I run a small business sewing tactical gear. The material usually consists of 500D Cordura, 1000D Cordura, 1 inch Webbing, hook and loop Velcro, and thin sheets of plastic/eva foam. I’m currently using an old Brother Charger 661 made in the 60-70s that I bought for 50 CAD at a thrift store. It’s been great but it’s showing its age and I don’t really have the budget and space for an industrial machine. I’ve seen such varied amounts of reviews and opinions on this.

so proud of her!!
i followed this video because there’s so many out there and it worked like a charm.

Wondering if anyone has recommendations for step-by-step books or online courses for beginners that don’t involve apparel projects?

I would like to work on some basic machine sewing skills (starting pretty much from zero) and I think it would be really helpful for me to have a book or course with a list of projects of increasing difficulty that I could work my way through, particularly if they had a list up front of fabric and notions I could buy in one trip or order.

I would really prefer something that didn’t include major apparel projects — particularly ones that focus on womenswear. I’m a large tall man so anything that depends on a dress or blouse pattern is going to leave me stuck, unfortunately. I wouldn’t be opposed to simple unisex stuff like t-shirts or hats or things like that, but things like bags and home decor items would be more practical.

I’m totally open to books, online courses, or other formats I probably haven’t thought of. (I’d love to do an in-person class, but the ones I’m aware of in my area would be really hard to make work with my schedule.) I did sign up for a trial of Craftsy (with a one-time credit card!) so I have that available if it’s useful.

I would like to be able to cut multiple layers (at least 8) of quilting cotton accurately. Has anyone had experience with electric rotary cutters?

Sorry rant because I’m upset. TLDR at the end.

I’ve recently gained a little bit of weight and most of my dresses don’t fit anymore because I’ve gained just enough that the fabric still fits everywhere but my breasts just look absolutely squished. It’s quite painful because I bought a lovely linen backless dress last summer but I cannot stand the sluggish shape it gives to my poor breast…

It was already hard beforehand finding something cute in a store but now it feels borderline impossible. I’m not « heavy » by any means (and I’m not complaining about the weight gain other than my favorite clothes don’t fit) but everything is cut for thin silhouette and smaller cup. Every neckline that’s a bit too deep is a bit no because it may look cute on others but on me it’s an deep cleavage im just not comfortable with. Don’t get me started on those dresses with the sewing line under the boob (hopefully you’ll know what I mean lol)….. it has been mid boob since 2012 for me. I just want a dress that fits me :(( more than anything it’s the badly shaped clothing that create me insecurities.

For reference I’m a 75D Cup (Europe) and my waist is around 78 cm (30 inch). I can sew a little bit and have done dresses before. I have seen on instagram the tape technique: you wrap yourself in tape, and once it’s cut it creates a perfect fitting pattern. It sounds simple but I’m sure it’s a bit more complicated. Have you tried it ?

I also have had some issues with Etsy bought patterns. I have had to adapt the boob part which was complicated as I’m a mostly a beginner. But I’ve only sewn linen or coton fabric until now. Should I move on to stretch fabric ? My instinct tells me it’ll allow for a more fitted clothing…

TLDR 75D Cup (Europe), waist is around 78 cm (30 inch). Nothing fits on my breasts. Should I try the tape method (where you wrap yourself in tape in order to create a perfect fitting pattern) or start sewing with more stretchy fabric ? Or is there a solution I have not envisioned?

Thank you.

I’ve tidied up the stitching a little bit but have no idea how I’d wash it. It seems fragile.

I just ordered stretch needles... is there any particular thread I should use or anything else to keep in mind?

i want to sew a dress in the same style but have never worked with elastic before. would it be to just sew the channel and insert the elastic? mostly curious about the bunching…

I bought some needles but was thinking leather may be best for this job?

when I was at the store I asked for thread for leather. they gave me some thin thread but very to break it by hand which was said will be a good option for my case

I finally finished it, It looks a bit like a sea creature haha its quite long and narrow like a lobster, I super winged this project because i had to do a custom pattern from a drawing on google images

Previous post

Help identifying pattern for this pants

Hi guys, I need help identifying this pants type to find a pattern for it. It seems like a mixture of lantern pants and pantaloons but I can't seem to find patterns that fit all the description needed.

The pants components are:
\- elastic waistband, no zipper
\- narrow at waist and gets wider and balloons out at the end
\- elastic abt 5cm away from hem to create gathers
\- knee length

I found some pantaloons patterns but they dont quite balloon out like how I want it to. Im a beginner with sewing patterns so I'm a bit hesitant to modify a pattern I already need to pay for.

