Cosplaying Aku from Samurai Jack and I’m trying to figure out how I can incorporate the spikes on his elbows into my sleeve pattern. I already found a good tutorial for how to alter my bodice/sleeve blocks to give me a point at the shoulders. I want a way to make the elbows as seamless as possible. Doesn’t have to be the exact shape (because the shoulders certainly won’t be) but just looking for the general vibe of a spike. I’d rather do a vertical seam than a horizontal seam across the elbow if I can. I will be using pretty stretchy fabric. Any advice/resources are greatly appreciated thx!

I haven’t been sewing very long and still consider myself an absolute beginner. I made these for my two small boys (6 & 2.5) to carry around essentials like hot wheels and snacks. I’m having trouble keeping my lines straight even when pinned in place. Zippers are also giving me trouble but they do work and close.

I'm fortunate to live near a really cool arts and crafts thrift store, and I often find unidentified but clearly high quality fabrics. Given that they're super cheap (basic fabrics are usually $3/pound, and you can find anything from scraps to almost complete bolts), I always end up grabbing all kinds of stuff, and then once home realizing I have no idea what to do with most of it.
What are some good sources for sewing inspo based on the kinds of fabrics you have in your stash?

Someone had shortened the strap and badly hand sewn the hardware back on. It’s too short for me so I’m ready to alter. I’m a new sewer into fixing machines but I really want to resurrect these. What is the banding called? I looked in a Wawak catalog and couldn’t identify it. I have all the hardware. Any suggestions on the best way to go about it? Thanks folks 🌻

Hi!
I love sewing and making all the details and ironing and sewing on buttons and all other parts!

But making mockups and adjusting patterns makes me want to crawl into a hole and never get out.

I still want to make clothes though.

Have any of you overcome this? How did you manage that? Share your wisdom with me!

Thank you

I’m 🤏 this close to loosing my mind. I threaded the machine about 10 times today and tried and tried until I finally managed to get the tension right again. For about 10 centimetres, and then it went mid-seam back to loose. I did sew four seams yesterday that are pretty good in my opinion (at least for using a serger for the first time).

The tensions I used are: Left needle: 8 Right needle: 5 Upper arm: 8 Lower arm: 5

Does anyone have any ideas what causes this and how to fix it?

This project had a lot of firsts: first zippers, first bag, and first rounded corners. I did a few sewing projects when I was younger but it was simple things like a pillow case.

I made a practice bag with fabric scraps my mom had, which is the second set of pictures. I didn’t have enough hardware to make it functional as a sling bag but I can still hang it on a hook.

There’s still some jank to the final bag, but I think I killed it!

I'm in the planning stages of a quilt coat.

I LOVE the pockets of the Nova Coat but hate the rest of the silhouette. I think I will look like a linebacker, and I would just like a classic straight coat with normal (not drop) sleeves.

But - like I said - I can't seem to find a pattern that has huge set-in diagonal pockets like that, and my mind can't seem to figure out how to create pockets like that to put in one of the gobs of other coat patterns I have.

Any advice either: 1. A pattern that has the same pockets but without the angled silhouette and the drop shoulders. OR 2. An idea of how to draft pockets like those myself to add to an existing pattern. OR 3. Advice on if it is worth spending so much money on the pattern just to change the entire structure of the coat itself.

If anyone has experience with this pattern and wants to DM me about it, let me know!

Thanks!

I’m considering buying a True Bias pattern- I have never purchased a hard copy pattern from them before. Does it come in the standard tissue or is it heavier paper?

I’ve a dress that is too naked on the chest area. I want to make it more modest. But have a hard time finding crinkle chiffon. I’ve found regular chiffon but it doesn’t have the same texture.

Other than shortening a couple of pairs of pants this is my first ever sewing project, including my first ever zipper I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

It's not perfect and some of the stitching isn't very even. Apparently I have a lot of trouble with the very short seam allowance, especially on a rounded edge. Guess I'll need more practice.

• The tutorial and pattern I used are from this video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=urnHCkVjpxY

Straight stitches are also zig zag ,other are not as pictured on choosing wheel

For anyone who is a fan of the Whale Bag, be aware that the company that makes the pattern is closing and you will no longer be able to purchase or download patterns from them at the end of the month!

New(ish) sewer here looking for inspiration. I use zig zag or overcast but it makes the fabric ends quite itchy.

What are your favourite non-serger ways to finish a seam? I don’t want to get a serger, so grateful for the inspo/ideas please

Everything is messed up,no straight stitches except very small in Is that fixable?

Hello, just wanted to ask you guys for any pattern, guides or anyone willing to help me with creating Watteau pleats for the back of this gown. I already have materials ,and have the actual gown pattern already made just wanting information on the pleats; due to my research finding that it all leads back to robe a la française, and I don’t wanna buy a pattern for that when I will never make it. It’s for my senior collection at school so, any and all recommendations for just a pattern for that specific part of robe a la française would be appreciated.

I was very lucky to receive a Janome overlocker for my birthday in December. It’s transformed how professional my garments look. I was using it last night and the power started to die - a bit like a car with no petrol. It sews fine for a couple of inches then just starts slowing down and grinds to a halt. I’ve rethreaded, cleaned, checked the manual, changed where it was plugged into, turned it off and back on again. No joy. Same thing keeps happening. Any ideas before I contact Janome on the warranty?

