Does anyone else make their own clothes

Leopardlady

I was thinking of starting to make some clothes. I am hoping to get pregnant soon and thought that making clothes for maternity could be cheaper? Also baby stuff for afterwards. All stuff that may not be worn for very long, but would be good if it was individual in style.
My mother is going to give me her sewing machine as she doesn't use it anymore. I will be back to have a good read. I live in Swindon, i have an indian/asian shop at the end of my street so that will be where i am going to look for fabric.

flea72

Leopardlady wrote: »

I was thinking of starting to make some clothes. I am hoping to get pregnant soon and thought that making clothes for maternity could be cheaper? Also baby stuff for afterwards. All stuff that may not be worn for very long, but would be good if it was individual in style.
My mother is going to give me her sewing machine as she doesn't use it anymore. I will be back to have a good read. I live in Swindon, i have an indian/asian shop at the end of my street so that will be where i am going to look for fabric.

maternity patterns are few and far between, and the styles can be a bit twee to say the least

Although from memory i think Burda do some, and Jalie have some patterns that are good for maternity and nursing afterwards.

I mainly sew for my children, as i like one off designer styling, but at Primark prices. i dont know how skilled you are at sewing, but if you want individual styling for your kids, then you cant beat https://www.ottobredesign.com

Flea

TheDoolallyDilly

flea72 wrote: »

honestly, John Lewis at Bluewater has a really dire selection of fabric, so its prob not worth the trip.

Dont know where in Kent you are, but if you are prepared to drive to Bluewater, then it might be better going through the tunnel and heading for Romford, or Basildon, as they have some fabric stores/market stalls, or even Ikea, as i use alot of ikea fabric for clothing (rather than soft furnishing)

have you tried looking in Yellow Pages for towns within driving distance of yourself. Being a bit of a fabriholic, i quite often arrange a day out for the family around a shop i can visit (they havent cottoned on yet lol), or if going on holiday, i check out what shops are in the area, and conveniently arrange 'detours'. Or ask around on forums for their best local shop, and see if its worth a trip.

www.fabricland.co.uk - have stores all around the southcoast and south M25, and have quite a good varied selection of fabrics.

Personally, i think nothing of travelling 100 miles to look around a fabric store, actually rephrase that, 1000s miles, as im planning a trip to the US just so i can visit all the shops my US sewing friends rave about lol

Flea

Ooh, now I could persuade the family that they'd like a day out in Brighton, then we could go to the Fabric Land shop there! Thanks, flea.

I would probably go to the Oxford Street John Lewis - I know what you mean about the fabric selection at the Bluewater one. My MIL (a very talented tailoress) lives in an area with more fabric shops, so I can have a look when we visit. When I get the time, I'm going to have a look in the telephone directory.

TDD x

TheDoolallyDilly

flea72 wrote: »

maternity patterns are few and far between, and the styles can be a bit twee to say the least

I made some maternity clothes when I was pregnant - I had a couple of lovely Vogue patterns - not at all twee, or smocky. The reason I was making my own was because I couldn't find a suitable dress to wear to my SIL's wedding that wasn't a big, flowery maternity tent!

I don't know if Vogue still do maternity patterns?

TDD x

wendym

I've just done a pattern sort - I found my maternity mac; the pattern (designed by Barbara Hulanicki, of Biba) cost 37p! I have a bag of old patterns that could best be filed under 'what were you thinking', and I really need a new pattern for a long mac.

I have no access to pattern books where I live, and a trawl of online sites hasn't produced anything suitable. I don't want a fitted trenchcoat, or a parka, just a not-insanely-difficult long coat/mac. I had a pattern that I idiotically lent, and of course didn't get back - this is a long shot - have any of you recently looked through pattern books in the coat/mac section, and does my description ring any bells?

maryb

Re maternity clothes. Look for a skirt or trouser patter with a central panel with fastenings on either side at the waistband and use sliders to adjust the waistband - the sort they use on men's suit trousers. If you can't get sliders a series of buttons will do the trick but sliders are quicker to do up

this saves huge amounts of time and dignity when you have ante natal appointments. You lie down fully clothed then just undo the central panel so the midwife can access your bump

kate83

Hi,
I'm hoping to get a sewing machine for christmas - but I've not used one for over 10years - and that was only a bit at school to hem the edge of a hankie and do a bit of aplique!

I'm hoping to make some fairly basic stuff - cushion covers, shopping bags (morsbags) and dresses for my little girl - just wondering if anyone knew of any good websites or books to teach me the very basics of using a sewing machine and also about seams, joins and other dressmaking skills.
I don't know anybody that can teach me and there's no night classes around me at the moment.

Thanks

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Pink.

Hi Kate,

These threads may help you:

Does anyone else sew their own clothes

Learning to sew....

what can i sew now?

Pink

Olliebeak

kate83 wrote: »

Hi,
I'm hoping to get a sewing machine for christmas - but I've not used one for over 10years - and that was only a bit at school to hem the edge of a hankie and do a bit of aplique!

I'm hoping to make some fairly basic stuff - cushion covers, shopping bags (morsbags) and dresses for my little girl - just wondering if anyone knew of any good websites or books to teach me the very basics of using a sewing machine and also about seams, joins and other dressmaking skills.
I don't know anybody that can teach me and there's no night classes around me at the moment.

Thanks

This may sound a bit daft, but I learned by reading the instructions that came with a pattern and following them to the letter! That was about 40 years ago - but pattern instructions have hardly changed since then. I only ever did hand-sewing at school - was never considered good enough to be allowed to get my fingers anywhere near a sewing machine - to my teacher! I've since gone on to make Holy Communion dresses, bridesmaid's dresses, evening dresses, maternity dresses, children's outfits, properly lined coats and many more.

I would recommend going to a fabric shop and looking through the pattern books. They all have a 'quick and easy' range which would probably suit you to start off with, as you do have some basic experience.

I would also recommend that you get some old fabric (maybe an item of clothing that's no longer wanted) to practice sewing with - just to get the feel of the machine and used to how fast it operates with the foot pedal. You don't want to sit down for the first time with expensive fabric and then find that the thing 'runs away with you'. Practice a bit first with different stitch lengths, widths (if it's a zig-zag model), speeds, going backwards and forwards, turning corners neatly etc.

If you google the type of bag that you're wanting to make, I'm sure you'll find a website that will tell you how to make it. It's amazing what's on the web for free.

Good Luck and I hope you have many years of happy creating ahead of you .

butterfly72

Try this: http://www.stitchclub.co.uk/node

They have just started adult classes and there might be one in your area. I've just signed up to the beginners and the next level will be making your own clothes! I've noticed they also do a book for beginners. Might be worth having a look.

Good luck.