Make and mend
Sewing & Knitting
Step-by-step guides for hand stitches, buttons, hems, patches and darns, the sewing machine, knitting and a first crochet, with every tool explained, old-fashioned and electric.
A needle and thread, or two needles and a ball of yarn, are enough to make useful things and keep the clothes you love going for longer. Here are the tools, from a thimble and darning egg to an electric sewing machine, and short step-by-step guides for the basics: hand stitches, buttons, hems, patches and darns, the sewing machine, knitting and a first crochet.
Pick any guide and go at your own pace. Each one lists what you'll need, then the steps, tips and fixes for common problems. Old sewing and knitting books from more than a hundred years ago are linked where they show the same thing; the instructions here come from university extension and 4-H guides and the Craft Yarn Council, listed on each page.
🪡 Hand sewing
Stitches you can do anywhere with a needle and thread.
🩹 Mending
Buttons, split seams, patches and darns: keep clothes going longer.
👖 Hemming
Take up pants, skirts and curtains by hand, with iron-on tape or by machine.
⚙️ Sewing machine
Thread the machine, sew a straight seam and make a first project.
🧶 Knitting
Two needles and two stitches: from a slip knot to a finished dishcloth.
🪝 Crochet
One hook, one loop: chain and single crochet.
🧰 Tools
You can start with very little: a needle, thread, pins and scissors for sewing, or one pair of needles and a ball of yarn for knitting. Here's what each tool is for.
Needles, thread and pins
Thin steel needles in different lengths and eye shapes. Sharps are medium-length all-rounders, betweens are short for fine handwork, embroidery (crewel) needles have a long eye for thicker thread, and darners are longer still.
Tip: Sizes run backwards. A bigger number means a finer, thinner needle. A size 7 sharp is a good first needle.
A needle with a blunt tip and a big eye, made to slip between threads instead of piercing them. It is easy to thread with yarn.
Tip: These sizes also run backwards. A #13 is the biggest and a #26 is the finest.
Everyday thread for hand and machine sewing. It is usually polyester, or polyester wrapped in cotton. Polyester is strong and has a little stretch, so it suits knits too.
Tip: Match the thread to the fabric's main color. If you can't find an exact match, pick one shade darker.
Soft thread with very little stretch. It is best on woven fabrics made of natural fibers, like cotton and linen.
Tip: Cotton thread can break on stretchy or polyester fabric. For mending, use thread of the same fiber as the fabric.
Thick, strong thread, often with a smooth glazed coating. It is for sewing buttons onto coats and other heavy fabric by hand.
A small hard cap for the middle finger of your sewing hand. It lets you push the needle through fabric without hurting your finger.
Tip: Choose one that fits snugly. Metal is a good choice.
Pins hold layers of fabric together until you sew them. A pincushion keeps pins and needles in one safe place.
Tip: Use sharp pins, and throw out bent or rusty ones. Ballpoint pins are made for knits. A magnetic pin holder catches pins that fall.
Cutting, measuring and marking
Long, sharp scissors for cutting fabric. Bent-handle shears let the fabric stay flat on the table while you cut.
Tip: Keep them for fabric and thread only. Paper and cardboard dull the blades fast, so keep a cheap pair of paper scissors for patterns.
Small clippers for snipping thread ends. Keep them right beside you while you sew.
Shears with saw-tooth blades that cut a zigzag edge. A zigzag edge frays less than a straight cut.
A small tool with a sharp point and a curved blade. It slips under stitches and cuts them, so you can unpick a mistake.
Tip: Put the cap back on when you're done to protect the point.
A flexible 60-inch tape for measuring bodies and fabric.
Tip: Pick one that doesn't stretch.
A 6-inch metal ruler with a sliding marker. It helps you measure hems, seam allowances and button spacing quickly and evenly.
Pressing
Sewers press as they go. You lift the iron and set it down instead of sliding it, so seams lie flat and fabric doesn't stretch.
Tip: Set the heat for the fabric, and for blends use the lowest setting any of its fibers needs. Test on a scrap first.
An iron that puffs steam to help press seams and creases. It only makes steam on the hotter settings.
Old-fashioned tools
A smooth, hard egg or mushroom shape, made of wood, china or glass, that you slip inside a sock. It holds the hole flat and firm while you weave a darn.
Tip: Old school sewing books used a wooden ball, or even a square of cardboard, when there was no darning egg.
A little strawberry-shaped cushion, often hanging from a tomato pincushion, filled with gritty emery. Pushing a needle in and out of it helps clean and sharpen the point.
A sewing machine powered by your feet rocking a wide pedal (the treadle). Both hands stay free to guide the fabric. It needs no electricity, and many old ones still sew today.
