Sewing and dressmaking
Stitches, seams, hems and shaping: the skills behind every make, plus making your own clothes.
Dressmaking
Making your own clothes from a pattern.
9 guidesHand stitches
Sewing is fastening pieces of fabric together with a needle and thread, one of the oldest textile arts. Hand stitches such as running and back stitch are where it starts.
6 guidesMachine stitches
A sewing machine sews fabric together with thread. Straight and zigzag stitches do most of the work.
6 guidesSeams
A seam is the join where two or more layers of fabric are held together with stitches.
6 guidesSeam finishes
Neatening the raw edges inside a seam so they do not fray.
6 guidesHems
A hem folds and sews the edge of the cloth to stop it unravelling and to set the length.
6 guidesShaping: darts, gathers and pleats
Darts take in fabric to shape a garment; gathers bunch it into small folds; pleats fold it back on itself.
6 guidesFastenings
Zips, buttons and other fastenings that join and open a garment.
6 guidesTailoring
A tailor makes or alters clothing, particularly men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the word to the 13th century.
6 guidesUpcycling and refashioning
Upcycling, or creative reuse, turns unwanted items into something of greater value. With clothes, that means refashioning what you already have.
7 guides