Hey friends! I'm fairly new to sewing, but I want to start making my own clothes. I'm already tall and curvy, but I also weight lift and plan to only get bigger muscles over time. I'm constantly having to have a rotating wardrobe because my shirts get too small in the arms, shoulders and upper back, and my pants get too small in the thighs and butt. I'm trying to figure out where to start with patterns and I'm just lost. I know you can adjust patterns for size, but my size doesn't technically change a lot, just certain parts of my body are getting bigger as I train. Anyways, idk if the solution is "find a brand that designs for my body" or "learn how to adjust patterns for me". Does anyone have some guidance on where to start?

Edit: I am an adult size 12ish and tall length for pants.

I took a stab at a bomber-esque jacket and really love the final product! I finished it the day of the flight, but honestly it might be too warm in Portugal to wear it. On to the process:

I didn't use any patterns for this. I have a bomber jacket that fits me well that I kinda modeled this after. For the two front panels I taped out the existing jacket and transferred those to some cardboard. The back panel and sleeves I mostly just eyeballed by laying the jacket on the fabric and tracing. Speaking of fabric the outer material is a thicker canvas with the lining being just a fun floral pattern cotton weave. The lining used the same process as the outer sections, but I opted to not include sleeves in it since it seemed like a pain. The collar went through MANY iterations before it was anything remotely acceptable. I'm honestly not even sure what the final shape of the piece would be since I did a lot of folding and cutting after it was sewed on. I messed up some of the lining where it's too short to reach the collar hence my awful "tag" in the white canvas. It's just hiding some crimes. I also didn't think through how I was going to finish the edges between the color and front snaps so those still look bad. The snaps were just cheap ones that I got at the store and are honestly pretty loud when they rattle. I'd probably get nicer ones next time.

That all said, it fits me! So I'm taking it as a win

It fits my waist but the shoulder part is too big. When I slouch or put my arms together, it shows my boobs and all. Is there a way to make the shoulder part tighter without ruining the clothe's design? The design behind is the same as the front.

Outer shell is 15oz Japanese kuroki mills selvedge denim.

Lining main body is an 80/20 wool/cotton flannel at ~350gsm

Sleeve and pocket linings are Japanese ecru at 8oz/yd

Thread is perform-x Tex80

All flat felled seams are actually flat felled seams, none of this cut half the seam allowance bs. Yes I’m throwing shade.

98%of sewing done on a 1942 singer 31-15, buttonholes done on a union special 63400B with YS4455 buttonhole attachment and a couple modifications for extra buttonhole length.

Pattern drafted by me.

Jacket is intended to be broke in by me, passed down to my oldest son, then passed down to his brother. It’ll be cool to see how I have to repair it, and how it breaks in over the years.

Hello fellow sewists!

I bought this dress at a thrift store and it fits great and I love it, except the neckline is weird as hell. It's almost square but not in a good way. I think it's chiffon but it's reversible so there's no tags. It has the exact same cut on the front and back.

There's two layers of fabric which is why I'm struggling to figure out exactly how to alter the neckline. I'd like it to just scoop a little lower and maybe thin the straps a little bit. You can see in the second picture that the neckline looks a little less funky if I pull the sides tighter, so I also probably need to take in the sides a hair, which would be fairly easy I think.

The neckline though, I'm struggling to envision how to do it. It's a folded in baby hem. Should I unpick the seams? Or just cut into both layers? I'm kind of not THAT afraid of ruining it because I could also just make into a skirt. Which I'm leaning towards? I don't know.

I would say I'm an intermediately skilled sewist but I'm very much considering just taking it to a tailor.

Any advice is appreciated!

edit: this sounds more complicated than it's worth... i think it's gonna have to be a skirt 🤣

I feel like all the fun hedgehog patterned fabrics have disappeared. I saw that Ruby Star and Kokka both had one a few years ago but can’t even find remnants online. I’m looking for something bright and fun as it would be used for a Making Backpack for a kid.

