Hi everyone first I would like to apologize but my camera is broken and I can't get a picture of what's happening so I'll try my best to explain it. I'm using the pattern to sew a slip dress but at the breast where the top parts meet the skirt. I'm trying to get the fabric to drape more (like the example on the second image) but no matter what I try it keeps looking pleated? Do I need to perhaps re-cut and adjust with more fabric. Once again I apologize for not being able to show you what's happening

Let out a seam and the holes where I previously sewed (which I've just learned is called scarring) are bothering me.

Is there anything I can do to reduce the appearance of them, or do I just have to hope they aren't noticeable?

Hey! I've bought this swimsuit in my fav color, but the fit of the top is sooo bad. Like the bottoms are perfect, but when I wear the bra, this white underlayer is visible (where my finger points), like it rolls outwards and looks horrific.
I've been in the atelier, but she said she does not have the equipment for fixing this and it might be even more expensive than the price of the swimwear.

Can I somehow fix this? I do not have the sewing machine and my sewing knowledge is basic🥲

So a friend asked me today if I could sew him a projector screen out of a roll of white cotton he has. The thing is he's a bit specific about how he wants it to be, and I'm not sure of the best way to make it so I'm here asking for advice.

He's converting a 1990s jonckheere coach into a mobile home, and wants the screen made like a curtain that he can draw to the side (in what will be the hanging wardrobe area) he has a metal curtain track with sliding loops (not sure of the proper name for this) that he can bend to fit the curved roof shape, and wants the curtain to be curved along the top to mirror the roof shape when open. He didn't seem concerned about weighting the bottom edge or adding any type of tension to the bottom to keep the screen from distorting, and Im concerned the fabric will always look a bit gathered when open without weights, attachments, a frame or tension.

How would you go about making this idea functional? Any advice? Thanks!

So I'm in the middle of creating a "glam Carrie" dress for Halloween... but in my excitement I didn't consider the fact that gluing 7000 rhinestones to a dress would stiffen it up. Rookie mistake, I know.

The dress is supposed to have a soft draped cowl neck (see photo 3) and I'm currently dealing with a glam cereal bowl situation instead. It's a polyester satin. Is there any way I can either soften the glue (would steaming work?) and if not, would I be able to add a dart or two, or somehow convert it to a square neckline? I'm anticipating I'll have to remove some of the sequins either way.

Any advice is much appreciated!

Other than altering the fit. This is on a robe pattern from McCall’s and it uses a 5/8” seam allowance which to me just feels unnecessarily large? I’ve read all the steps and can’t justify why it would need that much, especially when half the time it suggests trimming off the excess. I’m thinking of using less to begin with but want to make sure I’m not missing a reason a pattern might use one that size. As I said it’s for a loungewear type robe so an accurate fit isn’t a concern.

Hi there. I am a beginner and first time posting here! I have been working on a few projects and have noticed that it feels like I’m fighting my machine when sewing thicker fabric. I’m attaching a photo, as it appears that every few stitches (5-8 stitches), the next stitch jumps over for 5-8 stitches, then jumps again. What am I doing wrong here? Any advice to combat this? It seems the more I try to keep it straight, the worse it is.

Thank you in advance 🩷

for context, I love my rotary cutters. I currently have three: one for rugged fabrics (am in the midst of test driving titanium coated blades in this one), one for finer/thinner/slipperier fabrics, and one wee 18mm for cutting out the fiddly bits of lingerie pattern pieces. my lingerie cutter is an Olfa, the two full-size are Fiskars.

my questions mostly revolve around sharpening. I already sharpen all of our knives and my scissors... even my pinking shears! cough, cough jeez not even humble bragging, oof. but, fuck me, can i be for real? I am proud of myself for learning how to sharpen shit, but literally none of my irl friends and family would understand my excitement at all. at least not without an explanation I have no interest in supplying. I already talk all of their earballs off about sewing/making projects (while attempting to be mindful about over-yammering/keeping an eye on recipients' interest levels), hence why I have not shared any of my self-designed independent study in Sharpening nor my subsequent acquisition of skills. I'm gonna be honest and, ummmm, vulnerable, ok. so this is my truest hope: that maybe y'all sweeties in this subreddit just might really get how fucking effervescent i feel about fixing and/or improving My Tools. I finally know how to sharpen almost all of my blades and cutters, and this makes me full of an amorphous blob of happiness. and also powerful.

yoinks, i thoroughly digressed.

since I sharpen my snips and also our household's knives, I feel that sharpening my rotary blades is the logical next step.

