I was into sewing for a while while underemployed. I really enjoyed it, but it sure needed a second room so I could leave the project in progress and close the door on it for a while and then come back.
There was a series of patterns I recall called something along the lines of “Make It Tonight!” that I recall being quite easy to follow and very satisfying. Not having to work on something for weeks made it a lot more fun to do. Not to mention the pleasure in having something unique to wear (unique, I hope, in a good way…) and something that was tailored for one’s own measurements.
But oh! Pants! How many times did I sew the friggin’ pockets wrong? I could see how it should be, and I knew it logically, but I’d still sew the pockets closed or wrong.
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sew cloth, wrong sides together, turn about so right sides are together, sew again. Raw edge is ‘captured’ in the second seam.
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Do you have to increase the seam allowance for that? I like the idea (especially since I tried it out on paper, attempting to visualise, as I haven’t sewn in ages) of the neatness of it.
I just started sewing. My mom gave me a sewing machine last Xmas. It took me and a friend about an hour to figure out the instructions how to thread the damn thing and get the bobbin in right. Once we got that, I was good to go.
I didn’t start working with patterns, though. I just kind of, I guess, am good at figuring out how (at least simple) things go together in my head, so I have been making my own patterns. The first thing I sewed was a lace hipscarf to wear with a long skirt to the renfaire. I sewed two scarves, the second had a coin trim on it, and made a sheer shawl to wear as well. Then I bravely constructed a simple black hobo-style bag, with a shoulder strap and one button holding it shut.
Inspired, I made about ten stockings this Christmas. Six of them were plain and I filled with cookies, and then I made some that were corduroy with felt designs put on with the sewing machine, plus some hand embroidery on top. It was pretty fun and super-easy… once I practiced sewing curves, that was about the extent of the difficulty. I sewed on tassels and bells by hand. You can see 'em here:
I’ve looked at some patterns, but quite frankly, the instructions confuse the Hell out of me. I’m going to try making myself some skirts, but I think I will either get one of those super-easy patterns for the terminally clueless, or else just try to freehand it with a tape measure and some scissors.
A bump to having plenty of seam rippers about. Some of us prefer to call it “un-sewing” though. Do yourself a favor, and preserve your sanity in the bargain, and buy a bolt of cheap muslin the next time it’s on sale[Og bless those 50% coupons] If you’re skittish about trying a new pattern, cut it out of muslin first and work out all the problems and mistakes beforehand. Fashion fabrics can be quite expensive, and some of them rebel at being un-sewed and re-sewn several times. Damn their fibres! You may not need to cut out the entire pattern with muslin. If collars are giving you difficulty, just cut that out and practice. Can’t see what a section might look like when it’s being worn? If you don’t have access to a dress dummy, ask your favorite adult to become your mannequin. It’s so much easier to see where you went wrong when you can see it from a distance. Sewing buddies are invaluable. None close by? Ask those nice ladies where you bought your fabric. Most people who work selling fabric are a font of information, and love to help out. Good luck, take a deep breath, and jump back on that machine!
I broke my sewing machine making Renn Faire outfits. I got it fixed and it broke again, so I said the hell with the piece of shit. One of these days I’ll get a new one, any advice on good brands? The one I threw out was a low end White I think. I don’t need all the electronic embroidery attachments with downloadable fonts or any of that crap, just some basic stitches.
Oh, good - I don’t feel so bad now. I’m making a quilt right now, and it’s my first try with setting points - I’ve been so intent on getting the triangles lined up that I keep screwing up and sewing things backwards. I’m really glad to know that this is a common mistake, because I was starting to feel like crap about it.
I have that book (or one of it’s updated books) - I started a rail fence quilt. No one told me that you have to measure and line up seams exactly (you’d think the book would tell you). My quilt top ended up half the size of what it was supposed to be.
It’s now in my rag bag, and I think I’m going to rip it up for scraps. I feel like I should hang onto it for posterity, as it’s the first quilt I attempted, but I don’t want to be reminded of it.
I’ve been dying to get back into sewing myself. The plan was for me to buy myself a sewing machine as an Xmas present to myself, but…well, financially, it wasn’t gonna happen last month. I’m hoping to be able to afford it this month, and this Singer is the one I’ve pretty much deicded on. Offers lots of options, but not too many fiddly bits to confuse me, since it’s been several years since I even looked at a machine.
