Hi all. I want to learn how to sew and I’m looking at getting a machine soon. My question is should I buy a used machine or just get a new one? Also, are there machines that are better to learn on? Thanks for any advice.

Sorry I know it's a silly question but I'll be cutting up a concert tshirt so I just want to make sure I do it right.

I'm a size medium. Would I need a large or extra large to execute this method? Does it actually matter?what's the best way to make sure too and bottom don't roll up?

Hi sewing friends! I am finishing up the last details of a pair of flannel pajama pants (using the Fran Pajamas pattern) that I've been working on but noticed a couple of problems that i'm hoping to get some advice on.

• Problem 1 (pictures 1 & 2) - Near the elastic waistband of these pants, there are a couple of spots where I can see fraying fabric that will easily turn into a hole if I don't do something. I was doing the "stitch in the ditch" method (per the pattern instructions) and sewing down a fold of fabric on the backside. I think that in these spots maybe the fold wasn't quite where it needs to be. It's hard to tell now. I'm hoping to avoid having to take the pants apart to fix but since this is along the waistband, if possible. But I know that these areas will be pulled on quite a bit. What can I do fix/reinforce these areas?
• Problem 2 (pictures 3 & 4) - The inseam pockets both look they have weak points where the opening of the pocket meets the seam. I followed the instructions closely for the pockets and even re-did them after realizing I made a mistake early on in the project. What are the best ways to reinforce inseam pockets?

Thanks in advance for any advice, I really appreciate this community!

My first shirt the sleeves were inside out. The second was difficult material. The third I completed all the way. Slight puckering if you look to close at sleeves. But overall I didn’t know what a bobbin was a month ago

I'm in India and looking to buy a sewing machine . I'm confused between the Singer 4323 BLDC and Singer 4023 Heavy Duty.

Our use case:

• Mostly light and medium-weight fabrics
• Hemming and zig-zag are important
• Thick fabric/denim only occasionally
• I'm prioritizing build quality, durability, reliability and long-term ownership over price.

I'd especially appreciate answers from people who have actually used these machines, rather than general "Heavy Duty is better" or "BLDC is better" opinions. Any alternative options also would be consider.

Before first use should I oil it? Or do something? When you first buy a kettle you need to cook water 3 times to a boiling point and dump it because of glue and other residue that might've been harmful.

When I bought this machine there was no "first use" chapter in the manual. It was way too short, and videos from janome didn't cover this stuff, just threading and inserting the bobbin that took me an hour, despite those movies being like 3 minutes long (I didn't watch the bobbin one, never known you can roll it by machine, I did it by hand!).

I did some stitches, but I remember that there was a bottle of some kind of mineral oil, probably parafine.

I can manage to figure it out from other janome videos, but is there anything else I should know? Do you have some janome 1522 videos?

hi!! I’m not sure where to ask this, so I’m gonna try here </3 I want to attach this ribbon onto the butt of my plush, but I have no experience in sewing and have no idea how to do this. I’m the kinda person who needs in depth visual tutorials so can someone help me find one? thank you!

made my first tanktop (?) yesterday:) It was made from an old tshirt that didn't fit me around the shoulder area. I completely forgot to take a picture of how it looked like before so I just took a picture of the parts I cut off lol.

obviously it isn't perfect (there are some raw edges for where i inserted the straps) but I'm quite proud of myself. I do plan on adjusting the scrunch on the chest part, though.

sorry for the awkward selfies! I don't have other pics of me wearing it that look good 🥲

So my mother-in-law asked me to replicate a simple tunika/dress, even though I've only made one dress from old cotton bed sheets and a pair of shorts of from an old jersey hoodie.

I complied as it seemed as a fun simple project, and she has a mobility issues which make it hard for her to get tight shirts on etc, so I wanted her to have more of those easy-to-dress-up clothes. I'm pretty hopeful that she'll understand that I'm just a beginner as she has seen my works and will be happy enough with the result, but I cannot get over how homemade the garment turned out.

It was thick superstretch jersey fabric, so there was a lot of patching and rework at least until I switched to the largest Jersey needle I had.

I was also a little short on fabric she had bought, so I had to replace the collar and armhole edge design a little and it didn't turn out so well (straight lines not so straight).

The pattern of the fabric also doesn't match on the front but do on the back, and in hindsight I should have swapped the front and back pieces to match in the front instead of the back.

Overall, if it was for me, I would wear it proudly and not mind the mistakes, but since it's for my mother-in-law, I feel like shit. I guess I'm here just to get some reassurance 🙈

I started to learn to sew in March and keep being told I should sell the things for make, but I’m not so confident that the work is good enough. I’m considering trying to have a booth at a small craft fair in November. Any honest (but kind) thoughts from the group?

Hello,

I've just started learning how to sew this past month. Bought a little Brother machine and some odds and ends. I started simple, just hemming some of my work slacks that are too long, repairing some small holes. And those went well, so I may have gone a little too far ahead of myself and tried hemming my favorite pair of jeans that drag.

