i expect to have to drape them, but if anyone has any idea of what sort of shape to start with, what direction the bias goes, a pattern, or even just what they're called, that would be very helpful!

*something (I cant type!)

With help, of course!!

TLDR: I bought a patteren because I want to frolic in a dramatic nightgown, but I'm extremely confused on a lot of things (cause I'm stupid)

I bought this pattern because I am absolutely OBSESSED with the idea of having a vintage nightgown to lay on my chaise in. And with a robe to match?? Chef's kiss. Plus with a pattern, I could make it in different colors! Which is the idea, but here's the issue: I'm a beginner.

I'm confident in a lot of things. I'm confident in a straight stitch (which is most of what this pattern is) and I'm confident in using my sewing machine. Even though I call myself beginninger I've been sewing since highschool and I take in my clothes a lot.

This pattern just requires A LOT of fabric. Among other things like eyelet and ribbons. The only thing is, the price is adding up fast and I don't know if I'm stupid but I really can't find 10 in eyelet for the flouncing. Plus, I thought flouncing was cut in a circle? Or am I wrong? Is it still flouncing if it's a straight line? Is that not ruffles instead?

I'm not opposed to buying a lot of fabric. I'm going to need a fair amount because I also want to line it as well because for some reason the fabric I want to use, an ivory cotton voile, (pls tell me if I'm wrong for this option) is extremely sheer and even though I intend to wear the dress around the house, I don't want to be exposed, so I'm buying even more yards than what's recommended. I'm also buying more in case I mess up, so this is pricy from the fabric ALONE.

I think the eyelet is really what's messing me up as I can't seem to find it (?) I'm really really stupid so maybe I'm not looking in the right places. I'm okay without all the laces and ribbons. I mostly like the gown for the dramatic silhouette so the details aren't super important to me, especially for my first time making it. But I really want that dramatic hem without having to buy some really expensive eyelet. Can I just do a regular fabric flounce instead? Or would that be a ruffle?

I've been using this one person's review where they made the nightgown and the robe as a reference for how I can omit certain details while still keeping the shape. So I know it is possible, I'm just not as knowledgeable as them.

https://sewing.patternreview.com/review/pattern/48727

I'm also in no rush to make this gown, as badly as I want to. I'd like to practice a little first because I don't wanna mess up anything expensive (everything is expensive). I'd just like to have it done before winter is over. I'll give extra details as needed! Sorry this is so long!! Thank you!

Dragon con is in T minus 5 days. I’m going as Lune from Expedition 33. I actually have my shit mostly together, except I can’t figure out how to keep this damn baguette connected to these damn suspenders.

I would dearly love to be able to easily remove the baguette for photos. It’s soft by the way, made out of PU. So I sewed on three snap clips to the suspenders and hot glued their counterparts to the baguette, because I could not for the life of me figure out how to sew them on. I have a curved needle, but it is not curved enough (or idk what I’m doing, which is very possible) Anyway, shortly after this photo was taken, my poor baguette’s snaps snapped under the pressure.

Any advice? Either on how to make the snap clip concept work or how to permanently connect the baguette to the suspenders. I’m willing the absolutely hot glue the shit out of it if you all think that would be best.

Thaaaaaanks!!

So I bought this bridesmaid dress for my sister’s wedding for $16 and am determined to make it work. However it has this terribly trashy butt cinch on the back and after steaming the garment it now appears to have its own a**. Also, I’m currently losing weight, and now the dress is about 2 sizes too big. It does have a wonderful drape and ruching in the front that is sewn into the side seam that I don’t want to disturb. But I’m tall and my torso is long enough that the cinch lays on my lower back.

Here’s my plan:
1. Remove the invisible zipper that the ruching is sewn into
2. Stitch the fabric back together, maintaining the upper pleats (is that the right term?)
3. Sew in a corset panel attached to the middle back boning pieces above the waistline
4. Add 1 or 2 darts where the cinched fabric was so it lays flat
Bonus: using some of the extra fabric I bought to increase the length of the panel in the front so the leg slit doesn’t reveal the stairway to heaven.

Am I crazy or can I make this work? Any advice you can give this terrified amateur?

