Is it sewing or sowing? The difference between sewing and sowing is that sewing involves joining pieces of fabric together, while sowing involves putting seeds in the ground. People who sow seeds generally want to grow food to eat or grow beautiful flowers, trees, or shrubs. People who sew clothing together want something to wear. Both types of people may sow or sew just for the pleasure of the activity.
Sewing or Sowing? Hmm…
The two words are often confused with one another, but they have different meanings. Sow means to plant seeds in soil and then wait for them to grow into plants, while sew means to stitch together pieces of fabric by hand (or machine).
Sewing
To sew together pieces of fabric is to join them with thread. Sewing is what this site is all about. 🙂 My most popular tutorials are my t-shirt refashions. I have over 50 of them!
When you sew fabrics together, you use threads to connect the edges of the fabrics … unless you are quilting or appliquéing, in which case you may “free sew.” Sewing machines help you do this automatically, but you still have to manually hold the fabric taut as you work.
In order to sew together pieces of fabric, you must first cut them apart. Generally, you then iron the fabric. Sometimes, you fold over and iron a seam. You then pin the material.
After that, you sew the material together. The space between the edge of the material (either ironed over or joining two separate fabrics together) is called the seam allowance.
There are many ways to sew together pieces of material. Some people prefer to use a needle and thread (this includes a sewing machine). You can also use glue, a special product called stitch witchery, or even staples. Whatever you have on hand.
Common other ways to bind material together are snaps, buttons, or zippers. For example, if you’re making a dress, you would probably use a button to close the top. If you were making a sweater, you’d probably use a snap.
Sowing
To sow a seed is to plant it in the ground. One must place something in the ground and waiting for it to grow.
Another term for sowing is “planting seeds.” When you sow seeds, you usually dig a small hole and then place the seed inside of it. However, some seeds require light and are placed on top of the soil. The depth of the seed planting depends on what type of seed you have, as well as your planting zone.
In a few days to weeks, your seeds with sprout roots and begin growing.
There are other ways to grow seeds other than sowing, such as hydroponics or the plastic bag method.
The plastic bag method is to put the seeds on a paper towel, put in a plastic bag, then spritz the seeds.
When you sow seeds, you want to make sure that the soil around them has enough moisture to keep them from drying out. If the soil dries out too much, the seeds won’t be able to get water through their roots. This will cause them to die before they ever start to grow.
You also need to make sure that the temperature is just right. Too hot, and the seeds will dry out; too cold, and they’ll rot. The ideal temperature for planting seeds is about 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you’re going to use seeds indoors, you should put them in pots first. They also make special trays for seed sprouting. This way, you can control the amount of light they receive and the air circulation around them. But, an old egg carton works really well, too.
You can sow seeds directly in the garden if you live where it’s warm enough. But if you live somewhere like Canada, you might want to buy transplants instead. These are already-germinated seeds that have been grown in containers. They’re ready to go when you plant them.
Finally, there are three different types of plants: annuals, perennials, and biennials. Annuals must be replanted every year or grown from seeds. Some annuals readily reseed, which means they are kind of like perennials. But, you cannot control where annuals reseeded plants will sprout. Some are delicate as well and cannot really be moved around.
Perennials come back up every year. Although, some perennials have a “shelf life,” which means they will only last a few years unless sprouted from seed again. Black-Eyed Susans are common types of perennials with a shelf life.
Biennials sprout from seed in year one, then flower in year two (thus dropping seeds and reproducing).
Conclusion
Sewing means to join two (or more) pieces of fabric with a thread. Most commonly, one uses a sewing machine or just a plain needle and thread. On the other hand, to sow means to plant a seed in the ground.
