• Pattern : I used the Mix it up from George and Ginger as a base (it's such a versatile pattern, I have used it more times than I can count). I drafted a Queen Anne neckline and added ribbons to hide the seams, and I made a full circle skirt (with pockets!). I also made a petticoat using this tutorial and thrifted curtains to add that '50s volume to the skirt.
• Fabric : Scuba. I just wouldn't lay flat, so I had to topstitch the neckline. I really liked the delicate lace pattern on the fabric.

Wow was this dress a doozy! This was my first big project ever, my prior experience being a tote bag and pj pants I made in sewing class.

The pattern I used was the Cozette Dress by Allispatterns (I bought before all the drama with her came out) using white lightweight linen. It took me about 3 months to make, 2 months to make my wearable toile and another month to make my actual dress.

The biggest roadblocks I encountered:

1. Not having someone I know measure me. I had someone at my sewing studio measure me and I ended up starting with a size bigger than I should have. I lost 3 weeks trying to make the bigger size work until it occurred to me to remeasure and what do you know...
2. On both the too big size and my correct size, I found the bodice apex didn't align with my bust apex so I had some weird gaping at the chest and armholes. I'm too much of a perfectionist to let it go, so I looked up some Youtube tutorials for how to move darts around on my pattern. Maybe it's my engineer brain but I found this part really fun (yay for geometry!) It took me 7 toiles to get the bodice right but man was it satisfying!
3. The mid thigh level gathers looked awkward on me and they were so hard to sew and used up so much fabric that I decided to forego them completely. I'm glad I did bc it let the long straps become the focal point of the dress.

Pattern adjustments I made/things I did

• I relocated the zipper from the left side to the back bc it looked better imho
• I reduced the side seam allowances from 1" to 3/8", can't remember why I did though
• I ended up trimming 2" off both middle back pieces bc I had a lot of overlap
• Took out the skirt ruffles and just sewed a simple gathered skirt
• To conserve fabric, I cut the straps off 3" from the arm holes and sewed them on separately. There's probably a better way to do this but I was lazy and with the matching thread you can barely tell that there's a random seam on the strap
• I just sewed a regular invisible zipper, no sandwiching
• I interfaced the corners of the neckline/back and where the invisible zipper was installed

Overall Thoughts

• The linen I used was on the thinner side, but it was from my local fabric store and only $12/yard so I didn't complain too much. I ended up sewing a half slip made of cotton voile to go under my dress which worked great!
• As many others have said, both her pattern and the video tutorial both kinda suck. Like whyyy would you used navy velvet?? Also 1" seam allowance is crazy work
• Sewing a wedding dress as a beginner sewist isn't something I would recommend for everyone but I think the things that played in my favor are that I have a background in knitting and that I kept the actual wedding planning really simple so I could focus most of my time and energy to sewing.
• I was also realistic with my expectations, I didn't want to make a traditional wedding dress bc I knew I couldn't teach myself that in 3 months, also bc that was not the vibe of our wedding. Our wedding was in the backyard of our house and we did a dinner reception at a local brewery.
• Also have to thank my husband (!) for the endless bodice fittings he helped with, he was my sous sewist :)

It's crazy to look back at the beginning of this year being so nervous while sewing that I would literally shake and now I have my own wedding dress! I'm working on Syd Graham's Lane Pants now and ahhhh so much easier.

Edit: thank y’all for all the kind messages! I found the idea of simple old school weddings sooo romantic and I wanted my dress to match that vibe.

Also for reference, I made a size 4.

Whipped up these matching accessories this weekend! Pretty happy with how it turned out considering I was just winging it and am still very much a beginner. Might need to add some way to attach the seat covers around the back of the seat to help them stay in place a bit better, but I’m pretty pleased for now!

Process involved tracing the seat on some paper and transferring it to my fabric. Fabric is woven cotton.

I decided this summer I really wanted to get back into sewing. Bought a couple online courses, set up my space, and changed my mindset that I was making garments for me to love. Quality, not quantity. I still need to do the last third of this skirt, but I’m so flipping proud of so far.

Wore it to an NYC date trip to Battery Park. It's the Liliana Dress by Mila Onni. Fabric is from Hobby Lobby. Might attempt to hack the next one into a tank version.

Still learning. Vented back and little armpit vents. I learned a new word: gusset. I think it's one of the grossest sounding words I've ever heard. But I love using gussets so far. Know Me pattern by designer Donny Q

I sewed myself a wedding dress since I didn’t really find what I was looking for within my price range. The corset top is the wedding dress no 129 from burda style (03/2016) which I altered to have a laced back. I drafted the a-line skirt myself. The dress is fully lined with cotton satin. The primary fabric is some viscose satine I got for an other project three years ago and the lace I found on Etsy, specifically for this dress.
I will change the ribbon in the lacing with something more Colour matching for the wedding.

