Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Arts and crafts

Discover knitting, crochet, scrapbooking and art and craft ideas on this forum.

Original poster

is there a general chatty dressmaking thread?

89 replies

SpiderTracker · 01/09/2014 07:23

Hello,

I was just wondering if there was a general chatty dressmaking thread? A place to talk about what's on your sewing table and to compare projects ask for advice on patterns fabric etc. With the children going back to school and my youngest starting full time I shall be sewing much more and thought it might nice to have somewhere to chat.
I shall start, currently on my sewing table is a cotton blouse, and I am debating whether to leave the sleeves off.

OP posts:
Original poster
spidertracker · 07/09/2014 21:10

Welcome Ishould and katymac
thumbcat I think the problem with the Megan is it is designed for a very slender petite woman, it looks lovely on Tilly, but any one with a bigger than average bust the neck is too high. I am only a 32FF so not massive, I also did my Megan in a plain fabric so it was just such an expanse of colour.

OP posts:
Mumelie · 08/09/2014 17:26

Hi everyone
My Anna dress is now cut out and awaiting construction - this may take a week or so as v busy at work Sad
Over the weekend I made another Tilly and the Buttons Clemency skirt with slightly less more drapey fabric and a longer length so good for late summer. Really like it and hope to actually wear it!
I wasn't too keen on the shape of the Megan dress either - neck too high and skirt too short for me. Plus I was erring on the side of caution with the size and made it way too big.

Thumbcat · 13/09/2014 16:10

How is everyone getting on? I've just finished cutting my fabric and lining for my Megan. At some point this weekend I'll sew the two together so all the pieces are interlined.

I accidentally bought some more fabric yesterday. I thought I was just browsing...but you know how it goes. I have some lovely soft, drapey cotton/viscose material in a beautiful jade colour, which I'm planning to use for a short, V neck version of the Anna dress. I also bought some fabric to make this

I have plenty lined up now to get me through the winter. No more buying!

Original poster
spidertracker · 14/09/2014 17:41

That kimono jacket is nice thumbcat. I made up another mimi blouse this weekend, I made it much shorter so it just sits on top of my highwaisted jeans.

I am hoping to go fabric shopping this week.

OP posts:
Thumbcat · 16/09/2014 09:55

I cracked on with my dress yesterday, but when I came to join the skirt and bodice pieces together I found that the front bodice was quite a bit wider than the front skirt piece. This is the kind of inexplicable thing that happens with my sewing.

I kind of squished the excess bodice material over to the side seams and sewed it down, so I have a kind of tuck by each seam, but I don't think this will be noticed by anyone but me.

Zip, sleeves and hem still to go.

ishould I just had a look at the Joel & Sons link. The prices!

Original poster
Spidertracker · 16/09/2014 12:32

I get that bodice too big for the waistband thing alot thumbcat . My mum said you are supposed to ease it in but I never can, I think it because I have to adjust for my bust so sometimes I increase the seam allowance as I stitch to make fit a bit better in the middle.

Do any of you read sewing blogs? Some of the people that write them have just done a week where they wear things made from just one pattern. There is loads of inspiration. Have a look at handmadejane.co.uk it looks like she ran it and lots have people have posted their links in her comments. I find it much easier to choose patterns to try if I have seen how they look made up on actual people.

OP posts:
mimiasovitch · 16/09/2014 18:56

I've been having a nightmare fitting my bodice. I've done 5 toiles. Yes - 5, and am still not totally happy. Then in work today I looked at what people were wearing. Without fail there were folds, and gaping, and general imperfections. And they all looked fine. I think may have been a little over zealous in my quest for the perfect fit. I'm going to take the plunge and cut my fabric and be done with this infernal frock.

Thumbcat · 17/09/2014 11:59

Five toiles is dedication! But I think that you're right in that we notice any imperfection in our hand made clothes far more than we would in shop bought ones.

Good luck with the cutting. I find that part the most stressful, and it's not helped by the cat wandering in, laying on my material and trying to have a game with my scissors.

Spider that's interesting that you've found the same bodice problem. I did make a larger size for the bodice, but thought I'd scaled up the skirt pieces to be the same width at the top. I blame my material - it's an utter bastard, bulky and fraying everywhere.

Thumbcat · 17/09/2014 12:00

Meant to say, I love the blogs too. I think I'll participate in Me Made May next year, where you wear something handmade every day of May.

