I’m supposed to be good with my hands. “Creative,” even. As such, I excitedly looked forward to my combined Christmas/birthday gift this year: a brand new, rather high end sewing machine.
“I can make stuff!” thought I.
“I can make clothes and bags and quilts! I can make bedroom slippers! I can decorate my house with hand made draperies and fancy cushions!”
I was hopping up and down in front of the house when the UPS man brought my new machine. And then reality hit me hard.
I can’t put this fucking handbag together! The first thing I did was put the hot iron down on the wrong side of the interfacing (i.e., the side with GLUE on it). It took me three days to figure out how to do darts. Then I sewed it together wrong approximately fifty seven times.
The pattern says “It’s Sew Easy” and yet, I find that it’s NOT “sew easy.” In fact, it’s danged HARD. But I can’t figure out why. It’s a handbag with a total of four parts. I mean, that doesn’t count the lining, but don’t even get me started on that.
Clearly, I need sewing patterns for retards. Maybe I should have started out with pajama bottoms…at least I would know which end was UP.
I’m trying to console myself with the fact that the first thing I ever knitted was a hat with a hole in it and now I’m a pretty snazzy knitter. Someday I’ll look back on this and laugh.
“Ha ha,” I’ll say, “wasn’t that funny when it took me a month to sew a little hand bag and then it looked like crap.”
Someone remind me: Are after-work hobbies supposed to cause you to become red-faced and bellow out a stream of curses?
Had to check your posting history to figure out who you were. Did you ever get rid of your roommate? If not perhaps sewing something for him will help.
What good is a hobby if it doesn’t drive you half insane and make you cuss like a drunken sailor?
So, you ordered a a super delux, she-she-foo-foo sewing machine, and you thought you’d actually be able to SEW with it! HAHA!
I have a 50 year old model that belonged to my mom and I can bairly get the beast to stitch. One of those new fangled things would send me right over the edge.
Let me guess. You learned how to use a machine back in high school home ec, but that was years ago, and they never went into the more complex facets of clothing construction and such anyway. I feel your pain. The one time I tried to make a bathrobe from one of those “Ready to wear in an hour” patterns, it took me almost five hours and a couple solid rounds of cussing. And that was just a basic kimono thingy. That was five years ago, and it was the last bit of clothing I’ve ever attempted.
I have, however, made a whole slew of quilts in the last year, and that’s been really fun. I am the grand high empress of the straight line, which is all you need for a whole slew of quilt patterns.
But I also made a handbag, and that was by far the most frustrating of the projects I’ve done since getting my machine. The directions assumed I know a lot more about sewing than I do, and they used terms that I wasn’t really sure what they meant. A lot of the stuff that really stymied me was stuff that would have been no big deal if I’d had someone more experienced there to spend five seconds translating for me or showing me how to do it. It turned out darn nice though; I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on it, and I’m thinking about making myself another one in different colors.
It’s not you - honest.
I am not a very experienced sewer (seamstress? I can’t use that word since discovering Pratchett) but my mom certainly is. I picked the world’s easiest dress pattern to turn into a Halloween costure and had a nightmare of a time. I was even TRYING to follow the instructions. Then mom was kind enough to point out that pattern instructions are completely useless. Among other things - they skip steps and leave out crucial information, under the assumption that you must already know how to do that part. First against the wall when the revolution comes…
You need to either find an experienced sewer to help teach you… or find a book that explains things.
I kinda like The Complete Book of Sewing put out by Reed Books Canada… it’s got step by step pictures for everything from working with patterns and cutting out the cloth… to custom tailoring tips. If I ever have a problem or can’t figure something out I go running for this book (or call my Grandma…)
Simply the Best Sewing Book by Simplicity (expanded revised ed) should give you a good start.
I’ve been doing costumes and garb for years (though not as much as my professional seamstress relatives) and I still consider myself an amature - that the heavens for french seams.
I have screwed up more projects than I ever completed.