A heavy solid iron that was heated on a wood or coal stove, used to press clothes before electric irons. 'Sad' is an old word for heavy. You had to put it back on the stove to reheat it again and again.
Electric and modern tools
A machine that sews with two threads, one from a spool on top and one from a bobbin underneath. It makes even, strong stitches much faster than by hand.
Tip: Every machine threads a little differently. Keep the owner's manual handy, or look up your model online.
Parts of the machine
- Spool pin: Holds the spool of thread on top.
- Thread guides and tension dial: Lead the top thread down to the needle and control how tightly it pulls.
- Take-up lever: Moves up and down with the needle and pulls up the slack thread. Stop sewing with it at its highest point.
- Bobbin winder: Winds thread from the spool onto an empty bobbin.
- Bobbin and bobbin case: A small spool under the needle plate that holds the bottom thread.
- Needle: Moves up and down to make each stitch. Its eye is near the point.
- Presser foot and lifter: The foot holds the fabric flat while you sew. The lever lifts it up and lets it down.
- Feed dogs: Little toothed bars under the foot that move the fabric along. Let them do the pulling.
- Throat plate (needle plate): The metal plate under the foot. Its lines show how far your fabric edge is from the needle, like 5/8 inch.
- Hand wheel: The wheel on the right side. Turn it toward you to move the needle up and down slowly by hand.
- Stitch length and stitch width controls: Set how long each stitch is, and how wide a zigzag is.
- Reverse lever or button: Sews backward for a few stitches to lock the start and end of a seam.
- Foot pedal: Controls the speed. Press gently to go slowly.
A machine that sews a seam, trims off extra fabric and wraps the raw edge in thread, all in one go. It uses 3 to 5 threads. It's handy for knits and tidy edges, but you don't need one to start sewing.
Tip: Check the fit before you serge. The blade trims the seam allowance, so there's nothing left to let out.
A rotary cutter is a very sharp rolling blade, a bit like a pizza cutter, for cutting fabric. It is used with a self-healing cutting mat and a see-through grid ruler. It isn't electric, but it's a modern tool that grown-ups should handle for young sewers.
Tip: Store the mat flat, away from heat. Hold the blade straight up as you cut.
Knitting needles
The classic pair of needles, each with a point at one end and a knob at the other. They come in 10-inch and 14-inch lengths.
Tip: Shorter 10-inch needles are easier for a beginner to handle.
Two short needle tips joined by a flexible cord. They are used for big projects and for knitting in a seamless tube, like a hat.
Short needles with a point at both ends, sold in sets. They are used for small round things like socks and mittens.
Needles are made of metal, plastic, wood, or bamboo. Yarn slips less on wood and bamboo, which helps beginners keep stitches on; smooth metal lets stitches slide fast.
Tip: If your stitches keep sliding off, try wood or bamboo needles.
Needles have a US number and a size in millimeters (mm). For example, US 8 is 5 mm and US 10 is 6 mm. A bigger number means a fatter needle and bigger stitches.
Tip: Trust the mm size. Very old books use older numbering, so an old 'No. 13 steel' sock or glove needle is thin, not a modern US 13.
Little rubber caps that go on the needle tips when you put your knitting down. They keep stitches from sliding off.
Yarn
Yarn thickness is sorted into numbered groups from 0 (lace, the thinnest) to 7 (jumbo, the thickest). The number is often printed on the label inside a little skein symbol.
Tip: See the yarn weight table below.
Start with a smooth, light-colored medium (#4, worsted) yarn. Light colors make each stitch easy to see.
Tip: Skip dark, fuzzy, or bumpy novelty yarns for now. They hide your stitches and are hard to pull out.
Yarn can be natural, like wool or cotton, or man-made, like acrylic or nylon. Wool is warm and springy, and cotton soaks up water, which makes it great for dishcloths.
Tip: If you mix yarns in one project, pick ones with the same washing instructions.
The label (band) tells you the fiber, the weight, how much yarn is in the ball, the suggested needle size, the dye lot, and how to wash it. Many labels also give a gauge.
Tip: Buy all the yarn for one project at once, with the same dye lot number, so the color matches. Keep the label.
Knitting helpers
A big sewing needle with a blunt tip and a large eye. You use it to weave in yarn ends and sew pieces together.
Small rings that sit on the needle between stitches. They mark a spot, like the start of a round.
A small counter you click after each row so you don't lose your place.
Small scissors for cutting yarn.
Tip: Keep them in a case or pouch when you are not using them.
Used to measure your knitting and check gauge. Lay the knitting flat and don't stretch it when you measure.
A flat card or metal plate with holes. Push a needle through the holes to find its size when the number has worn off. Some also have an L-shaped window for counting gauge.
