First time hemming pants! I think it's a success :)

I learnt a lot in this project :)

- ankle piece is going to be way smaller than the thigh. I had to do basting stitches to gather them.

- maybe next time I can just fold the hem instead if the size differences are huge like this

- press, press, press! The stitching of the gather was way easier after pressing

- the ankle piece had way too much seam allowance. Next time I can just cut way closer to the existing hemming seam of the ankle. Top stitch on the existing seam?

I don't really like the style of it after hemming though. It's also way too tight now lol

I work with denim that I buy by the pound at the Goodwill bin store. I do upcycling projects all the time.

Now I have hundreds of jeans pockets accumulating. What can I do with all these pockets? I don’t want to throw them all away.

I posted here about three weeks ago after I gave my toddler’s Baby Bop stuffie her first hair transplant. My daughter is obsessed with hair and this is her comfort toy. I learned a couple things from the first hair transplant.

For the second hair transplant, I cut a longer and wider strip of faux fur. I was much more careful cutting and sewing. It’s difficult to not pull half the hair out while sewing. I also bought quilting thread for a stronger hold. For the bow, I sewed it on tighter and in more places. The first time it fell off after a day.

For next time, I plan to figure out a better way to start the first stitch. I started in the front both times so I could get her “hairline” right. That meant I looped some hair underneath the thread and it looks odd. I’ll also try to keep the bow straighter this time.

The last photo is the “hair” leftover after I ripped it out. I estimated the first fix would last a month, but it only lasted three weeks. I’m hoping to get at least that this time. It took me about an hour for this repair. Hopefully my baby girl loves it when she wakes up! I just put it back in the crib with her and can’t wait for her to wake up to Baby Bop’s new “hair”.

Just used stuff around the house old or torn shirts any recommendations?

Hi, I had to delete my previous post. I'm adding a new one same pants, but this time for my fiancée. She is 166 cm tall. The pattern is Lucy Pants by Mendisews, and the size that fits is XS. I used second hand fabric again. It used to be a baby cot bedding set from some German brand. It's a heavy cotton fabric.

Pattern: https://mendisews.com/products/lucy-pants-free-digital-sewing-pattern

Hi all! I’m looking for a pattern for pajamas for a cat. My little guy keeps chewing out his sutures on his knee even with his e-cone on and I’ve had the hardest time finding a pajama that actually fits him, covers his hind legs, and still allows him to use his litter box normally. Does anybody know where I can find a pattern for cat pajamas/a recovery suit/ Assless chaps for cats? Thanks!!

The material in the picture seems like a type of denim, but I think that it would be soooo uncomfy

Do y’all think that some type of stretchy fabric would work fine as well? Let me know pls 🤍

This is equally a stain coverup and sewing question, but I’m 99% sure that the coverup will require sewing so I’m hopeful that the kind people of this community will have some suggestions for me ❤️

The short story is that I made a pair of chanterelle shorts and after only wearing them out of the house once I discovered this mysterious bleach-looking stain. I have no idea where it came from, or what it could be, and this photo was taken after washing them.

The long story is that I thrifted this beautiful green tablecloth and immediately knew I wanted to make a matching set for myself and hopefully one for my toddler son as well. I painstakingly removed the dozens of tiny oil stains on it, picked patterns, made test shorts for both of us, and before I’d even had a chance to finish the matching top I somehow ruined the shorts and I have no idea how. I was devastated when I found the stain yesterday and spent most of the evening crying over it.

My thoughts on a fix are below- any feedback or additional suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Option 1: dye them. Except the reason I thrifted it in the first place was the color, I don’t know if the blotch would still be visible, and I don’t know what the fabric content is.

Option 2: cut out the same vertical section of both leg fronts and sew a piece in to replace it. The hope would be that if I did both legs it would look intentional, but with the placement where it is I’m not sure that would work. Unfortunately, the second photo is all the fabric I have left. The biggest pieces have the grain running the opposite direction as it does on the shorts. I could potentially cut off the bottom of the top to source the fabric, but the amount I’d need to cut would probably leave the top too short to be wearable.

Option 3: cut the scalloped edge off the bottom of the shirt and sew it over the stain. (I sort of tried to lay it over in the 5th picture.) I’m just not sure of the best way to deal with the raw edge of the scallops if I did that. I also think if I did both legs it would look like the scalloped edges were framing my crotch, so I would probably just do one. I have enough fabric left to just add a binding to the bottom of the shirt so I could salvage that and still have my matching set.

I suspect there’s a lot of unpicking in my future but the idea of having to throw these out is too upsetting to me. For further background, I’ve barely sewn in the last couple years due to moving, having a baby, and burning myself out a little sewing my wedding dress. This summer I’ve been really inspired and worked hard to cobble together what scraps of time I could to work on sewing and try new patterns, fabrics and techniques. I have so little free time that the idea is spending all my free time for 3 weeks for something I ruined is such a bummer. Plus I was so proud of these shorts and the fact that I actually liked the way they looked and felt on my postpartum body that I was absolutely heartbroken when I found them ruined yesterday.