I got a sewing machine for Christmas about five years ago, and it took me a long time to learn how to make any clothing that I could actually wear in public without being ridiculed. My mom has many years of experience with sewing, and her advice when she gave me the machine was “invest in a good seam ripper, because you’ll be using it.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sewn the wrong seam together, ripped the whole thing apart and started over, only to make the exact same mistake!
I recommend starting with a basic Simplicity pattern – maybe a straight skirt without a waistband (they usually have two darts in the front and two in the back). Stay away from Butterick patterns at all costs. I tried to make a Butterick suit and ended up with a pile of mismatched fabric. I think I’d need a master’s in engineering to figure out the instructions.
Oh, and sign up for the Joann’s Fabrics flyer. You’ll save a fortune if you stock up on patterns during the 99-cent sales.
Err…what are french seams? (You had to know that was coming.)
You guys are RIGHT ON! For one thing, yes, I did sew as a youngster. I was obviously an amateur, but I made myself clothes and hats that I wasn’t ashamed of wearing. I mean, I got out something I made when I was 15 the other day and it’s beautiful…it has cuffs, buttons and button holes. It’s sadly out of style, but I did a lovely job on it.
How have I forgotten everything I knew?
This machine isn’t one of those nutty things that embroiders its own Disney characters. But it threads my needle for me and runs more easily than anything I’ve ever used before. I guess I thought that would make me able to run farther and jump higher.
I think a good portion of the problem lies in the fact that I used to sew with my mother, grandmother, and even GREAT grandmother near by to give me a clue if I lacked one. Now they’re all too far away to be of any help!
I sew clothes (as long as they don’t require buttonholes) and piece quilts, and I’ve noticed that sometimes the first one you have to bury in the dark of night out in the backyard.
I have a great sewing maching (the 50-year-old model that was my mom’s). It has eight zillion attachments that will do everything, if only you can figure them out, only I never could figure them out, except for the buttonholer, even with my mom’s help.
I once made a quilt. Log Cabin pattern. I used a book called How to Make a Quilt in a Day with easy to follow instructions and lots of illustrations.
I usualy trim the raw edge a bit to make sure there are no threads sticking out when the second seam is sewn.
Make this a second vote for stay away from Butterick at all costs. I made my sister’s wedding dress. I drafted the pattern, I dyed the silk, and I hand beaded the thing. (wish the marriage was as good as that dress was) When it came time for my bridesmaid’s dress I was getting really tight on time and I used a Butterick pattern. It was horrid. None of the seams lined up. If it wasn’t for several really good cutters at the theatre I was working at at the time I would have wound up walking down the isle swathed in about 7 yards of burgandy watered satin sort of stapled places for strategic cover, cause it was never gonna work the way it was patterned.
Aw… take some time out from kicking yourself and go to the library and get the Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing. And in this case, if you get the older edition it’s even better. (Ordinarily I would not be caught dead even mentioning the Reader’s Digest, much less recommending them, but in this case they actually put out a good book, and nothing has been condensed or had the dirty words summarily removed.)
That’s got directions for everything, and it assumes the reader knows nothing, and it has lots and lots of pictures showing you which way is up.
Yup. I’ve been sewing since 1964, have made super-complicated patterns (ask my daughter **Dragonblink **about her full-length camel-hair coat sometime) and king-size quilts, and I can tell you, the seam ripper is the one absolutely, positively essential tool. I have three of 'em so I’ll always be able to find one when I need one. I’ve even managed to sew two simple squares of a quilt block together backwards–twice in a row. I once put the zipper on the wrong side of a skirt and didn’t discover the mistake until it was way too late to fix it. I wouldn’t want to give up my trusty sewing machine, which was top-of-the-line when I bought it in 1975, because I doubt I could figure out one of those computerized gizmos. I’ll just stick with what works. And keep all my seam rippers handy.
Well, now you people have done it. After posting in this thread, I simply could not rest until I went out and got some spring-type fabrics to make myself another damned purse. I certainly hope you’re satisfied.
Damn sewing Dopers and their damn inspiration. Damn lack of impulse control.