How to Sew A Straight Seam

How to sew a straight seam. Okay, so sewing seems to be intimidating to many people, and yet, it comes in very handy. Often people say things like "I can't even sew a straight line". Okay, that straight line is called a "seam". It is not that difficult, really. There are two ways to sew. Either you are sewing by hand or using a sewing machine. We will tackle each way of sewing a straight seam, and you will see, that it is not that tough to do if you set your mind to it. Once you can sew that straight seam you can do a number of things. You can mend a ripped seam in clothing, you can hem pants and skirts, you can sew up the torn end of your comforter, heck you can even start to make a quilt!

First you will need some tools:

Scissors or a rotary cutter (for cutting the fabric)

4 pieces of fabric cut to 4" x 4"

hand sewing needle

thread

sewing machine

ruler

Sewing by hand. Okay, first you need a two pieces of fabric for this excercise. Lets say, two squares that are 4 inches by 4 inches. Place the fabrics with the right sides together (the right side is the side with the pattern boldly printed on it, the wrong side is the back of the fabric). Now it should look like you have 1 square of fabric, not two. Now, using your ruler and your pencil, draw a straight line 1/4 of an inch from the edge of one side of the fabric (this will become your seam). Okay, now, thread your needle, and tie a knot in the end of your thread. Now, following that drawn line, push the needle up through the fabric, pull the thread taught. Now you will push the needle back down through the fabric, pulling it out from the backside. You want each stitch to be small eventually, but to start, just focus on making each stitch the same size. Repeat this over and over until you reach the end of your drawn line. Tie a knot again in the thread, and pull it through the line one more time, and then cut off your thread. Take it to your ironing board (or wherever you do your ironing) and carefully press (not iron, just press it) the fabric open, so it looks like you have one piece of fabric now, instead of two. Voila, you have sewn a straight seam! (If it is not straight, you did not sew on your drawn line so just try it again).

Sewing by machine. This, to me, is a much easier way to sew a straight line (and a ton faster!) Again, place two 4 inch by 4 inch squares of fabric right sides together. Thread your sewing machine (if you do not know how to thread your machine, read your manual or even do a search online for how to thread your particular machine). Line your square up underneath the presser foot (the little silver foot like thing that is underneath your needle, make sure the foot is up), most presser feet have a line on them. We will use this line as our "guide" for where to sew. Lower your presser foot. Keeping a light hand on your fabric, slowly start to sew, this is not a race, speed comes later. Make sure that with every stitch, your fabric is still lined up with the line on the presser foot. When you reach the end of your fabric, you can take a couple of back stitches (again, read your manual to find how to back stitch, every machine is different), then cut the thread. Take it to your ironing board and press open like you did with the hand sewing. Always remember you are pressing (pushing down on the iron) not ironing (sliding the iron back and forth. If you iron it, you will stretch out the fabric making it look funny.

See, it really is not so tough, it just takes practice. If you can master this, you can do so many things, you can even make a baby quilt out of your child's baby clothes that you have stored away in a trunk! The possibility is endless! I've included a picture of some pot holders that I make on a frequent basis. The only sewing required is all straight lines! If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask me, I love teaching people to sew, it is becoming a lost art form.