OS home sewing

voodoozoe

The last thing I made was a really cute dog coat for our greyhound (sadly no longer with us) but I don't attempt anything too tricky.

I have a Bernina sewing machine which is a second hand recon and I bought it cos it was almost identical to the one I used to use at college.

Bernina is a Swiss make and apparently "the Rolls Royce of sewing machines" because "all the parts are individually cast"...all I know is it's very reliable and I wouldn't be without it!!!

frugalfairy_3

Nabowla, if you use long handled shears for cutting out, open the blades wide and gently rest the underneath blade on the cutting surface and close them together, cutting the fabric all along the length of the scissors. If you do this slowly, you'll get much longer cuts and hopefully straighter ones. If you get really keen on sewing, I use a rotary blade cutter (looks like a pizza cutter) primarily used for quilting and a special mat. As I'm left handed it makes life a lot easier and quicker and I'm less likely to cut the pattern out wonky :xmassmile eek, sorry, Meadowcat, I've just re-read your reply and you've already covered most of this, sorry

Voodoozoe: I have a Bernina too, wouldn't swap it for the world. It's the one thing I would rush to take with me (after the cat :snow_laug ) in the event of a fire. I use mine just about every day, but then I'm one of those weird people who likes to make practically everything I wear

Happy sewing! FF

Yorkielass

My mum gave me her sewing machine when we went to visit last week :j It's about 25 years old and her eye sights not good enough to do much sewing and she's hardly used it recently so she's given it to me :T Looking forward to making some stuff on it

I've done a few dresses in the past and think I'm going to try and make myself a dress as I find dresses hard to find that I like, plenty of other craft projects in the pipeline now though :rolleyes:

Queenie

inkie wrote:

....

I subscribe to Prima magazine and they have patterns in there every month.

Dare I admit ... .... I have the original first issue of Prima (plus subsequent issues, but then tailed off after 1995 with only buying it periodically)


nabowla - I only do minimal clothes sewing ( I mainly quilt/make gifts/make household things) but the mat and rotary cutter that frugalfairy mention can make things so very much easier when it comes to cutting out. If you were going to make curtains of any type ... then a quilters ruler (I have a large one + large cutting mat) makes the task very much easier again for getting accurate straight lines! The only advice regarding the cutting mat (they are called "self healing mats" too) is to invest in the largest you can afford. I began with a very small one ... 5yrs ago I received my big one for Christmas and it almost covers my dining table and is brilliant!!

Enjoy every stitching moment

joannasmum

Hi
I've been given a new Sewing machine for xmas, think its pretty good, came from Lidl when they were on offer afew weeks ago. The only thing I've ever made is a pair of oven gloves when I was at school. Can anybody recommed a "learn to sew" book. I'm planning to go to night school but the next course only starts after easter so i would like to learn the basicss before then

Thank in advance

Addiscomber

Hi,
I'm new here, but just had to register to join in this discussion. Like the original poster I am tall and, despite the lack of local fabric shops and the cost of buying fabric by mail order, I still find it worthwhile to make some of my own clothes, and I also get more choice. My sons are also tall (strange that!!) and I am currently making them fleece drssing gowns with fabric purchased from Ebay shops and a pattern bought from an Ebay auction. The end cost will be similar to ready to wear ones, BUT they have been able to choose the features (one wants a hood, the other doesn't) and the length, and I have lengthened the sleeves.

I think the trick to making sewing clothing worthwhile is to be selective. It is rarely possible to save money making casual clothes like T shirts but it is usually worthwhile to make better quality clothes, especially if you care about the fit of your clothing.

As for books, these two are quite good. Older ones often turn up on Ebay, but beause they are heavy the P&P tends to be rather high, so it is probably worth considering new from somewhere like Amazon if you can get free postage. (Other books come up on Ebay but they are usually so old that they will not mention the up-to-date fabrics and sewing methods, equipment and so on.)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0762104201/ref=br_b_ts_3//026-7178344-1188409
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789496585/ref=pd_sim_b_dp_4/026-7178344-1188409

My local library is useless for sewing books (a sign of the decline in interest??) but does have both of these. It would be worth having a look to see if you can borrow them first, as most people seem to prefer one or the other.

There is also a lot of instructional stuff on the Internet.
http://www.sew-whats-new.com/sewinglessons/
http://www.sewing.org/enthusiast/html/e_learntosew.html

are just two for starters. Just try Googling for sewing lessons.

Addiscomber

meadowcat

Welcome Addis. Excellent advice. Those websites are very good. I've often found that the American sites are far better for sewing and knitting advice and have lots of free patterns. They seem to be much more into sewing than UK. But I suspect it is much easier for them to get fabric. I'm in N.I. and there are very few places to buy fabric here. Buying online from UK mainland attracts hefty delivery charges for N.I.

http://www.morplan.com/webapp/commerce/command/CategoryDisplay?cgrfnbr=9629&cgmenbr=16251

Morplan sell some interesting things for dressmaking. They have special rulers and other things for pattern making. For anyone interested in making their own patterns, there is an excellent book by Winifred Aldrich called Metric Pattern Cutting.

meadowcat

voodoozoe wrote:

I have a Bernina sewing machine which is a second hand recon and I bought it cos it was almost identical to the one I used to use at college.

Bernina is a Swiss make and apparently "the Rolls Royce of sewing machines" because "all the parts are individually cast"...all I know is it's very reliable and I wouldn't be without it!!!

Just wondering what make of sewing machines everyone has (those that have one).

I have a Husqvarna Orchidea embroidery machine. It is a real workhorse and can go through many layers - even layers of denim. Unlike some of the embroidery machines available, it doesn't sacrafice sewing quality for the sake of the embroidery. I love it - but I would love one of the top of the range Husqvarna Designer SE even better. :snow_laug :snow_laug

I also have an old Singer industrial - scarily fast.

Rebob

A toyota. It has been a real workhorse and is ready again for me to clean and oil. Made countless pairs of curtains which would have just too pricey otherwise and has made some clothes and lots of repairs and alterations.

maryb

I have a Bernina which is one of the old ones made in Switzerland. I love that machine and wouldn't be parted from it. But be aware - the new ones are made in the far East and while they are very good they are not as solidly made as the old ones. That's why if you see old ones on Ebay they often cost as much as a new one