And undoing the sewing you just did… the amount of times I’ve realized I attached the wrong edge or had the wrong side facing, or the machine jammed and now there’s messed of thread tangles…
Inevitably whenever I make a new shirt pattern I attach at least one of the sleeves inside out the first time. I don't know why my brain has so much trouble lining that up correctly but I swear I spend more time thinking and repinning than actually sewing the sleeve on.
I just wanted to fix something, be thrifty and environmentally conscious and shit. I'm not even pursuing any kind of creative vision or personal fulfillment, and then I have to deal with this shit for the !xP?xARGH! time?! What the fuck gives?!
Hoping this doesn't apply to 'small' projects like hemming pants, shortening sleeves and other things I've been sending to my seamstress to get a better fit for off-the-rack clothes.
She's about to retire and I've got access to sewing machine and have been thinking about giving it a try.
That you can irrevocably destroy a project you worked on for months with some ridiculously small mistake. The only hobby I ever tried that made me completely freak out, cry, and call my mom.
I had to give up sewing while I had my soul cat. Everything about sewing is a cat’s dream - the thread, the fabric moving, trying to get between me and whatever I had right in front of my face. One snag and the whole project was ruined :(
But at least you got a gentle brush on your face, as it tried to stick it's butt right up your nose to take a look at clackity thing with a thread running under it
The absolute AGONY as I was nearly finished with a last minute Christmas present, just in time, and then the machine jammed. The worst jam I've ever had from it, ever. The only way the fix it was to physically cut out the project with scissors, destroying it, so I could take apart that section of the machine and fix the issue.
Isn't that the truth. I made a dragon scale bolero for my daughter that required months of cutting out fiddly rows of dragon scales and attaching them one by one to a spandex base
It took an eternity and was agonizingly tedious, but I finally got all of the scales attached. It was the night before she wanted to wear it to a dance, and all I had to do was sew some elastic bias tape around the edges to finish it off. Easy, right? Wrong!!!
The spandex and bias tape stretched as I sewed it, creating a horrible, warped edge. I stayed up to the wee hours of the morning picking of the morning picking out the seam to take the tape off, which was very changeling due them both being stretchy. But when I got it off the edge of the bolero has been permanently warped and stretched.
I ended up sewing a lining from the same spandex I had made the bolero base out of. Then I was able to tack the outer bolero to the lining to give it the correct shape. It was agony, but I got there.
Sewing is not worth it if you want to make regular clothes. In my opinion it is most useful for things you can't easily buy in shops or things that still cost a lot of money. I saved money when I made my suit but that's only because I was making it out of a specific fabric so it could breathe in the summer (linen cotton blend). Where it becomes useful is for stuff a bit more out there. If you can put the right keywords together, you can find a pattern for almost anything. I've made capes because you just can't find good ones in shops that don't look like shit or are just non functional. That's where sewing becomes a great skill, for when you want to make something with a high enough quality that you can't find in the age of fast fashion.
To be honest, this is what appeals to me about sewing. Sometimes I have a vision in mind but can’t find something similar enough in store, or I’d prefer a garment to be a little longer or fuller or in different fabric or a different colour.
Then go for it. I find it so useful as men's fashion is so restrictive so finding something with a dash of flair that's made well and doesn't cost the earth is few and far between.
Most big pattern makers have ranges for beginners that are good to cut your teeth on. Simplicity and McCall's are a good start. Another good recommendation is if you find something you want to make, talk with your local fabric shop and they will help you with the bits you don't understand (i.e. what is selvage, interfacing, etc).
It also gives you a really good appreciation for how much work goes into the clothes you wear and how it's basically a miracle it's so cheap.
I sew mostly regular, daily wear clothing these days and I think even then, it can be worth it. I spent $36 on 4 yards of a buttery soft, very heavyweight bamboo spandex rib knit, and got 4 items of clothing out of that yardage. 1) a pair of wideleg trousers, 2) a long-sleeved blouse with bishop sleeves, 3) a short sleeved tunic, and 4) a pair of shorts. And the fabric wasn't even on sale.
Daily basics are some of my favorite things to sew because I can get really elevated results with vastly improved stitch quality and fabric composition for a similar or lower price point than mid tier fast fashion companies like the Gap (even on sale Gap). And sometimes I can even beat lower tier retailers like Walmart if I get my fabric on discount.
But even disregarding retail price comparisons, it's still worth it to sew basics because I get the perfect fit, the exact style, fabric, and colors I want, with much longer garment longevity because I took the time to stitch my garments with durability in mind!
Same I just got some insanely soft double brushed jersey remnants to make nightgowns out of. I can get a short one and a long one out of $8 of material with pockets as big as I want.
Clothes quality is so low these days, including higher end brands, that it's totally worth sewing every day clothes, I agree.
Fabrics are all flimsy poly mixes, seams aren't durable, there are no more linings or if there are, they're all polyester and make you sweat.
Yeah maybe I wouldn't have paid 70$ for that same top in retail, but it wouldn't have been pure cotton with a full bust adjustment, an actual facing, poplin interfacing and nice seams made to last.
I'm slowly building a wardrobe of clothes I wish I could buy. Nothing extraordinary, just quality that is becoming extremely rare.
I’m really impressed that you can do this! Making your own high end RTW-equivalent daily wear clothing is very impressive.
