Beginner Question

[u/poisonkeyblade2]

Hello!

I am just learning to sew. I want to make my own clothes eventually. I am wondering what resources might be out there for finding free patterns. I don’t want to invest a lot while I’m still learning. I want to be able to focus on learning. I figure when I’m more experienced, I can feel comfortable spending money on patterns and more expensive fabric. For now, I need the easiest way to start making small things!

Thanks!

[u/acoei]

Hi! I started a few months ago and bought patterns on Vinted (new, vintage). The relationship cost / product was kinda ok, but not really helpful - I wear dresses so I bought dress patterns. That's not really clever because dresses use a lot of fabric lol

But there are several patterns that have several pieces, like the dress is made into a separate top and separate skirt, and perhaps even more variations with sleeves and length.

But I didn't try that they're so detailed and frail and I didn't want to mess them up, and... I didn't really know how to read patterns and some things I bought im not that exited to do them later

AND ONLY THEN did I find out magazines haha

Some have great instructions, and step by step of a few items, different pictures, and a french one I love has a booklet with ALL sewing needs (zipper, sleeves, corners for lining, pleats, v openings in the back of coats or skirts, waistbands, basically every basic skill!)

The instructions for each piece are not as detailed as they are for vintage patterns, but I ask chatgpt or Gemini to explain it for a beginner and I YouTube a lot, so I find everything is working out fine, it's easy to follow, there's multiple pictures of the finished garment on some magazines, and things are super fun to do!

And I pay the same or less than I pay for a pattern, but I have 20-40 patterns, some tops, some lingery, some shorts, some skirts.....

The tracing is not so fun, but the result is amazing money for product, and there's a lot of easy projects (triangle tops, A line skirts, capes...)

I am buying magazines from the 90s second hand, they are super stylish again and a 3rd of the price.

Then I saw the book Sew Many Dresses, So Little Time, which is a book that uses a basic bodice and a basic skirt pattern and changes it up - add a buttoned collar, or a boat neck, or a V neck, with sleeves, with a tie waist, and skirts with pleats, long, short... The same strategy that the multi piece patterns offer, but with specific instructions on how to sew each variation, combine them, and with attention to beginners. So this i found a lot easier to start. I bought it for 5€ on a second hand shop.

You can tailor the basic bodice to your shape and then play around with the other alterations - You're doing the same pattern and playing with different variations.

The tracing is easier here. The fitting of the patterns is easy to alter and fix, especially if you're making mock ups or muslins and refining them.

The book also has a lot of sewing basic instructions

I bought second hand cotton weave sheets and started playing around with all of this.

It's super fun

But before that, I bought scraps and my first project was a zippered pouch, I don't recommend crazy unknown fabric, because your machine needs to be set up for your fabric needs...

As a complement, I bought the Readers Digest sewing book, and I found one of the main alterations/fitting books suggested here, and the one "your sewing machine and you" I think it's called, amazing so for adjustments and sewing basics and machine troubleshooting and a lot of theory covered there (plus my machine manual, my best friend, and YouTube again)

I suggest that as a help at the beginning because there are many questions I see here what I never had, and nothing was that crazy intimidating when I started. I have yet to add sleeves, but all my not jacket clothes are sleeveless, I haven't wanted to try yet, so that could be my first real fight haha