Sewing

"Sewn" redirects here. For the song, see Sewn (song).

"Seamstress" redirects here. For the graphics library, see Seam carving.

"Butterfly stitch" redirects here. For the musical group, see Vanessa Olivarez.

"Stitching" redirects here. For the process of combining multiple images, see image stitching.

Early 20th century sewing in Detroit, Michigan

Using a modern sewing machine

Sewing is the stitching of cloth, leather, furs, bark or other materials, using needle and thread. Its use is nearly universal among human populations and dates back to Paleolithic times (30,000 BC). Sewing predates the weaving of cloth.

Sewing is used primarily to produce clothing and household furnishings as curtains, bedclothes, upholstery, and table linens. It is also used for sails, bellows, skin boats, banners and other items shaped out of flexible materials such as canvas and leather.

Most sewing in the industrial world is done by machines. Pieces of a garment are often first tacked together. The machine has a complex set of gears and arms which pierces thread through the layers of the cloth and semi-securely interlocks the thread.

Some people sew clothes for themselves and their families. More often home sewers sew to repair clothes, such as mending a torn seam or replacing a loose button. A person who sews for a living is known as a seamstress or seamster (from seamsmistress or seamsmaster), dressmaker, tailor, or garment worker.

"Plain" sewing is done for functional reasons: making or mending clothing or household linens. "Fancy" sewing is primarily decorative, including techniques such as shirring, smocking, embroidery, or quilting.

Sewing is the foundation for many needle arts and crafts, such as applique, canvas work, and patchwork.

While sewing is often seen as a low-skill job, the task of designing good-looking three-dimensional shapes from non-stretching two-dimensional fabric generally requires extensive hands-on knowledge of the design and principles of mathematical manifolds. Flat sheets of fabric with holes and slits cut into the fabric can curve and fold in 3D space in extensively complex ways that require a high level of skill and experience to manipulate into a smooth, ripple-free design. Aligning and orienting patterns printed or woven into the fabric further complicates the design process. But once a clothing designer with these skills has created the initial product, the fabric can then be cut using templates and sewn by manual laborers or machines.

Contents 1 Seam allowance 2 Occupations requiring sewing 3 Sewing tools and accessories 4 Notions (objects sewn into garments or soft goods) 4.1 Closures 4.2 Finishing and embellishment 5 List of stitches 6 References 7 See also 8 External links

Seam allowance

Seam allowance is the area between the edge and the stitching line on two (or more) pieces of material being stitched together. Seam allowances can range from 1/4 inch wide (6.35 mm) to as much as several inches. Commercial patterns for home sewers have seam allowances ranging from 1/4 inch to 5/8 inch.

Sewing industry seam allowances range from 1/4 inch for curved areas (e.g. neck line, armscye) or hidden seams (e.g. facing seams), to one inch or more for areas that require extra fabric for final fitting to the wearer (e.g. center back).

• Dressmaking/Tailoring/General: general techniques to create clothing and other textile projects.

• Mending: using general techniques and specialized methods such as darning to repair textiles.

• Quilting: sewing together layers of fabric and/or fibrefill to make warm blankets and clothing, or used for effect. Machine quilting is most common, but quilting "purists" and traditionalists do all quilting by hand.

• Serging: uses multiple threads to produce a stretchy and secure edge finish or seam that keeps raw edges of fabric neat. The term "serging" is a lot used to refer both to the act of sewing with a serger, and the type of effect the serger produces.

• Embroidery or machine embroidery: artistic embellishment.

Occupations requiring sewing

Seamstresses at a factory, 1904

• Bookbinder
• Cobbler
• Corsetier
• Draper
• Dressmaker
• Glover
• Hatter
• Quilting
• Sailmaker
• Tailor
• Taxidermist
• Upholsterer
• Milliner
• Parachute rigger
• Seamstress
• Surgeon

Sewing tools and accessories

Sewing box with sewing notions

• stitching awl
• bobbin
• bodkin
• dress form
• dressmaker\'s or tailor\'s shears
• measuring tape
• needle
• pattern
• pattern weights
• pin
• pincushion
• rotary cutter
• scissors
• seam ripper
• sewing table
• tailor\'s chalk
• thimble
• thread/yarn
• tracing paper
• tracing wheel
• wax, often beeswax

Notions (objects sewn into garments or soft goods)

Closures buckle button (buttons can be sew-through or have shanks.) toggle chinese frog eye hook hook-and-loop tape (often known by brand name Velcro) snap zipper

Finishing and embellishment beaded fringe & trim elastic eyelet grommet heading interfacing rivet trims (fringe, beaded fringe, ribbons, lace, sequin tape)

List of stitches

The two main stitches of which the others are derivatives are Cross Stitch and Butterfly

• back tack
• backstitch
• basting stitch (or tacking) - for temporary fixing
• blanket stitch
• blind stitch (or hem stitch)
• buttonhole stitch
• chain stitch
• cross-stitch
• darning stitch
• embroidery stitch
• feather stitch
• hemming stitch
• lockstitch
• overlock
• padding stitch
• running stitch - for seams and gathering
• sailmakers stitch
• slip stitch - for fastening a folded edge to a flat piece of fabric, or to another folded edge
• stretch stitch
• straight stitch
• topstitch
• whipstitch (or oversewing stitch) - for protecting edges
• zig-zag stitch

References

• Elissa Meyrich (2006). RIP IT!: How to Deconstruct and Reconstruct the Clothes of Your Dreams. New York: Fireside. 
• Elissa Meyrich (2002). Sew Fast Sew Easy: All You Need to Know When You Start to Sew. New York: St. Martin\'s Griffin. 
• Susan Huxley (1999). Sewing Secrets from the Fashion Industry: Proven Methods to Help You Sew Like the Pros. New York: Rodale Publishing. 
• Singer: The New Sewing Essentials by The Editors of Creative Publishing International ISBN 0-86573-308-2

See also

• sewing machines

External links

• Vintage Sewing Reference Library (free online access to public domain sewing books)

• History of Industrial Sewing

• Public domain sewing books

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Sewing

v • d • e Sewing
Techniques:	Basting · Cut · Darning · Dressmaker · Embellishment · Gather · Heirloom sewing · Pleat · Ruffle · Style line · Tailor
Stitches:	Backstitch · Blanket · Buttonhole · Chain stitch · Cross-stitch · Embroidery stitch · Lockstitch · Overlock · Running · Sashiko · Tack
Seams:	Bound · Hong Kong · Inseam · Seam allowance · Seam types
Notions:	Bias tape · Interfacing · Passementerie · Pattern · Simplicity · Trim · Twill tape
Closures:	Button · Buttonhole · Frog · Hook-and-eye · Shank · Snap · Velcro · Zipper
Materials:	Bias · Yarn/Thread · Selvage · Textiles/Fabric
Tools:	Bobbin · Pin · Pincushion · Pinking shears · Scissors · Seam ripper · Sewing needle · Stitching awl · Tape measure · Thimble · Tracing paper · Tracing wheel · Upholstery needle
Sewing machines and parts:	Feed dogs · Sewing machine · Needle guard · Pfaff · Singer · Tapemaster

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