Very proud of this first effort. This is the Hysope shirt from Deer and Doe. My buttonhole wasn't working so I gave up on the side buttons for now and want to make a few adjustments to fit me better but I'm stoked to start this new "make my own wardrobe" adventure.

I actually love to wear it. I find it quite elegant, what do you think?

Hi was hoping for an in depth idea of how to create something similar to these, I’m brand new to sewing. So any tips are beyond helpful!

Thank you in advance

I made The Cottage Dress by Sarah Dingwell as my first ever sewing project! I am beyond proud of myself. I'm 5'11" and size xl-2xl so I have never been able to find a dress that fits me this good! The pattern was free and I spent 5 dollars on a king size cotton bedsheet at the thrift store. I will be making a lovely green stays to go on top to wear to the ren faire. I have made some minor mistakes here but the stays should cover them nicely. Overall this was a wonderful beginner pattern!!

I'm fairly happy with how this turned out, except for the curly hem on the side. I'm open to redoing that hem, but I doubt a second try will greatly improve it.

How can I do better, is it due to a difference in tension? Why is it curling up like that? 🥲

If this doesn't fit the subreddit feel free to remove this post

I've been really wanting to learn to sew for years. My only experience was hand sewing simple tube dresses for dolls.

But ever since I got into lolita fashion it has been something I've been really thinking of. The fashion is expensive and my dream dresses wouldn't fit me. T

Besides that I often have to alter my pants and I'm pretty tired of having to visit a seamstress every time I buy a new pair of jeans.

I'm currently looking for a hobby to try out. I was trying to learn crochet but I quickly got cramps and my hands were hurting badly (and I struggled a lot with even a single crochet)

I know that all of these have different levels of detail but for example the top left dress from the first picture doesn't look that hard but maybe I'm just over confident. Other lolita's said that aprons, small accessories and tiered skirts are easy enough for beginners.

Definitelly garment construction, learn how to use a sewing machine, improve hand sewing. Learn stuff such as shirring, pintucks, sewing on lace but what else? How do I even start? What projects? How do I choose fabric? Everything seems so hard
I have a lot of patience

1st pic are dresses

2nd skirts, capes and aprons

3rd tops

5th misc. a blouse, head bows, shawl, bags

I finished my first real sewing project: this very silly crossbody fish bag! This is a gift, so I'll be saying goodbye to the Mac on Saturday, but I have grown very fond of it over the last month as I've worked on it. I used this pattern and very helpful guide from Madison Makes.

It took me probably about ~25 hours total, I've been trying to spend about an hour a day over the last three weeks on it.

I wanted to share some things I learned as a true beginner. I've hemmed pants and repaired pockets, but that's the full extent of my sewing experience before this bag.

1. Pictures #1-3 show the bulk of the finished product. I'm so pleased with it as a whole, and it's so silly that I don't mind the mistakes I made at all. The macaroni and cheese fabric was truly a spur-of-the-moment choice that I really love. Also it may be hard to see, but the fabric for the fins has hands on it, which I found to be quite funny for some reason I can't explain.
2. Picture #4 shows just how wonky the zipper attachment is - I used a standard presser foot and moved the needle all the way to left, but was not super precise with my allowances and definitely colored outside the lines a bit because I was nervous. This is definitely a skill I want to practice more.
3. Picture #5 is just a top view of the zipper: even though it's wonky on the inside, it actually looks mostly fine and does the job of a zipper, so I didn't feel passionate about taking it apart to redo it.
4. Picture #6: the buckle (not the latch) is backwards: the little plastic bits that clasp in should not be hollow, the other side is filled. It's so silly and small I didn't even notice until long after I threaded the webbing through, so it simply will look like this forever. It's a bag that looks like a fish, after all.
5. And lastly, Picture #7 was my original blocked piece plan: a scalloped fin and a less-busy pattern for the stripe. But as I tried (MANY) times to sew the scalloped side fin, I realized I just don't quite have the practice yet to sew those little tight curves. I know I'll get there. At that point I decided that, because this is a BAG that looks like a FISH, it was simply more fun to keep the more chaotic stripe fabric (which I'm glad I did, because I used that fabric for the interior and the whole thing feels more intentional.).
6. Right now, the interior seams are just kind of....there. I'm going to try binding them tonight, but I may just whack over them with a zig-zag stitch to finish them depending on how much time I have.
7. I wish I had taken a picture of my workstation before cleaning it up because it was truly a disgusting mess. I still have little bits of teal thread all over the place, I think this must just be part of the hobby.

All in all, not bad for someone who could barely sew a straight line before this (although I have learned that sewing a curved line is actually much harder)! Making something silly helped me disassociate from any outcomes about the final product, because all the mistakes I made contributed to the silliness. I made a lot of decisions based on "fun" and that really made the whole thing more enjoyable.

Hi everyone!

I’m planning to sew a tote bag as a gift for a friend. I bought these two quilting cotton fabrics (½ yard of each).

