Making your own clothes

[chilledmomma]

I have some John Lewis vouchers and am thinking about getting a sewing machine from there. I'm a pretty good knitter and feel fairly confident about trying something different. I'm thinking that the shift dresses, tunics and skirts on Boden and the like are probably not that difficult to make....

Does anyone else make their own? Or is it just not worth the hassle?!

If you do, where do you buy the fabric from? And are the John Lewis machines any good?

I make quite a lot of mine and the DCs clothes.

There are some things that are really pretty easy (tunics, a-line skirts etc, as you say, and kids shorts and skirts), and some things that aren't worth the bother, like t-shirts.

I don't think I particularly save much money, but I am able to create clothes in the prints/fabrics I want that fit really well. As I become more and more competent I am able to make nicer clothes than I can buy, iykwim, as well as adjusting things that aren't quite right. Early efforts were not terribly successful though, so it's worth persevering.

I buy some fabric from online, make occasional trips to London to e.g. Goldhawk road to stock up on garment fabric and buy some from local fabric shops.

I seem to remember reading that JL machines are made by Janome. If that's true, I'm sure they'll be decent, but maybe google.

Dh bought me a Janome from John Lewis. It's small and light but is up to sewing through canvas and the like, and denim (at a push). So you could use your vouchers to buy any of the machines they sell, or their own make.

I used to make a lot of my clothes but stopped when the dc were small. Am coming back to it now. It's quite soothing!

Thanks, I think I'll go for it!

Is there somewhere online that's good for buying fabric?

I make my own sometimes. It started by me ordering something from Boden which didn't quite fit and thinking that I could probably make it myself. There are loads of sewing blogs on the net for inspiration and some offer free patterns too.
Top tips - press every seam after sewing it.
Don't be discouraged if the odd project doesn't work out, that seems to happen to everyone.
For fabrics, ebay is sometimes worth a look.
Clothkits do kits to make you own skirts which seem a little pricy but the designs are nice.

Warning: if you post a picture of one of your sucesses on facebook, do not be surprised if your friends all start asking for their own version.

I make a few bits and pieces for myself as a hobby. I definitely don't save any money (but you probably already knew that if you're a knitter ) but I enjoy doing it so it's worth the hassle. Get a seam ripper too, because you'll spend a lot of time tearing out what you've just sewn, especially at the beginning. It took me 2 hours, 6 attempts and watching an online tutorial at least 6 times to put a zipper in a pair of trousers at the weekend because it was the first time I'd done it.

Pattern Review is good for research before you buy a pattern.

I've bought fabric from eBay a few times and Croft Mill (their stock changes a lot). Order a sample first if possible (voice of experience).