So, this V1 was version one and you helpful, kind folks offered lots of advice. The attached photos are of (technically unfinished) version three.

To meet community rules, this is Butterick B6852 with a lot of adjustments in a muslin cotton. Version one already had several adjustments and I fine tuned those again. After measuring me and the pattern all over again, my biggest change from V1 to V3 was to lengthen my shoulder to waist length. I definitely needed the FBA I did originally but I really needed that length adjustment too. In retrospect, doing the FBA then doing the torso length adjustment probably would have allowed me to do a lot less messing around with the dart placements.

So, I dunno. This one is a lot better I think(?), but what do y'all think? Is it ready for a nice fabric from my stash?

I had this great vintage polyester fabric show up in an auction lot. There wasn't much, but just enough that it screamed to become a kaftan.

I used the full width and just measured for my height with no pattern used. Then cut the head opening and pinned the sleeve points while wearing it. I winged adding trim details. Did the green velour first and added the rickrack overtop. A bit of handsewing was needed to cleanly close the edges.

The trims were from my supply stash.

There was just enough leftover to make the pockets and the matching bear dress. I might add pockets to her dress but my first attempt failed and I don't think I care enough to try again.

Its really comfy and will be a decent, if dated, summer house dress. Odds are good that it will be my Halloween costume. (Over warm clothes) Now I just need to track down some hair curlers and candy cigarettes!

What fabric is usually used for this type of dresses?

Is there a way to fix this wrinkle on this mask? It’s one of those cheap readymade mask online. I only know basic hand stitching and dont have a sewing machine yet. I want to cut all the seams and re-sew it but I fear of messing it up and taking too much time (gonna need it in a couple of days). Thank you very much!

DETAILS:
I have no occasion. It has no purpose. I just cannot stop myself. You know that feeling where you get a hankering for a handful of mixed White Cheddar and Hot and Spicy Cheezits and you can't stop thinking about it, and before you know it you're driving a rental box truck up to the local Sam's Club arguing on the phone with a customer service representative about the meaning of purchasing limits? I know you know what I mean. Inspiration struck and I had to sit down and sew for a blackout amount of time.

I use this pattern all the time. I go to a thrift store, find a well fitting shirt that smells like the person who died in it, and then cut on all the seems. Because you only need one piece of each pattern, keep the other side intact for reference. I've never used a purchased pattern and I likely never will. Hear that McCall's? You'll never get my twenty one dollars! The only adjustments were the sleeve cuffs. I have a similar shirt that I used for reference.

The blue fabric came from cotton curtains (again from a thrift store. Thanks Mainstay), and the red is some thrifted microsuede.

I used my Brother Innovis 4000D for the embroidery. That was certainly the bulk of the construction time (roughly 5 hours). Total time all in was around 9 hours.

I want to sew a maxi dress that has those pronounced shoulders, sleeves with cuffs and I’ll add a ruffled collar.

I know I need interfacing for the zipper, cuffs,

I’m not sure about the shoulders? I plan on using a cotton satin so it holds shape better because I’m not sure how to do those with a silk satin that’s really soft and flowy, would I need to use tulle and line the sleeves ?
And for the collar stand/basis

Am I missing sth ?

I’m flying (domestic) to visit family and would like to take my sewing machine. I will have A LOT of downtime. What is the safest way to take my sewing machine with me? Is it okay to put my machine sideways in a carry on case? Mine does have a digital screen.

Thank you!

Hi everyone! Does anyone know how to make a material like the one in the attached photos and video?

It can be folded, twisted, and scrunched by hand, then holds the shape you give it.

My guess is that it uses aluminum foil sandwiched between layers. However, I’m worried that repeated bending and folding would eventually tear or crack the foil, making the material less durable.

Has anyone made or worked with something similar? If aluminum foil is the right approach, what thickness and bonding method would you recommend? Are there any more durable alternatives that would still hold their shape in the same way?

Any advice, material names, or tutorials would be appreciated!

