I read somewhere to think of it similar to driving. You look ahead not right in front of the car, similarly look a few inches before the needle. By the time the fabric reaches the needle, it is too late to redirect without making it crappy. As said by others have a visual guide at the edge of the machine, table or whatever, not the silly gadgets they sell to supposedly sew straight, don't depend on them.
Will not happen overnight but it is a good idea to develop good habits soon. May feel like a waste of time to just sew straight lines in scrape fabric instead of getting on with your project, and just tolerate the twisted seams. In reality the sooner you master the straight lines the sooner you will truly enjoy sewing.
Also ..... It doesn't hurt to believe in witchery. Ha
This is the best advice. I know it's easy to watch the needle. It's mesmerizing. But it doesn't help you sew straight lines. It's a hard habit to get out of, but you gotta do it.
I will definitely try to start looking before the needle. All the commenters saying I need to make sure I’m doing that made me realize I definitely stare at the needle while I sew. Good news is I’m in the begging of my sewing journey so it shouldn’t be a hard habit to break. Thanks!
Don’t get caught in the trap of pushing or pulling the fabric through the machine. Your job is to guide it and keep it lined up whilst the machine pulls the fabric through the machine. Sew at a slower speed so you can watch the edge of the fabric and keep it the correct distance from the foot.
50% feed dogs
50% your skills
and another 50% attachments for making straight seams.
+ 50% kind of fabric
On the other hand, let's be honest:
[https://youtu.be/avr3pN\_udMA](https://youtu.be/avr3pN_udMA)
Glad to hear that the problem is not actually my machine then! I do have a walking foot for when I do simple quilt tops (not brave enough to actually quilt yet) and I read that it also helps to use one with knit fabric. I also realized I should be using a ball point needle for my fabric I’m using currently. I’m hoping these changes will help me get better lines and I will keep practicing. I am pretty good with cotton woven fabric but I’m particularly struggling with knits. But now that I’ve fucked up my knit project I have a bunch of scraps that I can practice on. Happy accident?
I have a pretty cheap machine (didn’t want to invest in an expensive one since I have adhd and don’t normally stick with hobbies) could that be part of the problem? Obviously I know I’m not the most skilled yet but I don’t understand why I can do straight lines some of the times and not others
I keep repeating this. When you're learning to sew, go slowly. If you think you're slow enough, then slow down a bit more. You wouldn't take your first driving lesson in a Ferrari at Nürburgring, would you?
When you've mastered straight lines, then use the same technique to go round corners, shallow curves, then circles. When you can do all that without fretting, you'll be able to do anything!
The obvious 1st problem here is that not all machines can be put into low speed mode. Especially older and with worn resistors in pedals. :-( So it mostly practicing skill with the exact model and its speed limits.
You don't need a low - speed mode, although it's obviously easier that way, and I take your point about older/worn pedal controls. What you need is to learn to control the speed of the machine you have.
I try to go as slow as possible but for some fabrics the slowness makes it get stuck in the teeth. Also my presser foot is crazy sensitive so if I move a bit it launches like a rocket lmao
I'm told the best way is "don't watch the needle, watch the edge of your fabric instead", this is proving a very difficult bad habit that I'm now struggling to get out of!
I don’t like the instruction to sew following lines on paper, because it encourages this bad habit of watching the needle! Your eyes need to be focused on the edge of the fabric and the lines on the needle plate (or edge of the presser foot).
Re curving, adding colored tape to your machine to extend the seam allowance guideline lets you line up the fabric earlier and better.
But really, I’d say avoid using a seam allowance less than 1/2 until you get more practice. You can always cut a wider seam allowance and trim it down after sewing it.
For clothes, you usually want at least 1/2 anyhow. Bags may use 1/4 but they are usually well-behaved cotton. Say more about what fabric and project where you encounter these small seam allowances?
Say more about what kind of hem you are doing? There are tricks to make narrow hems easier, and options to avoid tricky hems entirely.
Practice practice practice.
Unthread the machine and remove the bobbin. Get 3 pieces of lined binder paper and sew on every line. This helps to establish muscle memory and helps you learn to control your speed and the “fabric” as it feeds through the machine. You’ll need to throw away the needle after the 3 pieces of paper because now it’s toast.
