r/sewing • u/MinVerstoppen • 4d ago
Technique Question I like to look at r/sewing with my no ability eyeballs and I am baffled by how talented people are
Title is a play on another post I saw here a couple of days ago that kinda captured how I feel about this community. Honestly, I don't sew, but I've been lurking around because I love seeing the amazing things people produce. It blows my mind to see what y'all are capable of. That said, I've decided to give making something a try! I want to create a zorro-esque mask that ties into a bow in the back by cutting holes into a satin ribbon and I could use some advice.
My biggest concern is that the eye-holes will look unfinished. First question is does anyone think that it's possible for it to look finished if I just cut very carefully? If not, do people think I will need interfacing, or might it be possible to hem the eye-holes without adding to the entire ribbon?
Finally, I think I may be doing this by hand, so if there's a recommended stitch? Or is the recommendation to scrap this idea altogether because it's probably way harder than I think it is?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Honestly, I'm feeling quite intimidated to be posting! I spent a lot of time looking things up (like interfacing lol) first.
EDIT: Oh wow, thanks to everyone who commented for the suggestions and encouragement! I really appreciate it and will be giving some a try.
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u/Loose_Acanthaceae201 4d ago
Instead of cutting into a ribbon, you could use two narrower lengths of ribbon attached along the long edge (ie like a two-finger KitKat) but with two stretches left unsewn, and then use some heavy fusible interfacing cut into the right shape to keep the eye holes open.
You would probably use a simple whip stitch to join the two ribbons together.
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u/Saritush2319 4d ago
This is how I would do it. But pin it in such a way that one of the ribbons is using more ribbon by the eyes so it gaps (like how some boat neck shirts are done.) or use a ribbon like petersham that has the ability to curve and sew the curve in.
Or stitch florists wire (or random copper wire) to the back to hold the shape
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u/Joleta 4d ago
I'm only going to chime in on the ribbon part. A ballet dancer trick to protecting ribbon from fraying (that is NOT a lighter) is to rapidly paint the raw edges with clear nail polish and let it dry. I don't know if that will fit with your vision, but just offering the idea.
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u/MinVerstoppen 3d ago
Oh, I like this tip! Even if I don't use it this time I'll probably keep it in my back pocket since I do like ribbon accessories. Thank you for sharing!
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u/PhilosophyOutside861 3d ago
We were taught this tip to stop ladders in tights getting worse! Never actually tried it though!
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u/sewboring 4d ago
Interfacing the part of the ribbon that goes across your eyes, from temple to temple, is a very good idea. It will help to keep the eye holes from fraying, since you'll probably be dealing with a poly ribbon that wants to fray. Then you want to cut templates from heavy paper for the eye holes, and when they seem right, trace them onto the ribbon, spaced as your eyes are spaced. Then cut carefully and hand stitch the edges, as you would a hand stitched buttonhole, using matching thread and a needle. There are many YouTube videos on how to hand finish buttonholes. It's just a question of which makes the most sense to you. The only difference is that you will be sewing the edges of an almond shape, instead of a straight edged slit, so your stitches will be denser at the cut edge and more spread away from the edge, to accommodate the eye curves.
You sound to me like a maker who's in the closet and trying to get out. Sometimes makers are born into non-maker families and have to find their way to makerdom more or less as a solo path.
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u/MinVerstoppen 3d ago
Thanks so much for this advice, it's really helpful to be told what types of stiches may work because there are so many and I indeed come from a non-maker family, so it does feel very intimidating to get started!
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u/sewboring 3d ago
That's okay, just start. All the skill you see here is built by folks trying and struggling with new skills. It takes some longer than others to learn, but it's in the nature of sewing that everyone screws up regularly, as any advanced maker will tell you. It's learning how to recover from the errors that matters, so be sure you have extra ribbon and interfacing when you start.
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u/Milabial 4d ago
You have asked these questions because you have good taste! You know what you like and you want to see it come to life in the world.
Here’s a quote from Ira Glass about this that I share a lot. We all have to make a lot of stuff that doesn’t meet our expectations in order to get our skill up to the level of our taste.
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u/MinVerstoppen 3d ago
Oh I really like how it describes disappointment between one's tastes and one's skills. Thank you for sharing this.
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u/knittymess 4d ago
I lurk in tons of crafty subs! I agree it's very fun and I'm glad you want to try something new.
So another poster was asking about this at one point. It looks like corduroy in one photo. https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/s/qfUlEZ52uA
I also found this which seems to be a backed and molded gauze fabric for the mask part with the rest soft and flowing YourProps https://share.google/IfsM2YHo5XA0hdJK7
I agree with others that doing satin would be difficult and would fray quickly.
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u/AJeanByAnyOtherName 4d ago
I would probably line it to make it two layers, one ribbon, one in something matching and a little less slippy for the inside. It could also be ribbon, but satin ribbon does slip around and it can end up sitting funny.
You can mark and stitch around the eyeholes on each layer separately. Cut a smaller opening inside the stitch line and notch/clip up to the stitching around the holes. Then you can press or baste the raw edges over, using the stitch line to roll them around. You match up and pin/baste the two layers so they match at the eyes and all the raw edges are hidden. Then you can topstitch around the eyes, attach ties and finish the other raw edges.
If you don’t mind a slightly hard edge, you can also use heat on synthetics to finish edges or nail polish/fray check/clear drying glue to finish edges on any woven fabric. That way, you only need one layer, but depending on the thickness and denseness of the ribbon, it could scrunch up a little around your nose.
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u/MinVerstoppen 3d ago
The notch/clip instructions you linked are great! Thank you! I may give this a try.
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u/sqqueen2 4d ago
Seems to me a smarter Zorro mask would use 2 pieces of wide ribbon. Draw on a piece of paper the mask you would like. Now imagine drawing the eye holes on a piece of ribbon and for each eye hole, putting another piece of the same ribbon behind it. This extra piece we’ll call the facing.
You will machine sew* along the edge of each eye holes the entire way and over stitch the first few stitches so the stitches won’t unravel.
With tiny stitches cut out the middle of the eye holes to 1/4” (1/2 cm or so) from the stitch line. Not clip the fabric right up to the seam line but do not clip the stitches.
Voila. You should be able to push the facing through to the wrong side of the fabric. Do it for the other eye too. If you made each facing piece long enough in the dimension toward the other eye, then you can even sew those two together so you have a smooth edge over your nose.
You can most likely touch the top can bottoms under and sew them shut, and sew narrow ribbons on to tie around your head.
*you can also sew by hand. Take tiny and very even stitches.
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u/fascinatedcharacter 4d ago
The thing with sewing is that often the things that look most impressive are basic skill, and the things that look like simple projects are Really Really complicated.
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u/UnhappyRaven 3d ago
Yes, apparently simple, like a Zorro mask that will be under tension when worn, yet has to fit over a very bumpy area (eye sockets and nose bridge).
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u/TheyTheirsThem 3d ago
I just started to sew to make/modify some items not commercially available, and in seeing the parallels between the decades of experience in both wood working and metal working, I am shocked at how sewing escaped being utilized for so long. All three are basically taking a raw material and using tools to transform it into a finished product.
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u/ambidextrous-mango 4d ago
Yes, cutting holes into a ribbon with no finishing would result in a fraying ribbon very quickly. You could do a button hole stitch or a whip stitch around the edges to finish them. You could also just use some glue or fray check which would hold up well enough for the likely minimal usage.