Stitch and bitch thread #5 This whole thing is fabricated.

[NutellaEllaElla]

Welcome back seamsters! It is soon to be September and Autumn is on its way.

That’s a lovely top @kittykarate

@bouncydog I like Minerva for both fabrics and patterns. The search function is pretty good and I like that for a lot of patterns you can see what fabrics others have used and what that looks like sewn up.

A couple more online fabric shops:

poundfabrics.co.uk/
www.dalstonmillfabrics.co.uk/

First curtain is hemmed! It's certainly a good workout heaving the fabric around.

@bouncydog online fabric shops I've used are Minerva (good selection good search online, good delivery, not super cheap) fabricland.co.uk/ who are a bit more eclectic selection, but also good delivery. On the bargain side I use www.poundametre.com/ but that is a complete wildcard in terms of selection and delivery timescales can also be really unpredictable.

@bouncydog I’ve used:
www.dalstonmillfabrics.co.uk
northernmonkeymakes.com
www.fabworks.co.uk
www.rainbowfabrics.co.uk
www.abakhan.co.uk
guthrie-ghani.co.uk

Well done @GnomeDePlume definitely rather you than me with the size of those curtains!

I've bought from Lamazi Fabrics, Lush Cloth, Fabworks, Minerva, My Fabrics, Simple Life Fabrics plus in person at the Sewing Studio in Bath and Make at 140 in Plymouth. Stone Fabrics in Totnes do online sales. I try to buy locally or from small businesses where possible as quite a few small fabric retailers have closed down recently due to rising costs.

And then there's the lucky dips also know as Poundametre and Pound Fabrics - hit and miss but often extremely cheap and good for toile fabric.

I'm currently very unhappy with my order off this Etsy seller. The listing title says: "Waffeljersey 100% cotton "Clarissa" by Swafing, by the meter, 150 cm wide, 300g/sqm, Oeko-Tex"

So I order 2 X. Only 1 metre arrives and they tell me it's actually sold by the half metre. Fair enough that is in the description but the title is totally misleading. 🤬

www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1101899547/waffeljersey-100-cotton-clarissa-by

Oh that's so annoying. I assume the bit in the heading has been lost in translation as it looks like a German seller.

sadly the saying 'too good to be true' stands very much for fabric, I have very rarely got a bargain buying fabric online other than when trusted retailers have sales on.

Thank you so much everyone for your help. You have really opened my eyes to what is now available - we only have 1 small fabric shop where I live. My machine should arrive today so I can get started!

Yeah I would be too, that's misleading. After having the same happen I do tend to assume that fabric sold online is priced per half metre but in that instance I'd have expected 2m if I'd entered 2 in the box. I'd definitely be complaining with a screenshot of the description.

*title, not description

I really hate buying fabric on etsy and ebay as the sort by price is pretty much useless because everyone seems to sell in different 'units'. FQ, half metre, full metres but pre-cut, full metres but cut on order....

That’s frustrating @NutellaEllaElla . Having had a quick look at some of the other stuff that seller has in their shop, I’d hazard a guess that you’re not the first person to raise the problem. They may not know exactly how to describe what they’re offering so that it is 100% clear to everyone, but some descriptions have clearly had “from 0.5m” added to them and some list a price per meter. If others have raised it, then it’s really sloppy for the seller not to sort it out for all the fabrics. Conan you leave some feedback somewhere?

Speaking of online fabric buying problems...I received some fabric today that looked like a nice spring green online, but is almost neon in real life. I don’t know what it is with green fabrics, but they really don’t seem to photograph well. Ah well, I guess my skirt will just have to be a bit more eye catching than I originally had in mind 😂

That’s so frustrating Nutella. buying online can be such a minefield.

I’ve had an online success, I bought some Liberty silk satin scraps to make a scrunchie for a friend for Christmas, and I’m really pleased with it. I can’t show her so I’ll show you all!

That's really pretty SBAM.

I've got some Liberty cotton lawn tabs and collar stand on a denim shirt dress I made and it's a great conversation starter for anyone who 'knows' about that sort of thing as they often clock it and ask about it.

That's a shame Nutella. The fabric is gorgeous as well. I hope you manage to make use of it. That's a lovely gift idea SBAM. I'm sure the Liberty shop sells scrunchies for around £30 each so very luxe.

I am avoid trying to work how to put on a fly zip, so have been working on fabric paper chains out of fat quarters from Aldi in a Christmas print. It's been really soothing just sewing straight lines. Maybe I'll take up quilting yet!

I have a quiet weekend so might try to focus on the trousers before they languish as a UFO. I've looked at a couple of You Tube videos but the instructions seem to follow a different construction and I'm trying to get my head around it all.

That’s lovely SBAM.

Adding nice finishing touches has got to be one of the best things about making your own clothes Pastabest.

I’ve just cut some pocket lining for my acid green skirt…bright orange seemed the obvious choice! This skirt is going to be bright 🤩 (and yes, I should have ironed the fabric first, but it’s only pockets and I just didn’t feel in the mood for getting the iron out)

Sewing a fly isn’t too bad if you have clear instructions, but sadly it’s rare to find those Ulysses. I’ll be attempting a fly too, using the instructions from Grainline’s moss skirt combined with instructions from some trousers I toiled a few weeks ago. It’s all a bit trial and error, but when I trialed my combo-method last weekend it sort of made sense 🤞

I love the pocket lining CrimsonAlligator - that’s definitely going to be a bright skirt.

So true about Liberty prints Pastabest, I saw someone wearing a dress in a Liberty print when I went to that sewing meet-up a few weeks ago. It was lovely but I dread to think the cost of enough fabric for a dress! I don’t think I could bring myself to spend that much in fear that I’d somehow cock it up.
I bet the Liberty and denim combination looks great.

Oops. Pressed post too soon.

I’ve made the Tammy Handmade Etty camisole this week. All good except for the baffling construction instructions, which if I’ve read them correctly don’t leave a very nice finish, and the fact that when I did my FBA I forgot to true the side seam so I need to level that before I can hem it. The scallops on the neckline aren’t super crisp but that’s probably my own fault for watching crime documentaries while I sew and I couldn’t be bothered to unpick and try again.

I now have two curtain panels. Next step is attaching the grommet tape and cutting the holes (😮) for the eyelets.

That sounds complex Gnome. I’ve only ever done curtains with the gathering header tape stuff. Well done on wrangling those massive bits of fabric. Are you planning to hem by hand or machine?

@SBAM curtains are weird, you hem first! I hemmed by machine.

From what I can tell with curtains it's all in the measuring and cutting. The sewing is all straight lines.

Youtube has been an absolute godsend. There are loads of tutorials available.

One tip I picked up was to use Teflon needles when sewing involves the lining as it is a slightly rubberised fabric which causes thread to stick. And curtains use lots of thread, lots and lots of thread.

Quick question! Can I make Christmas Crackers (fabric ones, velcroed in the middle) without cardboard tubes?

You'd need a lot of spray starch to make that work.

What about heavy weight iron on interfacing to stiffen the fabric? It will probably still be a bit floppy but easy enough to add.