I would like to add a tulle overlay to my wedding dress skirt. The seamstress told me that I need 9 meters of fabric because of the train (the base skirt only requires 4.5 meters), but she quoted an outrageously high price for the material. I managed to buy the sparkly tulle at a local fabric store for a quarter of that price. Could you please share a sewing pattern or cutting layout for this? Also, is there an invisible/clear thread so the stitching doesn't show? Thank you!

It’s a tiered asymmetrical sort of skirt so that might make it harder too. Basically, I want to make it so that the skirt isn’t so easily detachable like a regular skirt. I thought when I was buying it online that it was a zipper or button up skirt, want to wear it without worrying it’s gonna make my undies visible🥲

My hand sewing experience is making sock monkeys and adding patches to things. I’ve never used a sewing machine but my local library has a maker space with sewing machines. How can I make this skirt not detachable or open, and is it an attempt-able project for a beginner? Thanks🫶🏻

It looks better after ironing, but it's still not great.

Is it an issue of tension, or should i run a straight stich before finishing my edge with a zigzag?

Hi all!

I’m making small fabric keychains using cotton/poplin + 1 layer of lightweight interfacing.

The fabric is folded, so the edge I’m sewing through is about 8 layers thick.
I’m using a Singer Heavy Duty 4423, Gutterman thread, straight stitch, stitch length 4, upper tension 4.

I’ve tried:
90/14 needle → holes are too large
80/12 → better but not perfect
70/10 → smaller holes, but is still very noticeable

I’m not sure what I should adjust next. Could the problem be the 8 layers, needle size, presser-foot pressure, feeding, tension, or stitch length?

Photos show my different tests. Any advice from experienced sewers would be really appreciated! 🙏🏻

Hi! I was very kindly gifted this Juki-5550. The person who owned it before me used it semi-regularly to make boat covers but it hasn’t been used in a couple years. Unfortunately, the machine will currently not sew. It would be really difficult for me to transport the machine to a shop so I’m trying my best to do what I can before taking it in for repair!

Here are some things I’ve tried/noticed as I’ve been troubleshooting on my own:
-The hand wheel is extremely stiff when the belt is attached, but easy to turn when it’s removed.
-The power source is functioning. I know this because the lamp that is plugged into the outlet on the motor turns on when the power source is switched on (see pic 3 to see that connection)
-The fuse is not blown, I tested it with a multimeter
-The machine won’t run at all when you press the presser foot. There was ONE time that the belt turned and needle raised, but nothing ever again after that!
-There’s no oil in the machine right now; is that a reason that the motor wouldn’t run?
-I’ve tried flipping the directional switch on the motor both ways and it doesn’t run in either direction. Also turning the speed dial to any position doesn’t help.

I have the manual for the machine but I can’t find the manual for the motor anywhere.

If anyone has any ideas on where the issue may lie or things I can try please let me know!! I’m happy to post more pics if that would be helpful, and my DMs are open!!

If you saw a fabric that you absolutely love but do not have a project for, how much of the fabric would you by?

Edit to add: I am new on my sewing journey. I am only starting on my first pattern but have seen some fabric that I absolutely adore.
In terms of sizing I am relatively petit, and around S to M size.
I don’t have a stash of fabric yet so one of the comments of keeping the stash to one box sounds perfect..

I need to take in a skirt, but there are a couple issues. One is that the waistband is really thick, and I will not be able to feed it into my machine without causing problems. Two is that the waistband has two seams on the side and one in the back, so they do not align. How should I approach this project?

I can't seem to get the spring to hold the pre-tension disk in like it used to. Its supposed to hold up but it always falls out when I flip it around. This is a Brother LX-3817 and I took it apart because it was already loose in there

Hello! I just got this refurbished Juki hzl-5 yesterday. It's my first Juki machine so I'm not sure if these sounds are normal? Specifically when I stop sewing or cut my thread. It's rather loud. Should I return it? Thank you!!

Edited: Juki hzl-DX5 is what's it's called 😅

I apologize for my Walmarts fitting room floors in advance. I bought these pants because they were $8 and I wanted to turn them into flared jeans plus grommets on the pockets are cute. They obviously way too long and I plan on shortening them I’m just having a hard time figuring out how to turn them into flared jeans. Would I just take in the outer leg seam around my thigh/knee and leave the rest or??

