Basics of Sewing Notions

Series Summary

Sewing is an ancient craft that still has remarkable relevance in today's modern world. The art of stitching and assembling pieces of fabric together, either by hand or with the use of a modern sewing machine, is still a valuable skill: it is the backbone of the textile industry; it comes in handy for clothing repair; fashion and design find it indispensable; and homemade clothing wouldn’t exist without it. Whether you use a sewing machine or a needle and thread, the techniques involved in constructing a well-fitting garment are very specific and involved. Becoming skilled at the craft is a lifelong pursuit.

One of the facets of sewing and constructing garments involves choosing accent materials: buttons, thread, zippers, elastic, and more. In this free video series, learn about choosing sewing notions, or accessories that you sew into the clothing for decoration or function. Our expert seamstress will help you choose which notions are right for your garment, both in style and function, so that you can create something that looks great and fits right.

Video Transcript

"Hi! I’m Jennifer on behalf of expertvillage.com. I’m from A Perfect Fit Alterations in Burleson, Texas, 817-447-3522. Today we’re going to talk about notions. You’ll find what sewing notions you need on the back of a pattern, you look down here at the bottom and for this pattern for instance you’ll need thread, a zipper, hook and eye, and 4 buttons. This pattern is a pair of pants, this one calls for elastic, this one also calls for a hook and eye and this one has snaps, various patterns will have various notions that you’ll need to complete the project. Here we have some zippers for instance, different types of sewing thread, we have some serger thread, glue to keep your project intact before you can sew it down, some elastics, different types of fasteners, buttons, hook and eyes and some snaps. Here’s some Velcro you might use on a pair of shorts, some horsehair braid for some formal wear, some shoulder pads and some fusible interfacing used to make buttonholes and this some seam binding. These are all the notions that we might need for a project that we’ve chosen from the back of the pattern. "