guess who’s back 🤪 good news: i practiced sewing the construction this weekend and it turned out very well!! bad news: the garment was too small due to some measurement mistakes. to save myself from a headache, i decided to clone a swimsuit of mine and basically eyeballed the details of my costume onto it. i haven’t drafted the seam allowance yet, but id love some advice on if i need to alter anything or not

I heard it's great for thick materials but what about thinner synthetics and satins?

I am a beginner in sewing with zero skills in garment construction and I struggle with measurements. Yet, I'm taking on the challenge of pattern grading a vintage bell bottom sewing pattern (4 panels) that is too small for me. I need an 8 inch increase in the hips and a 10 inch increase in the waist.

I am trying to do the slash and spread method. Ideally I would like to alter the pattern to custom fit to my body's measurements, but I see most tutorials using one single section grade, so I'm using my largest (1.25 inches) for each panel. The pattern is already too long in height, so I'm not adding horizontal lines.

My measurements are based off this YouTube video. However, another video says all the measurements from the vertical lines should equal to the size increase/section grade you’re trying to do per panel. Excluding the vertical line at the crotch, the other three vertical lines in both the front and back panels (1 & 3) individually equal to 1.25 inches. Which video's advice should I mainly follow? How should I adjust my measurements?

Should I continue with slashing and spreading the original pattern or should I just follow a drafting bell bottoms tutorial? I'm wanting to get this done before Halloween, so I'm willing to challenge myself and learn these skills

I just read a helpful response by an experienced sewist to a poster having trouble backstitching, which included the sage advice that backstitching is not needed when the seam will be covered by an intersecting seam. I'm primarily a quilter and most of us don't backstitch for just that reason. But the response got me thinking: I don't think I have a single piece of clothing where the ends of the seams are not either folded into a hem or crossed with an intersecting seam. I dislike backstitching because it is almost impossible to reverse direction and get the stitches to run over the existing ones perfectly and that means the pressed seam will have a little jog. And I'm so slow on the uptake that I remind myself the jog isn't a big deal because it will end up tucked into the waistband or covered by facing or sewed into a hem. My brain never asked the follow up question-- so why am I backstitching at all? When I learned to sew (from a ranking officer in the sewing police) we were taught that failing to backstitch would cause the piece of clothing to fall apart immediately. The only thing I can think of is that when you press seams open (quilters mostly press to the side and nest the seams) you don't want the ends to open up as you are sewing the intersecting seam. But that seems pretty manageable. I must be missing something.

I’m a beginner sewer — I’ve made pants and bloomers for my baby (she’s almost 1!) but I have absolutely no idea how to choose fabric & we don’t have a fabric store near here. I made pants using the old made new pattern, super simple to sew. What heavier, warmer fabrics would be easy to work with? Thinking of using this pattern to just make several pants as she is needing some warmer clothes quickly!

I’d like to make her some basic tshirts as well!

I’ve seen brushed cotton flannel, cotton twill, micro-fleece…I haven’t experimented with knit fabrics and I think it’s too early for that!

Thank you!

https://oldmadenew.org/free-baby-pants-pattern/

Hey fellow sewing nerds! Today as I was going through my fabric stash I was wondering, what if there was a way to sell or exchange these in a platform online in the sewing community? Then it got me thinking why isn’t there an app already for the sewing community. It seems like there’s one for everything now. A community for fellow sewists to share their makes, discover and get inspired from other people’s makes, ask questions, do polls, buy and swap fabrics and patterns. A place that’s a wonderland for the sewing community. A website that has only sewing related content. No ads or other bs. What do you guys think? What would you like to be able to do with the app? I mostly only follow sewing related content on my ig and so might as well be one that is custom to it and saves me from browsing through multiple apps for inspiration and sewing recommendations

It’s on sale for $36. Seems too good to be true?

I got this machine free from my boufriends gpa for free im wpmdering if its good

Im relatively new to sewing but have before just on smaller projects and i was wonder what fabic should i use for a daily use massager bag like the images above? I have asked google but all I'm getting is ai overviews i dont trust or answers I'm just not understanding and i dont know anybody else who can sew. Currently i own three fabics i think could work but they seem too thin and i dont want the bag to tear or deform easily. The three fabrics are a pretty strong but thin denim and two different cotton fabics i got from a charity shop that are commanly used in suits. I could buy more fabic but i want to try use what i have and i dont really know where to get anything persific. Can someone please help me before i do something stupid?

Edit: thank you all so much for the answers especially the person who brought me to r/baglab that was really helpful

I love whatever I did with the cute bag.

