A Proper Seam Guide Is Essential For Beginners
Sewing is an ever popular event for most men and women. Not quite as complicated as knitting, this seems to be something more people can handle. Sewing straight can be a problem for even the most experienced, for this reason most sewing machines are fitted with a seam guide.
The guide allows you to line up your fabric and run a straight line while sewing. If you do not have one, you will find it is very easy to zigzag across the material. You often only notice this once you've finished sewing your master piece. Just about all sewing machines have one, but if yours does not, you can make your own.
This is the role and importance of having and using the guide. After all, what's the point of having something if you are not going to make use of it? Perhaps the question is, most people see it there but what is it and how does one use it?
The guide is more often than not made out of steel. You fill find it just under the needle on the bed of the sewing machine. It has multiple measurements form the left and right of the needle. These measurements are taken from the point the needle and marked out on most common seam sizes. If the measurement you want is not showing or there is none at all, you can simply make one yourself.
The function of the guide is to keep the seam straight. You do this by running your material on the edge of the chosen measurement or line. This will ensure a consistent straight seam of the same measurement all the way. If your machine is lacking a guide then you can make one yourself with a ruler, marking pen and tape.
When you use it for the first time it may be a little bit daunting. Keep up the effort, it will soon pay off and become a lot easier to follow. Some machines come with a plastic attachment which can be clipped into place so you not watching the thin line so intensely. Just remember that, even with this attachment, material can be very soft and pliable.
If you are really struggling and you just cannot keep that line straight there are multiple attachments that can help you. You may consider purchasing a more rigid one. One that is not flush with the sewing machine bed, instead a raised edge as to form more of a lip that the material can run against. These come in different forms, from plastic to steel each with its own benefits and durability.
This goes without saying, that even with a guide you need to be careful with what you are doing. You need to always pay attention. The last thing you want is to sew your fingers by accident, because you weren't paying attention. Accidents happen quickly, so make use of yours, and remember to be alert.
The guide allows you to line up your fabric and run a straight line while sewing. If you do not have one, you will find it is very easy to zigzag across the material. You often only notice this once you've finished sewing your master piece. Just about all sewing machines have one, but if yours does not, you can make your own.
This is the role and importance of having and using the guide. After all, what's the point of having something if you are not going to make use of it? Perhaps the question is, most people see it there but what is it and how does one use it?
The guide is more often than not made out of steel. You fill find it just under the needle on the bed of the sewing machine. It has multiple measurements form the left and right of the needle. These measurements are taken from the point the needle and marked out on most common seam sizes. If the measurement you want is not showing or there is none at all, you can simply make one yourself.
The function of the guide is to keep the seam straight. You do this by running your material on the edge of the chosen measurement or line. This will ensure a consistent straight seam of the same measurement all the way. If your machine is lacking a guide then you can make one yourself with a ruler, marking pen and tape.
When you use it for the first time it may be a little bit daunting. Keep up the effort, it will soon pay off and become a lot easier to follow. Some machines come with a plastic attachment which can be clipped into place so you not watching the thin line so intensely. Just remember that, even with this attachment, material can be very soft and pliable.
If you are really struggling and you just cannot keep that line straight there are multiple attachments that can help you. You may consider purchasing a more rigid one. One that is not flush with the sewing machine bed, instead a raised edge as to form more of a lip that the material can run against. These come in different forms, from plastic to steel each with its own benefits and durability.
This goes without saying, that even with a guide you need to be careful with what you are doing. You need to always pay attention. The last thing you want is to sew your fingers by accident, because you weren't paying attention. Accidents happen quickly, so make use of yours, and remember to be alert.
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