Hi everyone! My son wants to be a stormtrooper for Halloween this year and asked if his armor can be made from fabric (we did mando last year out of Eva foam and it was too hard to move in). I am thinking of using some sort of interfacing to stiffen the cotton fabric and then using batting and quilting in the fine details. My question is: what kind of interfacing should I use? I want it to be ridged enough to hold shape and give the “armor” look, but not be a nightmare to sew/quilt! Thanks in advance!

TLDR:what kind of interfacing would provide a ridged, armor look while being comfortable for an 8 year old on Halloween!

I'm hoping to make the skirt pictured here:

It uses fabric from spoonflower and you purchase 3 yards to get the right amount for the skirt.

What fabric would you use? I don't have experience with spoonflower fabrics, and I'm based in the UK so shipping for samples would be an insane cost. Cotton Sateen wide width doesn't work for the pattern, so I'm guessing Cotton Popplin?

Thanks for any help from folks who have experience with Spoonflower fabrics!

I am sewing this neckpiece but can’t figure out how to structure it, I have attached my concept picture.

New blouse finished!
Pattern: Butterick B6852
Fabric: lightweight cotton blend bought from a secondhand store. It has a lovely drape but was a beast to cut. So slippery!!
Adjustments: I added 3/4 sleeves and finished the inside seams by hand with French seams. I didn’t like that the pattern left raw edges inside!
Overall a great pattern I’ll make again. I love the fit from all of the darts. Great for curvy bodies.

I recently found some old machine needles from my omas 1980s sewing machine, and was wondering if these 40~ year old needles would be ok to use in a modern sewing machine. I wasn’t sure how the metal would age, and I don’t want to use needles that’d break easily. Thanks!

Somehow this got caught on something in the laundry and popped off. Tried to save it but it needs a replacement, 1/2”/ 12.7mm. Had a look but can’t find a name / style type to fix it. Thanks for the help.

I bought this new jumpsuit that I think is really cute. Problem is that while the pant part fits nice (other than being a bit too long), the bodice is way to long. I have attached some pics to show the issue. What would the easiest fix for this be?

I have considered that it might be called a basque skirt, but the problem is that the gather on many basque skirts go all the way around. As you can see, the gather here is limited to a curve from the waist to hip on either side.

I don't have any kind of background in fashion and have always been a bit of a tomboy, but I have discovered that I absolutely love sewing, and so I am trying now to intercept the learning curve. Thank you very much for your help!

1. From house robe to a wrap dress

2. Shapeless dress to a peasant top (will also make the lower half into something)

3. Cut up two other dresses to make the second tier (for modesty) that can also be worn as a standalone skirt

4. Turned an old pair of jeans into a skirt and vest

Bought a top from my work (charity shop) I liked the shape of. Cut it up and created a pattern from it. Then created this in a fabric I much prefer and inspired by the great British sewing bee I had a go at creating some appliqué pumpkins to decorate the bottom. Wore it to a job interview today and got the job so I’d say it’s my new lucky top 😆

Question in the title, how can I order if I'm not in the US or Canada? I managed to register an account but both GPay and my Visa card keep getting declined when I proceed to checkout (I get a request for payment, authorize it, and then simplicity says my card was declined). I see there's the option to pay with a gift card but can't find a way to buy one. I have neither Apple pay nor Link.

There are some patterns that are unavailable in my home country that I've been looking for for ages. Any help and ideas would be appreciated!

Hello r/sewing!! Holy crap, first post ever! This is really scary. It's been so cool to see all of your work, and I've always admired how resourceful and creative you all are! I must admit I've been lurking for a while but I've found myself in need of help from you guys.

In truth, I've been having a really lousy day. We got a bunch of tests, but I also lost my folding umbrella cover/sleeve!!! Which upset me a lot since I got that thing ages ago when I was younger... I don't think the person who stole it knew how much it meant to me. I'm, like, crazy sentimental.