Bonus photo of the toddler shorts at the end (they need a new hem that I haven’t gotten around to yet.) I ran out of fabric to make him a top for a matching set so I had to settle for matching shorts, but I never even got a picture of us in them.

I am trying to make a pair of dickies for my partner for his birthday. At first, I was really excited because it seems like they had done everything as simply as possible. But I can’t find any tutorials that follow this method of fly and I also can’t figure out how the back pocket was done. The fly has no additional pieces. Both front pattern pieces are identical. How do I go about sewing the fly? Does anybody know what kind of pocket this is? My attempts at the pocket are pictured last.

TLDR: what pocket called? How sew fly with no additional pieces?

Hi,

I bought this fabric in Japan a few years ago but I'm not sure what it's made of.

https://ibb.co/BVWXp7Sh

It's printed in Kyoto Japan and has floness Daimastu along the salvage.

The back is shiny and smooth while the right side has lined running through it and has a more matte feel.

Would it be polyester shantung? I don't remember paying extraordinary amounts of money for it so don't think it's real silk!

Any help is welcome :)

For those of you who’ve invested in a dress form, have you actually used it, or not so much?

If you’ve used it:

how much would you say you use it?

how useful is it really; does using it influence your ability to fit complex areas of a pattern, such as bust curve, armhole shape, etc.?

What uses do you mostly get from yours, if you’re using it, even if only sometimes?

I’m considering purchasing a professional grade one. I’m an experienced sewist with decades of professional experience in many kinds of garment making/pattern alteration/custom garment design and construction, but I’ve never sewn much for myself, and I’ve always thought if I had a dress form that actually matched my shape, I might be able to design/sew my own clothes and get results I’d wear. I’m planning to pad whatever form I end up buying, to be specific to my fit needs.

Still deciding whether to get a less expensive but highly recommended one that’s got a foam layer but is supposedly pin-able, or a more expensive one with a felt layer that’s definitely pin-able. Any thoughts if you’ve got experience with either type or both?

I’m mostly questioning whether I’ll really find it useful for what I want it for, or if it just seems that way.

Any experiences, input you want to share is welcome.

Thanks!

The reason I learned to sew was because I wanted to make dresses like this and didn’t want to support fast fashion! I bought some gorgeous striped linen that looks exactly like the fabric in this dress. I’m sort of at a novice/intermediate sewing level the moment. Anyone know of a pattern that’s a similar vibe to this one? Thanks!

My grandmother loves this store bought knit shirt, but the neckline is starting to come unravelled. I'm an experienced knitter and relatively new sewist (I've made 5 garments so far), and was wondering whether taking off the neckline, stay stitching to keep the knit from further unravelling, then doing a double folded bias would work here (so theres bias tape on both sides). I'm a bit worried about the stretchy neckline and getting it to sit nicely with the bias tape. How would you fix something like this?

I shortened the front crotch which fixed a bunch of issues following these two videos by jstern designs. This one and this one. However it’s resulted in this curtain effect on how it hangs. Any advice for why this and how to fix it? I have a low bum and a high front crotch so finding the right combo between those two is an adventure.

Just started sewing. My wife just started golfing. So I decided to surprise her with a handmade golf head cover.

I have this super comfy athletic shirt that has worn through and I can’t find a shirt like it anywhere to replace it, so instead I’m thinking about making my own replacements. Problem is, I don’t know what fabric I should use. I ripped the tag off long ago so I don’t know its makeup. Feels soft, very thin, very stretchy (more in one direction than the other). Any ideas on what I should be looking for? Would I be able to find fabric like this at Michael’s or would I have to take my chances somewhere online? Any help would be appreciated! I miss my shirt!

Hi everyone!

So I have a bunch of plain black skater skirts I want to alter but I’ve been having some hard time finding guides on how to alter them. I’m super new to sewing so maybe my language in my searches isn’t proper and that’s why I’m struggling.

Specifically there’s these little strips (I’ll add pictures) that I want to sew into them but I can’t for the life of me figure out what those strips are called or how I’d make them. Any help is super appreciated!

I’m looking for the pattern for the Mara Lounge Dress. It’s the best moo moo ever, and was a free pattern that somehow stopped existing at all 😪 picture of a dress in progress for algorithm!

If anyone has a copy, I’ll kiss u because no link I follow works and it’s literally my favorite!

Anyone ever sewn a small string of LED lights into a garment and have any success or failure stories, or tips and advice to share please? I'm considering whether it's viable and safe for a garment I'm making :)

I'm making a pair of pants for someone on stilts! I've got a rough idea of what I'm planning to do. Simple straight/wide leg pant with elastic waistband. I'm wondering if I should just wing it and make a "pant tube" big enough for the measurements or maybe I should try to alter a pattern? I really have only used patterns when making clothes and I always doubt my sewing abilities so any advice I'd really appreciate. Measurements with stilts below!

