Does anyone else make their own clothes

JoolzS

I only started to sew about two years ago and there are two websites I have found invaluable:-

The first one is http://www.craftster.org/ - both the Clothing and the Sewing in General forums are brilliant. A lot of the craftsters post tutorials for items they have made which means you don't necessarily have to immediately spend money buying patterns. There are lots of patterns/tutorials for patterns for little girls.

The second one is the message board at http://sewing.patternreview.com/ You can ask any questions and no-one will think you are stupid, but chances are the question you need to ask will have already been asked and answered.

One money saving thing that I do for sewing is to trawl second hand shops looking for quilt (duvet) covers. I found a really pretty cream and pink one today that cost me just £2.00. It's a double, which is more than enough to make two adult dresses, or a dress, a skirt and some other bits and pieces. I also occasionally find nicely patterned curtains at a bargain price.

Right at this moment http://www.habithat.co.uk/ has Simplicity patterns reduced from the normal £7.95 to £3.95 each. I've been waiting weeks for this sale (Simplicity seem to have them a few times a year) so I bought seven patterns - £28.00 (ish) for seven instead of £55.65! I have to also mention that the pattern review website mentioned above also saved me nearly £8.00 because two patterns I was tempted to buy had very bad reviews on that site, so I took them out of my shopping basket :cheesy:.

Good luck with your new hobby - enjoy it and don't get too frustrated. Some things just come out wrong (known as "wadders"), but when you find that perfect pattern it's fantastic. I have a skirt pattern that I've made seven times so far, and have fabric to make at least another three, and a simple fitted t-shirt pattern that I've made four times. Even then things can go wrong, the last t-shirt I made came out too small for some inexplicable reason, but I gave it to my mum because it fits her perfectly.

Julie

Fourcandles_3

Find an easy pattern and some CHEAP fabric. Accept you are going to make mistakes and consider this a practice run. Even professional dressmakers make a toile or rough draft so don't be disappointed when you make a mistake (you will, we all do).

Practice with your sewing machine. Love her and she will love you back. Get used to the buttonhole stitch before you go anywhere near the actual garment you want to buttonhole. (If you don't have time to practice you don't have time to remake the entire thing when you mess it up, use a hook and eye if it's an emergency;))

If you make a skirt, next time make a top or trousers. Remember that different patterns require different skills. There are several different types of waistbands for example but you only need to know the one you are working on. Don't try to run too quickly.

If you need help ask. Either here https://www.thesewingforum.co.uk or look here http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk/KatePages/Learning/learning_zone.htm

Remember if you sew, you will unpick. It's a fact. Fabric can be expensive (usually more than ready to wear (RTW) clothes. Credit cards should not be allowed near a fabric store this side of a major lottery win.

Sewing when tired ends BADLY. I know. Invest in a good pair of fabric scissors and threaten with murder anyone who goes near paper with them. You will spend the rest of your life obsessed with scissors:):rotfl:

If a pattern a particular type of material USE that one or ask at the fabric store until you know how to adapt it. Stretchy and woven fabric behave differently, for a start woven will end up bigger.

Never be tempted to sew on the bias UNLESS the pattern is bias cut. See Kate's pages, for some horror stories, but basically diagonally (bias) the fabric has a stretch and will pull to the side. It's why on some rtw you get that twist because they cut one side on the grain (straight) and one on the bias :mad:.

Good luck and enjoy it.

Mrs_Flittersnoop

I've said this in the other sewing thread but one of the best general basic sewing books available here is the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing. This is expensive new, but you can often pick up secondhand copies in charity shops, online auctions etc. Don't be put off if you can only find old versions; most dressmakers prefer the older editions because they also contain comprehensive tailoring advice, the newer ones focus more on home sewing. However, either will do to begin with!

You should get a manual with your new sewing machine which will help with the basic threading up, use of different feet etc. Any of the online sewing forum chatrooms will help if you get into difficulties; sewing people are the nicest people;) . Personally I would start with making something from a firmly woven cotton to begin with, since it's nice and easy to work with and the stitches are easy to see if you have to unpick. Just practice sewing straight lines to begin with (a tip I often use is to sew along lined paper with no thread in the machine just to get used to sewing straight, don't watch the needle but the edge of the foot - sounds wrong but it works) and then pick something fairly squarish to sew. I think a million years ago I started by making dolls' bedding. Your morsbags sound ideal although sometimes bags can be tricky if they need to be lined, shaped, etc.

Or you can jump in at the deep end and make up a simple cotton skirt for either you or your daughter, they can be as easy as sewing up one straight seam and putting elastic round the top, and hemming.

