Pivoting: A Must-Have Sewing Skill for Beginners
Pivoting is a fundamental sewing skill that every beginner should add to their skill set. It allows you to turn corners cleanly and smoothly, whether you’re sewing sharp angles or navigating tight curves. I use pivoting in every doll I make to achieve beautifully rounded arms and feet — it’s truly an essential technique.
How to Pivot a Corner
Let’s start with a simple example: sewing a napkin, which is a square and includes four sharp 45° corners.
Before you begin sewing, mark the point where you want to turn using an erasable fabric marker. This point should include your seam allowance — for most projects it is between 0.5cm to 1cm, so check your instructions.
Begin sewing along the first straight edge of the napkin. When you reach your marked point, stop sewing. Using the hand crank, manually lower the needle until it is fully down in the fabric. Many sewing machines have a marking on the hand wheel to show when the needle is at its highest or lowest position.
Once the needle is fully lowered, raise the presser foot. Because the needle is holding the fabric in place, you’ll be able to move the fabric around without removing it completely from the machine. Now rotate the fabric 45°, lower the presser foot to secure it, and continue sewing along the next edge of the napkin.
This technique allows you to continue sewing long multiple edges without having to back-tack and cut the threads before starting a new line. It can be used to keep bulk to a minimum and have fresh, sharp and crisp edges in your project.
What not to do (and how to fix it)
To keep the structure and integrity of your stitches safe, you do not want to lift the presser foot up while the needle is also up. This allows for the fabric to move our of position and pull on the threads.
If this happens - firstly don't panic and secondly don't ignore it - your stitches won't last long and can ruin your project. It is a simple mistake and can be easily fixed.
You will need to now completely remove your fabric and cut the threads. You can now remove the last line of stitches, reposition the fabric at the start of where you were and sew the line again.
Alternatively, you can start sewing a new line of stitches a few centimetres before you stopped and cut the thread. This however will only work if you sew over the old stitches to "lock them in". It requires precision and you may need to do some back tacking. The final result can be messy and bulky, so I don't recommend it.
🎉 Congratulations — you’re one step closer to becoming a master at sewing! You can now sew around corners confidently without losing a stitch. Now, let’s take this skill a step further.
Using the Pivoting Technique for the Perfect Curve
When making dolls, sewing can become especially tricky because the pieces are often very small. Pivoting is a fantastic technique for improving the smoothness and accuracy of tight curves.
Let’s look at how I use pivoting to sew a mouse doll arm.
I begin by marking the general curve line with a heat-erasable pen. I start sewing the length of the arm using a straight stitch. As I approach the curve, I slow down and gently guide the fabric under the presser foot.
When the curve becomes too tight to sew smoothly in one motion, I stop and pivot. I use the hand crank to lower the needle to its lowest position, then lift the presser foot. Next, I rotate the fabric slightly — about 10–20°, depending on how tight the curve is. Once the fabric is positioned correctly, I lower the presser foot to lock it in place.
I then sew a few very slow stitches. For mouse doll arms, I usually sew three stitches manually using the hand crank. I stop, pivot again, and repeat this process until I’ve completed the curve. Once I’m past the curve, I can continue sewing the rest of the arm with a simple straight stitch.
The same technique can be used for multiple parts of the mouse doll or other projects you may be working on.
With a little practice, pivoting will become second nature — and it will dramatically improve the finish and quality of your sewing projects, especially when working with small or detailed pieces.