Directions for Sewing a Shirt & Dress

• Step 1

  Thumb through fashion or celebrity magazines and find a look that would look fabulous on you. Thumb through pattern books to find the pattern you love! Make sure it is the right size by measuring yourself, and comparing your measurements to the size chart on your pattern. (Hint: the person at the fabric store material counter can help you with this, if needed).

• Step 2

  Pick your material. Look on the back of the pattern for suggested types of material and choose the perfect fabric for your shirt or dress. Squish the fabric together in your hand and hold it a few seconds. If it stays wrinkled, the fabric will be prone to wrinkle. Make sure the fabric has a nice feel to it. Sew with good quality fabric. You will be putting a lot of effort into sewing your own clothes. Make sure you invest in quality material.

• Step 3

  Preshrink your fabric.Take note of the care instructions on the bolt of fabric. Preshrink fabric by washing it according to these instructions. If your pattern has a zipper, lining or interfacing, wash that too. If the fabric is a bright color, wash it alone in case some of the color bleeds out.

• Step 4

  Lay out your pattern. Fold your material in half the same way it came, with the right sides of the fabric facing each other. If the fabric does not lay right, try ironing the fabric to flatten it, then refold it. Check the layout guide on the pattern instructions to see what pattern pieces you need for your garment and loosely cut them apart. Pin the pattern pieces onto the material following the layout guide on your pattern instructions. If your material is slippery or delicate, put lots of pins in to hold the pattern piece to the fabric. Watch out for pieces that need to be laid out on a fold.

• Step 5

  Cut your material. Use sharp, long bladed scissors and make long cuts. Use pinking shears (scissors with a zig-zag cutting edge) if you have material that tends to fray. Notice little notches in the pattern pieces. These will be used later to match up one piece to the other. Cut the notches out rather than in, to give you lots of room for a seam. Keep your material and scissors as flat on the cutting table as possible to prevent the material from coming apart.

• Step 6

  Sew your dress or shirt together according to the step-by-step pattern instructions. Make sure you are following the instructions for the pattern view you have chosen since, on most patterns, there are several "views" or versions of the same pattern.

• 2
• Pattern Material Notions (buttons, zippers etc.) Thread Pins Scissors Pinking shears (optional) Sewing machine Iron Ironing board
• Pattern
• Material
• Notions (buttons, zippers etc.)
• Thread
• Pins
• Scissors
• Pinking shears (optional)
• Sewing machine
• Iron
• Ironing board

References & Resources

• Sewing.org: Preparing to Sew
• Sewing.org: Homepage