New to sewing....ugh.

[jillrbassett]

I kind of jumped right into sewing as well. In about 7th grade I took a quarter of home economics which included cooking and sewing. So there wasn't much time for the sewing since we also had to do cooking.

Anyway in my home ec class, before we could sew on fabric she gave us a few sheets of paper with dotted lines. Some papers had straight lines some had curly Qs. We had to sew along the lines perfectly before we could sew fabric and the machines had no thread or anything when we were sewing the paper. It was a way for us to be able to see how straight we were sewing and develop our own technique for sewing straightly. I thought it was really helpful.

Also, when I sew I don't look directly at the needle going into the fabric as it goes because it tends to be more crooked. I'd suggest watching the line on your machine next to your fabric, the seam allowance line is what I call it but I taught myself to sew so I don't know technical terms, but next to the needle usually they have premeasured lines you can follow to keep your seam allowance consistent. I would say keep an eye on that and make sure you fabric is following that line and your lines should be straighter

[stacysews]

You can buy a magnetic seam guide in the notions isle of some sewing stores. It attaches to the throat plate of your machine and provides a raised edge so that you can butt your fabric up against it and help you keep your sewing straighter. It still takes some practice, but it really helps. You can also use some mini post-it notes to build up an edge on your seam allowance so that it does the same thing.

Don't get too discouraged, sewing takes practice and it'll get easier over time... then you can throw curves into the mix!    Let your machine do a lot of the work, work slowly, and just guide the fabric if it seems to veer off course.

[BottomOfMyHearts]

There are also sewing machine feet that you can buy to help.  Check out Amazon there are some good universal fit ones.

[skatergirl1007]

Just keep at it. I have looked online for simple patterns also a great book to get is called Stitch by Stitch. It is a really good book for beginners. It starts with the simple and easy and moves onward. Also see if anyone you know who sews will spend a day or a few days helping you learn, if it's someone you have not talked to for a while get time to catch up. If you don't know any one who sews and don't know if you want to just try to follow a book or patterns on line, see if any quilt shops offer a beginners class if not I am sure if you talk to someone there they will be more than willing to help you out.

[catdaddytn]

great - so many ideas that I wish I known earlier ha ha.  I used some cheap fabric with straight lines to help, at first. 

[johndavid312]

Just because you are a newbie in sewing you are not skilled in sewing in a straight line.
Keep trying on rough fabric and one day you will find yourself sewing in a straight line. Of course you can take help of needle and can do some needlework but it will take more time. Hope this will help. 

[CraftyChef]

I sew a lot, but even I can't keep a straight line when the stitch length is too short. The shorter the stitch length, the less control, and it looks like I was drunk when I was at the machine. Don't drink and sew.