Where to start: making own clothes?

Zed42

grimelda wrote:

Know of any in London? I am new here (from Australia originally) and have had a devil of a time finding good and/or cheap fabric stores.

You could try the bottom end of Great Portland Street (ie. the Oxford Street end) as there are a number of fabric stores there, also, John Lewis (not particularly cheap, but good quality).

jordylass

It's a long time since I lived in London, but I'm sure you could get fabric off Petticoat Lane market in the east end, if not there are hundreds of saree (sp) shops there with beautiful fabrics.

monkmorency

Thanks grimelda, there's so much useful information there. :T

I do a bit of sewing in terms of making cushions and curtains, and fixing hems, etc. I do ok with the cushions, but TBH I find it very difficult dealing with the sheer quantity of fabric involved in doing curtains.

I would really love to make some clothes for myself, but it's a bit daunting. I think I might take your advice and try an A-line skirt. I'm getting all excited now - I love buying fabric!

If you are in North London, The Curtain Factory Outlet on Ballards Lane in Finchley is well worth a look for fabrics. There is a fabric market somewhere in London too, but I can't remember where . I bought the Time Out shopping guide, which had descriptions of lots of places to buy fabrics, etc. Unfortunately I gave my copy away when I moved away from London recently. It cost about £10 from a magazine shop, but you could always have a peek on the shelf. HTH

BTW eBay is a good place to try for cheap patterns.

Ghost

Hi guys. I'm about to make cushions/curtains for the first time in my life and feel a little apprehensive about purchasing fabrics. Basically, I see them on massive rolls (in Dunelm Mill) but I have no idea of the standard width of these rolls, which presumably I need to take into account when buying fabric by the metre. I feel so daft and inexperienced!

starlite_2

there are lots of good fabric shops around shoreditch. also in the south, lewisham and deptford have fabric shops and stalls on the markets.

i often go to charity shops and jumble sales and buy sheets and large sized clothes in nice material that i can take apart and reuse.

a good idea is to take apart an item that fits you well and make patterns from the pieces. for something like a skirt you can reuse them many times, just using different material and maybe altering the length etc.

also adapting clothes is always fun, i've made the nicest clothes from some really hideous charity shop bargains, such as an a-line jersey dress i made from two plain long sleeved tops.

this website is handy and people aere always ready to help or inspire you when you post.
http://www.crafster.org/

starlite_2

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=4d846faa8011e7bcd26733856f327e7c&#7

sorry posted wrong link before

hardpressed

Another suggestion as well as buying good thread, Sylko or Drima are good, have a look in the charity shops they ofter have basket of sewing oddments. Cheap thread is false economy, it knots and breaks. Two other things which I have found over 45+ years of sewing are good sharp scissors, and good quality pins, unbranded pins tend to bend and are thicker which makes them harder to push through fabric, Dorcas are a good make. When you pin the pattern on the fabric use plenty of pins, if the pattern pieces are large eg skirt or shirt its best to put a row of pins down the middle then work outwards, around the edge of the pattern, you need pins in each corner and about every 4" or 10cm inbetween, that way you get it perfectly flat. Also cut out on a flat surface a table or floor. When you pin your garment together if you pin at right angles to the edge you can carefully machine over the pin, the long bit not the pinhead!If you take it slowly you'll be ok, best not to buy too expensive fabric to start with then if you do make mistakes you won't be to upset. Good luck, happy sewing.

angelatgraceland

I subscribe to Prima magazine which includes a free pattern in every inssue. Find out if any of your friends sew and share your patterns. Some patterns are easy to make just by cutting around a shop bought garment. Baby trousers are easy to make. Leave a nice hem which you can let down on them. You can always start with "turnups" then let them down.
I made all of the clothes for my first dd and there are many advantages. In the summer I was able to make her long trousers with shoulder straps in thin cotton/polyester which stopped her getting sunburn. Find fabrics at your local market or look through yellow pages or online to find bargain shops. Some fabric can be rather expensive.
My very first project was for myself and it was an elasticated A line skirt with a matchin cowl neck top. This was in the days of "moousematt". That was a fabric-not what I use now to click my mouse on! Good luck-its a skill well worth having. One tip though-dont use cheap cottons in your machine as they will keep breaking and you will be forever jamming it up. Buy a good thread like "Guttermann".