40 techniques every sewer should know

Remember last month when I wanted to become a master of zippers?
Well let’s keep mastering!
…and talk about 40 techniques every sewer should know.

Because you know that old expression about how you don’t know what you don’t know, till you know?…ya know?  Well that’s totally how I felt when I took this class!

It’s called 40 Techniques Every Sewer Should Know, taught by Gail Yellen, from the Craftsy site.  And it was filled with ah-ha moments, sewing realizations, and confirmations that I’ve been doing some of the tricky stuff “correctly” all along.  Yay!

Really, this class is super helpful for any sewer.
Gail is a fantastic teacher, and her goal is to take sewer skills from “pretty good” up to “professional”.  So no matter what your skill-level, there’s something new to learn.

• In the interfacing section I love her tip for sewing knit t-shirts: use a strip of fusible interfacing in the shoulder seam to prevent it from over-stretching with time.
• In the stitching section, Gail talks about specialty threads and goes over shirring and elastic thread.
• In Curves + Corners she talks about clipping corners and mentions “don’t be afraid to clip right up to the stitches” (carefully, of course). This is a great tip when sewing the back slit of the First Day Dress!


One of my favorite parts is when Gail talks about the importance of cutting bias tape ON the bias, rather than cut on the straight grain.  Great visual with these two circles!

And….there’s even an entire section on pressing….PRESSING!  I had no idea the details I was missing out on!

I fully agree with her statement that “an iron is equally as important as a sewing machine” Yes! Yes!  Pressing is key to making your work look less homemade and more like a pro.

Okay, more of what you’ll get from 40 Techniques Every Sewer Should know:

• 8 lessons, each taught in HD video format.
• Ability to ask questions and interact with other students online
• Access to the class forever!
• Learn to sew a perfect sleeve
• Work with interfacing
• Create beautiful bindings
• Learn tips for tricky sewing techniques
….and a whole lot more.

If you’ve never taken a Craftsy course, they’re real easy to access and navigate through.
Some classes are free; some are paid.
And today we’re giving away 40 Techniques Every Sewer Should know for free!

It’s easy to enter,
All you need to do is visit Craftsy through this link and join the site!
(the link is unique to my site, so they’ll know you joined through MADE)

If you’re already a Craftsy member, visit the link, click the “sign in” button, and sign in with your Craftsy account. If you’re already logged in to Craftsy, be sure to log out before clicking the link or you won’t see the special sign up/log in screen.
Craftsy will pick one winner from all the entries.

Click here to enter to win!
Note: Leaving a comment here on this post does not enter you in the class giveaway.  Of course I love your comments though, so please feel free to leave one!

This post is sponsored by Craftsy

  1. 1) sarah

    hoping this isn’t seen as being really negative. i miss just your regular posts–i feel like the sponsored posts are kind of taking over the blog. i know you are a busy woman obviously but this comment is only out of love for dana made it. this blog helped to get the ball rolling in my sewing world. i will forever be grateful for that 🙂 i also know a blog cannot always be free tutorials and giveaways non stop! i just loved your clara posts and house posts that weren’t for anything other than sharing 🙂

    • 2) Heather

      Try following Dana on Instagram.

      • 3) brenda

        not everyone can get instagram

  2. 4) Laura J.

    Dana, when I click on your links to register, I get a “Page Not Found” message on the Craftsy site. They may have changed something on you.

    • 5) Ashla

      Same for me. Or is it because I’m in Canada?

    • 6) Dana

      Sorry about that! All the links are fixed!

      • 7) Ashla

        Thank you!

  3. 8) Bridget

    The direct links mostly weren’t working but I clicked on the Class link higher up in the post and it worked. I love Craftsy thanks for this post.

  4. 9) Callie

    Can’t get the links to work either, but thanks for the Craftsy introduction! Love this!

    • 10) Dana

      Sorry about that! All the links are fixed!

  5. 11) Sissy

    The “already a member” link is not working for me. I surely want to enter this great giveaway. I’ll just wait and come back later.

    • 12) Dana

      Sorry about that! All the links are fixed!

  6. I think even as an expereinced sewist, most of these classes have some real value and ah ha moments in them. The zipper class really was helpful for me, so I will be giving this one a look as well.

  7. 14) Kristin H

    Links aren’t working for me, either.

    • 15) Dana

      Sorry about that! All the links are fixed!

  8. 16) iHeartQuilting

    HI, the links worked fine for me just now. This is a great giveaway – I am a self-taught sewist but I know I cut corners when I do a project because I never learned properly. I ‘m glad you shared the information about this course, I may take the course even if I don’t win the giveaway. 🙂

  9. 17) Penny

    Looks like a great class. I remain ‘chicken’ to try shirring fabric with elastic thread for the bodice of a sundress. Maybe you’ll have to do a video of that sometime! Thanks for the chance to win.

  10. 18) Marilyn

    I’d love to win this class.

  11. 19) Ashley

    Hey Dana. I entered and am waiting to take a Craftsy class taught by YOU. I remember your repeating line about “always iron out your seams…” in your patterns. So true! I hated ironing until I started sewing and now I even iron cheap shirts. Everything looks SO MUCH better ironed!!
    I am attending the Austin QuiltCon in February. I hope you go to. I’ll be sure to say hi if I see you there.

  12. 20) Claire Carter

    Links still aren’t working for me

  13. 21) Kait

    Is there an iron that people like best? I thought the comment that it is as important as a sewing machine was so interesting!

  14. Just watched my first ever danamadeit on youtube and now I’m going to try and make some of those little gathered skirts for my daughter. You made it look easy!
    Thank you Catherine

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