All You Need To Know About BastingFor newbies, let’s start with what basting means.
This term refers to sewing a line of straight stitches to hold the fabric in place. The stitches, in this case, are longer than when you usually do with regular seams. You don’t knot the start of the end of the seam because they are meant to be removed later.
When you baste, you can make it either by hand or by machine.
Machine-BastingMachine basting is to create long-running stitches that can be pulled out when you are done. In order to do this, set your machine to 5 or more in stitch length. Remember not to backstitch either at the beginning or end so that you can remove it later.
Basting is so basic and simple that even the best basic sewing machine can do it with ease. In case you want to buy a good sewing machine for beginners, check this guide on the
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Hand-BastingHand-basting is the same. The only difference is that instead of using a machine, you create the stitches by hand.
Why Do You Need To Baste?Machine-basting is useful for inserting zippersThe number of reasons to baste is plenty.
The main use of basting is to keep the pieces of fabric in place until you put them on a permanent seam, so whenever you need to do this, think of basting. I usually baste to see if I have all the pieces at the right size or if the garment I am making is the best fit.
When you are in need to gather the fabric in one place, a few rows of basting stitches are one of the best ways to go. It is especially useful in sewing zippers, which need to be in place accurately.
When you dive deeper into the world of garment making, sometimes you will need to fit the sleeves to the bodice, basting can come in handy.
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Before you can land the best garment, fitting is inevitable. In this case, you can put all the pieces together by lines of basting stitches.
Basting can be helpful in garment fittingHere are a few tips so that you can baste with ease:
- Basting is wonderful for piping, lace trims, and ricrac to hold them before you sew the final seams.
- Don’t baste on fabrics that can show needle holes. A prime example is leather, which is autonomous for not tolerating any kind of holes.
- With fabrics that are slippery like silk or velvet, basting is a good way to go.
- Take out the basting seams after you finish the permanent seams but before you iron them to prevent them from showing in the final product.
I always say that you don’t need an advanced machine to handle leather or silk, what you need are the right techniques. Basting is one of the tricks you will need. When you know what to do, even an
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