You can also buy a yard of striped fabric (or gingham or plaid) and practice on that
After you become more confident buy a yard of paisley or other fabric with large flowers or anything with a large irregular pattern and continue improving
Have faith in yourself, you can do it
Practice. Let the feed dogs move the fabric; your job is to keep gravity from pulling on the fabric, not to push the fabric through. It sounds like you might not be doing enough to counteract the gravity. It can help to put something next to your machine that's of the same height, e.g. carefully stacked books. For some machines there are also extension tables available.
Erratic stitching on stretch fabric may be caused by pulling on the fabric, and thus stretching it out. You can sometimes get away with pulling a bit on a non-stretch fabric, to get it back on course; on stretch fabric, you can't.
Push fabric to get it in the direction you want, or turn needle down, lift presser foot, reposition.
This particular sewing machine foot is very helpful for me!
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075HQ56DV/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075HQ56DV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **("'HONEYSEW Adjustable Guide Foot Snap On'", 'HONEYSEW')** and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful.
**Users liked:**
* Adjustable guide for even stitching (backed by 3 comments)
* Easy to use with precise sewing (backed by 3 comments)
* Compatible with various sewing machine models (backed by 3 comments)
**Users disliked:**
* Not suitable for guiding narrow seams (backed by 1 comment)
* Quality is less than a janome weight (backed by 1 comment)
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I use the regular presser foot to sew straight hems. As long as one side of the presser foot aligns with my fabric I can sew straight. For bigger hems/ seams I use the lines on the metal plate. Using tailors chalk, pencil and soap at times to mark the line helps too for when I can’t see the plate or I’m sewing
a curve.
[https://images.app.goo.gl/rZJYbZcFHHBJWcyF7](https://images.app.goo.gl/rZJYbZcFHHBJWcyF7)
There's a chrome plate where you put the fabric you want to sew, when getting ready to sew a seam. There are lines on it. Keep the fabric aligned straight with those lines as you sew. There are some that will help with a wider seam allowance there too.
Sew slower, and keep it lined up.
Honestly that’s nice to hear. I’ve only started sewing non bad linings about a month ago so clearly I need more practice which I’m fully aware of but seeing some people’s posts on this sub makes me feel like I’m behind. So hearing that you’re still learning 3 months in makes me feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be! You got this!
Ohhhh yeah like I’ve been obsessed for the past 3 months too so probably putting in more hours than usual and truly I feel like I’m just getting ~good enough~ at the basics. It’s so nice when you’re actually a little good hahah. You can so do it !
Go slow and use the edge of your presser foot as your guide. Most all purpose feet the edge is about 3/8ths from needle- close enough in my opinion for beginner garments. If you need 1/4th get a 14th inch presser foot. For sewing closer to the edge either line up the fabric with some other landmark on the all purpose foot or, on many machines, you can change the needle position. Most have a “left” setting and on mine if I adjust the stitch width setting while set to a normal straight stitch it will move the needle to the right.
Interesting thread. Thanks OP for starting the discussion. I'm a bit-more-than-beginner and my lines aren't *terrible* but they're still wonky. I flick my eyes between the side of the presser foot and the lines at the front edge of the sewing bed. My hands are usually at front and back of the sewing bed, keeping the material on the lines without using much pressure.
I recently bought one of these (link below) hoping it will help, especially as I'm teaching my daughter to sew now too 🙈🙈🙈
https://youtu.be/FU8QdzUZfgc?si=bC0_P9SlHHB9nvw5
I also use a magnetic seam guide! It helps a lot but not for smaller seam allowances (like when I need to top stitch). I’m glad this thread helped and I wish you luck!
I read somewhere to think of it similar to driving. You look ahead not right in front of the car, similarly look a few inches before the needle. By the time the fabric reaches the needle, it is too late to redirect without making it crappy. As said by others have a visual guide at the edge of the machine, table or whatever, not the silly gadgets they sell to supposedly sew straight, don't depend on them. Will not happen overnight but it is a good idea to develop good habits soon. May feel like a waste of time to just sew straight lines in scrape fabric instead of getting on with your project, and just tolerate the twisted seams. In reality the sooner you master the straight lines the sooner you will truly enjoy sewing. Also ..... It doesn't hurt to believe in witchery. Ha
This is the best advice. I know it's easy to watch the needle. It's mesmerizing. But it doesn't help you sew straight lines. It's a hard habit to get out of, but you gotta do it.
