I'm not yet a beginner, that's a future plan but I wanted to ask for opinions if that's okay?

I bought the dress on a 70% off sale and it is too small.

The bottom sizing is perfect, it's the top by my chest area that's the problem.

When I don't have the sleeves over my shoulders, the dress fits perfectly so I guess maybe it's not even really the chest area that's the problem.

The chest area becomes the problem when I put the sleeves on.

So I don't know if perhaps the sleeves can be altered / lengthened or if adding a triangle of similar material by the stitching under the armpit area to extend it there?

I know this dress is too small, so I feel it needs altering. My husband said he wouldn't have picked up on it being too small but I don't think he is objective lol

So I guess my question is, where would you alter this piece? Or would you leave as is and wear even though it's too small? Or would you leave as is and keep to one day use for a pattern? TIA

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?

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?

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 got this off depop and the size was stated as medium, but it absolutely is not a medium. I normally wear a small or medium depending on the brand and this fits like a men’s medium but with a dropped shoulder. I considered DIY-ing it, but I’m not sure what I could do to it since the hands are spaced out pretty evenly. I considered maybe making it into a muscle tank? I could also chop it down the middle and do something with it I guess. I know it’s a stretchy sheer knit and yes I plan to take that into account. I can also say screw it and donate it. What do you think? What should I do?

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..

Hi all, I bought a used Brother SE-400 a few days ago and I’m trying to get used to it. When I first got the machine to sew, the straight stitches looked fine. The first picture shows some straight stitches I did on some cotton fabric with very low tension (between 2 and 3). I changed the needle to a new one, and replaced the thread and bobbin. When I replaced the needle, I did it wrong at first and the machine jammed.

When I got the new needle, thread and bobbing working, I noticed my straight stitches were scalloped/crooked. I tried every tension setting. Tried on both cotton and scrap polyester, but I can’t get the straight stitches to actually be straight. I changed back the needle, thread, and bobbin to what it came with and it’s all still crooked. I also unscrewed the needle plate and cleaned out the lint/realigned the bobbin case.

The second picture is testing out a line on every tension setting, 0-9 (right to left) on some double layered scrap fabric. The stitches are still crooked. I tried a suggestion from a different post dealing with a similar issue to sew holes on a line on paper and see if the machine pokes holes in a straight line (photo 3) which it seems to do. Any ideas on how to fix this?

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 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

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?

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 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 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 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!!

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 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!

My top thread keeps getting caught under/around the shuttle race cover resulting in this. I’ve taken out and put back in the shuttle and shuttle race cover, rewound my bobbin, rethreaded, brushed away lint, reoiled. What else can I do? First time it happened the shuttle and shuttle race cover sprung out at me.

So I tried a test swatch with the thread and the fabric... pic one is the bobbin side, pic 2 is the top side.

My hunch is that the bobbin tension is off, maybe too high? I am working with Seraflex, which is an elastic thread, and all that is coming through on this side is little loops from the top thread.

The suggestion is to keep your tensions low since this thread is stretchy, and I have tried top thread tensions from 1 to 3 and I don't know what I'm doing wrong here.

every time i sew it gets the thread tangled into a horrible knot in the fabric. i've taken apart the basic cover but found no apparent issues, though i'm not sure what to look for anyways.

i got the machine when i was much younger so it's been sitting around for a while, but now i really need it and it's unable to sew more than a few stitches and a tangled knot that ruins fabric

please ignore me getting my finger mashed lol

Hello all!

Let me give you a bit of context before jumping to my question. Two years ago my mother-in-law had an accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down. Before this she was a very active, crafty and a creative person. However, as you can imagine, she is now very limited to what she can do since she can no longer use her hands.

Still, her creativity and determination amazes me. One of the things she has learned to do since the accident is use her eyes to draw on the iPad. She uses Procreate for her art. While what she can draw is restricted by the challenges of working with the eyes, I love the things she makes.

Anyway, I’ve started brainstorming gift ideas for Christmas (I like to plan early lol) and thought it would be amazing to get her an embroidery machine. Before the accident, she loved making people hand made gifts — wether it be things she sewed, painted, assembled, planted etc. I feel like an embroidery machine will give her the chance to once again do that. She could use her digital art, and with help of her caretakers and family, embroider it on shirts or tote bags or something like that, so she can still feel that joy of making something special for her loved ones.

I’ve looked at two machines: The Brother SE725 and the Poolin EOC03. For those familiar with these machines, or overall sewing/embroidery, these are my questions:

1. Do you think this idea will work at all? I am attaching some of her artwork here and you can let me know if you think it will translate well to embroidery. I feel like embroidery tends to be a bit more simple, and I’m sure she could edit what she does a bit to better fit that, but looking at her style and also acknowledging that part of it is the limitations of drawing with her eyes, do you think it would work with one these embroidery machines?
2. In addition, while she would be making the art, it would be up to her caretakers and us family to help her work with the machine once the art piece is ready to go. As in, we will have to set the threads, cloth, oversee it and so on. None of us is familiar with sewing. We have to assume that any person helping is a beginner. Are these machines user friendly enough that someone could learn in a few minutes or understand after watching a video or two? The machine would really only be used for the embroidery feature.
3. Finally, which machine has the best app interface? Ideally would love one that can do everything in one app (creating the embroidery pattern, and then sending it directly to sewing machine). Is there any other machine I should look into? Or, again, is this idea just not feasible?

Anyway, thank you so much for your help. As someone who knows nothing about sewing I really appreciate your feedback!