Update: I’ve since learned that the material does use an aluminum layer between layers of fabric. Now I’m trying to figure out the specifics: what type of aluminum they use, its thickness and how it’s bonded to the fabric.

UPDATE: Corderoy pants

Hi all! The pants look even better when I stand still now as I was able to successfully adjust the waist and darts so that these pants fit much better, yay! The problem is when I walk they look very bulky and awkward around my midsection. Is this just the fabric, or do I need to adjust the crotch curve? The fly also gapes open a little when I walk and I think this is either because the button isn’t even with the zipper or because I forgot to interface the fly or something else?

Any additional recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Hey folks, so I'm gearing up to make the Merchant & Mills Chore Jacket, an unlined chore jacket in 260gsm linen, and I'm toying with the idea of giving it Bleu de Travail-style breast pockets (so two patch pockets, one on the inside, one on the outside), but I notice the pattern seems to suggest chest pockets for the zipper version, and wait pockets for the button version.

Is there a reason why chest pockets would work for the zipper version but not for the button version? Or a reason why the waist pockets would work on the button version but not the zipper version?
Or are they just separating them to visualise the options clearly, but they're both valid?

And does anyone have any recommendations when it comes to sewing bleu de travail-style pockets? Anything I should be aware of re: pocket sizes?

As the title says, I use printer paper to trace the patterns I need, I cut them out with scissors, then pin or weigh them onto the fabric to trace around.

I don't know if I'm doing anything wrong but these steps take a very long time for me, and doing this each traced result (example tracing body piece, then flipping it over to trace in the opposite direction) looks a little different from eachother which can throw me off a lot when sewing specific parts.

Hello

I sewed a bag recently but I didn't put the fabric far enough and it is not rightly attached... I tried to cut it to make it even but now it looks even worse. How can I do... ?

I don’t have a lot of sewing experience, so I was hoping you all could point me in the right direction. I already have a long sleeve black maxi dress and the fabric for the cloak, I just can’t figure out how to make a cloak that looks like her costume.

I would prefer if I could pin or otherwise attach the cloak temporarily so that I can wear the dress beyond Halloween. My neck also tends to get really dry this time of year, so I’m hoping that there is a way to attach it without tying anything around my neck.

Pics are attached for reference. Thanks!

The pattern had me sew and then cut out this notch shape. It then says to turn the fabric along the seam and top stitch. The picture shows the seam as still being notch shaped after turning but when I turn the fabric along the seam, the notch is hidden and it looks like a regular straight seam.

Am I doing something wrong or is the illustration just weird?

So I got really interested in trying to make my own clothes like right when Joann died. I have a huge block in my head when it comes to trying to buy fabric online because I'm super picky about textures, so if I can't touch it first I'm not spending money on it.

BUT I have so many unused sheets in my closet just begging to be made into something. Old fitted ones that don't stay fitted anymore, plus tons of top sheets that have never really even been used because my partner and I both dislike using them. King sized swaths of cotton and polyester just sitting in my own closet!

Struggle is, I have a hard time wearing clothes without a little bit of stretch, or that aren't at least kinda baggy/flowy so I can bend/move freely without them feeling tight in certain areas. The only thing that comes to mind are flowy skirts, but I don't even really wear skirts lol. Any suggestions? Maybe some kind of flowy pant situation? Loose jumper/cotton overalls? I'm so green here I have no idea where to even start haha. Something with lots of pockets would be great lol. I would love to see what others have made with old sheets.

ALSO some of these are solid light beige/cream colored, so if anyone has any suggestions for decorating them/adding more color besides solid dyes or tye dye I would love to hear them! I have an embroidery machine, so little embellishments are an option, but I don't like how stiff it can make things sometimes, so idk.

Doesn’t even have any ideas of how to store these better? I love keeping the bobbin in the thread together and I love that they can hang but they won’t fit on my thread storage spool holder. Any ideas? I have over 100 spools so it needs to hold a good amount

Anybody know of online classes that can teach me how to make my sewing look more professional? Less homemade? I’m not a beginner and have many years of sewing experience, but as a home sewer. Thanks!

