How hard is sewing for beginners? Find out what you need to know to start sewing!

Caught an episode of the Great British Sewing Bee and feeling inspired? Or maybe you just want to re-attach that button onto your favourite cardigan? Well, before you run off to the fabric store or splash out on a fancy machine, we're here to answer the question – how hard is sewing for beginners?

The answer is... it's complicated. The act of doing a few stitches is in itself not too difficult, be it by hand or on a machine. But when it comes to sewing your own dress or men's shirt... well, that's going to take some time.

But don't be put off, sewing is one of those hobbies where each project you make will teach you new skills and help you develop your craft. Here are some top tips and guides to get you past those initial tricky bits.

Start small, sew by hand

The very first step on your sewing journey is one that can prove to be incredibly fiddly. But don't worry, we've got 9 different techniques for how to thread a needle in our guide... one of them is bound to work for you!

Now, if you want to start with a bit of mending, you should check out our how to sew a hole and our how to sew a button tutorials.

Ready to get started on learning your first stitches? You'll find all you need to know about how to sew by hand in our complete guide to sewing for beginners.

Top Tip - one of the first things that catches new sewists out is the length of thread you need. It's tempting to use a longer length that can accommodate all your stitches, but this actually makes it more likely that you'll end up getting it tangled. Instead, use a sensible amount without too much excess, which will not only be less likely to tangle but will help you practice starting and finishing with new threads.

5 perfect projects for hand stitching

Move on to a sewing machine

Want to get stuck into something a bit more challenging? Then you need to get yourself behind a sewing machine. You'll find loads of handy links and information in our complete guide to sewing for beginners, including what to look out for and how to choose your first sewing machine.

But once you've got your machine, one does not simply 'start sewing' – first, you'll need to read our step-by-step guide on how to use a sewing machine. There are a few fiddly bits that you need to do to set up your machine for your first stitch, and it's important that you refer to your machine's user manual for specifics. Think of it like driving a car – you wouldn't try going on the road without a few lessons first!

So you've got your machine, set it up and have read your instruction manual – time to try your first stitches. Before jumping into a project, it's wise to have a play with some scrap fabric just to familiarise yourself with your machine. People are often caught off guard by how fast sewing machines can go and need to practice applying the right amount of pressure to the foot pedal.

Top Tip - No matter how experienced you are, always sew a test piece with your chosen fabric before starting a project. This will give you the opportunity to adjust any of the settings if necessary, so that you're all set up and ready to start making!

5 marvellous projects for machine sewing

When things go wrong

A sewing machine is an intricate and fine-tuned machine, and as such, occasionally things will go wrong. The sound of a fabric jam can be alarming, not to mention the shock of a needle breaking. But these things are almost always the result of a setting being incorrect, and you can normally find the solution in our how to fix a sewing machine guide.