Sewing clothes

GingerGunlock

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Ginger, depending on what styles suit you, it's entirely possible you could make yourself skirts with pockets.

If you don't tuck your top or shirt in, ever, and if your waist-hip ratio isn't huge, you can easily make an elastic-waist skirt and cover it with all the pockets you're missing.

I do tuck in some things, but I also wear elastic waists sometimes, too. The skirts come together very quickly.

And if you want to spend a little, people who sew for money--not tailors, but homemakers and students who sew for extra income--can make you a skirt and put pockets in. I used to sew for money in college, and there are still those who do.

Maryn, whose plans to cut something out today didn't happen


I do not tuck things in, so thanks for the reassurance! :D
 

Orianna2000

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This thread reminds me of the skirts I made for a friend on the other side of the country. She wanted a simple A-line skirt, with an elastic waist and a pocket on the side. She wore these kinds of skirts a lot, so I made her three or four of them, and I still have the fabric for two more. Since the skirt itself was so easy, I went couture with the details . . . flat-felled seams, a mirror-faced hem, a slanted patch pocket, and stabilizing seams on the waistband. It's one of the rare times I made the same garment more than once.
 

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All this talk about sewing is making me sad. I'm so busy already this fall that I may have to BUY my daughter's Halloween costume! Oh the horror!

I love making costumes and have thought about getting more involved with the local renfaire just to have an excuse to make and wear awesome costumes. But the way things are going this year, it looks like I'm not going to make it down to the big one for even 1 day. So sad.
 

harmonyisarine

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Made 2 new sets of renfaire garb last week for the brother and his girlfriend. Hardly slept, but got them both done and they were pretty good if I do say so myself. On the other hand, one of the commissionees I'd planned on keeping after being put to full time has since decided that this sewing thing doesn't look so hard after all, and he can make his own noble's doublets from here on out. Not even starting with pajamas to learn the shape of a pattern.

In better news, I've got jeans to make! My last purchased ones are falling apart and my denim is all pre-washed. Now just to figure out what sort of atypical seaming lines I want in the medium-wash pair. Something that evokes water, but I"m stuck on the specifics.
 

Maryn

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Uh, what's a mirror-faced hem? Maybe it goes by other names? Google wasn't much help, although I did learn where to buy both mirrors and hem tape.

I bow before those who make jeans that actually fit. If I can't dart, it's not ever going to fit.

Maryn, with ins and outs
 

Orianna2000

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A mirror-faced hem is where you cut a facing that's a mirror-image of the bottom of your hem. So if the hem curves, the facing curves exactly the same. It gives you a perfectly smooth hem, regardless of how curved your skirt is. It works really well for scalloped or shaped hems!

It might also be called a "faced hem," maybe? It's been awhile since I looked it up, but it was in one of my couture sewing books.
 

harmonyisarine

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Ah, I've seen that as faced hems and not mirror-faced. I always forget about that, I really need to use it more often.


And I use a site with drafting guides from a book from the 40s. It makes a great fit for pants, but I also alter the pattern to have no dart or pleat in the front. I need them in the back, but a lot of jeans put back darts in as a style detail. Mine are just more functional! (http://web.archive.org/web/20071011123401/http://vintagesewing.info/1940s/42-mpd/mpd-toc-long.html The site I use. Lots of math, but worth it if you want a really good fit and can't/don't want to drape)
 

Orianna2000

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I love sewing manuals from the old days, so I will definitely check out that 40s pattern drafting book. I have a vintage 1964 Singer dressmaking book, which is amazing. Lots of details that people today are ignorant of! But my favorite is a dressmaking book from 1911. I've learned things from it that I haven't found elsewhere. Like how to sew an overlapping placket facing for a skirt. Nobody does that anymore! We just add zippers, ugh.
 

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Orianna, your dressmaking books sound great - wish I had something like that.
I used to sew lots of my clothings, but did not have a machine for some years. Now I found one to buy, used brother, but I am still fighting with the thread that is too loose from down - and the machine came without manual. Wish I had my old one back ...

Fabric: I will have to check the stores, just now, to try out the machine, I started repairs and shortening. A lot of things turned up in need for repair.
 

Orianna2000

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A lot of sewing machine manuals are available online for download. Try Sewing Machine Manuals, or Google "sewing machine manual download" and see what you find.

