur with a sewing machine on your own is possible.
Inadequate pre washing of your garments
Do you hurry back to your house after purchasing the fabric for your sewing project and begin cutting it out? This is a bad sewing technique since it will cause the material to shrink the first time you wash it. As a result, if you manufacture clothes from fabric that hasn’t been prewashed, you risk it not fitting properly after the first wash. In addition, your seams will become wavy and fragile. This is why you need to get rid of these particular bad habits in sewing.
It would help if you always prewashed the cloth before using it to remove any extra colour and prevent it from shrinking. If you’re going to work with cotton or any other fabric that shrinks dramatically, this is a need.
When sewing, don’t forget to press your seams
When you’re sewing, do you keep your iron on a shelf and then bring it down to press everything at once? If the seams in question are linked to other seams, pressing the corners and curves becomes difficult. This is common among sewing bad habits.
Your finished sewing project will seem more polished if you press the seams while stitching. Topstitching is a must for any place of the garment that will be exposed to visible threads, such as the neckline and shoulder seams.
Not following what the pattern says to do
Do you rush through your sewing pattern because you think you know what to do next? That is a bad way to sew because you might miss an important seam and have to use a seam ripper or start over. All sewing patterns have steps that look the same, which makes it easy to forget to read each step. Before I start sewing, I like to read all the instructions in my patterns to know what to do.
Putting off sewing projects until the very end
Do you always work on a sewing project the night before you need it done? That’s a bad way to sew because if you try to go too fast, your sewing machine is more likely to break when you’re in a hurry. Another common mistake in sewing bad habits. You might also find that you can’t sleep or that you don’t have everything you need to finish the project. Don’t wait until the last minute to make gifts or holiday sewing projects. Besides, this makes sewing less fun.
Buying thread and needles that aren’t very good
To save money, do you always buy the cheapest thread and notions? That’s not a good way to sew because using cheap notions can cause problems with the sewing machine, like puckered seams, broken thread, and weak seams. To begin with, you’ll often have to buy new needles, which will cost you more than if you’d just spent a little more.
We hope you learned what sewing bad habits are? Though you’re getting better, most of these bad sewing habits do happen. Just learn from your mistakes. How many of these are you guilty of?