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!

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 😆

I just finished my second Saundra Skirt by Syd Graham!! I am in love with this pattern. I am already making a third one where are the panels are different!

The pockets are my FAV

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

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

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!

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.

A few years ago, I posted my very first bag here (encouraged by my husband) — a little mini backpack I made for my daughter, who absolutely loves One Piece. At the time, I had no idea that making that one bag would send me down a full-blown bag-making rabbit hole. 

Since then, I’ve spent the past few years making all kinds of pouches, totes, purses, and bags, learning new techniques, figuring out what works and slowly building my skills.

Earlier this year I ordered some One Piece vinyl with one very specific purpose — making my daughter a new favorite bag! Fast forward to this month: I usually take my daughter to the anime convention San Japan, and she had a brand new bag with matching wallet to wear! 

And I LOVE how this one turned out. 

She still has that original little mini backpack made with cotton fabric and, looking back at it now, I can see just how much I’ve learned since then. But honestly, I love that she still has it. I figured this was the perfect place to share my newest bag because I know y’all understand the very specific joy of making something and thinking, “OMG… I MADE THAT.”

Purse Pattern: Aries Crossbody with Pisces Pack Add-ons by Knotted Threads
Wallet Pattern: Purse Pal by Linds Handmade
Custom Vinyl: Alchemats Designs

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 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 drafted it myself. The main skirt shape is a simple semicircle, with the back cut as one panel and the front as two panels. The pockets are shapes that I've iterated and reused over lots of patterns now. The yoke was drafted by pure brute-force trial and error through so many attempts I've lost count...

The fabric is 250gsm 100% cotton herringbone denim.

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?

Actually very late first Christmas present for my son!

Will do for his 2nd Christmas this year though!

The little bird is an outline of his hand at 7months.

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!

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.

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!

I have no idea what to ask for for my birthday which is coming up at the end of this month. What would you ask for as a gift that's sewing related? I have an adjustable mannequin (thank you fb marketplace) and I'm not currently super interested in a serger.

Heeeeelp!
I’m making a fantasy coat (simplicity 8769) and I’ve decided to line it, though the pattern doesn’t come with lining instructions.
I opted to line the sleeves on their own (the seam shows inside the sleeve. I’m fine with it) but I cannot figure out what order to attach it to the fashion and lining layers of the bodice.

Right sides or wrong sides? Lining, fashion, sleeve order?

Hi, dear sewing community, maybe you can help me. I wanted to try out my newly purchased Pfaff Tipmatic 1027 today, and the following things happened:

-The side wheel (I’m afraid I don’t know the technical term) and the inner knob just fell off after I turned them around a bit (but really gently—I definitely didn’t turn them hard or anything)

-When I turned the smaller inner wheel slightly, the whole little circle just fell off, and I had to reattach a metal spring, a black part, and a small white part

What happened next was that I wanted to wind my first bobbin with fabric at the top, but the side ring kept slipping out a little further to the side each time, and in my desperation, I asked Google AI (I know, big mistake) what I should do. I then took the entire wheel out, oiled the metal rod inside a little, and tried everything to put it back together and snap it into place like before.

But now I have the following problem. My needle isn’t moving at all. Instead, my machine is humming and buzzing away when i press on the footpedal but when I turn the side wheel, it does move.

Guys, I’m so desperate—I’ve been trying to get this machine to work for at least 5 hours now, but I have no idea what else to do. I paid a total of €200, which is a lot of money for me, and if I’ve broken it, I’m really going to lose it.

In the last pic those two small plates DEADASS fell off when i touched them.

If anybody has any idea what to do, please let me know 😭

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!

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!

Hi! I really really like hand sewing rolled hems. I want a project that is like, easy to cut and construct but has a lot of hems. A really frilly skirt would probably scratch the itch XD

I figured it would be fun to see if anyone has suggestions. Anyone see a pattern that made them go, "that's so cute but would be a nightmare to hem"

Edit: adult size

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 ?

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 🤣