IDismyname · 17/09/2014 16:30

Thumbcat - I never said Joel and Sons were cheap... but their stuff is very very special! Grin

BeCool · 17/09/2014 16:34

Hello - I'd love to be sewing again. I just keep looking at my pile of Burda magazines and stash of fabric and I'm determined to get back into it soon.

So joining up here for inspiration.

Original poster
Spidertracker · 18/09/2014 11:56

Happy to have you becool
I am going to have a go at a shirtdress, I think I might need a few toiles to get that one right. Not sure I'll make 5 though.

OP posts:
mimiasovitch · 18/09/2014 15:17

I was thinking that once I had this one right, it would be a great bodice to put with any number of skirts. I can't just wear knits forever - they stop me noticing the weight I've been gaining! I went shopping yesterday for an anniversary dress as I hadn't managed to finish mine, and the fit in general was awful. In most I'd have to take a chunk out of the back bodice. I'm going to enjoy the fact that my dress will be way better fitted than anything I could have bought. I have yet to fit the sleeves though! I love taht Joel and sons website. I'll still to window shopping there though. I like Minerva crafts a lot, and Fabric Godmother has some beautiful prints.

Halsall · 18/09/2014 15:33

Ishould, have you been to Shaukat in the Brompton Road? They have a dizzying selection. Not especially cheap but lots of fabric to perve over! Link

If I want value, I go to Abakhan, but sadly it's not a Southern thing. I ration my visits when I go up North to see family...

IDismyname · 18/09/2014 16:51

Ohhhh Halsall - thats fabric to lust over!

May have to totter over to S. Ken when I'm next in London. Most of the stuff is cheaper than Joel and Sons, too - so quite a bargain... in comparison :)

BeCool · 18/09/2014 17:27

gosh I'm impressed with all these wonderful fabrics.
I usually buy fabric from the Goldhawk Road shops.

Original poster
spidertracker · 18/09/2014 19:16

I only ever buy fabric from the rag market in Birmingham. Anything more expensive than £3 a metre and I feel I've been ripped off.

OP posts:
BeCool · 18/09/2014 20:16

I'm still trying to recover from the ball us I made of a dress I made out of silk. The most I've paid for fabric in 20 years - total cock up in the norkery dept. Grin

I'll salvage a skirt from it eventually. it's on The List.

BeCool · 18/09/2014 20:17

balls up!

IDismyname · 19/09/2014 06:51

Oh dear BeCool sounds like a bit of a mistake. I've been there....

However, some of the ladies in my sewing class will go out and spend £5 a metre on some fabric, spend weeks making something and then end up with something that looks individual, but rather cheap at the end of it.

I'd rather spend a bit more, make a toile or two, and get it right with some better fabric. In terms of what you spend on fabric, I reckon it works out about the same.

That's my highly sophisticated analysis of 5 years in a sewing class :)

BeCool · 19/09/2014 12:03

ishould I am not as patient or tempered a sewer as you I think.

Strangely I have only ever made a 'toile' once and it was for this dress! Confused Clearly i didn't do it properly - ah we live and learn.
I learnt to sew from about age 12 - largely self taught with some help from my Mum, also self taught.

I've only taken it up again recently after not sewing for about 16 years. in my head I am a sewer, but in reality I find it hard to squeeze it into my day/week.

IDismyname · 19/09/2014 17:47

I'm just like you, Cool - in my head I think I have masses of time, but I don't.

I'm giving up my sewing class this term (been going for 5 years), and instead am doing a pattern cutting course, which should be interesting. Maybe I will come away with a proper pattern for me and my (odd) shape??

However, it will mean that the 2 hours I sewed EVERY week, will be gone.

EATmum · 19/09/2014 18:42

Can I join please? I've been sewing since about January, and been learning as I go. Am v inexpert, but enthusiastic. However, my lovely MIL has asked me to make her a top - now I'm terrified, as she will realise quite how bodge-it I am really. I've made things for my children, but not other adults. Scary - words of encouragement and advice needed ....

Original poster
spidertracker · 19/09/2014 18:50

I would love to learn pattern cutting Ishould I am more a teach yourself than go to a class though.
Welcome to the thread EAT I have never made something for another adult either. Just take your time and it is probably easier to fit on someone else.

OP posts:
IDismyname · 19/09/2014 22:44

I would have thought it was easier to make something for someone else. You can use them as a live mannequin! Just be careful with those pins...