HTH, I'm happy to try and answer any other questions if I can.
Mrs F x

purpleivy

I've just started to go to a sewing club in Widnes. I found out about it on The Sewing Forum. There is a huge wealth of sewers there all willing to help. ALso local classes and clubs are advertised there.

http://www.thesewingforum.co.uk/index.php

It's OK to follow instructions on a pattern. I always thought that they were the same, but I've just worked from a Burda pattern. Although their patterns are stylish, the instructions and diagrams do leave something to be desired!

kethry

the thing i would say is - and i write here from experience - about patterns and sizes is:

1) ignore the pattern sizing. makes sure you measure yourself accurately and then compare those measurements to the pattern (there should be a little table, with most patterns, saying that X waist measurement = X clothes size). It doesn't matter if you're making a 14 when in the shops you're a 12 or a 16. its not like there's going to be a label inside it for anyone to peek at the size!

2) if you have a bust size that is anything other than a B cup, you will have to amend any tops made accordingly. unless its one of those rare patterns that gives different patterns for different cup sizes (they do exist, but they are rare), most patterns assume you are a B cup and leave it to you to adjust accordingly (if you're bigger than a B cup, its called a Full Bust Adjustment and there are instructions out there on the net, just google Full Bust Adjustment - FBA for short).

For this reason i'd recommend against doing a top for your first garment, at least for you (children's clothes, obviously, don't have this problem, but babies outfits, because they are so small are quite fiddly). A skirt is probably the easiest to do.

I'd also go with what Mrs Flittersnoop said about the Reader's Digest guide to sewing. Your local library should have a copy if you want to have a read before you buy, or you can trawl the charity shops as she said.

I'd also go with what Olliebeak said about practicing with your sewing machine. I use an old sheet to make dummy runs of patterns, which is invaluable for me as i'm a D cup, but you could also use it for practicing particular stitches.

good luck!!

keth
xx

p.s. if you ever get into Manchester then you could do a lot worse than to visit Abakhan Fabrics - don't know if you know Manchester at all, but its in the little back streets behind Debenhams. Its a large fabric store - the first floor holds rolls of material, patterns, ribbons, buttons, etc. etc., the ground floor has a craft section (all kinds of crafts - knitting, cardmaking/scrapbooking, beads, the lot), and best of all, a reduced section - both proper rolls of fabric that have been reduced, and bargain "bins", where offcuts of fabric are sold by weight. you can often pick up very cheap material here for practicing with, doesn't matter if the colours/pattern on it is horrible, if its just for practice.. well worth a visit.

sylphraven

Thought you guys would like to know, House of fraser are having a sale on their simplicity patterns, each only £3.95p! Treated myself to a few including a pattern for PJs for myself & the kids which I'll use some matching bedding I was given to make them out of, perfect for summer

P.S found out that simplicity are selling their patterns for this price through all their stockists as well as butterick patterns being 1/2 price (thanks Always Harassed)

JoolzS

I've just remembered a book that I bought just after buying my sewing machine a couple of years ago and it gave me a huge amount of confidence to just "give it a go" rather than being scared to start. The book is "Yeah, I Made It Myself" by Eithne Farry. I got it out of the library, skimmed through it once, and immediately ordered it from Amazon.

The very first thing I made with my new machine was the simple A-line skirt from the book. It was made from half a second-hand quilt cover plus a zip so it cost me around £1.50 to make. The book doesn't have patterns as such, more like ideas to get you started.

A place I have found for bargain fabrics is the shops that supply fabrics for Asian ladies. I have found two in Southampton so far, but there may be more as one of them is tucked away down a side street and is in what would once have been the front room of a house. They often sell fabrics in "suits" which mean you get approximately 2m each of three different fabrics. These "suits" of fabrics are designed for a salwar kameez (long tunic plus loose trousers) and a scarf, but can obviously be used for anything you want. The last one I bought was in a gorgeous green/cream print and cost me just £10.00 for the six metres. The shops also often sell other fabrics by the metre at very good prices.

Julie

Caterina

Most adult education institutes run sewing/clothesmaking classes, ask your local library for a listing.

Fabrics are super-cheap at market stalls, and also very good to go to jumble sales, get clothes/curtains/sheets/tablecloths for pennies and then re-use the fabric.

For very cheap patterns, one way to do it is to take one of these £1 for 3 issues of Prima magazine, as it comes with a free pattern, then default and rejoin again. Also, charity shops sometimes have patterns, and if you do an internet search there must be some site that has free patterns too - I haven't tried yet.

I made my first A-line skirt the other day in my textiles class (London, Greenwich), lined and with pockets, using fabric already available at the class. We (teacher and I) made the pattern following an existing skirt of mine, and all it cost me was £0.50 donation for the material and thread!

Caterina

Middlestitch

Very clear, helpful instructions and simple patterns - ideal for someone starting to sew again. Can't remember if they are in the Simplicity or the Style pattern books, but it's one or the other. Good luck!

AussieLass

I dusted off my sewing machine a few months ago being inspired from the other thread. I started with doing a couple of bean bags (straight seams) and then progressing on to simple garments. Don't believe some of the patterns when they call them EASY :rolleyes:

But here is a few websites I found great to wander around. Look at you tube too, it helped with putting zippers in. HTH

http://sewing.patternreview.com/
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php
http://artisanssquare.com/sg/index.php
http://www.cedesign.com/familyphotos/sewing/info/index.html