Dressmaking - experienced and beginners welcome

[AnnieSnap]

Dressmaking has becoming a topic in the ‘No Buy, Low Buy’ thread. In order not to derail that and because it deserves its own thread, I invite anyone who would like to make some of their own clothes or those already doing so to post here about fears, joys, problems, successes etc.

Having binged watched several serious of The Great British Sewing Bee when was laid-up with Covid and because that corresponded with the woman who did my little alterations stopping doing it, I was inspired to get a cheap sewing machine to try to do my own. That was just 16-months-ago and, having no previous experience at all, I quickly fell in love with sewing. I am not usually very patient with tasks (I have great patience with people and animals, but not with much else). Surprisingly, I have endless patience with sewing even when things go wrong 🤷‍♀️ At the beginning, I never dreamed I would be able to make clothes, but it turns out I can. So far, I’ve made dresses, skirts, tops, trousers, a gilet, a couple of things for my husband and even a jacket and a coat 😮

I try to buy ‘deadstock’ fabric when possible in the interests of the environment. It is fabric that is overstock from designers or big companies like Boden, M&S, Nobody’s Child and all the rest, or even fabric they have had produced and have changed their minds about using. I was horrified to discover that up to recently, all of this, tons and tons every year, went into landfill. It still does if it isn’t sold.

Any sewists (as we’re called these days) or potential sewists, what’s your story? And don’t forget the new series of The Great British Sewing Bee starts tonight. BBC1 9pm.

@pigtailsandall @theatrical @Zipps @remuslupinsbiggestgroupie @daisywaisy

I’d be very glad to take some zips off your hands, if you’ll let me pay postage.

@Rosenspants I did! Some mistakes along the way but we were both quite pleased with it in the end!

This is my machine too - also my first as I’m just learning to sew in my 50s. I do like it although haven’t yet used all its functions!

Pm me your address and I'll send on Monday. That's kind of you but I'm not bothered about the postage it's only a few £ and I haven't got PayPal so just make a donation to charity if you feel guilty getting free stuff

@IndianSummer78 That's really kind of you. Will message.

In return I've got a couple of patterns that came free with a magazine ages ago and which I'll almost certainly never make. I'll post a picture later and then if anybody can use them I'll pop them in the post.

These are going spare if anyone wants them?

I have several curved hem shirts - all cotton fabric I think. I want to shorten the hems by a few cms so they are a more flattering length on me.

@Sunnydays0101 a curved hem can be done as a turned up hem, or as a sort of facing. If you're taking up an existing hem, I think you'd need to do a turned up hem, unless you're happy with a feature of a contrast facing, or the shirts can be matched with a bought (or self-made) bias binding tape.

Whichever way, the first thing I'd do is unpick the existing hem. Then wash the shirts and iron out so you have as flat as possible fabric to work with.

To make a curved turned up hem, mark where you want to hem to be, using a tailors chalk or washable pen - make sure the line for the new hem is really clear (but that it will brush or wash off when you've finished.

If you have a hem allowance of more than an inch and a quarter, I'd trim it off, so you end up at the end of the process with a hem of around five eighths of an inch height, from bottom fold to the top fold which you turn in to enclose the raw edge..

Then I'd run a line of machine ease-stitching (loosen off the tension so it gathers easily) all round the edge of the shirt about a quarter of an inch below where you want the second fold of the hem (ie the fold which encloses the raw edge).

Then pull the ease stitching a bit smaller than the actual edge of the shirt. And then - patience needed here - on a flat surface, I'd work around the hem, making and pinning the first fold (ie the new length) - pin close to the new bottom edge of the shirt. Put these pins parallel to the bottom edge of the garment.

Then use the ease-stitching to ease in the fabric into the new hem. Then fold over on the line of ease stitching to enclose the raw edge. Use lots of pins! Put these pins in at 90 degrees to the hem edge.

Then iron, and steam and really press in the hem folds and further ease out the fullness of the hem. Then sew. I'd do a neat machine line (like top stitching) at the very top of the hem, to ensure the raw edge is enclosed. Then I'd probably do another line of top-stitching at the bottom edge of the garment. To really hold any bulk of material down flat. BUt the ease stitching and pressing should really flatten it all out.

Does that make sense?

Thank you for the kind comments. 😊

I have the shell of the bodice sewn now, and I will set in the sleeves tomorrow.

With bulky fabric like this, I always catch stitch all the seam allowances down. It’s an extra step, but it keeps things tidy while sewing, so I am less likely to make mistakes, and the finished garment lays better and nothing ends up “lumpy” under the lining. Anybody else do this? Or, am I just a gluten for punishment?

I have been really careful to only press from the wrong side and to use a tea towel between my iron and the fabric when I did have to press the right side of the fabric. I have used a LOT of steam, and only pressed lightly. So far so good, I haven’t ruined the finish on the boucle.

Hi @IndianSummer78 - could I have the threads please? Let me know how much you want for them. Thank you.

These are the patterns, if any use to anybody.

Yes of course. They're free. PM me your address and I'll send you out some

I still have more if anyone else wants some 🤦

I’m just finishing up the sleeves. I hate setting the in, grrrrr. Any tips from more advanced sewists would be much appreciated!