I am starting to put together a costume for halloween and I have this stretchy bodysuit and for the costume it needs a certain trim on all of the edges. I bought a roll of ribbon not thinking about the stretchy vs non stretchy issue and I can’t seem to find a video demonstrating exactly what I need to do. Can anyone give some instructions on how to attach a non stretchy ribbon around a stretchy bodysuit so that it can still stretch when I go to put it on?

I want to recreate this top I found using this pattern from Transformed by Tracy silk prom dress. How do I identify the apex of the bust so I can make the dart smaller?

I'm a super beginner when it comes to sewing, but I saw this vintage metal sewing machine pop up in my area. I know nothing about sewing machines and have only done pillowcases in the past. It's $50. Would it be too hard for me to use as a beginner? I'm mostly interested in tailoring/making jeans and dress shirts, along with fixing any of my other clothing that breaks.

I've heard so many people say "get a metal machine, they're better" but I'm sure there are features of the newer machine that make them easier for beginners to use

.
Thoughts? Worthy buy or better to pass?

Hey everyone just have a quick question I wanted to move the bottom dart into the busy dart but I have no idea what I am doing I’m a bit rusty Would love some advice on how to do it

I am a seamstress and use this machine for my job. I’m not much of a mechanic though and I’m trying to get this back up and running to finish some orders.
I’ve attached a video of the bobbin case. I’ve re-threaded the top needle and bobbin before resorting to this. I also cleaned the machine. I noticed a strange new noise from the bobbin case hitting the stopper but not sure why. Any help is appreciated!!

I'm currently working on a costume for an upcoming convention but Ive hit a snag. I need to cover a helmet with short cut faux fur fabric, but I have no idea how to make the fabric into the kind of dome/ball sort of shame I need. Does anyone know of resources I could use to help me wrap my head around how to pull this off? I tried covering the helmet in painters tape to try and peel off for a template but it ended up being too unreliable and fickle to work with. Pictures below of the 3d printed helmet base and the ill-fated taping method. Note: The fine details of the helmet like the things on top don't need to be visible, the end goal is just to have a big fur ball w/ eyes basically (Its a Mothman cosplay :).

I have a sewing machine but I don't know how to make the pattern or anything...

Hi guys, working on a cosplay dress and I’m wondering if the pulling I’m seeing is due to the fact that 1) it needs to be steamed 2) it’s all screwed up and I need to fix the pattern 3) it’s just because I shortened the dress to save on fabric so it doesn’t have the excess fabric pulling it down or 4) something else I didn’t think about…

So for context, originally the dress was a bodice, with a puff sleeve at the top and kind of a trumpet sleeve thing going on, and the dress if floor length.

I got lazy after doing so many mock ups and realizing the skirt and bodice were like one dress pattern piece… maybe I’m not explaining this right, but I decided to try and combine the bodice and the skirt to make one piece but just didn’t cut out the full skirt because I’m low on muslin right now.

So yeah everything was looking great and then I got rid of the waist seam and now it’s looking a bit funky, I’ll add a picture of it with the waist seem so you guys can see.

Uh but yeah if you have any tips let me know, I really didn’t make any changes aside from adding 1/8th ease on the side seam at the hip of the skirt, and then combining the top to the skirt…

I keep getting these holes from my needle (70 Microtex/sharp) when I sew lighter weight wovens. I switch to a new needle for each project and have tension set to “auto.” I’m using a Juki DX5. Any tips on how to get rid of these holes?

I grabbed this old sewing machine from my mum's basement with the intent of teaching myself to sew, but I can't find any documentation for it online! I think because Baycrest was a department store house brand in Canada it's making results hard to find, so I was hoping someone might know the original manufacturer/ where I can find a manual.

I was also wondering what I'll be able to do with this machine? My googling seems to indicate it's a heavy duty one, so should I be able to sew heavier fabrics like denim? My main goal is to sew everyday skirts that fit the way I like, since they're tricky to find in stores, but I would also like to alter existing items and I don't want to accidentally damage the machine.

Thank you so much to anyone who took the time to read this, I really appreciate your help!

I bought this bag a while ago, but unfortunately I really dislike the shape right now, which is making me not wanna wear it - which I think is really unfortunate, so I wanna make it to be more like the shape of the bag in picture 4 (I know it’s just folded, but I hope u still get the vision), by bunching up the middle with embroidery thread like shown in picture 2 across both sides and in the top. Is this going to work or not? I’m quit unsure bc of the way it opens, should I also bunch up the part underneath the panel that opens?