The making your own clothes thread

[MulberryPeony]

Just because a few of us seem likely to get back in the habit with some spare time/wanting to look expensive/capsule wardrobe/consume less.

I made quite a lot of my own clothes as a teen and early twenties but I’m not sure I’ve completed a project for me since. Hand sewing wadding into padded curtains did me in!

I’d like to make a copy of some floaty shorts and duster coat I already own. Got a fair few basic patterns for tops and throw on dresses so might make something light for summer too. I’d like some comfy trousers but worry I’d end up with something resembling pjs! Thinking of repurposing a slub woven cotton smock from a few years ago as there is oodles of fabric to go at.

I’d class myself as a beginner level but happy to adapt patterns. Button holes scare me.

Would anyone like to join me? What is on your to-make list? Any more beautiful sites for me to browse expensive looking fabrics like the merchant and mills one mentioned the other day? Does anyone know of any sites where I can look through a pattern book like the catalogues they have inside fabric shops?

I'm loving the Upton dress and the sleeve options, pity it's only PDF at the moment

@MaryHill Ihave a stash going back 30 odd years

@Oldraver some of the online sewing shops in uk sell cashmerette physical patterns.

If you search for Uptons on Pinterest or IG you can see how incredibly versatile and variable the pattern is. I'm excited to start my toile - maybe this weekend. Usually the only adjustment I have to make to their patterns is a couple of inches in length / I'm 5'8" and they are designed for 5,6"

Physical Upton here:

www.sewbox.co.uk/products/cashmerette-upton-dress-uk-size-16-32

There is also a blog somewhere showing how to change darts to princess seams

This is the thread I mentioned earlier, from 2017. I was tempted not to post it as I'm on there, telling the exact same story about refusing to learn in school and how I'm going definitely to do it one day
But at least I have a sewing machine now which is a start.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/2981009-Anybody-dream-of-buying-a-sewing-machine-and-making-their-own-clothes

I didn’t even get chance to learn in school! Thankfully my nana was a seamstress so she taught my mam and she taught us. Probably not the ‘correct’ way though!

I’m going pattern hunting in the loft later and have eyed up fabric I have in the form of clothes I could reuse if the grain is in the right direction. I’m really trying not to spend unnecessarily in case lockdown is lifted and I end up with less time on my hands (currently working from home but slightly less hours and gaining travel time etc). Or maybe I should be stashing up for potential future lockdowns

@MulberryPeony I'm on a couple of fabric upcycling/remaking sewing groups on FB - so many amazing ideas and clothing remake inspiration there.

I come from a line of seamstresses too Mulberry which is probably another reason why I dug my heels in for so long. All those hand made clothes and I wasn't in the least grateful.

God the photos of me and my sister in matching dresses as kids though

I’ve just been on Pinterest so far @TheClitterati and it’s mainly repurposed men’s shirts and tshirts into little girls dresses so I will have a gander on FB.

Me too! And then when she grew out of hers, it was passed on to me so I'm wearing the same dress for years and years.

soz cross post!

I started making my own clothes when I was in my early teens. I was always crafty and was using a sewing machine to make my Sindy dolls clothes when I was quite small. I was the middle child of three girls, and always had to wear my older sister's hand me downs, which she had from new. Of course, by the time I'd finished with them, were no longer "good enough" for the youngest. Basically they both got new clothes all the time, and I got the second hand crap. Yes, I was resentful and bitter about it (and it seems I still am!). I started making my own clothes when I was about 14, using basic patterns. Ultimately it led to me going to college to study clothing and design and now it's my career, so it worked out okay in the long run. God, I hated those hand me downs....ironically it's now a massive thrill if someone gives me a decent garment they no longer want! Free clothes!

Hello, I haven’t sewn for years but every year when Sewing Bee start I think I’d like to start again.

I used to make all kinds of things - even made a boned velvet and taffeta ball gown once (it was the 80’s) from a pattern I made myself. Smocked dresses for DD when she was little. Ah those were the days.

I’d quite like to start with some palazzo pants but I need a proper pattern.

Big Gee I envy you a bit. I was making my own clothes by my teens but actually gave up needlework at school because in the 1980s it was so dumbed down - whole term to make a t shirt etc. I pursued a technical design career instead but I sometimes wonder if I could have worked in fashion if i hadnt been such a cocky teenager! Ive enjoyed learning pattern drafting recently.

My mother and grandmother were also professional sewers, though in the Sewing factories rather than seamstresses. My mother was M&S’s best pocket maker in the 1970s.

I like the Merchant and Mills stuff. How easy is it to make a pattern from a pdf. Is it very fiddly?

Depends how big the thing is - a top is okay, a dress would be loads of A4 paper! They give you A0 versions you can get printed at a copyshop, if any copyshops are still open. That’s much easier.

I love making my own clothes because I prefer to wear something different and my fabric stash is (alas?) well out of control!
I tend to use the big 4 for patterns and mix bits of them to get different styles.
A good tip to stop the paper pieces from falling to pieces is to put them onto iron-on interfacing.
Abakhan are good for fabric and haberdashery; I've also used Fabric land although I don't like their website and a friend has just ordered lining fabric from poundametre and said it arrived OK and was acceptable quality.
I always do any buttonholes by hand, because I find that more relaxing than trying to do them on my machine .
I watch The Great British Sewing Bee and am constantly amazed at the things they make ... no-one had better look that closely at my stuff but I get a reasonable finish that I'm happy with.
It's lovely to have a sewing thread here, thanks Mulberry.

www.facebook.com/groups/2275590172560356/?ref=share

www.facebook.com/groups/180124212497155/?ref=share

Couple of recycled fabric sewing groups

It's not that fiiddly - I do it in front of the telly. I prefer glue stick to tape. Much easier.

AO files can be expensive to print - if you seek out "AO plan printing" and stick to black and white you can do it for about £2a sheet online.

I lent my DM my sewing machine just before lockdown as her's broke last year. She doesn't have any hobbies my DF would have driven her up the wall. I would like to make my own clothes once I get my machine back. I've got patterns and although I'm a beginner I think I could manage it except I'm a funny shape.

BigGee I really like your story. :-)

My mum taught me to sew with a bit of home ec. Made quite a few bits as a teen in to 80's . Did make a rather cool boneless strapless ball dress for high school ball. Lots of other things. I used to love the Vogue designer patterns - made lots of Calvin Klein shirts.

Took up sewing again many years later after 20 years or so without a machine. Aghast to find body had dramatically changed after 2 dc and fitting became a huge challenge. Had a lot of disheartening (and expensive) mistakes before discovering the Cashmerette patterns which I can pretty much make without adjustments. It was a relief and big Game changer & my sewing mojo has returned as a result.

I won't buy any new clothes this year. .just what I make. (Apart from underwear & tights). I don't 🧵 sew a huge amount but the % of me made garments slowly creeps up by a couple of pieces every season.

I'd like to make underwear but not found cotton with right amount of stretch yet.

I've never used an overlocker.