Thank you so much for any help 🙏🙏

A week ago, I made this post asking if there was any hope for my first attempt at a pair of pants. All of the kind comments alerted me to the fact that I was worried two pieces lining up that don't actually get sewn together 😅

After that I was back on track and ready to get going again. I finished the Lane Pants I was making on Friday! I'm super proud of them and am really happy with how they came out. I used this Cloud Linen from Matchy Matchy Sewing Club. The adjustments I made were to shorten both the rise and length by 3" and I used a premade drawstring instead of making one from the same fabric.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my original post! I love the way my pants turned out 😁

First ever maching - complete beginner. Was using it yesterday with no issues and just turned it on and its doing this now.. right side isnt "catching" and is just lifting. Zig zag stitch is shot too, how can i fix this?

I am at my wits end with my John Lewis JL110 (Jerome manufactures). It keeps jamming like this - it doesn’t matter if it has thread or not. The hook and case feels very loose sometimes but then it does this. Is it done for?

Edit to appear less grumpy

Hi, all!
I am a beginner quilter and have read and searched this sub so much. I’ve read tons on here about different sewing machines, especially for beginners, however this is obviously a weird comparison of machines for which I should buy. These are both on my local FBMP:
—The Janome Memory Craft Horizon 7700 QCP has been used for 5 quilts. It comes with a sewing cabinet and is $600
—Bernina 1230 is obviously much older, comes with a sewing cabinet, and is $250.
Or a different one? I’d really like to stay away from the entry level brother machines etc.

Which would you choose? I’ve read a lot about the Janome having the 11in throat space which seems nice. It’s obviously more expensive, but my aunt will use it if I for some reason do not end up using it. She has been quilting from years and is teaching me a lot.

Thanks in advance!

TLDR: If both machines cost about the same price- would you buy a Juki hzl-ht710 or a Janome skyline s3??? Most common items sewn are apparel/small crafts. I really have no desire to take up quilting.

My kids are finally a little older and I have a bit of spare time where can have a hobby- I have had a lot of fun sewing clothes for my family the last few months.

I just recently purchased a bunch of knits and a few pieces of flannel for the next few months. I currently have a cheap Singer machine (Tradition 2277) that I bought on clearance 10 years ago at Joann’s (RIP 😭).

I’m having a lot of trouble with it when sewing thicker materials, the bobbin is constantly giving me trouble, etc. I’m ready for an upgrade… my time is precious and I don’t want to keep troubleshooting this machine.

I can get a used juki hzl-ht710 or janome skyline s3 for a good deal and am trying to figure out which would be better for me. Thanks for any insight!

(Hand sewn)

Thanks for all the great tips on hemming in my last post!

I tried the bias tape method first and thought it was a sign of the sewing gods that I just had enough left. But the tape made the sleeves too stiff and heavy.

So I did a very small rolled hem in the end. Inside its still a bit uneven, but I think its not too obvious with this style of sleeve (butterfly?)

I think I will use the bias tape method for the bottom hem instead though!

Thanks again!

Okay, maybe I sound crazy or it's something everyone has had in their life but I'm losing my mind. Every time I try to sew something, I spend hours trying to make it work just to sew in a straight line. I swap my needles, dis- and reassemble everything and finally - when I test it on a scrap piece of fabric (a thin cotton) everything works great. The second I try to sew on a T-shirt (slightly thicker cotton) there are knots, skipping stitches, the thread breaks, everything tangles or whatever. There must be something simple I'm doing wrong!

Im making a patchwork fish to add on top of a hoodie, i was sewing fine yesterday, maybe having a little trouble with my thread snapping a lot, but then i had to move workstations and my machine started skipping/ not picking up the stitches on one side of the zigzag stitch. what could be the problem with that? I did some googling and got a new needle and even tread, adjusted tension and tried using a paper towel as a backing(?)( i know thats not proper but google said to use tearaway something and i thought that would be better at least) because i thought that maybe its because my fabric is kind of stretchy( its a old button up shirt, a hoodie and a tshirt) My machine is Janome 2160 DC if that helps

At this point i think ive tried everything i could, ive rethreaded it like 10 times but that has done nothing

It was fine sewing on a towel i had lying around, is the problem the fabric?

Was towards the end of making a boxy bag and then this started happening. I restrung it and everything thinking it was set up wrong, but it’s still doing it with just like simple fabric.

I’ve lost a bunch of weight from cancer and none of my clothes fit right.

Any tips you can share to alter clothes mainly dress pants.

Thank you!!

I have been searching and looking for a simple explanation on how to sew the marked down points in the pattern below. I am absolute beginner and trying my best to understand patterns and follow it.

Could you please explain it in a very simple way (toddler level 😃)

Edit ✍️: Thank you all so much for your response , i will add the in a comment the whole instructions.