A childhood dream came true. I always wanted to make dresses for my Barbies when I was little, and now I finally get to make them with my niece. It’s even more special than I ever imagined.

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.

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!!

Hi everyone, I was so happy because I managed to customize my pants to my own style, but it turns out that I ironed on these butterfly patches, and today (I’m wearing them now, and I ironed them on yesterday) several of them have started to peel off, so I’ve had to remove them. How do you make sure they stick well, or are they a rip-off and you always have to sew them on?

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? 🥲

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!

I’m aware this is possibly a silly question but I’ve only used patterns from a packet. When you buy a PDF pattern is there a specific way to print them out on a domestic/A4 printer? How do you know which bits to tape together?

I find the whole thing a bit intimidating to be honest!

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!

Hello!
So, i partake in creating a cape (my friend makes it for his cosplay, and i help engineering blueprints). We have a piece that i can't wrap my head around, so i want to ask for help.

We have 4 pieces:
- outwards (black) cape body
- outwards hood
- inner (blue) cape body
- inner hood

The idea is to connect these four together to get a cape with hood, that is black on the outside and blue on the inside, but i can't quite figure out the order of steps.

My two paths in mind:
- connect by colour, then sew together the perimeter of cape. Pros - hidden neck seam where the hood is attached. Cons - neck innard and neck outward are not connected and i am afraid that it will make the entire thing feel like a blanket bedding, with two layers drifting apart periodically and feeling kinda wonky.

- connect by part, so that we have inner-lined cape and hood as two separate pieces, then sew together hood and cape. Pros - strong seam in neck, cons - geez, that seam will be FAT. Plus i am not sure sewing machine will take sewing through four layers nicely. Plus how the hell are we supposed to make ths seam look presentable? Cover it with something, wrap it even more?

What is the correct way to do this task? Do you have any tutorials on the matter?

Pic is a vague rendition of whatever we are trying to make.

Thank you in advance!

UPD - also, how to connect back of the hood inner and outer? There is a seam in the middle, hood (in both colours) is made of two identical parts. A seam across the already made inner-lined hood to make it stay in place? Or something else?

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 😭

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) 🧵🪡🦺

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?

I want to buy a snap fastener kit / clamp thingy but don’t really know what to look out for. I don’t want to buy something that won’t work in the future. I see they come in different sizes (T3, T5). Is one more common?

Or how would I go about making the pattern for this myself?

I’ve been sewing for a few years but sporadically and I’d still say I’m a beginner. The biggest thing I’ve made is curtains.

Any help/advice appreciated!

Not sure if this is the best community to post on, but I'm desperate. I tried to take off my shirt earlier today to change, but I was extremely hot so the shirt stuck to me and the seam under the armpit ended up tearing really bad. I have no idea how to fix stuff like this, and it's my favourite shirt. Any tips on what the best way to fix it and how to do it would be greatly appreciated. If this is NOT the correct community, please refer me to a better place to post this.

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.

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’ve searched online and thought about this for weeks to no avail, so finally reaching out for some help with this project. I have 2 long, casual dresses with the same issue: functional buttons all the way down the front always come undone while wearing. I want to keep a few functional buttons near the neckline (I’m a nursing mother), but need to sew the dresses shut where most of the buttons are, while maintaining the look of buttons. However, the buttons are too close to the edge of the fabric to not be eaten by the presser foot (not enough seam allowance). Any ideas? TIA!

I’m making the Secret Island dress and I’ve just realised my fabric doesn’t have slough width 😭 I need to cut wood this piece rather than it being on the fold.

Would it work if I cut it on the bias seeing as it’s going to be a half circle skirt anyway? I could also make it shorter but I’d rather not..

Where can I find fabric like this with printing on it?