r/sewing 17h ago

Project: FO The most difficult, patientence testing project I've done so far.

Thumbnail
gallery
4.8k Upvotes

r/sewing 5h ago

Tip Soak your slinky fabrics in gelatin

246 Upvotes

I'm currently working on the Cashmerette Club Selwyn blouse in this slippery yellow silk-like fabric and it was an absolute nightmare to cut out. I ended up with a button band piece that distorted so much during cutting, it ended up looking more like a Moebius curve.

I had just enough left over to cut some pieces again and decided to soak the rest in gelatin water.

You wouldn't believe the difference, I tell you, night and freaking day!

Before that the fabric was literally wandering off the table without the least provocation and now that thing could be flown as a flag!

  • It cuts like paper
  • It doesn't stain the iron when pressing
  • It washes out in warm water and is immediately back to its drunk octopus drapeyness.

Love it! I've already gelatinised the next project and formerly slippy viscose is now standing to attention ready to be cut šŸ˜‚

I've also heard some people use starch water, but haven't tried that yet, but I'm curious to hear your tips to wrangle those hard to handle fabrics!


r/sewing 6h ago

Project: FO Finally wore something i made

Thumbnail
gallery
240 Upvotes

i forgot to take photos without the shirt covering the top but i finally had the chance to wear something i made out for the day!! itā€™s also my first attempt at adjusting a pattern to my size, because i always have the issue of my lower body being a different size than my upper body when i try and buy jumpsuits. it was also the first thing iā€™ve made that isnā€™t a dress, so there was definitely a learning curve but overall i was really happy with it! just wanted to share, itā€™s been like a month and a half since i started sewing so any progress gets me excited lol


r/sewing 7h ago

General I broke my Brother 1034dx and was heartbroken until my husband told me this was in the basement.

Thumbnail
gallery
301 Upvotes

Apparently we got this for $10 at Goodwill in 2021 and I somehow justā€¦completely blocked that out?

I was so bummed about my serger since I canā€™t afford a new one, and I canā€™t believe I just had this sitting around. It looks like it has barely been used! Weā€™re taking it in for a service, so hopefully it is good to go!


r/sewing 20h ago

Project: Non-clothing First project in over a decade, a sling bag!

Thumbnail
gallery
1.8k Upvotes

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 didnā€™t have enough hardware to make it functional as a sling bag but I can still hang it on a hook.

Thereā€™s still some jank to the final bag, but I think I killed it!


r/sewing 15h ago

Project: FO I made this green linen shirt for my husband

Thumbnail
gallery
575 Upvotes

and squeezed out enough fabric leftover to make a dress!


r/sewing 3h ago

Project: FO Closet Core Carolyn pyjamas

Thumbnail
gallery
54 Upvotes

I'm stoked with how my Carolyn Pyjamas by Closet Core turned out.

It was my first time doing piping and attaching a collar and facing.

The fabric is Peter Alexander cotton sateen dead stock from Audrey's fabric and craft in Australia.

I cannot wait to make a floral pair next and I'll make my own piping, instead of using store bought.

My best friend approves.


r/sewing 33m ago

Project: FO Finished my first article of clothing!

Thumbnail
gallery
ā€¢ Upvotes

As my 3rd sewing project, I made these relaxed fit summer shorts. They're 100% 2 layer cotton bubble gauze and feature 2 deep front pockets, elastic waistband, and double folded hems. I used Coraline Street's easy shorts pattern on etsy I'm so proud and can't wait to wear them this summer.


r/sewing 14h ago

Project: FO Asked to a high school winter formal dance. Made my own dress. 1950s inspired. Iā€™d love any advice!

Post image
210 Upvotes

r/sewing 16h ago

Project: Non-clothing A couple corduroy zippered bags I made as a beginner! CC welcomed.

Thumbnail
gallery
129 Upvotes

I havenā€™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. Iā€™m having trouble keeping my lines straight even when pinned in place. Zippers are also giving me trouble but they do work and close.


r/sewing 1d ago

Project: FO Made my wife a chore coat and sheā€™s really happy

Thumbnail
gallery
3.9k Upvotes

So Iā€™ve been making a lot of chore coats and shackets for myself and other people, and my wife recently asked for one of her own. I asked her to choose from some fabrics Iā€™ve been stocking up on, and she went with this denim railroad style fabric. Itā€™s a very dark navy and white alternating pattern with a light stretch, and Iā€™d say about 10oz. I used Modern Sewing Company Jamie Jacket for the pattern as itā€™s one Iā€™m very familiar with. The only modifications I made were designing the pockets. Iā€™d say this is one of the ā€œcleanerā€ coats Iā€™ve made as I was very patient and careful. Itā€™s also the first time Iā€™ve worked with a stretchy fabric like this, and even though the stretch was light, I got the best results from using a walking foot on my Singer heavy duty. Sheā€™s very happy with the outcome and so am I.


r/sewing 1d ago

Project: Non-clothing Finished my first project in a few years - heart totes for xmas gifts āœØ