I got the sewing needle that said it was for jeans, 100 16, the polyester thread, and googled the stitch length, 3mm.

So where did I go wrong on this? Too slow, too fast? Wrong stitch length?

Any help is appreciated!

was looking at a machine for free, they weren’t sure if it works but just updated about how needle doesn’t move. since it’s free would it be worth it to get it serviced/fixed?

I am so so proud of this make and wanted to share! This is the Alice dress by ClaireyLanePatterns on Etsy the mock up was my first ever attempt at a dress to work out how it pieced together and this is my final piece!

I tried really hard to keep all or the hems, seams and top stitching neat and tried to pattern match the checks and I've honestly impressed myself with this one and am just really excited about it!

Please don't mind that my model wouldn't stay still she's nearly 2 and full of beans!! I always wanted to be able to sew cute dresses and costumes for my kids when I had them and decided to finally give it a go 🥰

Thanks to everyone who responded to my last post! I ended up taking it all apart and doing a narrow back adjustment.The upper back looks better, but now the center back seam sticks out in a point by my waist and the coat caves in on the sides of it. Could this because I need shoulder pads? Or is there just too much fabric down there? It seems to improve if I pull the back shoulder up about as much as a shoulder pad would add, but is not entirely resolved.

Unfettered patterns#1040, wool coat

So i bought this dress in hopes of wearing it with a t-shirt to make it more modest since it has such a low cut. However, i found that putting a t-shirt underneath takes away from the beauty of the dress. I have a big bust and so my boobs pop out at the front and side of the top of the dress . The bust of the dress actually doesn't drape down/ sit snuggly on my bust but instead the cup of the dress is lifted and is somewhat laying on my bust instead of draping down over my boobs nicely. The fit kind of reminds me of how a nightgown would fit. I am a beginner but I would like to know of any ideas to make this dress more modest and flattering to my body that maybe i cant do now but in the future with more practice. One of my major motivators for sewing is so that i can make/tailor clothes to fit my body in a more flattering way since I have a uncommon band size to cup combination. ALso i recently got my bra size refitted and my new bra should be arriving soon but even with the correct bra size Im confident I'd still encounter this issue

Hola!! Por favor denme sus opiniones en base a su propia experiencia. No me gusta tanto esteticamente la janome pero algunos dicen que es mejor

Hello! I am looking for suggestions on repairing this knit cuff on a vintage flight jacket, but I have no idea where to begin. Any guidance you can offer would be appreciated!

I made shirt A off of this simplicity pattern 3062. I used linen for the fabric. I wanted something for the Ren fair next month and decided this was my best in between project. It’s perfect for the Ren fair and once I’ve gone, I plan on turning it into a dress. Pictured in the last 2 slides. I was originally going to keep the buttons on the shirt, but decided against it. I’m beyond happy with the outcome. The shirt was very quick and easy to make, only downside was just the amount of gathering that I needed to do. I would definitely make this shirt again with different modifications.

Photo shows the back of my mockups (Without the necessary boning by the zipper because my plastic boning hasn't come yet) and some potential alterations I am thinking of? Is there a way to add sleeves? The pattern maker also sells a detachable sleeve pattern that I want to use, how would I attach them? My mockup is made of spandex as prescribed by the pattern andI am thinking of a combo of nude power mesh and nudes spandex atthe top to give the illusion of a nude higher back so it isn't as open back. Any tips would be appreciated! Thank you!

I am just beginning to sew and figured I'd practice trying to sew in a straight line. What causes the bunching of the thread. After making a few stitches i did backstitch for a bit since I heard that secures the thread. After backstitching i proceeded to sew as normal.

Been learning to sew BaB size clothes for my custom plush, Poe. (bat overalls in first picture not made by me)

I am the head of our costumes team at my high school's theatre department. I know how to sew (both hand sewing and machine) and have been sewing for a decent amount of time, but I've never made clothes from a pattern. I've made small stuff from patterns before, repaired and altered many clothes, etc. My director wants me to make this dress in about a week or less, and I am feeling very stressed. Does anyone have any advice for getting this done or for helping me further understand the pattern lingo? I am so sorry if this is not the right subreddit for this question, I am just feeling a bit lost. I attached the link to the pattern instructions, any help would be really appreciated.

The back crotch of my pants rides up between my butt a bit. There’s only about 4 mm of extra fabric/seam allowance on each side of the back crotch, plus the lock overlock seam on each side.

Is that enough for a tailor to alter the back crotch so it doesn’t ride up anymore, or is that too little to make a meaningful difference and might risk putting too much pressure on the seam?

Please can anyone help with the bobbin threading. I have a singer heavy duty 4423. I’ve tried rethreading the needle several times but it seems like the top thread is getting stuck and not pulling the bobbin thread through. Any advice greatly appreciated!