Everyone’s favourite sewing show, The Great British Sewing Bee, is returning to our screens very soon!
To help you get excited about the new series of the Sewing Bee and to improve your skills, we’ve collected seven sewing techniques for you to master. From french seams to buttonholes, these techniques will help your garments reach a new level of professionalism and design.
Plus all the sewing techniques we’ve featured below have been past Sewing Bee challenges! Once you’ve learnt how to do these sewing techniques, you’ll be ready to face Esme Young and Patrick Grant.
7 sewing techniques they use on the Bee!
1. Learn how to insert a zip
Zips are a staple part of any garment and help your pieces to fit comfortably and look seamless. This sewing technique comes up nearly every year on the Sewing Bee; last year the contestants had to use them in a Pattern Challenge!
It’s really easy to insert a zip when you know how. Our how to insert a zip tutorial covers the basic technique, but for more detailed instructions we’d recommend using the Designer Sapphire 85’s JoyOS advisor function.
The JoyOS advisor is packed with interactive tutorials, guides and instructions, including how to insert a zip. The display screen on the Designer Sapphire 85 will teach you various sewing techniques without you ever having to leave your machine.
2. Start sewing with elastic
Elastic is a menace to work with and often causes chaos on the Sewing Bee. However, it can be mastered with just a few simple steps! First, you need to decide if you’re working with flat elastic or shirring elastic.
If you’re using a sewing machine, you’re most likely working with shirring elastic. Wind the shirring elastic to your bobbin then set your machine to the longest stitch length.
The brilliant Opal 690Q and Designer Sapphire 85 are designed to help you with this fiddly task. Both machines have specific stretch stitches, allowing your elastic more give and so helping it stretch. This feature will also ensure you don’t stitch your elastic too tight which could result in some very uncomfortable garments!
We have created a specific tutorial to help you learn how to sew with elastic here on Gathered. It covers both flat elastics, shirring elastic and sewing elastic without a machine.
3. Master mitre corners
Mitred corners are loved by sewists and quilters alike. They give your corners a crisp, structured look which is perfect when sewing cushions or binding quilts. Mitre corners often crop up on the Sewing Bee; last year they appeared in the form of quilted jackets!
Mitred corners can be a tricky sewing technique to pick up at first, but our guide to mitre corners and the Opal 690Q and Designer Sapphire 85 machines aim to make it a breeze.
Both these sewing machines have an up and down needle feature that’s perfect for stitching those precise corners. This feature works via an inbuilt sensor system.
This means when the needle finishes down, the presser foot lifts up slightly allowing you to move the fabric to the direction you need to sew, all while holding the needle in place. This results in a smooth sewing experience, making it easy to navigate in and around sharp corners.
4. How to sew a french seam
French seams popped up in week eight of the Sewing Bee. French seams are much stronger than plain seams, making them ideal for areas of fabric which undergo more strain. Head over to our how to sew a french seam tutorial to learn this sewing technique.
Make sure you also look at the Designer Sapphire 85 if you’re sewing multiple french seams as it has lots of useful features. Its Stitch Balance function automatically sets the ideal feed balance when stitching forwards and backwards, giving you pristine french seams every time.
It also has LED lighted workspace, USB port and lots of automated sewing functions to give you a stress-free and fun sewing experience!
5. Add ruffles to your wardrobe
Ruffles can add flamboyance and flair to even the plainest garment. Plus they’re a sewing technique that’s loved by Esme and Patrick!
We show you how to sew ruffles here on Gathered and would recommend using the Designer Sapphire 85 or Opal 690Q as your sewing machine.
These machines make sewing ruffles easy. Both come with some great optional accessories (a ruffler and gathering foot) to help you achieve defined ruffles.
Even without the accessories, both machines have an adjustable stitch length and a handy stitch plate. The stitch plate has useful seam allowances marked on it to help you guide your fabric where it needs to go.
Looking for some sewing projects to work on?
Put these sewing techniques into practice with our collection of free sewing patterns.
6. Sew pleats with ease
Pleats are a Sewing Bee favourite and add necessary fullness to skirts and dresses. Learning how to sew pleats is an essential sewing technique and will help give your garments some much-needed movement.
The Designer Sapphire 85 and Opal 690Q sewing machines make the pleats process simple. The sensor system on the machines automatically adjusts the needle as the fabric thickness changes, allowing you to stitch thick pleat folds easily.
The Designer Sapphire 85 also has a thread portioning feature. When selected, the sewing machine will feed the optimum amount of thread for each stitch, no matter what thread type or fabric thickness. It’s one less thing to worry about while you’re in the pleating zone.
7. Finish your garment with button holes!
Lastly, buttonholes feature every single week on the Sewing Bee and are an integral part of every garment.
Messy, unfinished buttonholes can ruin a perfectly good piece, so it’s an important sewing technique to get to grips with. Take a look through our how to sew buttonholes tutorial for a step-by-step tutorial and some top tips.
If you’re new to the technique then the Opal 690 and Designer Sapphire 85 are here to help. Both come with a fantastic feature called the Sewing Advisor. Simply select your fabric choice and the sewing technique (in this case buttonholes) and the machine will recommend a stitch for that technique!
This one-step buttonhole technique also allows you to create buttonholes up to 48mm. Efficient, easy and ideal for beginners.
Perfect your sewing techniques ready for the Sewing Bee!
These seven techniques will not only improve your sewing knowledge but will also allow you to create more impressive garments.
Whether that’s adding ruffles to a plain top or finishing off your pieces with a mitre corner, these sewing techniques will give your projects the extra edge they need to get you featured on the Sewing Bee!
Make sewing easier with Husqvarna Viking’s sewing machines
Master these seven sewing techniques with the help of Husqvarna Viking’s smart sewing machines. Head over to HUSQVARNA to buy the Designer Sapphire 85 and Opal 690Q.
