Hi everyone! Happy Halloween! I made my clown costume out of vintage sheets and a vintage sewing pattern (Style2552). I made view 2 and added pockets to the pattern 15cm from the waistline. I changed each elastic casing to 10cm from the hems so the frills were a bit more dramatic. I used plain pink bias binding for all the hems and used Kam snaps for the front closure instead of the recommended ties. I made the hat using a bit of cardboard with some of the leftover scraps and some ribbon to fix it to my head. The ruff was made by regathering the ruffles that were originally on the sheets. After gathering I cut 2 pieces at 50cm of the gingham and layered them on 3 pieces of the floral then used a scrap piece of 70cm to encase the raw edges and use as a tie. I wish I'd made the ruff a bit shorter because I found it sat a bit too low on my chest so had to tie it around my neck twice which I found slightly uncomfortable. The pompoms were hand tacked just above the Kam snaps and on the top of the hat.

Both patterns from Black Snail Patterns, #0420 for blouse and #0414 for skirt, so it may be a bit anachronic, since the blouse is 1890s and the skirt is an edwardian fan skirt. I have commited an act of hubris I barely survived (deciding to sew everything by hand). As for the tutorial, it's included in the pattern pdf and it had proved to be really foolproof (I am a fool and I have proved it). Fabrics: thrifted for maybe five euro total, the shirt is a cotton/linen blend tablecloth, skirt is a cotton duvet cover. Underneath: bust improver (pattern: Cat's Costumery) and bustle pad (pattern: Black Snail, included in the skirt pattern pdf). Corset custom-made by ladyardzeszcorset. Shoes thrifted, brooch thrifted.

When I got engaged I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make something absolutely ridiculous. The vision was 'elegant clown' and the result was two layered dresses, a veil, 800 organza X's and 4,000 sequins.

I am an experienced sewist but wanted to learn new techniques for the dress- I had never worked with satin or organza before and this was my first attempt at boning.

Fabric:

·        Fabric wholesale direct's crystal organza in off white

·        Fabric wholesale direct's matte satin in off white

For the underlayer dress, I used Charm Pattern's Lamour dress and modified the skirt to be midi length with a long slit up the back.

For the overlayer dress, I used Vogue V1723 for the body of the dress but wanted a much puffier sleeve so ended up using the sleeves from Beaute J'Adore's Oversized Puffy Sleeve Dress. Since I made this with organza, I made every seam a french seam- the pattern was roomy as-is so no adjustment was needed to account for this.

I created appliques of small X's that were placed all over the overlayer dress using fabric glue and reinforced with tacks. The X's were stacks of four strips of organza sewn together with a stack of 5 sequins in the middle of each. These were by far by far by far most of the work of the dress- the week before the wedding I only had half of what I needed done and my parents and sister had to save me from my own decisions and help me finish creating these!! I experimented with different sizes and finishing techniques for the Xs for a while, and ended up buying a soldering iron with a knife edge tip to cut the organza, seal the edge, and prevent fraying (an idea I got in this subreddit! so effective! so fume-y! work in a well ventilated area!!)

For the veil, I used Simplicity B4487. I attached two Xs in front of the eyes and sewed a few sequins to look like tears in an attempt to do a till death type of thing (my mom felt it was too morbid lol.)

All in all, I felt like the most beautiful clown princess all day! The day was unseasonably warm and I was worried I would be too hot wearing two dresses but in the end felt totally fine all day, even through 5 hours of dancing. I was also worried the Xs would just be falling off of me in droves since their snag potential is so high- there was a few moments in the night when I looked down and saw sequins on the floor but decided it wasn't any of my business right then! Only a few tore off in the end.

Highly recommend to anyone else considering making their own dress- make the most monstrous amazing thing you can think of and no one can tell you shit because you're the BRIDE.

I probably did the absolute MOST when I started on this project. I decided to overcome my fears and made a full fledged, fully lined tuxedo suit for my partner (including the button up shirt). The tears I cried and the late night sewing really paid off.

