Sewing Basic Stitches
Senior 1 · Home Science
Sewing Basic Stitches
Lesson 1 of 5
20 min
Walk through any market in Rwanda and you will find tailors at work: measuring customers with a tape round the neck, marking cloth with chalk, cutting kitenge with long shears and stitching on a machine worked by a foot pedal. Good tailors look after their tools, because a blunt pair of shears or a rusty needle ruins cloth and wastes time.
In this unit you will learn to sew the basic hand stitches. First you need to know the tools: what each one is for, how to choose it, and how to use and store it safely.
Sewing tools are small items held in the hand, such as needles, pins and scissors. Sewing equipment means the larger items, such as a sewing machine, an iron and ironing board, or a cutting table. It helps to group tools by the job they do.
| Job | Tool | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Measuring | Tape measure | a flexible tape, usually 150 cm long, for measuring the body and curved edges |
| Ruler or metre stick | measuring and drawing straight lines on fabric and paper patterns | |
| Seam gauge | a short ruler with a sliding marker, for checking hems and seam allowances quickly | |
| Marking | Tailor's chalk | marking lines on fabric that brush off afterwards |
| Tracing wheel and dressmaker's carbon paper | copying pattern lines onto the wrong side of fabric | |
| Cutting | Dressmaking shears | long blades for cutting fabric; the bent handle lets the lower blade stay flat on the table, so the fabric is not lifted |
| Small scissors | cutting threads and trimming | |
| Pinking shears | cutting a zigzag edge that frays less | |
| Embroidery scissors | small, sharp-pointed scissors for close cutting in embroidery | |
| Seam ripper (unpicker) | cutting and removing wrong stitches | |
| Sewing | Hand-sewing needles | sharps for general sewing; crewel (embroidery) needles, with a long eye for thick threads; blunt tapestry needles for loosely woven cloth |
| Pins | holding layers together before sewing; glass-headed pins do not melt under an iron | |
| Pincushion or needle book | keeping pins and needles safe, dry and easy to find | |
| Thimble | a small cap worn on the middle finger of the sewing hand, to push the needle without hurting the finger | |
| Needle threader | pulling thread through a small eye | |
| Embroidery hoop | two rings that hold fabric tight while you embroider | |
| Pressing | Iron and ironing board | pressing fabric flat before cutting and pressing work as you sew |
| Pressing cloth | a cloth laid over the work so the iron does not scorch or make it shiny |
Hand needles are numbered. Within one type, the lower the number, the thicker and longer the needle: a size 5 sharp is thicker than a size 10 sharp. Use a fine needle for fine fabric and a thicker one for heavy fabric or thick thread.
Machines may be turned by hand, driven by a foot pedal (treadle), or powered by electricity. Treadle machines are still widely used by tailors because they need no electricity. A machine is equipment: keep it covered, clean out fluff, oil it as the maker advises, and keep your fingers well away from the needle.
Mutesi has 12,000 Frw to buy a sewing kit for Home Science. The prices are examples from a market stall.
| Item | Price | Essential? |
|---|---|---|
| Pack of hand needles | 500 Frw | yes |
| Pins | 800 Frw | yes |
| Tape measure | 1,000 Frw | yes |
| Dressmaking shears | 6,000 Frw | yes |
| Thimble | 300 Frw | yes |
| Tailor's chalk | 500 Frw | yes |
| Seam ripper | 800 Frw | yes |
| 3 reels of thread at 400 Frw | 1,200 Frw | yes |
| Small scissors | 1,500 Frw | later |
| Embroidery hoop | 1,500 Frw | later |
Step 1: cost of everything. 500 + 800 + 1,000 + 6,000 + 300 + 500 + 800 + 1,200 + 1,500 + 1,500 = 14,100 Frw. That is more than her 12,000 Frw.
Step 2: cost of the essentials. 14,100 − 1,500 − 1,500 = 11,100 Frw, which she can afford, with 12,000 − 11,100 = 900 Frw left over.
Step 3: justify. The shears cost the most, but good shears last for years and cut cleanly, so they are worth it. She can trim threads carefully with the shears until she can buy small scissors, and she can borrow the class hoop for embroidery.
Tip
Memory hook: Measure, Mark, Cut, Sew, Press. Group tools by these five jobs when an exam asks you to list or classify them. For needles: "small number, big needle".
Name the tool you would use to (a) measure round a customer's waist, (b) remove wrong stitches, (c) protect your finger when pushing a needle, (d) copy pattern lines onto fabric.
Solution. (a) Tape measure. (b) Seam ripper (unpicker). (c) Thimble. (d) Tracing wheel with dressmaker's carbon paper (or tailor's chalk).
Why do dressmaking shears have a bent handle?
Solution. So that the lower blade can rest flat on the table while you cut. The fabric stays flat and is not lifted, which gives an accurate cut.
Which needle is thicker, a size 5 or a size 9 sharp?
Solution. The size 5. Within one type of needle, the lower the number, the thicker and longer the needle.
Gatete holds pins in his mouth while pinning a hem and uses the class shears to cut out paper patterns. Explain two mistakes.
Solution. Pins in the mouth can be swallowed or breathed in, so they belong in a pincushion. Cutting paper blunts shears, so they will no longer cut fabric cleanly; paper should be cut with ordinary scissors.
Remember
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
