Dress Making

Sarahp

Hey!

I hope you're well!

I really want to start dress making and learning how to sew. I am literally starting from nothing, no sewing machine nothing so any advice on what to buy and where from would be fantastic!

I live in Leicester so if anyone knows of any little shops or courses that would be great!

I hope you can help!

Sarah x

*Scottish*Lass*

Hey, I was in my local Tesco today & I noticed that they had sewing machines!! They were beside the food processors & irons etc. I never noticed how much they were, sorry! But they prob won't be too expensive. Also a friend of mine buys dress patterns from ebay. Hope this helps! x

campbell87_2

If Im right, those sewing machines in Tesco are around £27 - £30 and there pretty decent machines. Try googling around for classes in your area or instructional videos on YouTube. There are lots of communities on blogsites and forums dedicated to dressmaking too so you should check a few out and sign up! Dont forget your local library for how-to books aswell! Make sure you get some inexpensive and cheap matariel to practice on too from sale bins at textile stores etc or charity shops.

Gothdolly

Try your local freecycle for a sewing machine, your local library for a good book on dressmaking.

Take your time and practice a bit first on some scraps of fabric, old clothes etc... so that you know how to do the basics, then choose something simple to make, you could even make it out of any fabric you may have lying around, old sheets anything just so you can see how it will turn out first before buying fabric.

I guess the basics would be a book, sewing machine, needles, thread, pins, fabric to try out. Again worth an ask on Freecycle.

Good luck.

Sarahp

Hey!

Thanks for all this advice, I'll have a pop in Tesco at the weekend and the library!

Am I being thick but what is a Freecycle? and does anyone know of any good blogs or forums I could join?

Sarah xxx

Enterprise_1701C

Make sure you get a simple sewing machine, cheap and chearful is ideal so the Tesco option may well be a good idea.

Gothdolly is right, start with something simple, and try to remember to reverse stitch the seem start and end for about 1cm to make sure it does not come undone.

You could start by making a couple of pillowcases out of old sheets or that sort of thing.

Just remember that the most important thing about making clothes is the cut - you cut the fabric right then you've got a good edge to follow when you sew it.

I was fortunate in that I started at school about 35 years ago - have since made dresses for myself that actually fit properly and have made prom dresses for my daughter and her BM. Only thing I will not make is trousers!

Good luck, it is a fun and fulfilling hobby.

diable

If you can find a course then it would be worth going, if you are going to practice then start on something simple like pillow cases as the are usually rectangular and easy to make. The most important thing though is to be able to cut and work from a pattern. Best of luck and have fun and i have been surrounded by rags and machines all my life as my Mum, Aunt, ex GF and present GF all sew ;o))))

buxtonrabbitgreen

I too, learnt at school. And have been able to pass on to my dd the rudiments. So at least she knows how to thread the machine. I don't make clothes anymore because they are cheaper to buy unless you get hold of very cheap material. I sometimes can pick some up in the charity shop for my dd. She makes costumes for cossplay. The first thinkg I had to make at school was an apron for cookery lessons ( don't seem to have them anymore either) that would be quite simple to start with.

LMac

http://www.abakhan.co.uk/ is supposed to be really good for cheap fabric.