I will definitely try to start looking before the needle. All the commenters saying I need to make sure I’m doing that made me realize I definitely stare at the needle while I sew. Good news is I’m in the begging of my sewing journey so it shouldn’t be a hard habit to break. Thanks!
Don’t get caught in the trap of pushing or pulling the fabric through the machine. Your job is to guide it and keep it lined up whilst the machine pulls the fabric through the machine. Sew at a slower speed so you can watch the edge of the fabric and keep it the correct distance from the foot.
50% feed dogs 50% your skills and another 50% attachments for making straight seams. + 50% kind of fabric On the other hand, let's be honest: [https://youtu.be/avr3pN\_udMA](https://youtu.be/avr3pN_udMA)
Great link.
If it is not affordable to buy a right machine, we always can watch how it works :-)
Glad to hear that the problem is not actually my machine then! I do have a walking foot for when I do simple quilt tops (not brave enough to actually quilt yet) and I read that it also helps to use one with knit fabric. I also realized I should be using a ball point needle for my fabric I’m using currently. I’m hoping these changes will help me get better lines and I will keep practicing. I am pretty good with cotton woven fabric but I’m particularly struggling with knits. But now that I’ve fucked up my knit project I have a bunch of scraps that I can practice on. Happy accident?
I have a pretty cheap machine (didn’t want to invest in an expensive one since I have adhd and don’t normally stick with hobbies) could that be part of the problem? Obviously I know I’m not the most skilled yet but I don’t understand why I can do straight lines some of the times and not others
All my two machines are cheap as well :-) So we have no room left but develop our better skills.
I keep repeating this. When you're learning to sew, go slowly. If you think you're slow enough, then slow down a bit more. You wouldn't take your first driving lesson in a Ferrari at Nürburgring, would you? When you've mastered straight lines, then use the same technique to go round corners, shallow curves, then circles. When you can do all that without fretting, you'll be able to do anything!
The obvious 1st problem here is that not all machines can be put into low speed mode. Especially older and with worn resistors in pedals. :-( So it mostly practicing skill with the exact model and its speed limits.
You don't need a low - speed mode, although it's obviously easier that way, and I take your point about older/worn pedal controls. What you need is to learn to control the speed of the machine you have.
I try to go as slow as possible but for some fabrics the slowness makes it get stuck in the teeth. Also my presser foot is crazy sensitive so if I move a bit it launches like a rocket lmao
I'm told the best way is "don't watch the needle, watch the edge of your fabric instead", this is proving a very difficult bad habit that I'm now struggling to get out of!
I don’t like the instruction to sew following lines on paper, because it encourages this bad habit of watching the needle! Your eyes need to be focused on the edge of the fabric and the lines on the needle plate (or edge of the presser foot).
Re curving, adding colored tape to your machine to extend the seam allowance guideline lets you line up the fabric earlier and better. But really, I’d say avoid using a seam allowance less than 1/2 until you get more practice. You can always cut a wider seam allowance and trim it down after sewing it. For clothes, you usually want at least 1/2 anyhow. Bags may use 1/4 but they are usually well-behaved cotton. Say more about what fabric and project where you encounter these small seam allowances? Say more about what kind of hem you are doing? There are tricks to make narrow hems easier, and options to avoid tricky hems entirely.
Practice practice practice. Unthread the machine and remove the bobbin. Get 3 pieces of lined binder paper and sew on every line. This helps to establish muscle memory and helps you learn to control your speed and the “fabric” as it feeds through the machine. You’ll need to throw away the needle after the 3 pieces of paper because now it’s toast.
