Things You'll Need:
- Sewing machine
- Pattern
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Step 1
Color is important. It should bring out your eyes, match with your skin tone, accentuate your assets and minimize your less-than desirable characteristics. If you are designing for someone you don’t know, choose from a neutral color palette and stay within a versatile style to broaden the fit and appeal of the garment.
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Step 2
Decorative stitching and selecting buttons and clips should add to the look, not appear as an afterthought. Too much or too little can make or break the finished product. A solid colored garment can have a touch of stitching added to the collar, lapel, or cuffs to emphasize the cut. Keeping the lines similar to the pattern will create flow and not add a second design element that conflicts with that of the garment. Learn some different stitches and invest in a good quality sewing machine that does button holes.
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Step 3
Top-stitching seams and finishing hems adds a professional quality to final product. Hems should be invisible, so choose a thread that matches the fabric. Stitch length should create a smooth sewing line, be evenly spaced and free of puckers and gathers. Most sewing machines have a setting for an invisible hem. This is 3 straight stitches followed by one zig-zag stitch. The 3 straight stitches are confined to the folded fabric of the hem and the zig-zag stitch picks up a few fibers of the material which you are hemming. The stitches are not supposed to be visible from the right side; hence, the nick name, invisible hem. Some fabrics, like silk or satin leave an imprint if a machine is used for the hem. If you must hand-stitch, use a blind hem stitch. This is achieved by hand-stitching one stitch into the folded fabric of the hem and then picking a few fibers of the main fabric from the inside. Make it as even as possible and don’t pull the thread too tightly.
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Step 4
The difference between a professional looking-garment and one that looks amateur is often the application of the finishing touches. Take a look at retail garments and research the hem, stitching and fastener styles. Make yours as smooth as possible.
