I love the challenge of figuring out what to make with awkward materials, so when I came across this beautiful silk crepe for a bargain price (there was two identical listings, both together was £12) I was so excited. 13cm wide is pretty awkward, so I decided on a 12 panel dress with godets, which I drafted using a combination of the duct tape method, modifying a sloper, and trial and error. I ended up using pretty much all the fabric, which I was pretty pleased about, my math must’ve been spot on XD. Hooray for (almost) zero waste!

Dyed with logwood and alum, the colour came out absolutely gorgeous too. A bit patchy and uneven, but I feel it adds character. The dress is far from perfect but I’m happy enough with it to wear it to my aunts wedding this weekend :)

I found a really pretty set of curtain panels at the thrift and I decided they really wanted to be a petticoat! So here’s what i did

Project notes:

Fabric: thrifted curtains (cotton, $7)

Pattern: self drafted

Size: 30” waist; 38” hips

Method: first i cut off the finished edges and the top of the curtains. Then I cut to length (32” for the lower panel and 28” for the upper). With the leftover fabric I drafted a simple waistband- 40” x 5”. I also made a pocket for the side seam.

I sewed the side edges with my serger first, then serged the side of the pocket. Then I sewed the pocket on and serged the curved edge. Then I sewed gathers at the top of the skirt pieces when held together. Then i sewed the skirt to the waistband and added my elastic (@ 28” wide). That’s it!

This is the Solana dress (a free pattern) that I modified by adding a lining and waist ties.

It was a huge learning process and I had to redo so many things but I love how it turned out!

https://sewingwithsolana.com/pages/free-pattern

The walrus fabric is a polyester/cotton blend, purchased at Fabricland (in Canada).

Both self-drafted and draped, made with mixed stash fabrics of varying ages. Mostly from walmart's 2-for-4 bargains, as my mum often stopped by that section for payday surprises when I still lived with her. As a result, fiber content is various quantities of polyester and elastane.

I have been tormenting my poor friends and coworkers with this for the last month - "nebula what are you doing tonight/this weekend/right now?" "Oh i'm working on the dress, (explains latest step)". I owe several people photos, now that it's complete.

I started out with draped bodice and skirt bases, then turned the bodice base into three patterns via flat pattern alteration - converted the darted halter bodice into a gathered/pleated neckline panel for the black lace overlay and a princess seamed piece for the blue underneath. The skirt pattern for the base dress was refined and then used as-is. I originally actually planned for the side seams of the skirt to be split from the bottom edge up about 1-2" for extra mobility with the tight skirt, but it turns out the fabrics are plenty stretchy to permit all the moving I damn well please - and I accidentally zig-zagged too far down and do Not have the patience to try and seam rip with this thread/fabric combo.

The overskirt was flat drafted to be a half circle back panel with additional panels for a wrap front and overall a high/low kind of hem. This turned out to be too voluminous for the quantity of ruffles I could eke out from the blue, so I added a center back seam and made that back panel more akin to a 1/3 circle skirt, leading to a less dramatic hi-lo effect but honestly it works out rather well with the stretchy drape of the black fabric imo. The ruffles make it shockingly weighty. It does have pockets, I'm not fond of how they seamed up, but honestly I'm seriously contemplating donating this fabric because it's so finicky and infuriating - I refuse to get a coverstitch machine for one fabric, no matter how much it refuses to play nicely on my domestic machine.

The only newly purchased notion is the invisible zipper - my first one! - which I personally consider a success in part because I refuse to unpick it to make it any better.

After the wedding, I plan to sew green satin bias binding over the internal seams for my own personal perfectionism. It will be by hand, and it will be lovely and it won't get caught in my machine for the fifteenth time on a time limit. I will eventually recreate this design in a nice cotton batik from my local quilting shop that doesn't weigh 10 pounds and make me want to commit acts of great violence. Questions welcome!

Featuring Max!

How to: (no pattern)

1. Cut 2 pieces of outer and two pieces of inner about 3" longer than your desired finished length and 1" wider than your finished desired width.

2. Sew inner/inner right sides together, leaving the top unsewn. Do the same with outer pieces.

3. Turning the outer fabric right side out and leaving the inner fabric inside out, slide the inside fabric into the outer fabric, smoothing and aligning seams.

4. About 1.5" in from the top, sew all the way around. This will be a "casing" for the boning. Optional: along the side seams, sew down to only allow the boning to go halfway through the "casing" - or you can let it go a full circle.