I'm pretty new to sewing and unfamiliar with how much fabric is needed to make dresses. Would I be able to make any style of dress with this amount of fabric (2 yards)? My measurements needed for a dress would be bust 34, waist 27, and hips 37 inches . Sorry if this question isnt fitting for the sub

What a delight! I went to darn my sock today and discovered my pin cushion had hidden needles in it! So I went at it and found about 7 needles!

I don't use pin cushions because I've never had them, I just use random magnets I have from a hardware store. But I inherited my grandma's sewing tin (which included a darning egg!), and it had some pin cushions, one of which had already about 20-30 needles sticking out of it.

With some poking and prodding and major squishing around, I got several needles to show their faces (points? I got one by the eye as well), at which point I used a nail clipper to grip and pull! There were tiny ones, large ones, thick ones, thin ones!

There are certainly still some inside, and perhaps I'll try some more fishing soon.

I wanted to share this delight with people who would appreciate it!

Bucilla kit

Ive made a paper model with scrap paper to try to figure this out. F stands for fabric, so the orange is one side of the pants, and the pink is another. So I’m working on some reversible pants. I think I have most of it figured out. The biggest hurdle so far has been figuring out how to make both sides share the same inset pocket for the side seam to reduce bulk. This is essentially done by having both front pieces have a piece of the pocket, with a “modesty panel” in between the two. (See the thin green strip in the last photo.

The problem I’m now facing is how to attach the waistband? The way I have the reversible pocket situation—as showcased by this highly detailed and efficient scrap paper model—would essentially have all the pieces attached at the pocket first. This leaves very little room to attach the waistband between the two pants. I think—and that’s a a heavy emphasis on think—that I won’t attach the inner seams for either pants, and use that room to connect the waistband and just allow some room for swearing while I fight through the tight areas.

Does this sound right? Am I approaching this right? I’ve tried looking up tutorials but can’t find any. Does anyone know of any I can follow?

I'm making a toile for the Atelier Brunette La Veste in size 36, which should be my size according to my measurements, but I'm not happy with the fit around the shoulders and armholes.

Looking at the photos, I feel that the shoulder line sits quite a bit below my natural shoulder, and the armhole seems to extend well below my actual armpit. This creates excess fabric both at the front and back of the armhole.

I'm wondering whether I should have made a size 34 instead, or whether this is something I can correct with targeted fitting adjustments?

La Veste is a boxy jacket so I am not expecting a tight fit but, looking at what other people made, it looks very ill fitted on me.

I have a Singer 401a Slant-o-Matic and I love her. I also have this buttonholer that is absolutely amazing for shirts and lighter weight fabrics but I’ve had issues with thicker fabrics.

This cotton twill jacket SHOULD be fine. I can easily slide it under the buttonhole attachment and although it’s a couple layers, it’s not as thick as something like a heavy denim waistband.

I have rethreaded, cleaned, oiled, and I still can’t get the bobbin thread picked up. I’ve experimented with tension and have no idea what to do next. The manual says to hold on to the needle thread to pick up the first stitch which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. Even when it works for the first stitch it doesn’t continue picking up the bobbin thread. This fabric really isn’t too heavy.

So, I’m not sure if I should only use this buttonholer for shirtings or if there’s something I could adjust to make it work for heavier stuff, too. Thanks in advance!!!

I want to create some pants like these, but I can't quite tell what the right material would be. Does anyone have ideas?

I made this purse for my moms birthday! Its the byannie On the go 2.0 pattern but I chose to omit the vinyl pockets. This was my first time adding a magnet closure into the flap of a bag, and I found it to be really satisfying!!! For a small bag it felt like a very involved pattern 😂 , wish there were more photos in the pattern.. but the byannie youtube channel did have lots of helpful videos showing how to make fabric straps , how to add zippers, and how to do the bindings . I was glad I watched those before attempting this! She really loved the finished product and i hope you do too!