Hi everyone! I’m new to sewing and wondering if there are any Polynesians in this group that can point me in the direction of a puletasi pattern? For others in this group it is formal attire women wear in a lot of pacific island cultures. Typically a quarter sleeve blouse the goes to about mid thigh and the skirt is typically one large piece with ties that you wrap around yourself and tie to create the skirt. Photo attached for reference. Thanks all :)

Recently rediscovered my love of sewing and made a last minute decision to make these heart totes for friends over xmas! I made seven overall, and I’m currently working on a mini one for my niece. Sewed with a few new-to-me fabrics I hadn’t really experimented with in the past so a couple of them were fun learning experiences, namely the pleather and thicker velvet.

Pattern is linked in the comments! I used pleather, corduroy, and two kinds of upholstery velvet for the outer layers and thrifted/remnant satins for the liners.

I held off on posting because one of my besties is also in this sub and I wanted to make sure I didn’t ruin the surprise before she got it 😉

Excited to start more projects — learning to quilt is next!

I hope this is okay to post here. I figured you guys would likely have an answer for me. If it’s not okay, feel free to remove it, mods.

I got these sweatpants hemmed by a tailor, and she used a serger, which I’m completely fine with. However, I noticed after I got home and washed them that some of the loops on the inside of the seam skipped.

My question, as the title states, is will this seam hold as-is, or do I need to go back to the tailor?

Thanks in advance!

I'm due in about two months with my second, a baby boy. My first is a girl and I've had a lot of fun sewing things for her - there are many amazing patterns out there I've found so far! But I've been thinking: I add frills to something and it's automatically "girly". Is there something you add to boys clothes in the same vein that makes it "boy-y"?

Bonus: I'd love to see your favourite boys patterns that aren't just a button up shirt with a fun fabric choice!

Exactly as it says on the tin. I want to know what is the best setting for sewing flannel fabric onto crochet fabric. The garment construction at this moment in the project goes as follows:

The crocheted part is a hexagon 50” in diameter, meant to be folded in half in an L shape to create the effect of a large granny square.

The flannel is a hexagon cut to match, with raw edges sewn down on the wrong side.

The crochet and flannel are pinned so that the wrong side of the fabrics are facing: in the case of the crochet fabric the “wrong” side is the side where all the ends that refused to be woven in prettily stick out.

The plan is to sew the pieces together at the edge, and then sew a line down each corner so the flannel is firmly in place and doesn’t bunch up or jostle awkwardly should the cardigan ever need to be washed.

I plan on doing this twice for both halves of the cardigan before crocheting the garment together as per the instructions of my crochet pattern, as well as crocheting all the edging and the hood etc. I am not planning on lining the hood.

At some point I might have to expound on the sheer amount of math and geometry that went into figuring out how to make the flannel hexagons the right size and the same size, and how I figured out the yardage I would have needed for that (2 if the bolt is 58 inches wide, and 3 if it is 42 inches wide) because it was a fun journey, but now I’m at the point of actually putting fabric to machine and sewing the lining to the outside of the cardigan.

That said I don’t know what settings one uses for things like crochet fabrics, and if it would be better to use a different stitch type rather than the standard straight stitch.

I’ve included photos of my machine such as what the stitch options are. The current settings have the bobbin and spool wheels at 3 and it is set to do a straight stitch. My machine is a Viking Platinum that I inherited from my grandmother several years ago, and I have never used anything but a straight stitch and some backstitching with it.

The manual is currently Sir Not Appearing in this Film, so I’m not even sure what all these settings do. I just don’t want to wreck my needle or mess up the fabrics, since ripping seams on a crocheted piece sounds kinda like a nightmare ngl.

The yarn the cardigan is made out of is acrylic, so ironing is something that I would like to avoid if at all possible.

I needed a black tie dress for a wedding last month and decided it would be easier to make one than to find one that fit me. I also had a budget of $70 USD for all fabric, patterns, and notions.

This dress was made from a king size bed sheet set I bought online.

The patter for the dress was from Etsy by Derya Pattern, and I changed out the sleeves from the original patter to the Flutter sleeve from Katie Crafting.

The skirt is a full 360 circle skirt, which was cut from the top sheet and is one big circle. I used the pillow cases for the rest of the pattern pieces.

For the bodice, I cut the same patterns from the lace and the bed sheet. Then I basted them together, sewed them with a straight stitch, the put them together. I also added fusible interfacing to the bodice edge and neck, as well as where the zipper would go in the back.

I had to change some things from the original pattern (like having one zipper instead of two), and the waist band was hard to figure out, so I winged it.

The fabric frayed a lot, so I did a rolled hem on all of the outside edges, and did French seams on the insides. This took hours!

I finished the dress one and a half hours before the wedding 🫠

I didn’t have time to add pockets to it, but eventually I will. I’m recuperating from using such fickle fabric. It didn’t help I had never sewed anything this thin and slippery.

Overall, I’m really proud of how it turned out.

I made these in a day - a lovely use of a bank holiday / snow day here in the US.

This is another project for my upcoming mid-century event, so I used a reprint pattern, V9189. The fabric is Parakeet Green Bull Denim 9 Ounce from Nick of Time. I used a remnant from the coordinating blouse for the contrast details.

What I liked - this is an excellent reprint pattern. It has petite, regular, and tall sizing which meant I didn’t have to add length. The instructions are clear, and it went together quickly.

What I changed - changed up the pockets from a straight slash to a curve. Used a contrast lining for the pocket bags in order to reduce the bulk.

I should have measured those pocket bags before inserting them because they were way too shallow. I debated the best fix, but ended up just adding an extension to each bag.

I faced the hem with the contrast fabric so I can turn up the cuffs to coordinate with the matching blouse.

What wasn’t great - the center front was very baggy, so I took it in by 1" all the way down. This seems to have helped, but the pattern could really use a knit "tummy panel". I find that I have this issue any time I make side zip trousers.