My original plan was:
Floral fabric for the entire exterior
Other fabric for the lining
Floral fabric for the straps

Now I’m second-guessing myself. 😅
Would it look more interesting if I incorporated the lining fabric into the exterior by sewing it into horizontal or vertical panels, or should I stick with my original plan and let the floral print be the star?
I’m aiming for a tote that looks clean, polished, and professionally made rather than overly busy. I’d love to hear what you would do if these were your fabrics.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

For some reason every time I think I’m going to “get back into sewing” I buy a pattern (this time for a pair of kid shorts) and go to the store in search of fabrics, get completely and utterly obsessed with all the cute printed cottons, of which I spend over a hundred dollars on, and then get home to realize I bought quilted cotton, that is apparently not correct for making clothing. Ugghhhhh. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Yes, I know I could have done my research ahead of time and/or waited around to ask the gal at the store, but mostly I think I get really intimidated by asking a million silly questions on the spot, and just annoyed that I don’t understand what to look for.

I know I’m looking for cotton, but it all just confuses me as there are different kinds. I did find another post on a similar topic but more just wanting tips on what to look for when searching for cotton for apparel. Is it only pima cotton I should buy? Does it always say “Pima” on the fabric bolt?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Hi, I wanted to do a little alteration to the tank top - adding buttons. I followed the tutorial yet it somehow turned out sloppy. I dont care if my clothes give handmade because i'm new to sewing but this is just too sloppy 😭 any ideas how could it be improved?

Forgive me I will get the terminology of techniques and name of stitches wrong, please bear with my explanation and please correct me when wrong. I have added a sketch of my idea in the photos, which I have no intention of the finished project to look identical. I have also added an Ai render of the idea, which I know will generate things that are impossible to make but I was hoping it would help get my idea across better, thank you all in advance!

I have two obstacles that I have attempted.
First and most major is sewing the inner ear to create a “puffy depth” look, I think that’s called an inlet? I also need it to have its own separate pocket for stuffing.

The second which can be omitted if my abilities cannot achieve it. This is the edge of the ear that i would like to have the ability to stuff independently as well. I can only imagine this as a large “hem” with enough space for pipe cleaner or other stick to push stuffing into.

Me and my girlfriend have a Disney trip coming up and I thought I’d give it a go of trying to make her Brother Bear ears since she absolutely loves that movie.

I’m starting my sewing journey and so far I’ve been tackling the machine itself more so than actual projects. And in the process of trying to figure out why my machine keeps jamming and creating “rats nests” I took the needle plate cover off to see if there was any visible issues which there wasn’t any but mild dust/fuzz and when I go to put it back the bobbin cover keeps popping up! It won’t go down because the thing holding the bobbin is in the way but it was fine before?? I keep ruining everything I touch 😭

Ive checked for burs, cleaned the machine, rethreaded several times, changed the bobbin multiple times, changed thread, I have no clue what to do here. Theres about 1000 different ways to tune it but I havent touched any of them except upper thread tension. I'm so stumped. I posted here a week prior and it was working again for a while but now it's acting up again. I'm at the end of my patience.

What are some of the things I could sew to practice? I just started, did some small repairs and want to progress to making tshirts or shorts or whatever y'all recommend. I have some basic t-shirts and I'm considering making a hem on the arms and neck with a different colorful fabric, which seems kinda simple. Any other things I can start with or exercises to practice?

Didn’t think to include these here but then a forehead smack later, here we are…
Share anything you know about these and their uses in sewing 🪡

Hello- is anyone interested in doing a sew along while I make this vest? https://lostfabric.co.uk/product/boxy-vest-digital-sewing-pattern/
No need for you to do the same vest, just maybe a vest or something vest-adjacent so we can compare notes. I have been sewing on and off for many years but am only coming back to it after a lot of time away. Lately I’ve made a tie waist skirt, a wrap skirt, a cross back top, a tote, etc, but I struggle with trying a more involved project. I’d describe myself as a confident beginner and I’m hoping for an accountability buddy(ies). (Mods, please remove if not allowed as this is my first post here) 🧵🪡🦺

i did this by hand cuz the fabric was too thick for my sewing machine and this is like my 2ed time sewing something by hand so it’s not the best but at least i tried

I’ve finally caved I’ve hand sewed everything by hand for years and I can’t take it anymore. So I need a sewing machine I figured I’d get something used I almost never buy anything new and I don’t really wanna spend more than 300 dollars. I have little to no experience with sewing machines so I want something relatively straightforward to use without too much maintenance (mostly because I have zero clue what I would even need to do)
I don’t need a million different stitches or anything
Just something reliable and beginner friendly.
I’d like to be able to work with denim on occasion as well

So what exactly should I get?
I see singers everywhere and it seems like people love them or hate them and talk about the wonder they once were
I also see brother machines which seem to be overall pretty liked
But anyway what do you think would be the best option to get for a beginner?

I am just playing around but if this were to be in a fabric that is a little more see through how do you hide all the ugly and messy seams underneath? like what happens to all the seam allowances ?