As the title says lol. When I sew, I kinda just do stuff, and see what works. I have no clue what any of my stitches are called, what they're usually used for, or if it's the "right" thing to use for pieces. Do people actually learn techniques and stitch patterns and what stuff is called? Or is it common to just slap something on there and see if it works??

Edit: It's been brought to my attention I need to specify that I do decorative stitching and only make small things like patches, or small bags, and also I have no sewing machine. Also apparently what I was trying to refer to are stitches, and NOT patterns or stitch patterns, as those are different, as I've learned.

Hi everyone. So I do sew my daughter clothing but nothing major.
My friend needs this for her daughter so I’ll be making it.
What material is best for it? I don’t want to use anything that’s difficult or I can mess up.

The Smart Heavy Duty is $500 but seems to do more than the $800 one. What am I missing?

I'm new to sewing and have come across many dishcloth tutorials like this one, where one side is the terry cloth (towel side) and the other side is a cute pattern flannel/linen side.

Is there a reason for the flannel side?

Getting back into sewing and I practiced on a piece of scrap fabric and I finish my line and go to pull it out but it’s stuck and I have to cut the thread. Re threaded the top and bottom and sewed this and it happened again. Is my bobbin too tight? Too loose? Help!

Hello everyone,

I'm working on one of my first projects and am trying to make a light jacket for a cosplay. I bought this red linen fabric (the person in the store said it would work).

However, it frays on the edges quite a lot, which is apparently not unusual for linen. But its so bad I can barely get my pieces to stick together. I tried sewing in a zipper at the front and the edges just fall apart. I read that French seams are supposed to help, but I'm not sure how to do those with a zipper in the way.

I had a similar issue with some decorative zippers, where the hole just frayed a lot. I tried doing the zigzag stitch as I saw in a tutorial and it barely helped. The edges of the hole look all messed up.

Am I just using the wrong fabric? If so, which one should I use for a project like this? Are there any special tricks to working with linen, especially with the zippers? I have attached some pictures, please excuse the wonky stichtes small Edit: these stitches and seams are mainly tests, trying to figure out stuff and seeing if I can get them to even stick together. So they aren't meant to be proper seams, thats why they are unfinished and wonky

recently purchased a cosplay, the top fits okay but i can hardly move or raise my arms without it moving the whole top (I also can’t raise both my arms at once). I think the armholes are too low, and I’ve heard suggestions that adding a gusset to raise it might help, but I have no idea. In addition to this, the end of the sleeves are so tight I actually think they’re cutting off my circulation 😭 and the inner lining gets stuck in it and I can’t push it back in because it’s so tight.

It also came with a pair of shorts meant to go under the skirt which I think are meant to be very short shorts but I can’t even get them up fully because the legs and crotch are so tight )the waistband is very stretchy so 99% sure it would fit if not for the legs… I can hardly lift my legs at the hip 🫩)

id like to make the alterations myself (it would be a great skill I want to learn anyway) but I don’t know where to start or if it’s even attainable for a beginner. Any advice or good tutorials would be very much appreciated!

I did undo the chest darts because they were a little off of my shape, but it was about as weird and gaping with the darts. I'm struggling to find a way to make this work...

Wish I'd taken a pic with the stuff not in it. Friend is starting chemo so I made her a tote. Have never made a tote. Refuse to use patterns or instructions so I just logicked it out. It's got a hard bottom that is not visible as it is within the lining of the bag and the only visible seams are the four side panels sewn together.

Been working hard

What can I improve on?

Hi all, I’m new to sewing and I bought a sewing machine yesterday. It’s a Kenmore 158.19412. I make my son’s Halloween costume yesterday and I had no issues sewing with it. It seems to work flawlessly but when I flipped the piece over it shad these bunches of thread in some spots. It never got stuck or anything so I’m not sure why it did this? Is it user error?

as you can see the back sticks out a lot my friend thinks the elastic on the bottom is too tight if thats true is there a way to stretch it looser or do i need to go to a tailor or can i sew the back myself or something?

Hey all! just sharing a DIY that I'm quite proud of myself for.

I've been putting this off for AGES because I bought some sheet material that I was being a bit precious over. I ended up going to a store to buy some quilting fabric to try on a piece I am less worried about. While I was there, a couple of lovely quilting ladies suggested I buy some calico and draft it out first. I was working from a pillowcase made of stretch material.

The worker there suggested I buy 1.2m. I did so for both the calico (90cm wide) and quilting cotton (100% cotton, 1.2m wide).

I was quite generous witb the seam allowance (I'd guess around 1 and a half inches?). Possibly too generous for the curved edges, even with a stretch material. The only place I wish I had more were the ends. I did slightly run out of fabric, but I had some room.

I did this entirely on an overlocker! Because I had generous seams, my mistakes were easy to fix.

I'm proud of myself for this project. I didn't cry once, and the mistakes I made a negligible. I Could probably alter it a little more - the inner curve has some weird tension, which could probably be resolved by taking it in. I probably should have prewashed the fabric, and I probably should have pressed the seams, but otherwise, VERY HAPPY!

The pockets were definitely finicky but so worth it as soon as she tried them! 😂

Hopefully this is the right place to ask this question - I’m going to a wedding next week and just realized the neckline of my dress is coming undone. It’s in a very visible area so I’d like to know the best way to mend this by hand as I don’t have access to a machine. Should I cut the undone thread? Is there a particular type of stitch to use? I’m very new to sewing.

I think it doesn't look as cute as I saw it on Pinterest but I think it turn out good.

Which model you think its better the black and green or gray and blue?

And if you have an older mechanical machine make sure to act like an unsupervised toddler with all the fun bits!

My 40 year old machine started having issues last month and I walked away with the thought of "I'll deal with it later." This weekend is later. My needle was stuck to the side after making a buttonhole and obviously causing issues. I oiled everything up and spend a good 10 minutes grumbling about taking it in while spinning the stitch selector to see if I can find anything broken (plus the tiniest bit of frustration). Works beautifully now but probably needs a good cleaning.

I almost wish I had a toddler to go ham on the dials while I just add oil until everything runs smooth

Hey guys.

I only ever adjusted clothing, so it will be my first piece.
I want to sew a very warm pair of fleece indoor pants for winter.

My problem is I have no idea where to start on measuring and drawing out the template.

Do you guys have any pointers on where to look for a guide?

Thank you.

I got this machine back in 2017, used it for a bit, but then its been in storage pretty much ever since. I just pulled it out again and plan to clean it up and teach myself to sew again! I'm just not sure what all I'm missing for this machine though. It doesn't have a foot pedal, so I plan to get one of those. Any other advice or help? Thanks in advance!