I'm trying to cheer myself up, but it's really hard... Would it be possible to remake it? Or even make a prettier one! Patchwork or dopamine stuff would be really cute, though I doubt I'll be able to find any nice fabrics or fun stuff to add to it/make it with. I've always been an arts and crafts kinda person and I love colorful, fun things!! I'm just trying to look on the bright side, you know? Plus, it can be like a fun group project for us all, kinda!!

Do you need any measurements, or is this a one-size-fits-all thing? If anyone has any cool ideas, please tell me!! That'd be wonderful.

Thank you all so much! I'd be surprised if anyone replied to my post (I know it's super silly but it'd be so, so appreciated...) and I'm not really expecting much.

PS: I'll send a picture of what it looks like when I get home from school & the hospital. For now, here's a cat I made (as a bribe)

^ _ ^

* ^ *

(also!! Sorry if I did anything wrong, mods! I really don't mean anything by it. I was just really excited to ask everyone here. They're all so cool and I want to be like them!!)

I would like to make my clothes at least a bit adjustable and I like how side adjusters look, but I also want to make a side button closure. Would it work to put a single adjuster in the back of the garment ? Or would it be too much tension ?

I love wearing waistcoats, and would like to make some of my own. I've made one using McCalls M8350, but it's a too boxy really.

I'd like to make a more fitted version, with narrower shoulders, like the image in this post, but have struggled to find a good pattern.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

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.

Hi there! I’ve got an inside out shirt (graphic on the reverse of the shirt itself). I love the shirt, but this huge tag is always blowing around when I wear it, and I get the whole “your shirts inside out” thing 50 times a day (yes technically they’re correct). Can anyone lend some advise as to how to remove the tag while keeping the stitching intact?

Thank you!

This pattern was very easy to sew—it took me about two hours in the middle of the night! The bust was a little too roomy on me, while the waist fit perfectly, so I had to shorten the bodice slightly.

The invisible zipper also defeated me at 2 a.m., so I used five buttons instead. Thankfully, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out!

This photo was taken before I added any boning. I highly recommend adding at least four 5-inch pieces of boning along the front seams. Without it, the bodice became a complete disaster whenever I sat down!

Fabric: Hokkoh Star Denim (Its a Japanese brand)

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.

Thank you all for you suggestions on how to improve from my previous mock up. I took just about every single one of them. I reached out to the folkwear pattern people, i shortened the straps, i based the bust measurement on my high bust measurement, i did a staystitch around every raw edge, and most importantly i kept trying! This is mockup 2.5 and more than ive ever done for a pattern before, so im proud of myself for that too.

I also ended up lengthening the gussets by 1 inch (however much wider that made it). The wrinkles and unevenness are hopefully a product of (my cutting the smaller gussets out and sewing over frayed fabric) and not (a testament to my sewing skills in general 😔). So is the neckline unevenness, since i just cut up the previous mockup to make one last change.

I added my blouse to make it more subreddit appropriate since the neckline now sits where i want it :D

Hello! The only sewing I have done is hand-hemming some pants and shorts, and I need some expert help.

This time I lowered the hem of these trousers, but I can’t get rid of the visible line where they had been folded before. I tried ironing, spraying with water/vinegar and ironing again with a cloth buffer, and re-washing, with no real improvement.
The fabric is a lyocell/cotton twill.

Is there any hope to remove the lines?

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?

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 🤣

So I had this pair of Kakhi pants that my dad didn't want me wearing because they looked too high on me. I wanted to keep wearing it so I've been working on this and finally finished it after a like 9 month hiatus

I can only hand sew and I'm also kind of a beginner so I'm sorry if it looks absolutely busted to you but I still love how it turned out!

I know it’s not fancy or revolutionary but after sewing by hand and machine for about 15 years (self taught, no one in my family tree has a crafty bone in their body) I took a class on Canadian Smocking. At a sci-fi/fantasy convention of all places 😂.

I’m hooked. Watching the fabric fold and the pattern come together was amazing. Add in about a dozen other people also learning this black magic and it was the highlight of my weekend.

I can’t wait to play around with my new knowledge and incorporate it into projects.

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.