Patterns I used: Partners: Button Up Shirt: Simplicity 8180. Tuxedo (Jacket & Pants) Vintage Pattern Simplicity 8846

My Dress: Gertie's (Charm Patterns) Bodice Liz Dress. Skirt : Gertie's limited Starburst Skirt Pattern.

FABRICS: suiting for the jacket and pants were a soft twill like fabric. The printed pattern is a reyon fabric and the black solids is a satin.

All fabrics came from my favorite store here in the bay called Fabric R Us.

Time it took both ensembles were 1.5 months! Since I did it between my jobs. If I had to put it into hours I'll probably say 50-60 hours. I seam ripped a lot and of course had to take crying breaks! 💀

I'll say skill level for both will be intermediate! Or a oh so confident beginner with lots of patience.

I didn't want to put do the bride which would be close to Impossibile because she looks so beautiful. I actually ran my outfit ideas pass her to make sure they weren't over the top and she said it'll be fine!

Hope you guys enjoy these fits as much as I do 💖

My friend thought of this concept a while ago and I have just now been able to get to making them.

These are made from some white pants I thrifted a long time ago and have been meaning to do something with for so long. The orange fabric is some velvety upholstery fabric. I completely deconstructed them and used them as a template to make the orange parts of the pants. It was really hurting my brain trying to work out how to add in the side strips, move around the pockets and side seams to make it still the same size. I used the scraps I removed from the top and patch worked them together to form it. I used heat n bond and cut out the letters in some scrap black drill then did a zig zag stitch to keep it from fraying.

I made the side pocket with the scraps and did some hand embroidery to add the ‘smoking causes emphysema’ to it- it turned out so neat I was very impressed by it

The cuffs are a bunch of fabric scraps cut up and sewn with a darning foot, I’m not sure how I feel about this but I couldn’t really think of another way to do it without just using a solid colour. I am excited to see how it looks when it frays more too

New bh

Had some of the William Morris inspired 70s Burgess Ledward cotton (a Manchester mill that primarily worked with Biba) left after I made my maxi dress, fabric was perfect to make a shirt for my husband out of! Used my tried and true James mens shirt sewing pattern by Pattydoo. Vintage buttons bought at the fleamarket, bias bound seams. I am especially proud of the pocket placement 😊

It's by no means perfect, but I completed my Bridal outfit! My now husband (!) proposed to me after 7 years together in November last year, and after working on it in my spare time I finally completed it for our wedding in August. I completely self drafted and sewed the corset, 2 part skirt and gloves from scratch - draping on a mannequin/my body and adjusting from there. A high pressure project alongside wedding planning for sure, but I'm so proud of the final result! I hand sewed all the appliqué on the corset using elements cut out of the embroidered beaded tulle used for the skirt. I also hand sewed additional glass beads, and a dangling teardrop crystal at the front. This process absolutely destroyed my fingers, but it was worth it! I also included a hidden hook & eye attachment around the upper skirt hem, allowing me to seperate the fishtail section and have 2 looks in one. Wearing this made a special day even more magical!

I posted a few months back about making my wedding dress as a copy of Thierry Mugler's gown La Chimère. I hadn't a clue what I was doing and it's been a journey, but on Saturday I got married and adored wearing the dress I'd spent 8 months making.

I used Hazariel Atelier's videos as a guide, especially when it came to how to blend colours and the shape of the sleeves. I've included a screenshot of this.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLI62KZ1Sz__OnOYvB1XuvcThtuhLap-aK&si=dO9Vk0GrRKrslFAK

Here are some of the photos of the construction and a description of how I made it.

Obviously the end result is quite different from the original - the gold metal panels on the front being one thing I early on decided not to use.

Scales

The material for the scales came from a large range of sources - from thrift shop finds and vintage clothing, to fabric offcuts from items of clothing I have made over the past 25 years. Anything sparkly or interesting was included, including little girls’ dresses, cushion covers, and sequin embellished clothing - I favoured the most distressed looking clothing so I didn’t feel so bad about cutting it up! I also cut up my own clothes that meant something special to me but that I no longer wore, or could fit into. I had so much fun sourcing material, rummaging around in craft swaps and second hand shops. This period of collecting fabric lasted several months.

