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Speed and Time
jynclr   Advanced Beginner TX USA Member since 12/20/11 Posts: 839	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 8/27/12 9:54 AM I'm curious. I am wondering, as someone advances in their sewing skills do they get faster? While I love to sew, sometimes it feels like it can take forever. I found a video that helped with speeding up cutting time, so that was very nice to try out and see that it did help with cutting. Thoughts on speeding up sewing time? ------ Evelyn: Pfaff Creative Performance Helen V: Babylock Companion BL1550
marec   Intermediate OR USA Member since 5/11/08 Posts: 3543	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 8/27/12 10:02 AM Good question jynclr, I have wondered recently if speed is something to be valued in sewing. I guess I am faster in setting up my machine, changing thread, sewing straight seams (sometimes) and clipping threads. I am slower when it comes to necklines, facings, loops. So, for me it's a wash. ------ my blog: http://kf-biblioblog.blogspot.com/ Sewing through my pattern stash-125 completed.
jadamo00 Advanced NY USA Member since 3/13/06 Posts: 1234	Login to reply to this post In reply to marec << Like this post Date: 8/27/12 10:16 AM Ah, you'll see how your own sewing style progresses. I was raised with factory machines which ran like Indy cars -- I didn't like the speed and the noise and I never felt comfortable with them. So I still SEW slowly. But my hands work very fast: I can thread or fill a bobbin probably blindfolded! Pinning pieces together, etc. Speedy! Sometimes, I sneak a look at my hands while they work, guiding the fabric up to the dogs. Is this funny -- I really like watching them do their speedy sewing thang! Silly! j.
tourist   Intermediate BC CANADA Member since 7/23/07 Posts: 5414	Login to reply to this post In reply to jynclr << Like this post Date: 8/27/12 11:22 AM Definitely yes and definitely no. As others have said, some processes might speed up and some might slow down. You may become very speedy at putting garments together, but take more time on finishing things nicely. I never used to sew in serger tails, but often do now if they won't have a seam crossing them. Or you may choose more elaborate projects that just take longer to do. I have learned to not think things are "nearly done" when basic assembly is complete because I do so much embellishing. Then there is the "one step forward and two steps back" phase that often occurs in any learning process. You really have to work on just hanging in there when that happens. ------ http://bgballroom.wordpress.com to follow the progress on my next ballgown.
AdaH   Intermediate IA USA Member since 11/21/09 Posts: 2135	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 8/27/12 11:35 AM For me it depends on the project. Sometimes I sew really fast and just want to get the project done so I can wear it. Other times I want everything to be just right so go slower. I do know that the faster I go the more mistakes I seam to make? Definitely a correlation there. ------ Ada
Judy Kski   Intermediate FL USA Member since 10/26/08 Posts: 1018	Login to reply to this post In reply to jynclr << 1 member likes this. Date: 8/27/12 12:06 PM Speed isn't all that when it comes to sewing. I haven't been able to speed up my sewing and I don't worry about it. I do a really nice job on each project and I'm happy with the results. Besides, increasing your speed increases your chances for error. Relax and enjoy the ride! -- Edited on 8/27/12 12:08 PM -- ------ Judy
DonnaH Intermediate TX Member since 10/1/03 Posts: 462	Login to reply to this post 2 members like this. Date: 8/27/12 1:21 PM As most here have mentioned the answer is both yes and no! LOL One one hand, it will be much quicker to finish up a simple project. You will be able to thread your machine(s), lay out a pattern, trace a pattern, rip out a seam, etc. in less time than the first time you did the task. It will take much less thought on how to piece together a basic pattern (shoulder seams or even a facing), so the project as a whole will move along faster. If nothing else you will understand the instructions, read them once and just "go do" instead of having to study them and the illustrations. If you read some reviews here - there are some who just "sew it up" without even looking at the instructions! However, you will still (if you are like most of us) want to try new techniques, or a pattern that does something in a different way, and for those you will need to slow down at least enough to comprehend the new-to-you instructions, and possibly also take longer because you need to do it multiple times - either on scraps or repeatedly on the project or muslin (or both!). You may also want to take on more complicated items, which due to their nature will take much longer to complete. When I was a kid, the only kid I knew who sewed more than I had a goal in mind - she was going to sew her own wedding dress. We were in 6th or 7th grade when I learned that about her. And yes, she did. After college she worked in a bridal store that did custom gowns, and she (with help from her mother who was the most advanced sewist I've known personally) actually did sew her own gown. There were stories about staying up all night most of the the week before the wedding to sew on the beads. -- Edited on 8/27/12 1:22 PM --
Fruzzle Intermediate Member since 1/26/07 Posts: 382	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 8/27/12 2:44 PM I still take about the same amount of time, but I make better quality stuff with nicer finishes.
marymary86 Intermediate GA USA Member since 7/20/08 Posts: 2196	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 8/27/12 2:49 PM When I'm stitching a muslin together, often I try to concentrate on speed instead of fussing over every little detail (since I'm really just checking the fit and wanting to make sure the style will flatter before investing a ton of time and money in the intended garment). The last muslin I did had a lapped zipper. I may have used two pins tops and just stitched it in very quickly. It surprised me how well it looked when I was done. It helps me see where I still need to take painstaking care and where I can just quickly put the pieces together and sew. ------ Mary http://checkmatesystem.com
beauturbo Advanced CA USA Member since 5/2/09 Posts: 1443	Login to reply to this post In reply to jynclr << Like this post Date: 8/27/12 3:01 PM Maybe it depends on over how many years, but I think it for sure gets lots faster, like maybe 5 times faster at least from day one or month 3 or whatever, at least after just a couple of years. After that point, you might hit sort of a level that no matter how many years you sewed, things might actually take the same amount of time? So the more you do something, and the more you are used to it, and the more you can do it without thinking about it so much, and the less mistakes made and less of picking stitches out or whatever, just the faster it gets, up to a certain point. I would think that for a sewer that maybe spent an hour or two a week sewing something, maybe once a week or so. Of course if you actually set everything else aside, locked your self in a room, and did nothing else at all for 8 hours a day, and also took classes and read books, but mostly just actual doing and sewing time in, then maybe even a few months or such, for one person might even be like someone else's several years even. -- Edited on 8/27/12 3:11 PM --

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