Hi!! I’m brand new here (and haven’t sewed a day in my life yet) and I hope this kind of question is okay. I’m very excited but somewhat skeptical about this find. It intrigued me because it’s right in town and I like its vintage look, and when I looked it up I learned that it’s a highly-regarded and widely-beloved model.

I guess I’m wondering if it’s too good to be true. For how good it supposedly is, I’m surprised it didn’t sell at $250 and wasn’t immediately taken at $125. Perhaps the condition? It’s vintage so I don’t mind it looking worn as long as it’s still functional. I’m wondering if there are any red or even yellow flags I’m missing here as someone who knows literally nothing about these things? The description just says “Runs and has working pedal.”

Thanks so much in advance!!

i've never used it and have no idea what it's for. it came w my baby lock zest machine

First day playing with my machine — I’m thinking it’s a tension issue? Big loops on the right side was my first attempt of straight stitch. The left two rows were my attempts of zig zag stitch. I’ve already rethreaded it and have adjusted stitch length and tension. What am I doing wrong?

I think its melted synthetic fibers but I honestly dont even remember anymore. I already tried using EZ Off Iron Cleaner several times and that didn't work, and I've tried scraping it off with a razor blade. What else can I try?

Making our daughters' trick-or-treat bags this year! One down, one to go. I'm so happy with how this turned out that I had to share before they were both done.

I know the white thread stands out, but I'm so new to this I'd prefer to see what I'm doing over it blending in...the toddlers won't mind

We need to reupholster our RV sofa, dinette, and driver/passenger chairs. Which machine can be bought for around $500 to do it successfully?

* My wife has decent experience on her Brother machine making pillows, dresses, and craft items. But upholstery vinyl will be thicker fabric.

* We will be using Ultraleather which we already purchased. She also said she'll need to use Tex 70 thread.

* We will need to do some top stitching, plus we see at most 3 seam intersections (6 layers, I suppose).

* She just tried a simple seam as a test on her Brother machine with 2 pieces of Ultraleather with Tex 50 on the top and 30 on the bottom and it got tangled and didn't work.

Thank you!!

I keep getting holes in the knees of all my pants, but I don’t know how to fix it. What do I need to fix it and how do I do it?

I'm a very beginner sewist with a dumb problem. I would appreciate help, please.

I'm making a "New 52" style Harley Quinn* costume for Halloween. I started by taking two fitted cotton t-shirts, cutting them both down the middle, and Frankensteining them together to get the red-and-black particolour shirt base. (It's not the neatest garment in the world, but the seams are pretty straight, and I'm pleased with my efforts, all things considered.) I then cut some diamonds out of scrap fabric to sew on the front.

To start with, I figured I'd zigzag stitch the edges of the diamonds to mimic the embroidery finish on the edges of commercial sew-on appliques, and then I'd sew or fuse them on the shirt. For some reason, that did not work. The machine ate the corner of the diamond. Like, the fabric was pulled down into the bobbin part of the machine and jammed so hard I needed to get my spouse to take the whole thing apart for me and cut the fabric out of the machine. I tried so many times with so many different machine settings, and all I did was fray the edges of my test fabric to threads.

I then figured stitching the diamonds directly onto the shirt with that very tight zigzag stitch might add enough backing / structure to not have that happen. However. The t-shirts are stretchy cotton knit, and the scrap diamonds are cotton weave with no stretch. All I have succeeded in doing is tearing a hole in my shirt, wrecking the fit across the bust, and fraying the edges of the diamonds from how many times I've had to unpick them.

Was my gut instinct correct that it was better to hem the diamonds first and then try to find some fusible interfacing? If so, why did the machine eat my zigzag finish? Is it possible to sew a stretch fabric to a not-stretch fabric neatly, or am I doomed from the basic premise? What the heck am I doing wrong? There has to be something really obvious I'm missing that I just don't know that I don't know.

Please help. I feel very stoopid.

* This version of her costume, roughly, but with two diamonds, because eff trying to sew around a star: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/harleyquinntv/images/f/fe/HQ-Current.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20200806130217

hi, I just learned how to sew three months ago. This seam on the knee of my jeans had like three or four stitches that came undone on the end.

the rest of the stitches are still intact and I'd like to fix it as easily as possible. the loose thread does have a loop going over it. do I have to cut that loop? What do I do to redo those last stitches so that the rest don't come undone?

I don't have a machine but I do have thread if I need it. is it possible for me to just pickup the same loose thread and put those stitches back in their holes?