You might need to take your new machine in for a tuneup. Maybe the timing is off. Or it could be that you're using the wrong type of bobbin. There are two that are very similar-looking, #15 and #15J. One has slightly convex ends, while the other is totally flat, but it's very easy to confuse them. I even had Amazon send me the wrong kind when I ordered a 20-pack! If you use the wrong ones, it can cause snarled thread, and it can even damage your machine, so double check that. (The manual will tell you, if you can find it online.)
 

Sunwords

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Thank you - but I tried already. For this special model, no manual was to be found, nowhere. I got some information on a similiar model, which helped me alrady.
No, I don't think it is the bobbin, it is the small screw that is too tight - I am just trying to find out how much to turn it so it will work. I bought the machine from a tailor, he said he cleaned and oiled it - but I have some doubts. He seemed not to know it very well. Other place hard to find here, so I will stick to DIY.
 

harmonyisarine

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Orianna, what is the title of the 1911 book? I agree about the old books thing. I have another in hardcopy from the 50s or 60s, and I learned an absurd amount from it. Always in the market for old sewing books.

Sewing machine troubles suck, Sunwords. I have an old 1950s Capitol. Best machine I've ever used, but the manual was lost (since found) and no one knew the brand or model even a little. I ended up learning how to take it all apart and put back together on my own. Was a terrifying first try, but I could hardly break it more than it already was.

Though for issues with thread, I've found a lot are timing or a tension dial that needs internal adjustments. Both are a bit tricky to fix on your own. If you're good with machines, you can google the issue for a different model and extrapolate to yours. If not, find a good vaccuum/sewing machine repair place in your area.
 

Orianna2000

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The book is Butterick's The Dressmaker. They put out a "newer" edition in 1916, as well as a couple in the 1920s, and the 1940s, but they aren't as good. You want the first edition from 1911, which is a dark olive green color. I believe the 1916 edition is yellow; not sure about the others.

Looks like it's becoming harder to find. None to be found on eBay, which is a shame! However, it's available online for free at one of those sites that uploads antique books: Dressmaker, 1911. Worth a look-see!
 

Sunwords

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Thank you, Orianna.

Harmony, I will start tomorrow, probably, and try until it works. It is this little screw on the threadholder, I think.
 

Maryn

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Sunwords, that little screw in the bobbin holder is how the user adjusts bobbin tension. Too tight, and the bobbin thread breaks. Too loose, and it sews stitches with way too much bobbin thread.

Ordinarily it's just a matter of noting where it is when you start, and turning it just a little, sewing on several different kinds of scrap cloth (thick and thin, tightly woven and not), turning it a little more (or less, whatever) and trying it again, until you get the setting that's working right, the amount of thread on the underside of what you are sewing the right amount. Then you write down or photograph the exact position of that little screw, so you won't have to do this again.

It may also be a matter of getting the upper thread's tension right at the same time, with a seemingly infinite number of combinations possible. Usually there's a dial of some kind to adjust the top tension.

There are some good YouTube instructions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaH9yB7XUBk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApTBtyUCV6c
 

L M Ashton

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I don't know if it's cruel or kind to share Fabric.com here. Give them an email and they'll send you a link daily for what's on sale for the next 24 to 48 hours (usually 24).
Please don't hate me.

Granted, the last time I bought fabric was three years ago, but... in Sri Lanka, I can buy 100% cotton or rayon for the normal every day non-sale price of less than USD2 per yard. Silk was under USD3 per yard. Really worth a vacation if you need a lot. :D
 

Sunwords

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Ir know, Laurie ... I remember shopping in Pakistan - never saw more beautiful fabric to incredible prices - for me. Enough people could not afford these.
Here now, cotton is hard to find and too expensive for me - I will try out what I can find.

Mary, thank you for your advice, I know the procedure, but sometimes I am at a loss for words here, as english is not my mother language and this is rather specialized vocabulary.
 

L M Ashton

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I just saw online that our daughter bought herself a foot-treadle sewing machine older than her grandparents. Cool!

Maryn, jealous

The foot-treadle machines are still sold, brand new, in some countries. Sri Lanka is one such country. It's because power is not reliable and not everyone has electricity to their homes or business
(ie seamstress or tailor).

/odd factoid
 

L M Ashton

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Right. Caught up.