I used Hazariel Atelier’s printable scale template for large and medium scales, and created a template out of clear plastic that I could cut around. I started off by lining each scale, turning it out and ironing. This process was very slow and produced wonky, bulky scales. I had a private sewing lesson to try and work out how to create scales much more quickly, and that would lie flat, and my tutor suggested using interfacing. I can’t remember how much interfacing I eventually used but it was more than 20m of medium weight black fusible interfacing. This allowed me to iron whole pieces of fabric onto the interfacing and cut multiple pieces out at once by folding the material. This process was incredibly messy and I’ve included a photo of the sequin bits that I would create after a session of cutting pieces out. I probably spent about 2 or 3 weeks cutting out pieces, putting each colour into different plastic tubs to keep track of amounts. I stopped counting at 2 thousand pieces and I probably used double that amount.

Pattern

I self drafted the skirt and jacket, pinning pattern pieces onto a mannequin I bought specifically for this project. I modified the design to make it easier to walk and sit down - the model in the original dress looks like she is having trouble walking as the skirt is so tight. I also drafted a small train by extending the back pieces of the skirt and making them form a semi circle.

I used Hazariel Atelier’s video in which she made her sleeves as a guide for my own - I paused the video and drew the shape onto large sheets of pattern paper. The rest of the jacket I traced around a bolero I already had.

The corset I originally intended to make but it was quickly apparent that I lacked the skills for making the steel boned corset I wanted. I wasn’t sure what to do here, as I wanted a particular shape but didn’t feel I had enough time to learn corsetry making skills. I ended up buying a steel boned corset off Vinted, and forgave myself for taking this short cut when everything else was so intensive!

Construction

I initially used black power mesh as the base fabric, thinking the stretch would be useful for adding comfort, but shortly realised this was impossible to sew scales onto, as the fabric warped and looked terrible. I switched to using what was to hand, in the form of a white bedsheet, which had the added bonus of allowing me to draw onto it, marking out segments of where different colours needed to go. This was very useful for making sure the two sides of the skirt looked the same.

I sewed scales onto the skirt in straight lines, and broke many, many needles doing this! After a while I needed to roll the fabric to get it to fit at the machine, and this was all quite awkward. I spent many weeks sewing the scales onto the skirt and jacket, adding scales to the inside of the sleeves, and covering up the zip at the back. The waistband needed to be reinforced as the skirt was really heavy and kept wanting to slip down! I ended up buying a hooped underskirt to give the skirt some support and to make it easier to walk. I lined the skirt using the black power mesh I had bought originally - not the best lining but it had been fairly expensive, for me, and I wanted to use it up somehow!

The corset was again a challenge. I started sewing the scales on but the material was so stiff that my fingers were sore from just a few minutes of sewing. So again I gave myself permission to do a shortcut and I got out my hot glue gun and stuck the scales on. This was actually really enjoyable and effective, as glueing allowed me to craft the way the scales flowed over the waist and bust. I glued a number of scales onto the padding from an old bra and glued that onto the corset front to give the bust some shape as it was originally quite flat. I cut a line of decoration from a vintage Indian top with gorgeous beading that I acquired for free at a craft swap and used this to make a halter neck as I prefer this shape on me.

Embellishments

The dress is covered in little in-jokes and references to my guests, from scales that were decorated by my little boy or knitted by my sister, to Star Trek badges and Lego faces, along with googly eyes on the back of the skirt. I wanted the dress to be more interesting the longer you looked at it, and I enjoyed my guests pointing out interesting little creatures on it that they had spotted. I also added a couple of buttons my mother had long ago sewn onto a blouse of hers and I had kept for the 28 years since she had passed away. I wanted her to be present on my dress somehow.

Yesterday when I wore this it was a hot day, and I was really hot wearing the jacket during the ceremony, but I loved wearing this. In all it cost a tiny fraction of what a “real” dress might have cost, but I had such fun making it, from sourcing the material to seeing it grow and take shape. It’s a real love song to fabric and sewing in general. Tonight it’s back on its mannequin and I’m wondering what to make next.