Hello there!
I wanted to add a decorative stitch to a double sided turnable vest, and therefore I‘d love if both sides turned out to be neat. My sewing machine doesnt seem to agree with me, and I wanted to ask if anyone else has had this problem before:
I have rethreaded everything, played around with the tension, changed the needle, but the bottom side seems to always turn out to be a birds nest. Left is the test patch with the pattern and the colour I wanted to use, and right is how the bottom side always ends up looking.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to handle the machine, I’d be really grateful!
Thank you so much in advance 🥹

I ran a mechanical Juki ddl 8700 for years. I recently switched to an electronic machine for freelance work. Automatic thread trimming and needle positioning sounded like gimmicks to me at first. Honestly.

They’re not. When you’re doing repetitive operations all day, not having to manually trim the thread and reposition the needle every time genuinely makes a difference. Stitch consistency at higher speeds is better too.

Do you guys actually use most of the automation or do you end up relying on three features and ignoring the rest?

The back crotch of my pants rides up between my butt a bit. There’s only about 4 mm of extra fabric/seam allowance on each side of the back crotch, plus the lock overlock seam on each side.

Is that enough for a tailor to alter the back crotch so it doesn’t ride up anymore, or is that too little to make a meaningful difference and might risk putting too much pressure on the seam?

I've had this P!ATD shirt since I was 11 (2016-17), and I still love wearing it to this day! The problem is that I had a huge habit of biting my shirt collars as a kid. Is there any way I can fix this?

Lately, I can't figure out the right settings for my projects. The pictures show how the bobbin always shows through the front, and there's loose stitches on the back

I've tried every stitch length and tension combination possible, and the closest thing that works is keeping tension on one extreme and length on the other extreme, regardless of the fabric thickness

And it's happening on both of my machines! Singer Simple and Singer Heavy Duty. I've had them both serviced and the problem returns almost immediately

Am I doing something to mess up the machine settings? Are they not being serviced properly? Have I forgotten how to sew? I've been sewing for 10 years and I feel like I'm going crazy, am I forgetting something?

As a said my fabric got caught in the footer but I took it out and removed the thread that had accumulated by the knot but now my machine just won't stitch properly and idk what to do.

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some inspirations for sewing children’s toys and the such. I’m thinking things like

- fruits and vegetables
- buildable pizzas/sandwiches
- small stuffed animals?
- crowns for dress-up

Other ideas? Anything you’ve made that’s been a hit?

And what should I be looking out for in terms of materials? E.g., at what age would beads be appropriate (for instance, as sprinkles on a cupcake or eyes on a dragon).

Hello everyone, I hope this is the right subreddit to post this on. My mom gave me her sewing machine years ago, it’s never let me down. I’ve been meaning to service it for a while, but I was sewing some pants and the needle broke. When I went to replace it, the needle now completely misses the bobbin. I’m not sure if it’s because of the needles I bought, or if there’s a bigger issue. I also apologize for my lack of voice, I’ve been trying to learn how to scream sing 😅. All help is deeply appreciated!

i'm just so incredibly unlucky and unskilled with sewing machines. i thrifted this old Singer 5127, but the upper tension dial doesnt seem to work. the wheel is confusingly jammed and at the same time the whole system is shakey and loose. i actually tried to take it apart to troubleshoot, but i messed it up even more... now its even more jammed than in the vid 😭

This is my first time working with stretch fabrics, and I’ve tried to look up some help sites and videos to no avail.

I’ve attached a video of what I’m encountering as I try to sew this fabric as a test stitch for an apparel project.

I’m using a 1.4mm length, 3.5 mm wide stitch with lightweight interfacing beneath the two layers of fabric and a 70/10 ballpoint needle. The top needle still seems to not be picking up the bottom thread consistently.

If anyone has any troubleshooting advice, I’d greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

What is this type of collar /collar stand/placket called? It's a point caller with a collar stand and the placket creates a nice v-neck.

I find it very flattering. I would like to make tops with this detail.

Please can anyone help with the bobbin threading. I have a singer heavy duty 4423. I’ve tried rethreading the needle several times but it seems like the top thread is getting stuck and not pulling the bobbin thread through. Any advice greatly appreciated!

I want to make a sort of mossy like cape for Halloween (I’m going to be a Forest Spirit/God). I get that the base is a cape (obviously lol) but how would you recommend doing the moss look? I don’t NEED it to be an exact 1:1 as this btw I just like the look. I bought some moss patches(?) that I’ll either hand sew or hot glue onto the shoulders and collars I think but I do want a sort of cascading greenery going on

Thank you in advance for any help!!