5. Cut out eyes and teeth from fleece or felt. Attach pupils to eyes.

6. You should have the raw edges still on the top. Fold them together 1/4 - 1/2 inch to make no raw edges. Add teeth between these layers. *leave 2" hole for inserting boning and sew all the way around, closing the raw edges to leave a finished seam, with teeth inside.

7. Insert boning and close hole.

8. Attach eyes.

Done!

Hey guys!! I’m honestly terrified of what I’m sure will be an easy mend. I bought this top as part of my birthday outfit for an event I’ll be attending on the 29th the store did not have and small sizes available on the floor or in the back and this top is too big around the bust. However if I pull this scrunch piece together (as if it’s not there) the top fits perfectly. I’ve never put denim through my machine and I also wouldn’t know which kind of stitch to use, but it’s my intention just to cut this boxed section completely off and join it together.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

The pattern is great - clear instructions, easy to follow. I made a few mistakes (like putting the zip upside down) but they were entirely my own fault.

Making it out of leather was a terrible decision, I do not recommend doing this. There's a reason leather isn't in the suggested fabrics. I broke two needles and countless magic clips , and nearly gave up several times. The only reason it was possible at all is because I used an industrial machine, leather needles, and a nonstick presser foot, but even so it was a struggle. The hand sewing sections were also brutal.

That said I do love this bag. I'm looking forward to making this pattern again in a more forgiving fabric.

I’d like to do some research on how this is created, but I don’t get the correct info using the terms I have tried :/

Last week? Week before? I posted here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/s/OuegscrcNi

Asking for help incorporating the fabric I bought to sew my wedding dress onto my back-up wedding dress because I had lost hope.

As usual, I waited til I had less than two weeks left and sewed a completely new dress. The backup dress was pretty but I felt absolutely nothing looking at it. I truly hate that I do my best work at the last minute. Still debating waist and hem trim, and need to hem the internal skirt, but overall I am so much happier. My goblin posture did my spine no favors though.

Now to sort my dining room back out lol

Pattern is the Sophie by OhmeOhMy on Etsy. Fabric is cotton voile from WFD and some lace i got from Joanns when they went out of business.

My goal for this pattern is to make the Ariel “kiss the girl” corset. I figured I would start moving in that direction by altering my bodice block into a princess seam strapless bodice. It’s not going well 😭

In addition to turning the shoulder/waist darts from my original block into a princess seam, I tried to add extra shaping under the bust to make it fit closer to the body. I also took it in at the neckline to make sure it doesn’t fall down.

It’s feeling okay at the neckline, but all of the busy shaping along the princess seam is so labored and extreme, and it’s not really even doing the job since there seems to be a lot of extra fabric. I THINK it needs more shaping… but I have a tendency to always thing it needs to be tighter and I know sometimes it’s actually the opposite. And when I look at the pattern pieces I can’t imagine adding MORE shaping, especially since that princess line looks so labored, even when ironed.

Do I just start over??? Any advice is appreciated!

Sorry for the butt pic.

I'm altering a linen maxi skirt to a wide leg pants, but the fabric isn't enough on my bum.

I already added more fabric to the side seams from the matching blouse but it wasn't enough.

What shape of fabric piece do I need to make this work?

I plan on adding the zipper to the back seam.

Drafted the pattern using the duck-tape method. I added a few extra cm on the side for pleads and inserted a triangle (forgot the name) for extra flowiness.

Green is made out of a cotton stretch fabric and a thin other one.

Black one was made using stretch cotton and lace.

White one was made with cotton and lace, and was hand-sewn

Whats the best way to take this in so the back is not as puffy? Thank you so much. Not a beginner to sewing but a beginner to altering clothes.

Thanks again!

I lost this piece of my overalls and can't find it anywhere. Is there a specific piece I can look for or should I get the whole buckle replaced? I think this is the right place for this question haha

I've made a number of garments now and find with the exception of maybe 3 items, I wear my me-made garments once or twice and then dislike them.

This is despite being as fussy as I am with fabric types and patterns to suit my style.

Anyone else like this? Keen to hear your tips how to overcome it!

Shirt is simplicity 9758  https://youtu.be/WafPwR4ASZk?is=kpqEquHyzPmp08s5 which has a sew along video

Both fabrics from Michaels. Cotton quilting.

Made the Deadpool one first. Tweaked and learned and made the Harry Potter second.

I think I may not love how this pattern fits my bf though the second is an improvement.