I have tacked down the shoulder seam allowance to the inside shoulder. I have cut away the seam allowance at the bottom of the armscyes, and double sewn there for strength.

I am attaching specialist tape to the seam allowances of the sleeve heads so the sleeve caps “pop”.

The sleeve head tape is on now. Here is a picture of the right sleeve cap with the “tape” (you could use strips of quilt wadding) sewn in, while the left side has none.

Shoulder pads next then lining.

Thank you. PM sent (took me a while to work out how😀)

Hi @RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie could I have the dress pattern, please? Way beyond my skillset at the moment, but it would be something to aim for. (Let me know the postage cost.)

Any tips from more advanced sewists would be much appreciated!

@Sibilantseamstress that is a lovely jacket. I love doing tailoring & that style of jacket particularly. I agree with you about an extra line of soft wadding (I use strips cut from old polyester jumpers) sewn along the sleeve head to make even a softer (no shoulder-pad) shoulder lne pop , as you say. Gives great definition - I have pretty broad & lean shoulders, so like broad shouldered stuff, and I find that technique (even in a dress) really adds a bit of smartness without any effort in wearing!

For setting in 2 or 3-piece sleeves, I have found that I run a machine ease stitching line for a lot more of the sleeve head (on the sleeve) than the pattern suggests.

And I run the seam exactly on the seam allowance line. Then when you pull it to gather up the sleeve piece a bit, as you sew over the actual seam, you're sewing exactly on the line of ease-stitching, and you don't then have to endlessly unpick the seam where you've sewn in unwanted gathers (unless gathers in the sleeve head are part of the garment design ...)

Then I ease, pin, ease, pin, ease, pin - pins in at 90 degrees to the seam/fabric edge. And lots - I might have a pin every eighth of an inch at least. If you've serged the edges of the bouclé you can be quite firm or strong with stretching the fabric. I start with a couple of pins to march the actual top of the sleeve, and the shoulder seam - you can sometimes play around with where the top of the sleeve sits, but it's important to get that line fixed first, as it affects the hang of a tailored sleeve. Then I pin at the depth of the underarm.

Then I ease and pin, ease, and pin, each side between those fixed points. That might be when I also clip the the jacket bodice in the sides of the arm hole seam/arm-scye - perpendicular to the fabric edge, and into about quarters of the seam allowance.

This stage can take aaages - but it's worth it for a really sharp finish. And very satisfying when you get it right! I put the arm-scye wadding in after I've set in the sleeve - makes the sleeve setting a bit easier.

I do the pinning with the sleeve inside the bodice, right sides together (obvs). Then I sew the first seam. Then I turn right side out and check I have no unwanted tiny puckers caught up in that seam - this is where the trick of sewing your ease stitch line of stitches exactly on the line of the eventual armhole seam really pays off!

If it's OK, I press out at the point, and really press out firmly, with an old cotton tea towel as my pressing cloth & a lot of steam.

Then once I'm happy with the set of the sleeve & it's hang, I do a second line of seaming to really strengthen the armhole seam. Then I grade the seam allowances, and if it's a fraying fabric, like a bouclé, I'd do a serger finish, or a softer zig-zag to finish the raw edge of the fabric.

But even with tailored stuff, then first thing I tend to do now, is serge all the raw edges, before I even start putting the garment together. Makes handling throughout easier.

Hope that helps!

PM your address. No need to pay postage. I’m paying forward @IndianSummer78 ‘s loveliness!

Totally messed up trying to do my first zipped skirt today. The zip itself was just about okay but I managed to somehow sew a pucker into the seam that was impossible to unpick. Some lessons learned though.

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie its a process.... I was lulled into a false sense of security when my very first, practice concealed zip on a couple of fabric scraps went really well. Not so on the skirt. I have a pucker in the waist band and a bit (a lot) of lumpiness over the zip on the real thing but like you say, its all a lesson and I still got such a kick out of seeng the garment worn.

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie PM sent. Thank you and @IndianSummer78

This is the next two lots below, in case anyone is interested. All free. If anyone wants it PM me your address

The box is difficult to see, it has: 2 x white thread, 2 x grey thread, red thread, teal thread, purple thread, two wraps elastic, 3 x bindings, plus the box it's in

The other pile is 3 x bindings, 3 wraps elastic, hook and eyes, teal thread, purple thread, white thread, dark grey thread, light grey thread and red thread

So I have started making my skirt.

Things I have learned:

It would have been a good idea to wash all the fabric first if only to get the creases out.
The reason I gave up sewing was that I was always fighting with the tension on my machine. I still don't think it's right.
The pattern is marked Advanced. The skirt definitely isn't Advanced but there are sooo many pieces and keeping track of them, remembering which colour is which and which way was up is taking up all the time. I have to keep referring to my notebook for 'which is Contrast 5 skirt'.

Write the number on the inside of each piece in chalk, with an "up" arrow. Wash all the chalk marks off when it's finished.

Many thanks @DollyParkin , the ease stitch sounds like a game changer!

Yes it is. I saw it on my Pinterest feed and stupidly didn’t save it so I can’t link it here but it really does work. And you pull out the ease stitching anyway once you’ve secured the sleeve.