Sewing machine skills

[JakeBullet]

Hi all the knowledgeable and crafty folk out there .

A few months ago I bought my very first sewing machine. It's a basic Brother machine and is lovely.

I have been a bit scared of using it....too many bad memories of school needlework classes in the late 70s!

However I agreed to help put a costume together for a play. I was honest about being a novice but I have quickly fallen in love with the machine , there's nothing like a baptism of fire is there?

So any tips on YouTube channels, blogs, books etc. Having got the bug I want to continue practicing and increasing my experience and skills.

Any advice appreciated :-)

I'm fairly new to sewing too and my favourite sewing blog is tilly and the buttons

Making stuff is the best way to learn imo...I buy stuff from charity shops for the cloth, put them through the wash, iron them and then try stuff out before cutting into proper fabric that I have bought.

The sewing bee has been good to watch, it's on iplayer, they have had some good mini tutorials plus you get to watch people sewing/pinning/cutting etc.

What costume do you need to make? a lot of the dress making patterns do fancy dress patterns (as well as anything else you can think of), Simplicity and Burda are easy ones to start with.

Thank you, love the blog.....really want to buy that dress pattern.

I have just chucked myself into it this week and....I love it

Am now having a go at buttonholes etc with the machine. Who'd have thought a week could make such a difference.

Yes am going to raid the charity shops for stuff to practice on.