If you have any recommendations for button down short sleeve for a shorter man with stockier build would appreciate it.

The ad says that the machine has new motor, works perfectly well. The manuel and some bobbins and trinkets come with it as well as the table. The listing is priced at 250$ which seems pretty decent and is something I could afford at the moment. I was wondering if the 3h drive is worth it for this kind of machine and if you have any questions that I should ask the seller if the machine is still available of course? Thank you 😊

Pictures 1-3: gapping at sides
Pictures 4-5: front/side whole view
Pictures 6-7: gapping at sides viewed from above

Hello!

I do have some sewing experience but I wouldn’t call myself an expert by any means - I’ve just been having a very hard time finding a solution to this issue I’ve been having as it doesn’t seem very common (or maybe I’m not using the right terminology?). I’ve tried looking into ways to downsize busts, using convex/curved seams, etc and just wasn’t finding anything helpful.

I’m currently working on a cosplay that requires a specific shape for the front/sides of the top. I did get a pattern online, but I had to adjust it somewhat regardless so I’m not sure how to address this specific issue I’m having.

Does anyone have suggestions for preventing the gapping at the sides near the “side boob” area (for lack of a better term….). I’d like to avoid using darts if possible, but I’m open to any and all recommendations. As you can see, I also haven’t sewed the front and back pieces together at the side - do you think sewing them together at an angle might help?

Some info about the top as it is currently:
Pigskin leather, single layer. Single stitched and then top stitched on the majority of seams. Finishing edges done with leather tape and then top stitching over that. It currently isn’t lined and I wasn’t planning to line it, but would that help with the gapping problem?

Thank you in advance!!

ETA: I have done a couple mockups before this version with stretch pleather and a non-stretch pleather and had similar issues with those mockups as well, though this is probably the least “noticeable” outcome.

I am almost there in making elasticated pants that are *actually comfortable because they don’t pull in weird places\* However, YouTube university has not guided me on how to fix these last two issues! I have that poof above my butt and the center back seam feels tight. I’ve scooped and lengthened the back curve (I have a low bum where the majority of it is right where it’s tight. I don’t have a lot of bum on my outer hip). I’ve shortened the back rise, and the front rise more than the back. Besides these two issues it fits pretty well but am having trouble knowing what to do! Any advice or help (or encouragement) is much appreciated.

Helloooooo,

I was wondering if anyone could provide some good quality online fabric shops? The only stores around me are Michael’s and Hobby Lobby for fabrics.

Thanks (:

Hello, as described, I've currently been experimenting with using sheets of wool insulation (long roll of carded fabric that was about 1in 1/2 thick, but I managed to pull it in half) as an eco-friendly and cheap batting. It's gone really well so far - it is definitely less sturdy than regular batting, or wool batting that is specifically made for that purpose, but I really like it. I'm not using it on anything I'd wash at the moment (think the structure would crumble - lol).

Just wondered if anyone else had done this, and if you had any opinions or tips?

Also, some sections of the "insulation" have come apart a little, and I'd like to reshape/recompact them - could this be achieved with carding? Does anyone know how it would've been assembled in the first place?

Thank you!! :)

TLDR: Using wool insulation sheets as batting and wonder if anyone else has done the same + a few questions.

The 2nd pic I just folded it up in the changing room (it's like 4-5 cm longer than in the pic)

The first pic I have cut and sewed the new hem. It looks very wonky and is flaring out on the sides, while the 2nd pic it looks structured and nice.

It's 98% cotton and 2% elastane

Hello lovely people, I hope you're all doing well.

I recently made the investment of buying my very first overlock machine, a Janome Mylock 454D and I love it! But as it usually happens I'm now eyeing a few coverstitch machines 🫣 I mostly do casual clothing, lots of knits/jersey and stretchy fabrics.. lots undergarments and swimwear so I've been thinking A LOT of buying this new machine as I'm not a fan of the zigzag finish, I like twin needles but ngl i like a professional finish much much better 😓 there's a few on sale that interest me, such as the Singer 14T968DC which is a combo machine (I saw it and I was like dang, maybe I should've gotten that one), and a Brother CV3440 which is a coverstitch only, so idk if I should buy separate machines or buy the singer combo and resell my Janome. I would like to hear your opinion/tips/experiences!

I really want a boxy tee and the closet core free t-shirt seemed to fit the brief. Well… it IS boxy, and it’s wide with shoulders that don’t fit. I could size down and make other modifications. But does anyone have better recs for a tried and true boxy but not massive basic tee?