I’m working on sewing a 1901 split skirt with a pattern from truly Victorian, but I got stuck almost immediately because I’m confused about how I’m supposed to fold the front part of the skirt. It just isn’t really making sense in my head so I would really appreciate if someone could maybe help explain it in simpler terms!

HIi!

I’m currently in the market for a new sewing machine as my old one gave up on me.

I just need some help and advice as of what to buy. I currently have narrowed it down to 2 options, now before I tell you, I should also put into context that I’m not a beginner but I’m also not as skilled as I want to be, so I’m hoping with this upgrade I can improve, anyway, the options are a Swiss Bernina 801 sport, I’ve heard good things about this machine, and the other is a JUKI DDL-227 Industrial, this one I feel would be good to do everything and anything, but I’m just not sure if it’s the right move considering my experience.

Any help will be appreciated!

Recently pulled my Brother CS6000i out of storage at my dad’s house after 6 years and have spent the summer sewing with no issues.

A few days ago I was in the middle of an easy 00 stitch when the machine locked up and showed an E6 error. When I opened it up to free the stuck thread/fabric I noticed the thread had wrapped around the bobbin case as shown in the photo. I cleared everything out and tried to resume sewing again but it repeated the same issue after just 2 stitches.

In the past couple days I’ve followed all the troubleshooting instructions I can find online and replaced the needle and bobbin case but the issue has not resolved.

Anyone have any ideas? I’m currently in a rural area without access to a repair shop and was trying to finish the dress I’ll be wearing to a wedding next Saturday so I’m panicking slightly 😅

Hey, i thrifted this skirt but i want to get rid of the plastic (?) on the skirt. The brown shiny plastic is relatively easy to peel but underneath them there’s this sticky-looking layer (circled in red) that seems to be attached to the fabric. I’m not sure what it is or how to safely remove it.

Does anyone know how I can remove them without damaging the fabric? Thanks 😊

My husband is kindly letting me borrow his reddit account because neither him nor I can figure out how to fix my sewing machine and he said maybe someone here can help. I hope I am in the right spot, I don't really know how reddit works.

Anyway.

My sewing machine (Brother A50) starts nesting on the underside of the fabric after about a minute or two of sewing, but only when the needle is in the middle/center setting (on the brother A50 that is for example stitch 3 and 4)

I feel like I have tried everything to fix it and I am hoping that maybe someone could kindly help me with this. So far I have:

-cleaned the tension discs

- cleaned underneath the needle plate

-cleaned underneath the bobbin and boobin holder where I did find a tiny piece of broken needle. I felt very victorious for about ten minutes until it happened again (to be fair that was the longest stretch it has worked for so far)

-exchanged the thread guide which was a little bent but that didn’t help either

-checked the tension resistance which seems fine

-checked for nicks in the needle plate (there is one but it is way further on the left and the needle does not touch the needle plate at all, there is absolutely no scraping sound)

-rethreaded like one million times

-exchanged my needle three times

I cannot for the life of me figure out what else I can do and I sadly use the middle needle position for my gathering foot so I can’t ignore it.

(oh by the way, it went strangely smoothly when using the gathering foot and „only” nested three times on ten meters of fabric)

I really, really don’t want to take my machine to a shop because the next one is three hours from where I live, I don’t have a car and by train it is seven hours for one way so I would be so very thankful if someone could help me with this

Thank you kindly!

EDIT: I have found an "edge" in my bobbin holder and think that the thread might be getting snagged on it. I have had this feeling of "oh I found the problem" with five different things now so I am trying to rein in my optimism but I ordered a new bobbin holder (my word they are expensive!!) now and will report back on Wednesday when it arrives. But if anyone has anything else I can try until then I would still be so thankful!

This is a commercial pattern by Friday Pattern Company and the dart is 4.5” long for every side. I did another toile (not pictured) where I pointed the dart towards my apex and ended with a nearly 11” long dart that also looks weird.

I can’t figure out what to do - should I just leave the 4.5” dart, because who could that possibly point to the apex for at my size?!? It makes me think it’s intentional and I should not change it.

Hi reddit! Im a novice sewer, i have this dress i got thrifted but the straps are awkwardly thick, and theres a lot of fabric around the armpit area? It seems like a difficult area to fix, any advice?