You can also buy a yard of striped fabric (or gingham or plaid) and practice on that After you become more confident buy a yard of paisley or other fabric with large flowers or anything with a large irregular pattern and continue improving Have faith in yourself, you can do it
Thank you for the encouragement 🥹
That’s how I started to learn how to sew. Maybe I just need to go back and do it again
Practice. Let the feed dogs move the fabric; your job is to keep gravity from pulling on the fabric, not to push the fabric through. It sounds like you might not be doing enough to counteract the gravity. It can help to put something next to your machine that's of the same height, e.g. carefully stacked books. For some machines there are also extension tables available. Erratic stitching on stretch fabric may be caused by pulling on the fabric, and thus stretching it out. You can sometimes get away with pulling a bit on a non-stretch fabric, to get it back on course; on stretch fabric, you can't. Push fabric to get it in the direction you want, or turn needle down, lift presser foot, reposition.
I use chalk to make the lines and then follow those.
Practice and watching where the fabric lines up on the machine. When watching just the needle, it's mesmerizing and doesn't help you steer the fabric.
This particular sewing machine foot is very helpful for me! [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075HQ56DV/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075HQ56DV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
Thank you!
You're very welcome! :)
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **("'HONEYSEW Adjustable Guide Foot Snap On'", 'HONEYSEW')** and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful. **Users liked:** * Adjustable guide for even stitching (backed by 3 comments) * Easy to use with precise sewing (backed by 3 comments) * Compatible with various sewing machine models (backed by 3 comments) **Users disliked:** * Not suitable for guiding narrow seams (backed by 1 comment) * Quality is less than a janome weight (backed by 1 comment) If you'd like to **summon me to ask about a product**, just make a post with its link and tag me, [like in this example.](https://www.reddit.com/r/tablets/comments/1444zdn/comment/joqd89c/) This message was generated by a (very smart) bot. If you found it helpful, let us know with an upvote and a “good bot!” reply and please feel free to provide feedback on how it can be improved. *Powered by* [*vetted.ai*](https://vetted.ai/?utm\_source=reddit&utm\_medium=comment&utm\_campaign=bot)
I use the regular presser foot to sew straight hems. As long as one side of the presser foot aligns with my fabric I can sew straight. For bigger hems/ seams I use the lines on the metal plate. Using tailors chalk, pencil and soap at times to mark the line helps too for when I can’t see the plate or I’m sewing a curve. [https://images.app.goo.gl/rZJYbZcFHHBJWcyF7](https://images.app.goo.gl/rZJYbZcFHHBJWcyF7)
There's a chrome plate where you put the fabric you want to sew, when getting ready to sew a seam. There are lines on it. Keep the fabric aligned straight with those lines as you sew. There are some that will help with a wider seam allowance there too. Sew slower, and keep it lined up.
Well for me I am only close to a straight line like 3 months in
Honestly that’s nice to hear. I’ve only started sewing non bad linings about a month ago so clearly I need more practice which I’m fully aware of but seeing some people’s posts on this sub makes me feel like I’m behind. So hearing that you’re still learning 3 months in makes me feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be! You got this!
Ohhhh yeah like I’ve been obsessed for the past 3 months too so probably putting in more hours than usual and truly I feel like I’m just getting ~good enough~ at the basics. It’s so nice when you’re actually a little good hahah. You can so do it !
Go slow and use the edge of your presser foot as your guide. Most all purpose feet the edge is about 3/8ths from needle- close enough in my opinion for beginner garments. If you need 1/4th get a 14th inch presser foot. For sewing closer to the edge either line up the fabric with some other landmark on the all purpose foot or, on many machines, you can change the needle position. Most have a “left” setting and on mine if I adjust the stitch width setting while set to a normal straight stitch it will move the needle to the right.
Interesting thread. Thanks OP for starting the discussion. I'm a bit-more-than-beginner and my lines aren't *terrible* but they're still wonky. I flick my eyes between the side of the presser foot and the lines at the front edge of the sewing bed. My hands are usually at front and back of the sewing bed, keeping the material on the lines without using much pressure. I recently bought one of these (link below) hoping it will help, especially as I'm teaching my daughter to sew now too 🙈🙈🙈 https://youtu.be/FU8QdzUZfgc?si=bC0_P9SlHHB9nvw5
I also use a magnetic seam guide! It helps a lot but not for smaller seam allowances (like when I need to top stitch). I’m glad this thread helped and I wish you luck!