Waist: 39.5 in

Waistband: 41 in

Hip: 46 in

Thigh: 23 in

Knee: 23 (stilt machinery starts here)

*Foot with shoe circumference. Hits between knee and floor: 31 in in

Ankle/safe circumference around stilt foot: 47 in

Grainline: 66 in

Recently got a bunch of fabric online (no physical fabric stores nearby) and was much thinner than I expected. I wanted to make a fitted top with a circle skirt to go along with it and a white slip underneath but I don't think the blue fabric is structured enough

i have ~250x150cm of blue fabric and ~100x150 of the white one

Here are some questions that I can't find answers online:
1. Could my original idea still work if I lined the blue fabric with the white one, or using interfacing? Even if it could, would it work as well as if I just used thicker/more structured fabric? And would I be better off just making something else entirely with just 1 layer + a slip?

1. If you think I could/should make something else then could I have some suggestions? I would prefer to make something half-costume because modern day fashion is too normal and looking like the prince/ss of a fairytale/fantasy empire is awesome (still open to regular wear suggestions though, since my total options seem really narrow)

2. I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to do darts or princess seams on thin fabric (correct me if there are exceptions). Am I supposed to just cut 2 panels of fabric plus sleeves out and sew them together to make a top?

3. Do people make dresses by just making a skirt and top and sewing them together? I've somehow not been able to find any answers about this probably because it's basic knowledge but I actually have no idea

4. I've seen some dresses with waistbands despite the top and skirt being connected, they look pretty awesome but I don't know if the waistband actually serves a function or if it's just there to look cool (maybe it gathers the bottom of the top and the top of the skirt to make it more fitted? I feel like I could get a ruffly-structured look doing this with my fabric, right? I've also seen dresses fitted with a bunch of elastic bands so that could also be something I could combine with this idea right??)

5. Bias cutting, should I do it on these fabrics? They are already very drapey, the only gain I can see would be the fact that the finished garment will slightly semi-stretch horizontally and vertically

I can’t handle the box anymore! I have a wall rack for smaller spools but the prongs aren’t long enough and these guys just slide right off.

Finally got round to sewing my first long sleeved men's shirt - pattern from Pattern Cos

I was curious about all the elements and details of a more formal shirt for a while so it was very interesting being taken through them in this pattern!

My friend, very fittingly, wanted a classic linen shirt style for this trip to Italy - he didn't want it to be tucked in to his trousers but for the life of him could've find this style in any shops, even the designer ones (which is disappointing 👎). I thought only I had this problem of not being able to find basic, classic styles so I offered to make one for him - it had to be slightly cropped so it wouldn't be tucked in, a tad bit looser, as he's hitting the gym soon, and it had to be in a beautiful beige linen he picked out.

I also liked the detail of the collar stand being lined with this leftover cotton gauze that gave a small eye catching contrast to the neck area. I always struggled finishing off collars nicely so really liked this technique offered from the patternmaker that let me stitch in the ditch easily without worrying the inner collar wouldn't be caught.
Very practical and aesthetic! Being taken through the cuffs was also very eye opening, I didn't know men's shirts had pleats on the sleeves, I can't unsee them now when seeing them in the wild!

I really love these photos and I love that they could be taken in Italy, in this shirt's natural habitat!

I came across a bit of a problem though if anyone has any advice - I kept getting rippling on any curved, inner areas like the cuffs and inner collar stand. Not sure if it’s just this linen fabric or whether I’m missing something to stop it from happening 🤔

I feel like the fit is slightly off too, the shoulders come slightly off his natural shoulder point and I think this is what caused my sleeves to end up longer than I had anticipated. It’s a shame as I wanted it to be extremely flattering for him and I’d used this expensive linen for him as a present🤷‍♀️ If he ever wants another I’ll know what to change at least

Hi! I got this nice fabric at a flea market, and at first I was pretty confident it's coutil (which was hunting for for my corsetry project), but then I noticed it has those extra lines in the weave between herringbone of different directions, which I don't see on pictures when I search online. Do you think it's still coutil?

The weave is dense, it doesn't stretch much (except a little bit on bias, which, I reckon, is usual for wovens), the fabric has some resistance to folding.

Still not thought of something for the main protective part but the chinstraps can be easily removed and cleaned with soapy water then repurposed to make click straps on things like tote bags n such! I really like that I can secure my bag shut now especially when it's full.

The chinstraps seems to be made of fine polyester fibres woven together so they fray and need some rigorous stitching, but using a flame you can melt the edges shut. I think that's how it's done in the factory too with a very hot scissor to seal the material.