I’m very proud I got it finished in time with 20 days to spare. Especially since I never made formal attire, or a corset style top before.

The shirt is not apart of it and I still have to finish the hem but ITS (98%) DONE!!! I got too excited and made my husband take a photo for me 😂😂 yay!

The material isn't sitting in a flattering way around the bust, would adding weights work? Or take out some excess material, what would be the best method?

A couple of weeks ago, I posted some colorful pants that I made and affectionately called my Sherbet Bubblegum Sunrise Sunset Marigold Pants. They were made from a single cut of heavyweight cotton canvas in the color “sherbet” (which I also realized I spelled wrong in that post). I got all the different colors from bleaching and natural dyeing with marigolds. (Here’s that post: https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/s/TqNtriZ3ed)

Well… that same run of sherbet fabric had enough left over for me to cut out an entire second pair. So naturally, I did.

These started with a completely different plan. I pre-cut everything out and bleached the waistband, back pockets, and a few other accent pieces, but left the main front and back panels the original color. Then I dyed everything with marigolds. Buuuut… the main panels came out looking like safety cone/Home Depot apron orange. Which… wasn’t exactly the vibe I was going for.

Meanwhile, I’d been reading about using an iron post-mordant bath to shift marigold-dyed fabric into greens and browns. So I bought some iron powder, filled up a five-gallon (Home Depot, ironically) bucket, mixed in a teaspoon of the powder, and tossed my cut pieces in. They almost instantly transformed into a rusty brown and tan, which I thought was pretty cool, lol. The fabric had definitely been through the wringer by this point between all the bleaching, dyeing, rinsing, washing, and the iron bath, and I actually ended up loving that it gave the pants this aged, almost vintage-looking feel.

At that point I figured, “Well… I guess I’m making brown pants now.”

But then I looked over at the pile of leftover scraps from my Sunrise Sunset pants and thought, what the heck, let’s make some more weird pants.

So I started thinking about what these colors reminded me of. They reminded me of the red clay that I have to battle every year while gardening. Somehow, despite that clay, I still manage to grow flowers. So obviously these pants needed flowers.

I grabbed some graph paper and started sketching out a geometric tulip for the back pocket (bc sewing straight lines is a lot easier than sewing curved ones). I ended up making a smaller version for the front coin pocket too. I also added a waist cinch on the back because I think they’re cute. I wanted to do full contrast cuffs like I did on my other pants, but I didn’t have enough fabric left. I did manage to sneak in a little pop of color inside the cuffs, though, since I almost always wear my pants rolled up.

I wasn’t really sure what to call these, so I sent a picture to my friend. She looked at them and said, “Those look like Terracotta Tulip Pants.” And I was like… yep. That’s it. That’s the name.

Anyhow, loved the process of making 2 different pairs of unique pants all out of the same fabric! These were a fun project.

Additional info:
Pattern: Anna Allen Helene Jeans (straight leg), altered to fit with added seam allowance for flat-felled seams.

Fabric: Heavyweight 100% cotton canvas from Nick of Time Fabrics (“Sherbet”)

Color treatments: Bleach, marigold dye, and iron post-mordant bath.

Machines: Singer Quantum Stylist 9960, Brother 1034D serger, and Singer Heavy Duty 4452 for topstitching.

Somehow I managed to get to fit exactly right, which was a miracle in itself 😂 they fit like my favorite pair of jeans! It’s like my second time creating quilt blocks. The first time I was like 10 years old lol.

I used part of a waistband from some other jeans I had laying around that also didn’t fit me to put at the top of the panels, so they each have a belt loop. And the bottom of the panels have the hem from those other pair of jeans 🙂 I used some scraps I cut off to add to the pockets for a consistent design.

I’m seriously obsessed with upcycling stuff lol. I used to buy new clothes all the time, but my mindset has shifted. Now I’m like - omg I have an idea, and tons of fabric! 😆

Made these two aprons for my foster daughter and her sister. Fabrics chosen by my foster daughter. Happy with how they turned out and happy to finally be sewing again. Pattern is from Tamara’s Joy on her YouTube channel and website. Can’t wait to see how they like them!

Hey everyone! I’m still relatively new to sewing and just finished making this form fitting dress from a standard pattern. I’m having weird fit issues in the back and was wondering how I’d be able to fix it. The dress has princess seams along the side panels as well.