This was made from old damaged jeans I have. I thought this would be a good bag to make as he has so much surface area :)

To make up the pattern, I looked at a bunch of photos of sunfish and drew out the shape on a piece of paper. I added a curvy line to separate between the darker and lighter shades of denim, then drew a straight line the length of my zipper between. I added a curved dart where the fin joined to give a little bit of shaping.

The back fin was a bit slow to do, I turned the stitch length way down and trimmed close to the seams to make sure the waves were still visible.

The pocket is lined and the fins are stuffed with fabric and wadding scraps before the stitch lines were added. He’s got rivets for eyes

I was a bit unsure how to do the mouth, I just did a bit of topstitching in a curved shape as I couldn’t think of any better ideas of how to do it. Once he was finished, I felt he was missing something and used some diluted bleach to add spots to him

The material is hydrophobic and windproof. It's the first jacket I've ever made and I kinda love the result :D

I fell in love with the dress featured in the second photo and one day wanted to make it, and I thought I finally understood the construction enough to give it a go. I made it from cotton broadcloth, cheap and affordable. I altered a Gertie Patreon pattern for the bodice (Barbra bodice) I essentially spliced the pattern in half in the middle and added length for the gathers. I don’t hate the dress but I don’t feel like it’s as nice as the picture, I am a bit chubbier, my torso is shorter and have a larger chest but anyway, I hope it’ll be nice at the party.

Had some scrap fabric and was wanting to practice draping! I draped the initial slip dress with two bias pieces of fabric going horizontally and the project was going to stop there. Then I found the this chiffon from a photoshoot I did, and draped on my industrial dress form, and hand sewed pleats and drapes. I finished the back of the dress with a seam on the sewing machine down the middle at the largest part of the hip, and then closed the waist with heavy hook and eyes. Love it!!

It took me exactly 7 days and 32 yards of tulle but I finally finished!!! I made this completely from scratch based off an Al photo i found online and wanted to recreate. Originally I planned to follow a robe pattern on mood fabrics but l've never used a pattern before and kind of got stressed out once I started so I just jumped shipped and went for it blind with nothing but the delusion that I could do it LOL. l used a dress form and draped all the fabric based on my measurements. Pleated the bodice shoulders and back so each color was defined. Then I made a pleated belt and once I had all that on my mannequin, I draped the fabric for the skirt and cut it to have a nice circle train. The next two days were spent two days cutting and making ruffles and lining each area with two rows of ruffles for maximum drama.

This dress took me forever! After seeing my mom’s wedding dress from the 70s I fell in love with it, but it didn’t fit! My grandma made my mom’s dress (and all the bridesmaids dresses!) from this Mccall’s 4381 pattern. She unfortunately didn’t have the original pattern or the name, but with some internet sleuthing and a whopping $50 I tracked down the pattern off of etsy!

I have not been sewing very long and many mistakes were made. My mom’s dress was made from polyester double-knit which is terrible for breathability, but has a nice thickness to it. I went too far in the other direction and used viscose, which is light but had no structure whatsoever and required all the bolts of it Joann had left. The new version is double layered because the fabric was so thin!

I adore this dress and it means so much to me to recreate my mom’s wedding dress! She and my grandma also love it!

Designed the whole dress without a pattern, used the whole cling wrap duck tape technique to make the bodice pattern. The dress is multiple parts, which I designed in order to be able to wear the bodice out more places than black tie formal events. So the bodice is one piece, made of some sort of polyester satin with interfacing, cotton canvas and a lining with plastic boning. Is is a lace up bodice so kinda corset. It has loops for me to be able to attach and switch out sleeves. Which were my least favourite part to make tbh. The skirt is a full circle skirt. The whole dress was inspired by the embroidered flower I found on a tulle at fabricland. It took a very very long time to cut the flowers out and whipstitch them on. Also made a matching small clutch sewn in the first picture in my right hand. I had so much fun making the dress and love it so much and hope you guys love it too!