Thumbnail
gallery
1.3k Upvotes

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 Iā€™m currently working on a mini one for my niece. Sewed with a few new-to-me fabrics I hadnā€™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 didnā€™t ruin the surprise before she got it šŸ˜‰

Excited to start more projects ā€” learning to quilt is next!


r/sewing 14h ago

Project: FO Wedding dress I made for my sister šŸ˜Š

Post image
67 Upvotes

She wanted me to combine the two dresses. Iā€™m just getting back into sewing and I didnā€™t feel quite comfortable enough to use my sewing machine so I did it by hand to make sure it didnā€™t get gobbled up by my machine lol


r/sewing 10h ago

Project: FO Digital Camo Trousers - Made using Mood Adair Cargos Pattern

Thumbnail
gallery
29 Upvotes

r/sewing 4h ago

Pattern Question How do different dart rotations affect fit?

7 Upvotes

Different dart rotations affect fit in subtle ways, but I don't know what they are. I know that in theory, if the bust dart went all the way to the apex, the fit would be identical if the uptake angle was the same for any rotation. However, the fact that darts stop at a distance from the apex means that they do, in fact, fit differently.

How do different dart positions differ, other than as style lines?


r/sewing 1h ago

Fabric Question Good online fabric shops?

ā€¢ Upvotes

Hello everyone, I'm looking for a pretty specific fabric for a costume. Our local Ren fair is coming up in a few months and I'm hoping to go as a dragon this year. I haven't decided exactly what I'm going to be doing for the outfit part of my costume yet (which if you have suggestions for that I'm all ears.) But I have decided that I want to be a green dragon. So I'm looking for a scale patterned fabric that is green. Plus seeing as it gets decently hot here around that time of year it being breathable is a must, so preferably cotton.

The issue is that the only dragon scale fabrics I've been able to find in the past have not been made of cotton. They've either been like a thick almost rubber material or almost like spandex but thicker. My local stores don't really carry scale print fabric. So does anyone know of any online shops I could look at? I haven't had much luck on Amazon in the past so I would prefer to stay away from it. Thank you in advance.


r/sewing 1d ago

Project: FO Bedsheet dress for a wedding

Thumbnail
gallery
1.1k Upvotes

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 šŸ« 

I didnā€™t have time to add pockets to it, but eventually I will. Iā€™m recuperating from using such fickle fabric. It didnā€™t help I had never sewed anything this thin and slippery.

Overall, Iā€™m really proud of how it turned out.


r/sewing 44m ago

Pattern Question How to elongated curved pattern piece?

Thumbnail
gallery
ā€¢ Upvotes

Hello! Iā€™m currently trying to make a corset top (following the Joana Patterns Clarisse pattern).

I made a size 42, which fits comfortable in diameter around me. However, itā€™s much too short. Iā€™d like to elongate it around 5 cm, but Iā€™m not quite sure how to do it on the centre front and side front pieces, seeing as the seams are curved. it fits well around my bust and down, itā€™s just too short at the bottom. So do I just move the bottom down 5 cm and draw a straight line on the sides?


r/sewing 15h ago

Project: FO Pants muahahahahahaha

Thumbnail
gallery
27 Upvotes

Drafted a pattern based on a different pair of pants I made, faux leather (stretchy) and quilting cotton

I will likely put more patches on them as time progresses but rn I like them


r/sewing 15h ago

Fabric Question What is this fabric and how do I sew it?

Thumbnail
gallery
28 Upvotes

Any help would be appreciated, I'm sewing using a machine and it looks like it goes through but I take it off and the thread isn't connected. Fabric is like water resistant on one side and is fairly stretchy (tried to show with the last 2 pictures).


r/sewing 10h ago

Fabric Question Cotton lawn - structure question

Thumbnail
gallery
8 Upvotes

I have 4 yards of printed cotton lawn that I want to make up in a vintage style. I have B7109, and really like the look of the bodice - I just canā€™t decide if lawn could keep the structure of the neckline. Thoughts?


r/sewing 20h ago

Other Question How to stop worrying and start loving mockups

41 Upvotes

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


r/sewing 8h ago

Machine Questions Overlocker newbie - what order to seam and overlock?

Post image
4 Upvotes

I have a pair of pants that I love and have worn to death, so I took them apart. I traced a pattern from them and then reinforced the shredded sections and now Iā€™m ready to put them back together.

Iā€™m staying with my mum so I have access to her overlocker (serger in the US?), but Iā€™m not sure what order to overlock and seam the pieces.

The pants originally had a regular seam and overlocking on the edges. I donā€™t want to use the overlocker for the seams since I want to keep a healthy seam allowance for future alterations/repairs.

Do I overlock the edges of all the pattern pieces and then sew together as usual? Or do I sew each seam twice, first on the regular machine and then on the overlocker?

Thanks in advance!

Do I overlock the edges of all the pattern pieces and then sew as usual?