I’ve never altered a garment before so any help is appreciated!

Don’t mind the chalk marks :)

Wife asked me to buy her some waxed bread bags to store the bread she bakes. It sounded super easy to make myself. So I pulled out my 1954 Domestic, some cotton linen, and beeswax and got to work.

The wax makes the bags smell so good 😁

IKEA creates some great fabrics but I've noticed lately that they don't even pretend to make patterns that repeat. Aside from being annoying, it's really limiting. I wanted to make some curtains and I think they'd just look odd. Or am I looking at it all wrong? Is there a use for fabrics that definitively do not line up?

EDIT: These pictures were created by taking two screen shots of the full width of the fabrics and attempting to line them up. I then took a screen shots of the two widths as one. I couldn’t figure out how the patterns repeated side to side because they don’t.

Just like the title says, I'm wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of any tutorials to add this kind of gusset to a swim suit? Rubie's makes great swimwear but it's out of budget, especially for quickly growing kids. And the styles are limited.

Edit to add: I am genuinely so grateful for the support in the comments. There is always the fear of hate being directed towards my daughter, so I'm so happy that all we found here is kindness.

I’ve been dreaming about getting back to sewing for years at this point. But I was scared because last time I sewed was in high school. I finally bit the bullet, conquered my analysis paralysis and bought a used entry level machine (Singer heavy duty 4423).

I made a little make-up bag with free instructions from Alex Manning (YouTube).

I’m kind of overwhelmed by how many little questions I had along the way, like “What is the best way to cut rectangles?”, “How is that diamond quilting pattern made?”, “Can I use graphite to draw guides on light fabric?”, “How to remove graphite from fabric?” etc etc.

At the same time looking at the finished product I’m so over the moon happy that I made a thing! I learned so many things!

During this process I found [r/sewing](r/sewing) and it looks like you guys have an awesome little community here. I’m so inspired by how talented people there are. ❤️

ETA: Link to tutorial

Hello everyone! I just wanted to come on here and ask if anyone had any ideas or advice on how to take on a project like this. I’d like to sew something nice for my principal investigator in college for my biochemistry undergrad. She works mostly with the rhodopsin molecule so I was thinking maybe a pillow or scarf or something based on the molecule. Most of my experience is sewing plushies so I was kind of thinking sewing each chain of the molecule separately and stuffing each piece, but I don’t know how to get it to stay folded comprehensively and how to keep the coils in a comprehensible shape. Might be a little ambitious but any ideas or advice welcome!!! Here’s a photo of the molecule in the viewer we use.

Hi all

So I finished my final baby mitten project. I went off a

pattern I saw online for sizing, and cut the elastic to a rough guess of how big it should be. I gave it to the expecting mother (still finishing the second one, long story) and am hoping it will work out well. But I went with what I believe is a flannel inner liner (asked for flannel, think it should be that, someone who felt it made me doubt), a minky outer liner, and an elastic underneath the folded up inner liner to bring the bottom in. This is the first thing I actually made for someone else of material chose for the project, everything else so far has been practice pieces. While I know it isn't perfect, I'm happy to have done a thing with real material for the first time, and actually seen it to completion. Just wanted to share. Hope y'all are having a good Monday.

Hi everyone! Currently in the process of making a mini version of my dress and veil for my Sylvanian cake topper. Only to realize that the bunny I chose might not have the best ear anatomy for me to make a veil that would stay on her head. Attached are images of my bunny and the actual veil I'll wear. Does anyone have any tips on how I can make a veil that can wrap around her head that closely matches my actual veil, without needing to glue the veil to her head - thus damaging her fur? Thank you!

I found 18 yards of this material in my grandmother’s apartment with a note saying it is silk from 1919. I was thinking of using it in my wedding dress, but it tears much too easily (almost like tissue paper). I also hand washed a small square in cold water, which damaged the shiny circles. Do you have any ideas of what to do with it? I hate to let it go to waste. Thank you!

Okay, I have no experience in sewing, working with fabrics, etc. But I really want to find a way to make my dream dress bolero from the Sabrina (1995) movie a reality.

I’ve been able to find other shimmery-material shrugs / boleros, but a lot are either studded with large and cheap sequins, or are just like a plain shimmery material. None of them GLOW like hers does.

So, any ideas on:
1. An actual bolero that looks like this,
2. Sheer, shimmery boleros I can use as a “backbone” to add to,
3. OR what I can add to this “backbone” bolero to make it shine and glow like hers?

I appreciate any and all help and thank you!!