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?

A poster kindly directed me to this thread when I asked a question on chat about calico. I hope I'm ok to ask it here, seeing there are lots of knowledgeable seamstresses/seamsters around?

I'm ok at sewing and have done quilts and dolls clothes, but never a dress for myself. I've bought the Wilder gown pattern from Friday Pattern Company, and was thinking about making the dress from white calico for my first go, seeing the fabric is so much cheaper than cotton dress fabric (something like Liberty tana lawn, which is what I'd eventually like to use). Is that a bad idea? White calico doesn't look massively different from white medium weight cotton...

Thank you!

It’s a really good idea to make up a pattern in cheaper fabric as a toile or muslin. You can check the fit and make any alterations to the pattern that you might need.

Then you can cut into your lovely Liberty fabric with confidence.
Good luck!

Hi, calico doesnt really drape, maybe look for unbleached lawn, voile or muslin?

I sometimes pick up cheap but not very attractive fabrics just for toiles. Calico works for more fitted things - I just used it to work on a skirt block which I then made as a pencil skirt in a stretch cotton twill so similar weight and behaviour. But I've got some cheap crap jersey for testing out knit top patterns, and I picked up a couple of lucky dip bundles which had a few nice fabrics, and a few ugly ones in lighter wovens which will be greating for testing trousers, dresses etc which I want to make.

Speaking of the skirt block, has anyone ever done a pencil skirt with double darts at the front? I have quite a big hip to waist difference (about 16"), but also a big bum and a rather fat stomach (I sound so glam). I've got my pencil skirt fitting pretty well but the front darts are just too big a wedge so won't lie flat at the points. I either need to split it in to two, or to take more from the side seam but I'd then need to adjust the back and it is sitting perfectly (two darts) so I'm really reluctant to change the back. Nothing every sits right over my ass!

Struggling to find pictures of a pencil skirt with 4 front darts rather than two so can't decide if it will look ok or not

Thanks everybody! I might try something basic like this one, should drape more www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264270379129

I've just found a remnant of printed Liberty twill, 1.7 m of 135 cm wide and am racking my brains trying to work out what to do with it! Any ideas?

I’ve made a liberty blouse with massive statement sleeves and that’s needed 2 m though the pattern says I needed around 2.7m. It depends on what size you are as well and if you have a repeat in the pattern. Sleeves need quite a bit of fabric so something summery without sleeves? I made the Named Clothing Saraste blouse in a twill last year. It has ruffles and the twill was a nice weight.

I mean a repeat pattern in the fabric.

What about a bag Magpie?

This is it. Background colour is navy blue, with thread for scale. I'm on the large side, so I think you're right about no or short sleeves...

Ooh, I hadn't thought of a bag! I like that idea!

Lemon50, decent fabric sellers put the fabric weight in g/sq.m

Liberty lawn is 76gsm. 100 gsm is quite light, the one you linked was 200gsm it might be thicker than you want.

Magpie I used to live near a fabric factory shop that used to sell a lot of Liberty seconds (lawn and twill). I've spent hours perusing Pinterest and google over the years trying to find uses for my Liberty haul and come to the conclusion that the twill makes excellent bags/bag linings/purses and children's clothes and the lawn is virtually useless for anything other than looking pretty in your fabric collection, making interesting linings, luxury pillowcases and the odd summer dress

@NotMeNoNo thank you for that I actually chose a fabric that was heavier than liberty lawn, for more structure. I've ordered a sample so we'll see how it feels. Great reminder though for a novice - all these little things you mightn't think of yourself!

For those with a metre or two of fabric and don't know what to do, check out purl soho. They have so many free sewing (and knitting) patterns online, including for smaller projects like bags and aprons, I'm forever making their stuff.

Sorry, I was going to say I'm sure you know this if you are a quilter! Hope it comes out well

I've just found the Sew House Severn tea dress pattern on page 5. It is gorgeous!

It is so much like the dress I always look for in the shops and never find.

I am tall though and will need to make it a few inches longer in the wasit. Do you think that is doable on this pattern?

I am (well was, years ago) quite a reasonable dress maker. (I once made a ball gown) So I am happy to give it a go, but I always sew form a pattern, I'be only once altered a pattern, apart form length

On the measurements it gives a measurement for the Sweep??
Anyone know what that is?

Circumference of bottom of skirt I think

Re altering the length - I'm not an expert but I have awkward dimensions which mean I hack just about every dress pattern I meet! If you look at the versions without the belt it's easier to see the construction and I would say it should be easy enough to extend the body length. You need to work out where you need the extra though and that impacts on how easy it is. If you have a long waist but bust is about right it's easier.

@StatisticallyChallenged I’m sure the Pencil Skirt pattern from one of the earlier GBSB (2014 maybe) has double darts. I have made it but it looks really frumpy on me.

Off to read whole thread as I love sewing.

Thanks statisticaly challenged

I think I could do it.
Just seen though that I would need 5m of fabric. The fabric I like is £10 a metre
Now I remember why I stopped sewing my own.

Thanks Wildernesstips, that led me to this one - sewsusiesew.blogspot.com/2016/02/ which looks pretty good I think. And funnily enough she's wearing a top made from a liberty fabric which I used earlier today to make a dress for my dd!

that liberty fabric is so cute!

I made pencil skirts way back when --I was much skinnier) and they frequently had double darts. A good dart should really shape you well and not be seen so two smaller are better than one if your arse to waist ratio is bigger.

That said Ive just finished the dress I drafted off a Lady V one, quite a few changes and the fabric was some from years ago that was basically strios of fabric sewn together ...doing the darst was nye on impossible and I had to tops stich then instead

The blummin awkward fabric. Didn't give a thought to it's troublesome-ness