Here's a quick list of sewing resources for beginners:
- Asian Sewist Collective - yours truly & team's podcast, great to listen to while you sew!
- Stitch Please - another fantastic podcast to listen to as you sew - Lisa is hilarious, entertaining and a friend.
- Love to Sew Podcast - has a great backlog of episodes on specific sewing skills and tips
- Evelyn Wood - YouTube creator with tons of tips and tricks for sewing, especially for beginners
- Professor Pincushion - YouTube channel with lots of specific troubleshooting videos, like this video on thread tension
- Coolirpa (April) - YouTube creator with a ton of start-to-finish project videos and helpful beginner videos like this one
- The Fold Line - UK-based website with great search & review functionality for indie and Big Four/Big Five patterns, they also have a fun YouTube channel where they spot trends and patterns
- GwenStella Made - creator and friend with tons of resources and tips for beginners, plus Gwen has a cool retro style!
- Marcy Harriell - YouTube creator and singer with a great sense of fashion, she posts lots of quick sewing tips and NY fabric shopping tips
- Shilyn Sews - YouTube creator and friend with a wealth of knowledge and deep dive videos like this comparison of all circle skirts
- Sewstine - YouTube creator in the historical costuming community, while her sewing is not the same as what I practice, it's great to appreciate
- With Wendy - YouTube creator who focuses more on high fashion and current trends (and how to make them), but has a great backlog of how to videos, like this one about creating clothes from your clothes
- Strawberry Creek Quilts - quilt pattern designer, creator and friend with beginner quilting tips and small space setup tips, like this blog post on pressing and iron setup
- These two videos are helpful for understanding: How a Sewing Machine Works (and some of the history of their development), and How a Stitch Is Made
My favorite creative reuse non-profits and stores for thrifted fabric:
If you are thrifting fabric, don't forget to do a burn test if you want to be more sure of its content. As a beginner, repurposing fabric from bedsheets or curtains is totally acceptable - work your way up to new yardage or thrifted yardage as you feel comfortable.
My favorite online fabric stores for net new yardage are:
- Blackbird Fabrics - Vancouver, BC, Canada - high quality garment fabrics, great customer service and loads of color accurate photos and videos, they also provide a lot of resources on fabric content & care.
- Discovery Fabrics - Campbell River, BC, Canada - if you plan on sewing activewear, technical gear or athleisure, they have the best selection, in my opinion. They also have videos of many of their fabrics so you can see the weight and drape before ordering.
- LA Finch - Southern California - Josie does a great job sourcing deadstock fabric for garment sewing and is super responsive on IG
- Blue Moon - Los Angeles, CA - great selection of spandex and activewear fabrics, as well as any fabrics you might use for costumes or dancewear
- Firecracker Fabrics - Pittsburgh, PA - wide variety of fabrics across different price points, they carry very similar stock to what you would've been able to find at Fancy Tiger Crafts
- Sister Mintaka - UK - Sandeep is incredible and occasionally has specific fabrics & designs that are only available on her shop that make the shipping cost worth it. For what it's worth, I generally only order when I have a trip through the UK and know I can ship it to a friend in advance of my arrival.
- New Craft House - London, UK - beautiful deadstock designer fabric sourced directly from designers, worth a trip if you're ever in London.
Bonus: Wawak is my go-to for notions and supplies in bulk - many of our class supplies like chalk, pin cushions, pins, and measuring tape, were purchased from them. They sell thread in bulk, but if you can't hit the free shipping minimum my recommendation is to split an order with a friend.
The beginner sewing machine we use at Fleur Denver is the Singer Heavy Duty 4411. If you're in Denver and need access to a machine outside of workshop, class or open studio hours, I recommend checking out the Denver Public Library's Idea Labs (each location has different machines with different features).
I service my vintage Bernina machine at home and take it in for tune ups at Thread Play in Centennial; Rocky Mountain Sewing & Vacuum is also a great local shop for servicing.
Don't forget to follow @asiansewistcollective and @i.hope.sew on Instagram!
