How Long Does it Take to Learn Sewing?

Sewing has become a popular craft among hobbyists since sewing machines became popularized in the 20th century. As more people could afford sewing machines, hand sewing was no longer necessary to make and repair clothes. The production of clothing became more efficient thanks to sewing machines and ready-made clothing became the standard in the West. There are still plenty who sew their clothes today but sewing has largely been relegated to a hobby and cottage industry.

Learning basic sewing skills is estimated to take around two to three weeks, depending on how much instruction you receive. Self-learning will take longer–roughly six to nine months–to produce consistent and clean results. No matter how experienced you are in sewing, there is a wide range of techniques that you can spend time learning. Keep reading to learn about how you can learn sewing and some resources you can use to help speed the process along.

What is Sewing?

The first evidence of sewing by people dates far back in history, when pre-modern people stitched together animal hides to create clothing and shelter. As time passed, new tools were developed to make sewing more precise and efficient. Sewing needles evolved from iron to steel between the 14th and 18th centuries. By the 18th century, millions of steel needles were being produced every year. When the Industrial Revolution came, so too did the invention of the sewing machine.

Machine sewing made the production of clothing more efficient and accessible. As the clothing industry began to rely on machines to manufacture items, people began to sew at home less. Now, sewing is done at home for fun, to repair items, to create custom pieces, and to produce unique garments to sell.

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Benefits of Learning Sewing?

Hand-crafted, custom-made garments are sold online by experienced sewers. These pieces are typically longer-lasting than manufactured garments and tend to be more detailed thanks to the nature of hand-sewing. Once you’ve learned to sew you can explore designing custom pieces to sell, to gift, or to wear.

There are several other benefits to learning to sew. Sewing helps relieve stress and anxiety by distracting you from your problems. Sewers have noted that when they sew, all their attention goes to the piece they’re working on. This relaxes them and gives them time and space to work through problems they’re facing.

Sewing also provides you with physical benefits. It improves the dexterity of your fingers, loosens your joints, and helps develop your fine motor skills. Arthritis sufferers have commented that their joints have loosened with consistent sewing, and it has reduced the amount of pain they feel because of their arthritis. Some companies have developed tools to help arthritis sufferers sew comfortably, including ergonomic rotary cutters and lightweight irons.

Sewing can help you explore your creativity. If you’d like to work on an original project, you’ll need to design it. You can grab inspiration from your closet, the internet, or your imagination. As you work on the piece, you’re sure to come up with new ideas and things you’d like to try. If you’re working on something for a friend or customer, you’ll also get to try out new ideas that you think they’d like, or they’ve asked for.

Average Time It Takes to Learn Sewing

Once you’ve learned how to sew, you’ll have a lifelong skill that can be used in a multitude of ways. You’ll be able to create and repair clothing for yourself and others. It’s also a hobby that you can use to relax and decompress after a stressful day.

It’ll take you some time to learn the basics of sewing and to be considered an expert in the craft. On average, it takes about two to three weeks to learn the basics. It’ll take longer depending on how you decide to learn. Self-learning is a bit more difficult than guided learning because you’ll need to find the right resources and invest time in it. You can self-learn through books and online videos and tutorials.

Taking an in-person class in the basics of sewing will help you learn sewing efficiently. If you’d like to learn both hand-sewing and machine-sewing, it may take you longer because you’ll need to learn the specifics of both methods, including tools and techniques.

Long-time sewers have reported that it takes around six to nine months to begin sewing consistent, and good-looking pieces. Even those who have over a decade of sewing experience have reported that they are constantly learning new techniques.

Other Factors

The time it takes you to learn how to sew is also influenced by prior experience, your speed of learning, what you have decided to sew, and how much time you can commit to learning. Before deciding if you’d like to self-learn or be guided by an instructor, you should consider these factors.

Prior Experience

Having prior experience with sewing or related crafts will speed along the time it takes you to learn. If you know how to use a needle and thread or a sewing machine, learning stitch types and techniques might be more intuitive to you. You may also have an advantage if you’ve done a related activity like knitting or crocheting. Although these crafts differ from sewing, they both follow similar hand movements to hand-sewing.

Speed of Learning

Learning how to sew shouldn’t be rushed, but some people will learn faster than others. Those who pick up hands-on activities quickly may find themselves learning to sew more quickly than others. Taking an in-person sewing class may help naturally quick learners as they’ll be able to see demonstrations and receive hands-on experience with sewing. Don’t worry if you’re a slow learner; if you put time and patience into learning, you’ll get the basics of sewing down.

Project Type

Beginner-level sewers are unlikely to be working on large-scale projects. Beginners should start out learning about different techniques and stitches before worrying about custom projects. Many project-based beginner-level sewing classes will have you practice stitches as you work on smaller projects like tote bags, zipper pouches, and drawstring pants. Once you have more experience with sewing you can work on larger, more time-consuming projects.

Free Time

You need to invest time into learning how to sew if you’d like to learn it at an ideal pace. Sewing is probably not something you’ll be able to practice during your downtime at work. You’ll need to dedicate a portion of your week–whether it’s on the weekends or for an hour or two after work–to learning how to sew. Enrolling in a sewing class will help dedicate part of your time to learning. If you’re self-learning, you should consider what factors will impact your ability to learn sewing before carving out a part of your schedule to dedicate to learning.

What to Know Before Learning Sewing:

When you start learning to sew, you’ll want to focus on the basics. Stitch types, tools, and terminology will be important to learn first before advancing to more difficult skills and projects. You can find resources and sewing classes that focus on beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level skills.

Most beginner-level sewing skills and projects don’t require you to have any experience with sewing. If you take a machine sewing class, however, you might be expected to know how to use a sewing machine. Other classes will walk you through operating one.

It’s inexpensive to begin hand-sewing; all you need is thread and hand-sewing needs. These items can be found at your local art or hobbyist store. Sewing can become expensive if you’re using a variety of fabrics and thread. Sewing machines can also be expensive, so it’s recommended that you purchase one that’s used or refurbished if you’d like to machine-sew. Many in-person sewing classes will provide you with the materials you need or sell the necessary materials at a low price.

Can I Learn Sewing for Free / on My Own?

You can learn sewing on your own online for free. There are videos and tutorials online that can help you learn the basics of sewing. These are also videos and tutorials for more advanced techniques, but it’s recommended that you master the basics before moving on to these. Teaching yourself how to sew means that you won’t have access to an instructor to ask questions, so it might take some time to learn this way.

Key Takeaways

Learning the basics of sewing takes around two to three weeks if you have no prior experience.
Producing consistent and clean stitches can take around six to nine months, but you never really finish learning how to sew as there are a wide variety of techniques you can learn.
The time it takes to learn to sew is impacted by things like prior experience, your speed of learning, the project you’re working on, and the amount of free time you have.
You can learn how to sew by watching online videos and tutorials or by taking an in-person or online sewing class.
There are private and public sewing courses available on CourseHorse. You can contact them to learn more about these classes as well as private group sessions.