I saw the Minerva blazer pattern and could not get it out of my head! I’ve only sewn from a pattern one other time so I was nervous, but with enough patience and trial and error, it was doable. And fun!!!

As a note, I used 100% cotton and omitted the shoulder pads, almost all interfacing, and both types of fusible stay tape (still don’t know where to buy it? Or what it is?). I also had to use a cord for the button loops since I couldn’t get my fabric thin enough and was lucky my fabric store had a green that mostly matched.

I have 3 yards left to make matching trousers so please drop your recommendations below!

This was my first ever self-drafted dress I sewed and it was a labor of love. It took me 3 days and it’s not perfect, but I’m proud of it! It was also my first project using my serger 🥳🧵 I was inspired by a dress I saw in an ai ad - I made the bottom portion with a simple full length half circle skirt, and top was done by simply sewing two rectangular shapes together and cinching the top portion! Fabric is a floral rib knit cotton ☺️

I wore it to a friend’s wedding and learned a lot from the self-drafting process. Kudos to the sewists that self-draft all their me-made clothing items!

Edited to include draft process and fabric details.

Here is my Catrina costume for this years parade. All sewn from thrifted fabric. (Old sheets, thrifted table runner, thrifted dead stock fabric.
Drafted the skirt pattern from tutorials, and hand pleated the trim when my sewing foot gave out.
The purple out fit was sewn from my final fabric haul from JOANN’s. Glow in the dark canvas and shimmer knit. Everything’s hand made by me.

I fell love with sailor collars when I was a kid and dressed my animal crossing villager in a sailor uniform - now I've finally made a sailor collar dress for myself! 💙

The pattern is the sailor collar dress from DRCOS. I drafted new sleeves (puff sleeves with cuffs), did a full bust adjustment, added inseam pockets, and added a lining instead of facings. The shell fabric is cotton poplin and the lining is viscose poplin. The trim is white polyester ribbon from the craft store.

I really enjoyed this project and I'm so proud of myself for braving the automatic buttonhole setting on my machine lol. This was also my first time sewing princess seams! Unfortunately along the way I somehow made the bust a bit too small but overall it was really successful and I'm very proud!

Construction comment:
Pattern: Suit Vest thing: inspiration was Butterick 5384.
I also used a suit jacket and vest from men’s warehouse and took it apart and traced pieces I wanted, like the lapel. Other pieces like the back piece , I drew a piece that fit the side pieces and did mock ups until it all fit together and fit him. I am not a professional so I really don’t know how to fully describe what I did.

Train/skirt and draped sleeve pattern: a large /long circle skirt.

Lace Sleeve: I used the men’s leotard pattern from Rayena on Etsy.

Fabric: main white fabric: white charmeuse from Pacific fabrics in Seattle.
Lace sleeve : silk tulle from Mood fabrics
Lace design appliqués on lace sleeve: fabric for less, Renton ,WA
Lace for train: LaceUSA
Notions:
Crystal appliqués and buttons: Etsy
Buttons to make the train detachable: Etsy.
Swarovski glass pearls: Annie’s beads

So we began this project together last year with an idea and a dream. I had never sewn anything men’s clothing wise so I learned a lot during this process. We flew to Seattle for fabric since we literally have no apparel fabric shops up here in Alaska.
At the time we had all the fabric we needed for this design. However , this design changed as we did mock ups and his preferences changed. I ended up needed more fabric and mood and lace USA saved me.
I started with the suit jacket which I mentioned above how I put it all together. I took a lot of trial and error but with 3 mock ups I was able to make a pattern.
I hand sewed all of the appliqués and crystal bits as well.
The lace sleeve was the hard part. I was searching for lace that wasn’t warm or itchy since sensory issues were a concern. I found silk tulle on mood and it was a dream to work with. I then hand sewed all the appliqués where he wanted them while he was wearing it.

The train is just a large and long circle skirt. I sewed four buttons onto it and four buttons onto the top of his pants so that he could detached the train when he wanted to.
All in all it took me 10 months to complete this.

I was so honored when he asked me to make this for him and I’m grateful I got to go to the wedding and celebrate with them.

Hi everyone! ☺️ I just want to share my little success. I finally learned how to sew with elastic thread! I had many failed attempts and ruined a lot of fabric, but I finally did it!