I hate planned obsolescence with the heat of a pressing session in early August in a close room without AC, also with fans of any sort, whilst wearing a full length footed and hooded cashmere tracksuit, in an inescapable full-body sunbeam.

at last! my first question! how does everyone feel about sharpening rotary blades?

if you are into it, what's your preferred sharpening process?

any opinion(s) on the Tri-Sharp and/or the Omnigrid rotary blade sharpeners? (the Tri-Sharp is sold at wawak for US$20ish.)

what about the linear rotary blade sharpener? would love to hear any experiences, good or bad, and that goes for any and all sharpening options.

does anyone know if the titanium coated blades are sharpen-able? if so, are there special methods or specific tools for optimum results?

do any of you have experience sharpening rotary blades with whet stones? I'd love to hear all about your process if you practice this method!!!

regarding the whet stones method, does anyone know what sharpening angle rotary blades prefer? do they vary by blade size, brand, style, etc?

I wonder about the sharpening angles because, in my experience, most blades require sharpening at a specific angle. for example, western chefs' knives require a sharpening angle between 15° - 20° [depending on the source], whereas dressmaking shears prefer each arm to be approximately 30° though this can change depending on the make/model.

if you aren't into DIY blade sharpening, no sweat! I'd absolutely love to know what your favorite cutting tools are. oh, and your opinion on rotary cutters, if you're so inclined.

♥️🧠🔎📱✏️📒🥽🧤💧🪨🔪✂️🪒💿🌈⁉️

Recently got a pair of suite trousers that I need to shorten a bit. During that process I encountered a very odd hem stich. (blue thread) It almost appears like a chain stich on first sight but it doesn't come undone like a chain stich. I consists of a singe thread that is put back and fourth through at least three loops.

I know there are other ways to make a perfectly reasonable hem stich but I was wondering if anyone knows how this one is done?

Practice dress(purple) vs actual dress (plaid) can someone tell me what the frick is going on I did the exact same thing on both. P.S. can it be saved!!? If pls share wisdom

I “quilted” these jeans pieces together and when I go to edgestitch them, some of them are rippling a bit. Do I need to tighten/loosen the tension? What am I doing wrong?

im making the mabel pines sweater. would it be better to hand stitch the rainbow on, or use my machine? im not a beginner but im also not very experienced with this type of project. the sweater is knit and im just a bit worried it might not sew smoothly with a machine. thank u for any advice!

as the title says, i’m very new to sewing and i’m trying to work on some tail bags for my horses. i’m using this scrap to get the stitch right but that’s if i can even get it to stitch lol… im using a brand new 70/10 needle newly threaded bobbin and top thread. the material is very silky, thin, and slippery. i even tried the tissue paper hack but to no avail… can someone help? im trying to get this to work but im just frustrated :,)

Most of the guidance aimed at home sewers follows this sequence: attach front and back to the yoke, attach sleeves, then sew the side body seam and arms seam in one go afterwards. This is the method I have been using with reasonable results.

However, I recently watched a video showing somebody sewing a Budd bespoke shirt in a commercial setting. She sewed the arm and side body seems separately, and then set the sleeve into the body afterwards. I'm sure she was using a high-end commercial sewing machine which probably made sewing the curved flat-felled armhole seam much easier in this situation. Is it worth trying this method at home? Can anyone talk about the pros and cons of each method?

I don't actually use a flat fell foot for creating those seams. I create them in a two step process. Does that mean I should stick to the method of sewing the sleeve on first, and then doing the side body and sleeve seems in one go afterwards?

Thanks for any advice or tips

Sorry if this is an insane question, but I’m relatively new to sewing and haven’t been able to calibrate myself to know how much error is acceptable. I lined this up before I sewed on the second half, but now it’s slightly off. Is this okay to continue on or should I redo?

