Getting Started With Sewing Lessons

How you dress on the outside, it represents your soul. Gucci Mane

Truth be told, you don't need to know how to sew a button to take up dressmaking or tailoring. All you need is to be interested in fashion and you need to have a keen eye to spot the finer details of clothes. Learning how to sew and create your own range of clothes is not at all as difficult as you may think it to be. You do, however, need lots of motivation, and you need to be determined to work hard at fashion design.

Once you set your mind on taking a tailoring course, you need to persevere and continue focusing on the course, even when things get tough.

Sewing Lessons 101

Discipline creates the skill set you need to utilise when inspiration knocks on the door. Lucas Salame

You may be inspired to start taking sewing lessons but sewing lessons won't be hard at all as long as you remember to remain disciplined. Discipline is of utmost importance to get yourself sewing but having a sewing machine to assist you to keep at it is equally as vital. There is no need to spend tons on getting the best sewing machine, however, try to get a good quality machine.

If you have watched the series Katy Keene, you would know that Katy uses a sewing machine that had been passed down to her by her mother. Sometimes the best quality machines are those older sewing machines that were meant to last for years. Your mom's machine may be easy to use but if you inherited your sewing machine from your granny, you might have to first get to grips with how to use that older sewing machine.

The Manual Machine Versus the Automatic Machine?

Unless specified by the school that you choose to take sewing lessons, you can use either a manual sewing machine or an automatic machine. An automatic sewing machine offers many possibilities and is sometimes easier to use than a manual machine but it does cost more.  If you buy an automatic sewing machine, make sure that you do not choose one that is poor quality as it won't be a machine that you can use for many years if it is a cheaper alternative.

Ideally, you can learn to sew just as well by starting off with a manual machine.

Sewing Classes Allows You to Use Your Machine

Using your sewing machine is one of the core skills that you will pick up during your sewing classes. A skilled sewing lecturer will show you how to use your sewing machine correctly and explain how to do your best dressmaking work using your sewing machine.

While sewing class guides you on all the basics of sewing and helps you understand the requirements of being a seamstress, you should not limit your learning to just sewing class alone. You can always frequent YouTube to learn more sewing tips and tricks. You can even learn some worthwhile tips from a seamstress in your family.

Schools for Sewing

If you are looking for a sewing school, you can surely find some of the best sewing schools in South Africa. If you are unsure if you could like to complete a BA Fashion Degree, you can start learning how to sew at a sewing school that offers part-time classes. By participating in part-time classes, you can decide if sewing is for you or not.

To join a sewing school like the Sew & Grow sewing school, you need no experience whatsoever. You can join at any time of year, and will be taught everything you need to know about sewing as well as learn some basic sewing techniques.

Knowing how to use your sewing machine before registering at an accredited university to study fashion is always a good idea.

The beautiful part of Sew & Grow is that they provide sewing lessons for kids too so you can start taking sewing classes during the school holidays to decide if fashion is the field that you would like to pursue once you reach a university level.

You can also take sewing lessons on your own time by reaching out to a qualified sewing instructor, like those found on Superprof. Superprof instructors allow you to set classes based on your own time as well as based on your venue preference. You can learn how to sew with a Superprof instructor from your home.  That sounds comfortable, doesn't it?

Sewing Degree Courses

At Inscape University, you can pursue a higher certificate in fashion design or a bachelor's degree in fashion design.  This university can help set you on a professional footing.

If you are in search of universities that offer internationally accredited fashion degrees, diplomas, and higher certificate courses, you can attend either Stadio (which was formerly known as LISOF) or even the Villioti Fashion Institute.

Depending on your budget, you also have the choice of attending the Future Excellence Design Institute of South Africa (FEDISA) based in Cape Town and Sandton. At FEDISA, you have the option of completing a fashion design degree and your honours degree in fashion. Vega is another well-known university that you can choose for completing your fashion degree.

One of the best fashion institutes is situated in the Western Cape and is called the Elizabeth Galloway Academy of Fashion. At this institute, you can choose to pursue short courses or even seek more formal education by pursuing a diploma or degree in fashion.

You may have thought that in terms of finding the right degree in fashion, you would have a limited number of university choices. Clearly, this is not the case in South Africa.

When choosing between universities, you need to think about their locations and you need to consider whether you would want to pursue a diploma or a degree, and if you would like to acquire an honours-level qualification in fashion.

You will also need to budget accordingly as fashion, like most degrees, can weigh quite heavily on your bank account. Truth be told, budgeting is of utmost importance. If you intend to reach out to a Superprof tutor to assist you with sewing practice in your free time too, you must factor the cost of these lessons into your overall budget.

While pursuing a degree in fashion should be enough for you to secure a career in fashion design, many designers argue that learning to sew fashionable pieces from many mentors will be fruitful too. People have unique ways of teaching sewing techniques and styles, and you may benefit from learning from multiple instructors.

Eventually, you will discover everything you need to know about sewing.

Online Sewing Courses in South Africa

Pins in hand, get ready to learn everything you need about transforming a pattern in your head into a finished garment.

Beginner dressmakers are taught the essence of copying and cutting the pattern, transferring and cutting the fabric, pinning, drawing markers, etc. This can seem overwhelming at first, however, these steps are essential to make your work as easy as possible.

Elna is a sewing machine manufacturer that came onto the sewing scene and introduced sewing machine features like a lightweight machine, free arm, and electric-automatic needle. Elna offers its machine users both formal and informal courses too. While these courses will be a great add-on while you are completing your fashion degree, you will need to set aside some time to attend them. Elna machine users can derive much benefit from these classes provided they do not take away too much time from your formal studies.

A desire for lifelong learning is highly beneficial, especially in the fashion industry, where fads and trends are constantly changing, which makes a dressmaking course a class of high demand. You need to find a way to take more sewing and dressmaking classes without having the times of these classes clash with your formal dress-designing studies.

More Online Sewing Classes

There is an online sewing course that teaches you how to sew abayas only. Once you start pursuing your fashion degree, you will be able to find your niche and the type of garments that you enjoy sewing.

If you have taken a keen interest in all things baby, choose to take up an additional course that teaches you how to specifically sew bibs, cushion covers, blankets, etc. Research will allow you to find online classes that will fit your already busy schedule while teaching you how to sew garments that you would like.

Sometimes you will find free online tutorials.

If your research does not yield any results on a sewing course that teaches you to sew what you are really interested in, you can always speak to one of our Superprof tutors to seek assistance in terms of sewing only that which you would like to sew. Just search for sewing classes Cape Town and you will see all the available tutors that Superprof has for you.

Just like Cinderella's fairy godmother magically created a ballgown for her, you too can create a garment from scratch with simple ingredients like a dash of fabric, some motivation, and tons of hard work.

So, love your sewing machine and get sewing what you love to sew!