It is important to remember that sewing is not a constant upward trend. It often takes a while to see any kind of improvement, or if you do notice some progress early on, it might seem to plateau at some point. This happens, for example, if your seams are crooked, your corners are a little off, or your pieces are coming out smaller than you hoped. While it can seem like you are not improving as quickly as you would like, this often actually means that you have a better understanding of sewing. If you are experiencing a sewing plateau, you can address this by zeroing in on the one specific part where your skills are failing.
The first step in tackling a plateau is to analyze the last few things you have sewn and to determine exactly where your skill is lagging. If you find that you struggle to sew straight lines, you may find that the topstitching keeps going off in the wrong direction as you reach the end of a line or your hems end up twisted. If this is the case, you should choose one of those issues and practice it exclusively for several sessions. Do not try to fix all of the issues at once; this will only make the problem worse. So, if your issue is sewing even straight lines, you will need to take some extra time to practice sewing. On a scrap of fabric, you can use a ruler to draw out several lines with different spacing from the seamline. Then, you should sew on each line with care and precision and finally press the line, examining it from all sides to ensure that the seamline to the edge of the fabric is the same on both sides. This allows you to translate your “it looks like something is off with this line” feeling into actual practice.
Another mistake you can make when you are plateauing is to take on more difficult sewing projects, thinking that taking on more advanced tasks will improve your skills. However, doing this will only make it harder to figure out where your skills are lagging. Similarly, you should not only practice the part that you know you’re already good at. Instead, you should simplify the task into smaller components. So, if you are working on sewing in a zipper and you find that your skill is slipping with these, do not sew it into a finished garment but rather just practice sewing several on a piece of fabric and examine those each time, using the same seam allowance and pressing as you would with the garment. If you are having problems sewing in sleeves or working with curves, you can cut out some sleeves or curves from plain cheap cotton and just practice those until you are comfortable with those shapes. This will allow you to practice until you have improved these issues as far as you are able.
Another way to approach your sewing plateaus is by keeping a record of your practice sessions. You should take a few days where you dedicate at least 15 minutes to sewing in one specific area. You should start by setting up your machine with a test line and then working your way into sewing on your specific goal, such as even edges. In the last few minutes of your practice time, examine the project and write one positive aspect and one aspect to improve. Keeping these notes is useful because when you are practicing a specific area, your plateaus might seem larger than they are. Once you have written down your specific notes, they will remind you of what was good and not as good from week to week.
One final note about plateaus is that feedback during this phase is crucial. But, when you are looking for feedback, you will need to ask better questions than “Is this okay?” and look for things that may need adjustment, rather than looking for things that look good. You can ask things like, “Is this puckered on the top, middle, or bottom of the seam? Why is that?” or, “Does this collar turn out uneven? If so, is it because of my cutting or pressing?” These questions will help you narrow down where you are going wrong with a project. Even if you are giving yourself feedback, it helps to compare two things at a time, because looking at the first version of the sleeve or seam allows you to see where you have improved your technique, and that can help you avoid becoming overwhelmed by this plateau.
Sometimes the most challenging part of sewing can be the part where it seems as though you are not improving or, even more frustratingly, where the things that you are sewing still seem off compared to what the instructions told you to do. Sometimes the hem will not turn as neatly as it did before and you will be unable to sew around that curve without having to back up. Or, when your topstitching looks okay, your seam will look uneven, or a straight line will need to be fixed. It is important not to give up during this point, but rather to understand that as you practice your new sewing techniques, they will eventually become your own and will no longer need constant adjustments. It is best to take the time to practice the areas in which you are still struggling instead of simply moving on to the next part of your project, and to be sure that you can sew that part again. Once you can sew that line or curve again, you can take a step back and recognize that your skills have improved because you did not give up in a time of struggle.