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What's your least favourite sewing task?

(58 Posts)
Trisha57 Fri 06-May-22 19:47:01

For me it's hemming, not by hand (I avoid that like the plague) but on the sewing machine. I love putting together a pattern and learning new techniques and skills. But at the end of all that work, hemming is so boring and I just want to get it over with and have the finished garment. What about you?

Ali08 Thu 16-Jun-22 15:25:49

'Invisible stitches' where they're not supposed to show at the front of the garment!
It's hit and miss with my stitching, which I do by hand.

Teacheranne Tue 07-Jun-22 23:53:24

GagaJo

Anything on the machine. I don't actually mind doing it, but the fag of getting it out, set up, put away etc.

I love any hand sewing. Find it really therapeutic and calming.

When I bought this bungalow, it had a small extension off the lounge, just big enough for a dining table. This left the original dining room free to be my craft room! The first thing I did was buy a table to keep my sewing machine on so it is always out and ready to use! It’s such a luxury after years of sewing on the dining table and having to clear away at meal times.

karmalady Tue 07-Jun-22 19:05:24

I dislike re-fashioning anything that I don`t wear, that just hangs in my wardrobe. I don`t waste things so I might make a nice skirt from a dress but that often involves making a waistband from the bodice. I just grit my teeth and get on with it. I am always glad when a re-purposing job is finished.

Today I am in process of shortening lined sleeves by 3", a really lovely jacket that I have ignored since 2008. Out of sight was out of mind. I just have to re-attach the shortened lining, will do that tomorrow. I did not at all enjoy that job

annodomini Sun 05-Jun-22 22:10:10

Darning! Tiny moth holes in jumpers that are too good to throw out. I can never find darning yarn in all the colours I would like. And I never was any good at darning anyway.

Ali23 Sun 05-Jun-22 22:01:21

Using black thread on black fabric. I really struggle with this now, and just seeing the job makes my heart sink.

Purplepixie Sun 05-Jun-22 13:54:39

Sewing together my knitted garments. I get so excited when I get a new pattern and the wool to go with it yet I could scream at the thought of sewing it together. Years ago I used to give my knitted pieces to my mam who used to love to sew them together and see the finished item. Not for me.

TerriBull Sat 04-Jun-22 17:45:15

Another here for threading the needle, even that defeats me, a hem had come down on a pair of trousers, with all good intentions to sort that out, out came the rarely used sewing basket, back it went sometime later. Just not up to the the preliminary stage of threading the needle, all had very small eyes, and I don't have good eyes for anything miniscule, workman/woman always blame their tools sad

At school it took me around two years to make and finish a purple mini skirt, by that time maxi skirts had arrived and purple wasn't on trend anymore sad once inept with a needle and thread, always inept, that's me!

Happysexagenarian Sat 04-Jun-22 17:05:26

Unpicking machine stitching.

saltnshake Wed 11-May-22 11:30:05

Magic sewing - I put on a story tape or music and sew away. I am often surprised I have finished already. I have friends who make quilts but hate quilting large quilts, they now "quilt by cheque book".

Blossoming Wed 11-May-22 11:22:49

JackyB

Threading the needle.

I feel your pain.

Yammy Wed 11-May-22 11:03:28

Mending things for DH that should go in the recycle bin. I don't know how he takes his jumpers off but he manages to get holes at the back or under the arms.
When I knitted I used to crochet the seams on the knitting or do chain stitch which seemed to work.

Shinamae Wed 11-May-22 10:56:21

Sewing?ironing?… i’m afraid I’m out ?

Witzend Wed 11-May-22 10:49:51

Hemming by hand, especially the two sets of curtains I made for a dd. Never got the hang of doing it on the machine.

Buttons are tedious, too - esp. the fiddling little ones that come off dh’s shirts.
I don’t so much mind big ones. Once bought a cardi in M&S that was ruined by the most ghastly big buttons* - God knows what they were thinking of. I went straight to John Lewis’s haberdashery dept. for some infinitely nicer ones, and was happy to sew them on. Still wearing that cardi several years later.

*Brown plastic imitations of the leather ones you used to see on old men’s cardigans. Beyond hideous!

grandMattie Wed 11-May-22 05:51:16

Another one for sewing up knitting. I do it very well but loathe doing it,
Buttons also are a pet hate. Badly finished hems which need redoing on purchased garments? Ditto

JackyB Wed 11-May-22 04:23:09

Threading the needle.

Callistemon21 Tue 10-May-22 21:05:53

lixy

Name tags in school uniform - seemed to go on for ever and I thought I'd done with it when the children left school. But then MiL moved into a nursing home...!

Oh, I forgot those!

I still have some in my sewing box although the "children" are in their 40s now

lixy Tue 10-May-22 20:17:31

Name tags in school uniform - seemed to go on for ever and I thought I'd done with it when the children left school. But then MiL moved into a nursing home...!

Eloethan Tue 10-May-22 20:10:32

Sewing. Can't even sew on a button properly.

grannyrebel7 Tue 10-May-22 16:53:33

I'm surprised anyone mends things these days. My sewing is restricted to sewing on buttons. I haven't made anything since about 1966 when I was in school!

lovebeigecardigans1955 Tue 10-May-22 16:47:56

I love sewing but I think it's the finishing off which I don't enjoy. So much is riding on it as it must be neat or it'll look like a sore thumb and spoil the entire look of the item. After all that effort it can be a bit of a let down so I tend to procrastinate.

Purplepixie Tue 10-May-22 12:49:14

Buttons! I hate them because I have a button phobia! I feel sick just looking at them but I force myself to sew them on.

Chardy Mon 09-May-22 10:35:32

Sewing up knitting and crochet. (I have a friend whose favourite task is sewing up knitting and crochet! And no I don't ask her to do mine!)

Callistemon21 Sun 08-May-22 13:15:02

nanna8

Definitely sewing up knitting also. I sometimes make blankets and now I crochet them in long lines to avoid any sewing. I don’t like sewing on buttons, either.

Have you tried the Continous Join As You Go method, nanna8?

I followed a YouTube video by Hooked by Robin and found it makes joining crochet squares enjoyable!

(Other instructors available)

Witzend Sun 08-May-22 13:09:19

I don’t mind sewing up knitting, but that’s largely because nothing very demanding is needed for the sort of things I make - just over-sewing or backstitch.

Yesterday I sewed up the R hand basket and attached the frill - still have to make mattress, pillow and bunny! I’ve promised a ‘litter’ of bunnies for a charity sale, but that won’t be until early September.

Granny23 Sun 08-May-22 12:23:10

When my DDs were wee, I had a multi pattern which could be used for dresses, pinafore dresses, dungarees and hot pants. I made loads of these for the girls, sometimes matching, sometimes quite different as they could chose their own fabric. 'Fabric'usually sourced from charity shops. Fashions had changed and the shops had many full skirted dresses and skirts for next to nothing, each easily enough for two child sized garments. I preferred sewing to knitting as I could run up to dresses in an evening.

Now my arthritic fingers and poor eyesight make even threading a needle difficult but I still take up hems, sew on buttons and darn. Big obvious darns and patches are requested by the DGC and DGS must have the world's biggest collection of Hand Knitted beanie Hats.