I learned how to sew on a machine I borrowed so I'm new to hand sewing (only even done just one ladder stitch to repair a plush lol)

the last Photo is how the seams look on the other leg that does not have any stitches loose and is still complete

Hi, I am a beginner, and I made this very stupid decision to create a casual tube top out of a corset pattern (it is a lace-up corset, and I plan on keeping it that way). I am making this for a school project, but I am planning to wear it afterward. I am using this pattern by Transformation by Tracy (Strapless Corset Sewing pattern) from Etsy

This is the link if you would like to see how it is supposed to look; https://www.etsy.com/in-en/listing/1230541503/strapless-corset-sewing-pattern-pdf-00?ls=s&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=Strapless+corset+pattern&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&sr_prefetch=1&pf_from=search&dd=1&content_source=794609de-0f7e-4adf-b6f2-0e964c893bdd%253ALT9983b6ebe62c288f73c9b289b4e2aa37e77602ce&organic_search_click=1&logging_key=794609de-0f7e-4adf-b6f2-0e964c893bdd%3ALT9983b6ebe62c288f73c9b289b4e2aa37e77602ce

I am using a stretch knit fabric for this, and I have a ton of questions on how to go about doing this. I have already cut out all the pattern pieces (the seam allowance is included in the pattern pieces)

Should I increase my seam allowance? I saw that since I am using a stretchy fabric and the pattern is supposed to be for a non-stretch fabric, I should cut the fabric smaller than intended, but I already cut them out, so would increasing the seam allowance help? And if so, I am planning on doing 1/2 inch allowence for most of the pieces, except for the pieces in the front because they create the curvature for the bust, and keeping it 1/4 seam allowence.

I want to put an elastic band on the top to keep it from slipping. How should I go about doing it? The pattern uses bias tape for the hem. I plan on making the bias tape into a tunnel for the elastic and sewing the elastic in only at the start and the end of the elastic. Would that work? Or is there a better solution?

I know I should have just found a different pattern or kept it just as a corset ut for some reason I thought this was a great idea at first. Would be extremely grateful for any help and recommendations. Thank you in advance.

Btw, this was kind of what I got inspired by: (Lace-up Bandeau Top by Subdued) https://www.subdued.com/ww_en/lace-up-bandeau-top-tp0q3h7?srsltid=AU7gw4UQK46N6xna6Bl2UG41lJBFy30eH54XsBKZObsMIMdATo7tpH97

I'm hoping to make the matching view 1 set, shown in red on the cover. I have been down a rabbit hole of research trying to find a fabric to use for this project and have mostly ended up giving myself a headache. I need help both finding a suitable fabric and locating an online store that carries it.

The suggested fabrics listed here are not especially helpful - for instance: "Cotton." Given there are millions of different fabrics with cotton in them and they all behave differently, this doesn't give me much to go off of. I have been sewing for years, but there are still many things that elude me and I am always learning! Back in ye olden days of JoAnn's, I would go to the store and feel the fabric and get an idea of its weight and hand to determine its suitability for a project. I was pretty good at that, too! I've made many a lovely project with the right weight and feel, then realized at the end that I can't even recall what type of fabric I used other than its fiber content (for care instructions).

I can tell for this project, I need something with structure, at least, probably with a crisp feel to it, but not too stiff. But trying to search for something online has proven more difficult than I anticipated.

If I was making just the skirt, I would go for a medium bottomweight fabric that drapes nicely but has structure, but when making a matching top and bottom, I'm finding myself stumped. I don't want a jacket to be too heavy! Wool intimidates me still, and the price for this much fabric makes me wince!

The example drawing of the red outfit seems to be a shinier, "dressier" fabric, although it's hard to tell, given it's a drawing and not a photo. One of the fabric suggestions that isn't just a fiber content is faille, but I'm having a hard time finding any of that online. I'm fine with polyester if I'm wearing a cotton blouse underneath.

I would like a "dressier" fabric suitable for cooler weather, that I can wear to places like church. Should I look for a good faille, like the suggestion says? Any places I can find it that won't break the bank? I've checked Fabric Wholesale Direct, and they don't seem to have much of that particular fabric, but they have lots of others that seem similar to me. I am still unfamiliar, however, with all the different fabric types, and I'm not 100% sure if any would work the same as a faille.

Is there a similar type of fabric that will achieve the same look? I just need something crisp and not too bulky that will work for both a skirt and a jacket without being too heavy or stiff. Color is an afterthought - I'll just choose from what's available.

Perhaps I am just overthinking this, but I'm open to suggestions. Particularly different names of fabrics that I can search for, rather than just guessing. Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I'm really stumped, and I want to make a good choice!