Sewing 101: How to Thread a Sewing Machine, Part 1

I think I've said before that I love to sew. It's so much fun to take an unfinished product like a bolt of fabric and turn it into something useful and beautiful. Whenever I tell anyone about my favorite hobby, I usually get one of two responses: either, "That's really cool! I love to sew, too!" or "Oh, I wish I knew how to do that!" I also tend to hear this one a lot: "Oh, I have an old machine in my house that so-and-so gave me, but I don't know what to do with it or how to use it!" Sound familiar? 😊

If you fall into one of the last two categories, then may I be so bold as to say, there's no better time than the present to learn a new skill? I am in no way suggesting that everyone who reads my blog should learn how to sew, but if that is something you have been wanting to try and you do have a sewing machine handed down to you  just floating around your house that you would like to learn how to use, well, then, this post is written just for you!

Whenever I teach anyone to sew, the very first thing we cover is how to thread and use their machine. This absolutely crucial first step can seem very confusing to a novice sewer; hopefully, the following explanations and photos will clear it all up for you.

I do need to note that my sewing machine may not be exactly like yours. All home sewing machines fall into one of two categories--those that have the bottom spool on the side of the bottom of the machine, and those that have the bottom spool facing up directly underneath the needle. My machine is the first kind, but I've noticed that it is not as common as the second kind, so if your machine has the bottom spool directly underneath the needle, don't worry! Threading both kinds of sewing machines is essentially the same, and my instructions here should still work for your machine regardless! With that in mind, let's begin!

First, let's take a look at all the different knobs and dials on the basic home sewing machine. (Remember, yours may not look exactly like mine, but they should be similar.)

To start with, somewhere on the front of your machine you should see two knobs (or dials) that look something like this:

The knob on the right is marked Length; this means how long you want the individual stitches to be. If you're sewing a buttonhole, for example, you will use very short stitches, between 0 and 1, whereas if you're sewing a gather to make a ruffle, you'll use a very long stitch, anywhere after 4, so that the material can move easily and scrunch up the way you want it to. For most sewing, I keep my thread length between 2 and 3; this ensures a firm bond that's not too tight or too loose.

The knob on the left is marked Pattern; this means the kind of stitch you want to sew on the fabric. I don't know about the first sewing machines, but modern sewing machines can sew many different kinds of stitches besides a straight line. There's a zigzag stitch, a hem stitch, a buttonhole stitch, and, of course a straight stitch, just to name a few. The Pattern knob allows you to select the kind of stitch you want to sew and switch between stitches quickly and easily. For example, I use the straight stitch and the zigzag stitch when I'm sewing clothing--the straight stitch to attach the different pieces together and the zigzag stitch to finish the seams inside--and I go back and forth between the two very quickly.

Below these knobs on my machine, there is the following chart:

 This chart shows examples of what each of the different stitch patterns will look like when they're sewn on cloth. The top row shows the stitches when you simply go forward; the bottom row shows what they look like when you sew back and forth. For most everyday sewing, you'll use just the first pattern--the straight stitch (#1)--though I highly recommend playing around with the other stitches, too. Not only does it help you get more comfortable with using your machine, but it's also fun! 😊

This is a good place to mention the backward pedal. It looks like this:

 Any time you want to move the needle backwards on the fabric, you simply press this down with your finger while holding the pedal that moves the needle up and down with your foot. The pedal looks like this:

Learning the right amount of pressure with which to hold this down can be a little tricky. Usually when you first start sewing, you'll tend to put too much pressure on the pedal and sew too fast, which can make it very difficult to control. The correct pressure to use is different for every machine, so I cannot emphasize enough: Practice, practice, practice! The more you use your machine, the better able you will be to control the speed at which you sew, and the more even and consistent your stitches will be. 😊

On the side of your machine right above my on/off switch, you'll see a large wheel that you can turn backwards and forwards. This is another way to control the needle and make it go up and down, at a much slower pace than the pedal. It's very useful when sewing through very thick material (like blue jean) that might break your needle if you went too fast with the pedal. You also use it when threading your machine. We'll talk about that later.

Underneath your machine's needle, there should be a metal plate with lines and numbers on it, like so:

As the picture above says, these lines and numbers are to help you find the correct seam allowance on whatever you're sewing. The lines show 3/8", 4/8", 5/8" and 6/8" from either direction, facing left or right. Most sewing patterns will tell you somewhere at the beginning of the instructions what seam allowance you need to use for that particular pattern, and you simply line up your fabric with that particular line, and keep it on that line as you sew the seam. If you're piecing a quilt, you won't use those lines; instead you'll line your fabric up with the edge of the foot, which will give you a 1/4" seam allowance. 

Finally, there is the tension control dial, which on my machine is right in the middle of the area where you thread the top spool. "Tension" means "tightness", and that is exactly what this dial controls. A sewing machine works by sewing a thread from the top and a thread from the bottom of the fabric at the same time, interlocking them together in the fabric. If the tension is too tight or too loose for that particular fabric (because different weights of fabric require different thread tensions), the stitches will not be neat and even and could present a very irregular appearance. My tension control dial generally stays somewhere between 3 and 4, because that is the ideal thread tension for lightweight cottons, which is what I sew most of the time.

And now I see that this post is getting a little long (it's so much faster to say all this than write it out! 😜), so I think I will continue this "lesson"  in next week's blog. Have a great day, and stay safe, my friends!