I need to sew some new clothes for me. I'm too fat for the clothes that are locally available, so it's a necessity. But there are problems... I have bilateral frozen shoulders, so my range of motion is limited. It's getting better, but it takes time and it's not something that can be forced for me due to my genetic collagen defect. My reaching has improved, so I might be able to manage this in another month or two.

And when I can, then it's time to buy a new machine. My old one is in Sri Lanka, and they don't fly well. I'll get a fairly cheap one since I don't really need it for more than zig zag and straight stitching. If it has built-in button holing, great, but really, even that isn't necessary.

There's apparently a fabric store here that's four stories. I haven't been since, well, no point in going if I can't sew, but when I can... I'm curious to find out what the pricing is like. I hear it's fairly cheap, but that's always relative.
 

Maryn

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(Nice to see you, BTW.) I've heard about fabric prices in other countries being crazy-low compared to the US and Europe, but wow, hearing specifics on rayons and silks makes me feel almost ill. Or crazy envious. Something unappealing.

Of course I don't need to buy any. My lord, I have ten or twelve bins of fabric waiting for me already. But that doesn't mean I don't want it...

If you don't mind my asking, what aspect of the sewing process is negatively affected by your physical problems? I would think layout and cutting could be issues, but sitting still and sewing for long periods can be difficult for some, too (or instead). In any case, we all wish you much improvement so you can sew some lovely new things.

Maryn, who can sew or write but not both
 

L M Ashton

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Maryn, one of the reasons fabric prices are so cheap in Sri Lanka is because they're made there. There are fabric factories all over the place. Lots of clothing lines are made in Sri Lanka as well, including Victoria's Secret and a whole bunch of other big names.

About my physical issues... Well... I can't lift my arms very high - can't raise my arms very high, can't use them to the side, can't reach very well. Reaching forward is getting easier - I can now hang laundry on my laundry rack without pain, and that's only just right in front of me. I can't lift much and any repetitive motion hurts.

I still can't reach into the back of my fridge, for example. If what I want isn't at the very front, I have to ask for help. (I can't dress myself either, but hey, that's what a spouse is for, right?)

So ironing the fabric would be a problem. Simply laying it out straight and aligned properly would be a problem. Laying out the pattern pieces, not so much, and cutting the fabric would be a bit of a problem if I have to reach. But if it came to that, I would ask the husband to move the table out from the wall so I can walk all the way around it.

Like I said, another month or two, and I ought to be able to manage. It's only now that I'm able to raise my right arm above parallel to the floor. It's getting better, but not quickly.

I have back, tailbone, hip problems as well - well, all my joints are horrid, but those are the main ones affected by sitting on a chair for sewing. I would do things in fits and spurts with long breaks in between, but that's what I have to do anyway because that's just how I have to do everything. It would likely take me a week to cut and sew a three hour dress.
 

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The book is Butterick's The Dressmaker. They put out a "newer" edition in 1916, as well as a couple in the 1920s, and the 1940s, but they aren't as good. You want the first edition from 1911, which is a dark olive green color. I believe the 1916 edition is yellow; not sure about the others.

Looks like it's becoming harder to find. None to be found on eBay, which is a shame! However, it's available online for free at one of those sites that uploads antique books: Dressmaker, 1911. Worth a look-see!

Bookmarked! I'll certainly keep an eye out for the physical copy, but I love that it's saved online. I know what I'll be reading next...
 

MaryMumsy

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If you go to abebooks.com enter butterick as the author and the dressmaker as the title you will find it. It is item #4. The 1911 edition, hard cover, priced at $9 from the Green Valley AZ public library.

Be warned that items found on abe are not necessarily still available. I found a copy of a rare book I've been hunting for years on there, but when I contacted the seller it was already gone.

Item 5 is a reproduction of the 1911 version.

MM
 
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Orianna2000

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Be warned---there is a reproduction of Butterick's Dressmaker book available in many places, but it doesn't include everything that's in the original book. I don't know if it's the same book you guys were talking about, but I wanted to let you know. The reprinted one is called, "Authentic Victorian Dressmaking Techniques" and it has a light pink cover. It's a good copy, except for the missing chapters. I don't know if it's from a later (revised) edition, or what, but I was quite annoyed to find that it isn't the same.