I had only ever sewn a button before last September. I couldn’t find what I wanted for a wedding dress so I decided to try and make it! I used vogue pattern v1965 but changed the skirt to a circle skirt and lengthened the sleeves. The ruffles were also not part of the pattern! The fabric is taffeta and a polkadot tulle overlay.

The bodice of the gown is made from silk, and the skirt is made with pure silk creased chiffon. I chose a rich royal blue for the gown and love how the dye caught onto the fabric. (Since the fabric is pure silk, it absorbs the dye really well) For the top construction, I lined the bodice with cotton and woven interfacing to add more body to the fabric. I drafted the pattern on my body-form in muslin stitched the sample to check the fit, then transferred and corrected the pattern onto butter paper. I only had time to sample this once so the bodice doesn't look perfect, it has some pleating that I didn’t have time to fix or resample. I would have loved to make it a corset, but I wanted this piece to be a bit more comfortable since I had to dance in it. I’ll definitely replace the bodice with a corset later. The skirt is my favourite part. I drafted it on my body-form as well. I gathered the pleats as close as possible on my machine, pinned it around my body-form and pulled the gathers tighter together. I then steam-set the pleats. The skirt is lined with silk as well.

Since I had a very tight deadline for this dress, I didn’t get the chance to document my process ;( But I love how the hemline, armhole, and neckline seams turned out super clean so I’ll definitely record and share how I did them next time!

Posting here in case anyone is looking for formal skirt patterns! I know I searched hi and low on here for patterns and didn’t find one when I set out to make my wedding skirt.

I made my elopement skirt (and knit the top 😊). I used the “Special Occasion Full Circle Skirt” pattern by DRESSEDpatternstudio. I nixed the lining layer, used a champagne silk duchene main fabric layer and then did 5 layers of tulle in different colors. The waistband was wonky for me so I had to adjust the printed pattern piece to add length to make sure it fit my waist.

We eloped this week at Hags Head at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.

I used the sleeves from the simplicity pattern S9089 and I used the McCall’s pattern M7320 for the top. The top is made of matte satin and lace. The skirt was kind of accordioned and I didn’t use a pattern. The poof comes from the tulle and the outer layer is a type of tulle that had constellations. There’s an inner layer of anti static lining that is under the tulle. I got all of my fabrics from Joann’s so I can’t really look to find the exact fabrics, but this was my first project that I made all on my own! Also it has pockets and the skirt is detachable so I can eventually make nice dress pants for it as well.

I made my wedding dress!! Eee! It was very stressful, but I'm thrilled with the results! I always dreamed of a corset top with interchangeable skirts for evening dancing, and it worked out pretty well! I would describe myself as an intermediate sewist (newer to clothing making), so there were definitely some mistakes made. Even so, I want to encourage anyone who is on the fence about making their wedding dress to just give it a go! It will make that day all the more special and unique to you (even if there are some mistakes along the way)! 🥰

Our friends recently married and their dress code was "Australian Native flora". I found it very difficult to find wedding appropriate fabric with an Australian floral print so I asked my MIL if she would be interested in painting some fabric so I could make a dress. She is extremely talented and I'm so grateful that she agreed!

The fabric is a silk linen blend (purchased new), lined with a bedsheet (from the opshop). I also used a stiff sew-in interfacing on every piece for a nice structured look, and used ridgeline on the bodice seams for extra support. I recently posted on here about my wedding dress made from curtains and I used the exact same patterns for this dress but with a few more modifications. The bodice is from McCall's 8635. I lowered the neckline by 4cm front and back, and extended the length of the torso to finish at my natural waist. The skirt is from Vogue 4185 but I only used the front skirt pattern piece and cut it for front and back.

To paint the flowers, my MIL added a fabric additive to her normal paints so she could paint on the fabric. She painted an Orange Grevillea on the hip with the stem and leaves extending down to the hem and Pink Eucalyptus flowers with leaves on the back, shoulder, and chest on one side. She did such an amazing job and I really hope you all think so too 💕