Old-fashioned yarn tools
Hand knitting needs only needles and yarn, and it has been done for hundreds of years. During World Wars I and II, school children knitted socks, scarves, and other warm things for soldiers.
A carved wooden stick tucked into an apron string, with a hole in one end to hold the end of one needle. The one in the Victoria and Albert Museum comes from northern England and is dated 1842.
A wooden stick frame for winding freshly spun yarn into a skein. Counting the wraps told the spinner how many yards she had made.
A wooden stand that opens like an umbrella and holds a loose skein while you wind it into a ball. It keeps both hands free.
One of the oldest tools for making yarn: a stick with a round weight called a whorl. As it spins, it twists loose fiber into yarn.
Spinning wheels spread about 800 years ago and made yarn much faster than a spindle. Pioneer families often spun their own yarn at home.
In the late 1800s, small round knitting machines were sold for home use to knit socks and other tubes.
Knitting machines and winders
A flat bed with about 200 hooked needles, one per stitch. You push a carriage across by hand to knit a whole row at once. Punch-card models choose color patterns with a card and need no power.
A home knitting machine that stores the pattern in a computer or in the machine itself and controls each needle on its own. The carriage is still usually pushed by hand, though motors can be added.
🧶 Yarn weights
Yarn labels show a number from 0 to 7. For a first project, pick 4 (medium or worsted).
| # | Name | Also called | Needles (US) | Needles (mm) | Stitches per 4 in | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Lace | Fingering, 10-count crochet thread | 000-1 | 1.5-2.25 | 33-40 sts | Very fine yarn for airy lace; usually knit on bigger needles than this. Not for a first project. |
| 1 | Super Fine | Sock, Fingering, Baby | 1-3 | 2.25-3.25 | 27-32 sts | Thin yarn for socks and baby things. |
| 2 | Fine | Sport, Baby | 3-5 | 3.25-3.75 | 23-26 sts | Light sweaters and baby things. |
| 3 | Light | DK, Light Worsted | 5-7 | 3.75-4.5 | 21-24 sts | Light sweaters, hats, and scarves. |
| 4 | Medium | Worsted, Afghan, Aran | 7-9 | 4.5-5.5 | 16-20 sts | The best weight to learn with. Good for scarves, dishcloths, hats, and blankets. |
| 5 | Bulky | Chunky, Craft, Rug | 9-11 | 5.5-8 | 12-15 sts | Thick, quick-to-knit scarves, hats, and rugs. |
| 6 | Super Bulky | Super Bulky, Roving | 11-17 | 8-12.75 | 7-11 sts | Very thick, very fast projects. |
| 7 | Jumbo | Jumbo, Roving | 17 and larger | 12.75 and larger | 6 sts or fewer | Giant yarn for chunky blankets and arm knitting. |
Pattern shorthand
Yarn weight categories and abbreviations follow the Craft Yarn Council standard. Source: Craft Yarn Council's www.YarnStandards.com
For grown-ups
4-H programs start children on simple hand sewing early. Purdue's Mini 4-H sewing is for kindergarten to 2nd grade, and Penn State's Cloverbud program welcomes ages 5 to 7. In both, an adult helps and watches but lets the child do the work. Little ones can start with a large-eye needle and yarn on felt or an old sock, as in a Wisconsin Cloverbud beanbag activity. Move to a regular sharp needle once they can handle it. Purdue's program brings in the sewing machine around 2nd grade, with an adult threading the machine and bobbin. Grown-ups should handle the iron and rotary cutter for young sewers, and pins and needles should be stored where small children can't reach them.
The Craft Yarn Council says children can learn to knit from about age 6. Keep first lessons short, about 45 minutes to an hour, and sit beside the child to guide their hands. It helps to cast on about 25 stitches and knit a few rows ahead of time, so the child can start right away with the knit stitch and learn casting on later. 4-H beginner guides suggest worsted yarn with US 8 to 10 (5 to 6 mm) needles. A light, smooth yarn makes stitches easy to see. Praise effort, not neatness; uneven stitches are normal at first. Some Extension offices, such as University of Illinois Extension, hold finger-knitting workshops for youth. Keep needles, scissors, and small items like stitch markers out of reach of babies and toddlers, and store scissors in a case.
Safe habits
- Keep pins and needles in a pincushion or case, never in your mouth, and store them where small children can't reach.
- Pass scissors with the blades closed and the handles toward the other person.
- An iron gets very hot. Stand it on its heel when you're not pressing, and unplug it by the plug, not the cord.
- Keep fingers away from the sewing machine needle, and sew only as fast as you can control.
- Unplug the sewing machine before cleaning it or changing the needle.
- Cut away from yourself with a rotary cutter, always on a cutting mat, and close the blade after every cut.
Sources: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8
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