I also picked up Vogue Sewing, which has a good explanation of many facets of basic clothing construction. I’ll be looking at some of the other books reccommended in this thread too.
I’ll second the first work-up being done in muslin, especially if it’s a first time trying that pattern, or using an expensive fabric.
Wow. I had no idea Butterick was so widely hated. I’ve been sewing for…35 years, and have never noticed any huge differences between the pattern companies, except that Vogue doesn’t take shortcuts (not for wimps). Maybe I’m just oblivious, or just use the pattern for the order, not the technique. There are of course basic skills that are assumed (like the width of a seam allowance, the tecnique for darts, etc) but things will get better for you, I’m sure!
French seams: sew first seam at 3/8", trim to 1/8", sew second seam at 1/4". I think. I didn’t look it up to be sure, but that’s what my middle-aged memory remembers. I used to do a much better job at sewing when I was a teen…french seams, flat-fell seams, facings, linings, hem tape, bound seams, bound button holes, ruffles, tailor tacks, dressmaker’s carbon …ah, the memories! Now, I take as many shortcuts as possible, and avoid interfacing unless absolutely necessary!
I was going to recommend this one as well. You can usually get a copy fairly cheaply at a secondhand book store, and it’s got a lot of good information.
I’ve also learned that if you rub a dryer sheet on a warm iron, it is supposed to remove the residue that is left if you iron the wrong side of fusible interfacing. It seemed to work on my iron, so I thought I’d pass it along.
The first thing I tried out when I got a machine was a pretty simple purse, but it didn’t turn out quite right either. For one thing, I somehow sewed it so that the handle ended up between the purse and lining, not once, but TWICE. Luckily, I’ve progressed, and this Halloween I managed to make up this costume for my 2 year old.
Wow! Gorgeous Christmas stockings! You could never get any pattern to personalize something like that…very creative and really beautiful.
Terrific Halloween costume too!
And I’m happy to report that my bag has turned out okay so far…sans lining, which I just can’t visualize and haven’t even attempted to put in. I’m going to ask a friend at work to help me. It’s not PERFECT, but I could carry it and no one would probably notice any imperfections.
In the meantime, I made a sock monkey. Yeah, I know, the machine wasn’t really necessary. But I really had fun making monkey jokes and sewing ears on and stuff. Consequently, he’s hideously ugly and his name is Gomer. His ears are crooked.
I’m dying to quilt…all the beautiful fabrics! Does anyone have a good suggestion for a good beginner’s quilt project? I’ve made a table runner (with my mom’s help) that turned out really very nice. But I really need a good BASIC pattern and good BEGINNER’S instructions so that I can do some fun things!
Thanks, everyone, for your help! I don’t feel so much like I’m in the Pit anymore!
Reader’s Digest to the rescue again–their Complete Guide to Needleworking has some simple quilting projects in it. Do just one square in a fairly large size and make a pillow top out of it. I’m just recommending that one because it’ll no doubt be easy to pick up at the public library.
If you’d prefer something more modern, there are a whole bunch of “simple quilting” books out there these days. Some of them are easier to understand than others. Check at the library and see what they’ve got, so you don’t spend money on a book that doesn’t explain things right. What you want to look for is something that tells you how to cut fabric with a rotary cutter and piece it all together in simple steps. Those might be available at the book store, too. Or the Crafter’s Choice book club (crafterschoice.com) if you want to get into that (I generally just look at their suggestions and then see what I can snag from the library).
One caveat: Don’t even think about any book by Jinny Beyer. The patterns are gorgeous, but she wants you to sew every last flippin’ piece by hand. NO THANKS!
Patterns are the devils own torture. You have to ignore the instructions and basically use logic.
My aunt taught me to sew when I was 15. Then, years later I took a university class which even further reduced the amount of time spent fussing with the pattern instructions.
Once I’ve fitted and cut out the patterns themselves? I only glance at the instructions for the pictures. They are originally written in sanskrit, translated to french, then back to sanskrit, then folded, stapled and mutilated, then given over to the manufacturers of “assemble it yourself” childrens bikes and other christmas toys to be finally translated to english.