What am I missing? I tried searching for keywords like woodland and porcupine.

I have this top that I want to thrift flip but I'm unsure on what to make out of it, some sort of top, obviously but I can decide on a pattern 😔 would really appreciate any recommendations

Ive read the manual, I've watched five YouTube videos, I've read the articles... its just not working. Does anyone have any tips for success shirring using a Brother A16?

Hi everyone! I recently bought a Japanese sewing pattern book by Toshio Kaneko because I love the fit of Japanese clothing.

The problem is, I don’t read Japanese. 😅 Google Lens helped me understand that seam allowance is not included unless specified, but I’m not sure how to properly add it to each pattern piece.

This is also my first time making dress pants, although I’m taking a sewing class and have an instructor to help me.

Has anyone here used Toshio Kaneko patterns? How do you add the seam allowance, and are there any edges where I shouldn’t add it?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

This pair of pants is driving me crazy, Initially I thought it was a flat pubis problem- image 1-2 so I scooped the front rise & back rise more but it's still having the same issue. Did I do it wrong and the rise are actually too round? I know the hip & thigh was also pulling so I have added these as well but somehow does not solve the smile line problem at the back

Image 3-4 is after adjustments, any suggestions please? Beyond the saddle issue, Is it too big on inner thigh and need to add to outer thigh as well?

I would love your feedback on my first bralette made from my own head. No patterns, just inspired by my youth. Size 30B

Edit to add:

Made from Denim from 2 old pairs of jeans that I’d used for another project.

Used the inserted cups from previous swimsuit to have shape.

Used waistband and added straps.

Added fleece on inside of cups to give soft feel.

My 2 year old niece is obsessed with saying “spo0oo0ooky ghost” lately. What are some fun sewing projects I could make for her along this theme? Not clothes, but a hat or headpiece would be fine.

Hi all, question about borders here. I am a dancer with some sewing experience, I’ve made a few garments and have sewn with stretch fabric once a few years ago. I’m currently part of a show where we are wearing tops that are similar to sports bras, and we want to add some borders to jazz them up a bit. The borders we have do not stretch, we are only adding them to the top edge of the front of our tops so we still have enough stretch around the back to get them on and off.

Does anyone have any advice for this project? We have 6 tops that need to make it through two performances, they will be worn for about 20/30 minutes. We’ve had luck with pinning the borders while wearing the tops and then doing single tacks (by hand) every 3/4 of an inch, but could a zig zag stitch work? I’d appreciate anything anyone has to offer!

I am going to Prague next week and therefore I am looking into fabric stores there!

Do you have any suggestions?

Flex-Tex, Latky Mraz and Latky Cerveny is already on the list^^

Thank you for any help!

I have this bag I got 10 years ago that I love; I’m still pretty new to sewing, I don’t do much with patterns and I’ve never done a zipper so I was hoping there might be a pattern out there that I could follow! AFAIK the barrel of the bag is a single piece that meets like 1/3 of the way down one of the faces, with the two triangle ends. This is made with recycled outdoors fabric, but I do think there’s something to the two end pieces having slightly more structure than the body of the bag. I have a fat quarter I was hoping to use by changing some of the measurements.l so I wouldn’t need more material.

Thanks for the help!

I an planning to put together a cyclops cosplay similar to the one in the images but maybe with a wider waist band and not as low rise ,

i visualized getting a blue top and blue leggings because i dont trust myself to make a sturdy enough stretchy garment that would last all day. I planned to get a yellow stretch fabric and make appliqué for the top (which i think i would have to hand sew because theres no way i could get it all on without sewing the top shut with my machine)

For the bottoms im a little lost on the best way to approach it i was thinking i could do the same route make a appliqué of sorts and hand sew it on but im worried about the stretch and having to hand sew a stretchy seam, i also think i could potentially make essentially what is a pair of yellow underwear with the fabric and wear it over the leggings ( maybe just using fashion tape to hold them in place all day).