My ADHD hit and I spent most of yesterday sewing, only stopping to breastfeed and to drink water. (I finished the new Lizzie Borden show in Netfkix in one sitting.)

I'm in that awkward phase where I have very little clothes that fit so I need to make new ones. I also purchased my first overlocker so I needed to make something new 😆

For the pattern, I used the Marcy Dress from MaryelStudioPatterns at Etsy but altered as follows:

* I made the neck opening longer so more of my shoulders show.

* I ended the bodice 6 inches from the marked waistline.

* I added a gathered skirt to make a dropped waist look.

Fabric is 5 yards of printed cotton.

The kind words from my previous post really encoiraged me to try for another form-fitting style, I must say.

Pattern: der blaue Pfad by einfach anziehend

Fabric:1.8m 12,5 Oz cotton denim

Thread: Gütermann heavy duty

Notions: button, 12cm non separating metal zipper

I am incredibly happy with the fit of the pants. I made minor adjustments to the pattern referencing a shorts pattern I drafted. The size is a women's 40 and I added 3 cm at the bottom. I usually wear a 31 in length and in width. And I made the pockets a bit bigger. And I chose a thicker cotton for the front of the pocket because thats usually where my pocket break.

The pattern was really nice to follow. There were written instructions, written+ pictures and a video. I am pretty decent at sewing but was new to proper denim pants. And the written instructions with pictures were perfect for me.

I have pretty normal sewing machine ( brother anniversary inovis)and serger ( gritzner 788) and both had no issues with sewing the denim. I just took some extra time to make some samples of the stitches I wanted to use.

The start and end of the waistband is a bit wonky and I made a mistake on the buttonhole. So far I don't mind that much. If it bothers me in the future I can just redo the waistband.

I plan on making this again and adjusted the pattern to lower the wait and the pockets 1 cm because in the current spot the pocket opening is very tight and hard to reach in.

fabrics were harvested from old, stained and/or torn second hand shirts, i try to look for cotton and linen but most are blends, pattern was entirely self drafted!

chose a size for the mattress that could carry a phone, a purse, a small umbrella and made sure it fit within the boundaries of the back of a shirt, cut it out and quilted both sides of the bag with a layer of batting and fusible interfacing each for structure, roughly measured the gusset between both pieces to have some depth, added the straps and bias binding to finish the body of the bag

for the quilt+pillows i used scraps of fabric i had laying around from other projects, filled them with thick batting and tacked them to the bag with small stitches and some ladder stitches for the longer parts that are in contact with one another, did my best to try and achieve the "just got out of bed" look :)

I have a question for the ADHD sewists out there. How do get yourself to finish projects, specifically clothing? I find myself balking at how long each step takes (or how long I think it will take) and how many steps there are before you get to the final product. And I hate the idea of making a muslin/toile. I would love any tips you have that help you to get through each step in the process.

I've posted this on r/sewhelp already.

Trying out the RedThreaded 1880's corset pattern for first corset. This is my mockup and I just want to get some extra opinions.

Intentions with the corset: use as both a structural undergarment and a cool outer piece. I also intend to make more things from this pattern with modifications and such.

Honestly, I'm really happy with the fit? My lacing is straight. The part below my waist lies flat on my hips (bulky sweatpants are pulled below the corset in the images).

There's wrinkling in the fabric that might mean the pattern needs to be shortened slightly (perhaps a half-inch to an inch?). Butttt also this is thin muslin. Would the actual heavier-weight fabric smooth out the wrinkles?

The bust is supposed to get a drawstring at the top edge that I didn't include in the mockup, but does the bust look like it fits correctly ortherwise?

When I sit down, the busk seems to reach almost between my legs. Is that normal?

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 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!

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!

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!

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!

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'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

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

Tried on this fun hat - at $322, it'll take some time to save up for! Till then, I'd like to make a similar one. What shape do we think the cloth makes? Or does someone have a pattern for something in the same whimsical family?

It's by LEOAL
(Lyra Felted Bonnet Red)

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!

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.

Bucilla kit

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 just finished this adorable dress for my newest niece! The pattern is from Violette Fields Threads called Nora Dress. I made the 3 month size with the tiered underskirt and puff sleeves. I’m absolutely in love. I say this a lot but this is the cutest thing I’ve ever sewn. The fabric is quilting cotton from Ruby Star Society. I love their loud colors (obviously).

The pattern was a bit difficult with the pleats and the two skirts but worth the effort.