Find a really good sewing instructor, preferably a retired Home Ec teacher or something, they’ll teach you all the great short cuts. It really is 'sew easy" provided you ignore the patterns and do it the way your grandma would have.
I’m jealous of your new machine, OH how I wish I could get a new one right now!!! Hey, if you decide you’re not up to the task, let me know, I’ll buy it from you
Best of luck. Truly, this learning phase doesn’t last long. You’ll be making the kid’s clothes in no time!
If you want to look for quilting projects, I’d suggest going to www.quilterscache.com and looking through the patterns. The woman who runs it has lord knows how many traditional quilt patterns archived, along with over a thousand original blocks she’s designed herself. Each block has very clear step-by-step instructions with illustrations, a picture of how an entire quilt in that block will look, photos of finished blocks, etc. Plus, she’s got tutorials on pretty much every step of the quilt-making process, complete with some really good illustrations. The alphabetical list of blocks has a little guide to let you know how difficult the piecing is, how big your block will be, whether there’s paper piecing or applique, etc.
My first quilt was painfully simple, just 6" blocks set in a five-block square with a 4" border around the whole thing. All but the central square had appliqued animals, but that was just because I was doing a Noah’s ark quilt. Then I moved up to alternating nine patches and snowball blocks, then to a fence rail pattern. Then I started playing with paper piecing and made Marcia’s Night Sky pattern, one of her flower patterns that I can’t think of the name right now. And then I did my own paper piecing design of a rose. (It didn’t look nearly so roselike in fabric as it did on paper, but it was still really neat.)
One thing you might look into is doing a quillow, one of those blankets you can fold up into a pillow. I made some of these for Christmas, and they’re good for learning a lot of the technique of quitmaking. Basically, you make either a 16" block or join 4 8" blocks and quick-turn it to make a quilted panel with finished edges. Then you put that in the bottom center of a solid (or pieced if you really want) length of fabric and topstitch it on. Then you quilt the whole beast. This site calls for quick-turning the quilt itself, too, but I prefer to layer, quilt, and bind in the more traditional manner. What I really love about these is that I can do some really elaborate blocks and only make one or two of them instead of a whole quilt’s worth. You still get the impact of the elaborate pattern, but with a fraction of the work.
Originally Posted by ChoosyChipsand Ceiling Whacks
*In the meantime, I made a sock monkey. Yeah, I know, the machine wasn’t really necessary. But I really had fun making monkey jokes and sewing ears on and stuff. Consequently, he’s hideously ugly and his name is Gomer. His ears are crooked. *
I got my mom’s 1940s model Singer this summer (black cast iron, straight stitch ONLY but it does stitch backwards) and I spent an entire Saturday also making a sock monkey!!! Good thing I had 6 red heel socks because of course I screwed up cutting out the arms and had to use an extra one or two. I think the machine was necessary for making the legs and arms, but yes, a LOT of hand sewing was involved. I think all sock monkeys are so ugly that they are cute. Mine is named Underpants. Full name is Sock Monkey Underpants. I have the mini socks to make mini sock monkeys but I figure that is ALL hand sewing and I don’t have the patience. By the by, what pattern did you use for your handbag? I have a McCall’s (I think) for a fake Vera Bradley which I have not started because I cannot find nice quilted fabric.
I’m dying to quilt…all the beautiful fabrics! Does anyone have a good suggestion for a good beginner’s quilt project? I’ve made a table runner (with my mom’s help) that turned out really very nice. But I really need a good BASIC pattern and good BEGINNER’S instructions so that I can do some fun things!
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Ask around at fabric stores and quilt shops, they’ll be able to lead you to a local quilt guild. Finding people who do what you want to learn can be invaluable. You’ll find beginners to old hands, machine folk and hand sewers too. Armed with a basic book, may I humbly suggest QIAD’s Log Cabin[my apologies and condolences to Cicada2003 you’ll be able to get all your questions answered and fears allayed, by being with those who love to make quilts. This stuff isn’t brain surgery, and you’re SUPPOSED to have a good time. If you can sew a straight seam, with a consistent seam allowance, you’re well on your way to completing most quilts. Keep your first few projects simple as you and others have suggested. Once you feel confident, you can then begin to branch out. Repost with any questions, as you’ve seen, there are a lot of us here who will help you out.