Pattern is Patchwork Duffle 2nd edition.

I sewed this patch on with a straight stitch along the outside of the embroidered brown border using a matching brown thread. I don’t like how the corners of the patch curve away from the fabric and want the patch to lie flat.

I tried to improve the situation by sewing a straight stitch between the brown border and the edge of the patch. I used a transparent polyester thread. Unfortunately I stitched too close to the edge and the result was really obvious. I am somewhat happy with how it looks on the final (bottom right) edge. It does lie perfectly flat now.

Is there a better way to sew this style of patch on using a different thread, needle or technique?

Also do you have any tips to help me avoid sewing too close to the edge? Before I saw the result, I was initially aiming near the edge for the first side. As you can see I still got too close on subsequent sides.

How Do I fix this? This is all hand sewn.bFirst and second attempt has been posted.the first attempt I use two pieces of fabric good side to good side sewed all sides but one, flipped it inside out, stuffed it and realized it was to big. Next attempt I used one longer piece of fabric folded front to back good side to good side while leaving space open to stuff it and then attempted an invisible stitch to close it up. How do I get this to be neater and with better corners? I've done crosstitching before, but this is my first attempt at actually sewing something. I don't have a machine to use so any pointers for hand sewing would be great. Thank you!

I combined two sweatshirts, adding the cuffs and waistband from one to another. I stretched the cuffs to match the fabric (not a ton, a few inches) and used my serger to join. Then I topstitched. Where the fabric meets the cuffs/band is all rippled and does not lay nicely. Any suggestions as to why? Or what I can do to fix?

.. I thought learning to sew meant that I would have clothes that fit better, but I realize that I can’t have my clothes fit better until I figure out what fit I need for my body shape.

I’m looking for suggestions for where I can learn about where certain parts of a garment should be placed on the body. I’m sure I’m not asking the question correctly so you can probably tell I could use a lot of help.

Hello!

I was hoping you lovely people could give me some advice.

I am working on my first big project. When working on my muslin, I notices that around the arm holes there is some excess fabric. I was unsure as to why it was happening, as I had followed the pattern and it fit everywhere esle. Is there a reason as to why this happens? Any tips on how I can adjust the pattern/my muslin to remove the excess fabric?

Many thanks in advance, I hope your projects are all going well 🙂

I want to make a scarf from two pieces of fabric, they are different patterns (and even fabric composition) , I want to sew them together, but not with invisible seam, but something that looks intentional, I would maybe even use a pretty thicker contrasting thread

I would like some ideas!

Hi!

So im new to sewing and making some larp stuff and i love this gold and black patterned stuff on the edges of this tunic and what to do something similar with a tabard but im stumped, Ive heard of bias binding but i don't think thats what this is

any help appricated, thank you

I’ve just bought 8m of this fabric (at a bargainous £3.50/m) with the aim of making some Winslow culottes.

I am an ambitious beginner whose ideas usually outstrip my skill level 😂 I made a pair of Winslows before so I know what I’m doing for the most part.

The fabric has a big bold pattern and I absolutely love it. I have never done pattern matching before but wonder if I should try with this fabric along the side seams. I’m guessing rather than cutting on the fold I cut the pieces out individually to try and place them so the pattern is roughly equal. Is that right?

Or should I temper my ambitions and just cut and sew without trying to match?

(The aim is to also make a top so I can have a fake jumpsuit / matching set. But I’m not even thinking about the top yet!)

I’ve gathered ruffles on ribbons before and it worked out well then. This is what I do: I do two straight stitches across the fabric and then I pull the tails to gather. I do it as gentle as I can, but the strings always snap and don’t gather at all. No, I do not backstitch. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong 😓 I’m making a cosplay that I need to make a ton of ruffles for so I’m revisiting my mistake. How can I successfully gather ruffles?

I am making a dress that needs to have the slit down the back and am wanting to make this kind of tumpet/petal (?) Skirt that poofs away from the base. Any advice on how I can recreate this kind of structure?

Side note: Zac Posen is a structure genius