There has been a recent upsurge in craftiness, so it is seen that more and more people take up skills like hand sew. You either can find a sewing workshop near you and get involve or take up sewing lessons on social media. This is the perfect way to surround yourself with people who has the same interest as you.
Sewing is not a daunting task. In reality, to complete a hand sewing project, it can take you few hours or few weeks. It will depend mainly on different factors like availability of materials, complexity of the design, time available and so on.
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What Affects The Time It Takes To Hand Sew Clothes?
The sewing time is dependent on various variables. They include:
- Sewing Experience
The ability to sew a clothing item like a dress whether intricate or simple is dependent on your experience entirely. So, if you happen to be a beginner, then to hand sew a simple dress it may take more time compared to experienced hands.
- Materials
There are lots of different tools that you may require when you are hand sewing a clothing item. The availability of such tools required to sew let’s say a dress will hugely influence the whole process. As a result, it will affect the time taken to sew the dress.
If you sew with your hands then it will take longer time compared to machine sewing.
- Difficulty In Sewing Design
Even in case of an experienced seamstress, it is seen that she will take longer time to hand sew complicated design compared to simple design.
So, the design of the clothing item like a dress is a deciding factor on how long will it take to sew it by hands. It mainly comes down to techniques and production process.
- Amount Of Time You Dedicate To Sew
You either decided to start hand sewing as a hobby or for full time. So, you have set a designated time period when you will hand sew and when you will complete other daily chores of yours.
This set time table can affect the period you might take to complete a clothing item. If you spend more time on the project then you might be able to complete the dress in few hours if the design is simple.
The Process Of Hand Sewing
There is a process of hand sewing which all newbies and experienced hands have to go through. The more quickly and preciously you can go through the steps of the process, the more quickly you will be able to hand sew a clothing item like a dress.
The basic steps have been mentioned next for your better understanding.
Selecting The Right Fabric
The first thing that you need to select is the fabric of the clothing item. With so many options available, sometimes to do this step it takes the longest time. Do your research well and you will be able to go through this process fast.
Marking
The next step is about drawing the pattern onto the large pieces of fabric. This task may seem daunting for beginners. However, the more you do it, the less time it will take for you to make the marks. Without this step it will be difficult to hand sew a garment.
The markings are done with a special type of chalk known as tailor’s chalk. Depending upon the pattern, it might take 20 to 40 minutes to mark a piece of fabric that will be hand sewn.
Laying out the fabric
This step takes the most time. This is because; it is quite easy to make mistake during this step. For this reason, it is advisable that you take your time with this step and lay out the fabric accordingly. Once you get the hang of things, you will be able to do this step quickly and effectively.
Cutting
As you will be working with sharp scissors, it is best to give proper time during this step and do not rush it. It is tough for the beginners and they give most of their time on this step. Once you gain experience and practice often, then you will be able to do this step in just few minutes or few hours based on the design of the dress in question.
Sewing
Now the time has come to hand sew the garment in question. As you can tell this step will differ from one person to another. How long it will take to sew the garment will depend on a lot of factors, some of which have been mentioned before. So, schedule your sewing time table accordingly to ensure that you can get done with the project in excellent time frame.
Finishing touches
Once you are done with the hand sewing, you need to pay attention to details to ensure that the garment looks professionally made. Once you are done with the sewing check the dress in question thoroughly. If you see any mistakes or somethings that needs fixing up, you should take care of it immediately. This step will not take long if you use your great techniques and sewing skill. Based on the type of dress, this step can take few minutes to few hours.
How To Sew Garments More Quickly?
There are many ways you can improve your hand sewing skills and get the garment sewing done in just few hours or few weeks. Some ways to improve and hand sew faster has been mentioned below:
Get The Right Tools For The Job
When you are hand sewing, you need to have certain tools with you to make the job much easier. The more easier sewing the project will be, the more quickly you can get done with it. Which needles work best for different types of fabric, which thread is more suitable; you have to take care of all these things in order to have a great collection of hand sewing tools. Do your research well and you will be able to know which ones are must-haves.
Sewing straight line and learning how to hem
In order to be quick, you need to learn how to sew a straight line and how to hem effectively. The more you gain experience in sewing and hemming, the more quickly you can be done with a project. Hemming is finishing of your garment, so you should pay special attention to it.
Practice often
Practice as much as possible. Only through regular practice you can be able to take on the whole process of hand sewing a garment quickly and effectively. Daily practice each week will definitely work and you will be able to take on the task quickly.
Now you know everything you need to know on how long it takes to hand sew a garment. Use the information provided here to ensure you can do it quickly and effectively.