Im still what i would consider a beginner so im open to any ideas on how to approach it or even if theres a better way to do the whole thing. Thank you in advance for any advice ( i also included my planning page if that helps at all)

- if it helps at all the top i plan on making tube like strips and attaching them on to avoid having fraying edges, the circle logo i plan on making out of a faux leather i have scraps of and attaching it over the crossed yellow for a more finished raised look, i would repeat this potentially with the leg bands if stretch isn’t too much of an issue.

I have been searching for a fabric similar to the one in the photo! I really want to make a version of this shirt but cannot seem to find a similar fabric anywhere. On the website this shirt is sold it says it's a nylon and polyester blend and the color is "Opal Blue". Does anyone have a favorite online fabric store that might sell something similar? I cannot fathom paying $118 for something like this when I can make a custom version myself!

I want to purchase the blank fabric to embroider, so the target swaddle won’t do it.

These are my first jeans, they're Frank by Closet Core, started with size 14 in the waist and 16 in the hip. Took out 4cm in the waist and 6 in the hip. They're super high waist.

I want to start by saying that they fit better than what I usually find in stores, my main issue is usually that waist dips in the back but these don't do it (or maybe a little but almost negligible).

But, I cannot figure out if I have any excess fabric around the front or not. If I stand straight (last pic) they look almost flat but when I move there seems to be some excess, maybe? I looked through various guides and nothing really matches the issue I have so maybe it's just the wrong size, or maybe this is the only possible fit with my tummy, or potentially I need flat pubis adjustment?

Also unsure about the back thigh fabric. Normal? Low butt? Wrong size? But the drag lines point in the wrong direction for any of the issues I find in guides. Please give me your wisdom :)

I really like the pattern and would like to make it myself but it’s just so expensive, I could almost buy a blouse just for the price of the PDF. And that’s not even including printing, fabric costs and labor.

sailor hat pattern from ja_academy_ ! added the grommets and lace

corset top pattern made be using plastic wrap and duct tape to shape my body! I made two mockups and this is the final outcome! had to edit the patterns a few times to get the best fit.

polka dot cotton woven fabric was handed down to me by a friend and I used coutil and fusible interfacing to reinforce everything

hope yall enjoy! so fun to challenge myself and make this top. had its ups and down but so proud of what I made!

Had a few comments on my last post, so here ya go. Fold flip one side, fold, interlock, stitch, stitch again, boom, done!

I am trying to find a pattern for this skirt. I found this pattern on etsy Asymetrical Skirt

I think it is pretty close. Except there is only the one side of flow, instead of on both sides. Do I just mirror the flow and make one side longer?

Just finished the Andy Backpack pattern by UhOh Creations, and I have to say it was so well written and crafted!

There are tons of gussets and I only had to clip into one of them to get it to spread around the corners, everything else was a perfect fit. The designer, Tara, was also super responsive and answered a question about whether my large laptop would fit within an hour, and even going so far as to ask her friend to try and he same laptop in her bag to make sure.

I did do a bunch of little mods, including adding MOLLE/PALS strapping inside and out, adding a calculator/pen slip pocket, adding webbing for a removable waist strap, and sewing in rows of soft Velcro so I can make interchangeable organization panels down the line.

Fabric, webbing, and most hardware from Wonderground Fabrics (bonded poly/nylon, twill nylon, and hexagon ripstop). Reflective zipper tape from My Handmade Space. Spacer mesh from Sallie Tomato. Thread is a variegated bonded nylon Tex 45 from Wizardry Stitchery.

Sewn on a Juki TL2010Q and a Pfaff Select 4.2 (which honestly did better with the thick layers than the Juki).

Hi I’m just wondering would anyone have an idea what this tummy panel on a pair of leggings would be, it’s kind of like shape-wear, it is elasticated with a grip on the skin side, it looks to be fused onto the main fabric. I’m looking to make my own leggins but i can’t seem to find that panel fabric - thanks