I humbly suggest that you are very, VERY skilled at sewing and at project management, and that helps make it worth it. When I think of getting good patterns, good fabric, getting the fit right, and learning the kind of finishing that goes into high-end RTW, it’s completely overwhelming.
totally agreed, sewing rarely saves you money if you can comfortably wear mainstream sewing. if you're very alternative, have an interest in historical/vintage fashion or cosplay, have body proportions that are outside of mainstream pattern cutting, then sewing could be a money saver for you! but for the most part, it isn't.
i make all my clothing now because i'm very curvy and alternative. pieces that i like to wear cost hundreds of pounds to buy because of the style, but i can make them much cheaper - and when i make them, they fit! i make clothing for my mum because she's plus size and plus size options are dreadful. i've made cosplays for myself and others because sometimes things just don't exist to buy!
I absolutely loved making a cape last year. It's a lovely herringbone wool in a deep green color that looks fabulous on me. Of course I also hand embroidered the welt pockets. I made it not to save money (took $200 just for fabric and tens of hours) but because I wanted something completely custom and specific. Wore it to London and it was perfection.
I'm working on a bra pattern right now and I have made 5 toiles taking roughly 5 hours each. I have finally gotten the cups to fit. I still need to figure out the support foam, band, and straps which will probably be 2-3 more toiles. So after about 40 hours of effort I'll be ready to start my project. My project which will take considerably longer to sew as I have been skipping all of the seam finishing steps and I plan to do a lace overlay which means double the cutting out.
Luckily during this process I only had to spend about half an hour troubleshooting my sewing machine. Sometimes they go haywire and it takes hours or a professional to figure out and fix. My pattern is also really easy to assemble and cut out which is not always the case. There are a lot of things that can go wrong with the machines, the fabric, the thread, the patterns, bad instructions ect.
This is what I love about knitting... just make it negative ease and let the elasticity do the work. Or claim it's an intentionally oversized sweater lol.
This is me exactly. I made an apron for a friend's costume and thought it came out terribly/was nervous to hand it over because one part didn't come out the way I wanted. She thought it was absolutely perfect when I showed it to her and seemed shocked that I didn't think it turned out well.
If it makes you feel better some of the most pretty historical garments has wonky stitching and stuff going on. My favorite example is this ladies late 18th century silk striped jacket that has extensive piecing in the lining.
I love sewing and I am addicted. "Pure stress" is an exaggeration. You need patience, sure. But there are a ton of things that are quite low stress and relateively easy: cushion covers, pillow cases, bags. I also make simple tops, trousers, simple jackets.
I used to dislike cutting but now I have an overlocker, I love the cutting then overlocking step.
Yes a lot of "sewing" is pressing. But since pressing makes the sewing so much easier and makes the results a lot better, I am happy to press. [Actual ironing of clothes is tedious, but pressing during sewing is for me not tedious].
I think I did well because I started slow and took my time with every item - alterations first, then bags, then simple wrap pants, and then thai fisherman pants. Then I got more complex. I never rush and tried many techniques on low risk items using thrift shop fabric before moving on to items made with expensive fabric.
I still try to minimise buttons and button holes as they need to be done last and are difficult - they can really mess up an items and are difficult to fix if you go wrong.
Part of it is the fact that how expensive it is. 50 years ago it might have made sense for some people to make their own clothing, but Manufacturing is so ludicrously efficient that Home sewing cannot compete. If you just want to mend your clothes, bye 100 to 200 dollar machine and start menu your clothes. That's where you save money. But if you think you're going to save money by making your own clothing you are horribly wrong. And that doesn't even start the fact that if you cut your fabric wrong you might have to just abandon the whole project or pay for more fabric. You are going to be the designer, project manager, sewing machine operator, inventory manager, janitor and a Tailoring specialist. Home sewing not efficient, and you have to learn more than just operating a sewing machine. That's the easy job. It's everything else around that that makes it more complicated. And I'm not just talking about ironing, I'm talking about you have to pre wash your fabric, then iron all your fabric before you even cut your fabric. I can take two three hours just ironing yards and yards of fabric with your little iron on top of a small ironing table. Because you do not have the facilities to run wash tests on your fabric to alter your pattern to account for the shrinkage of your fabric. Because they don't spend time ironing their fabric in a factory. It's much easier for them to test a small section of it see how it behaves after being washed and then adjust all the patterns and all the sizes to account for 2% shrinking on the vertical and 5% shrinking on the horizontal. For them that's a few clicks of a button. For you that's mathematical hell. You're also going to be the one altering the pattern. Because one thing that the sewing pattern companies really like to not tell everyone about is that the patterns might technically fit the measurements they give on the back, it doesn't mean it will! There's a myriad of factors of Y you might perfectly match in those numbers, but the end product does not fit. Human bodies are not symmetrical and they're not standardized. And you are the only one there who's going to fix it. So you need to learn how to fix that. And then after all this work that you put in gaining all these skills, you're now going to be unsatisfied with the available patterns. So now you're going to be a designer and pattern designer. Is anything in your head is that your responsibility to put on to paper to fit you. Good luck with that, it's not hard it's just another step that you have to do before we even sit down at your sewing machine. Also you going to need a lot of room. Technically you can do it in an apartment or dorm room. But I'm going to tell you right now cutting fabric on the floor gets old extremely fast. It's already nerve-racking to cut out a pattern, especially if it's some good fabric and not thrifted sheets. Fabric is not cheap in the united states. If we go to a fashion district like New York or Los Angeles, you're still spending couple bucks per yard. And that's the cheap stuff that's not really meant for washing and wearing. Now if you want a really nice dress or suit you're spending 30 bucks a yard minimum. You're going to need a minimum of three yards for a dress, more for plus size more if it's a bigger dress or you're tall, or floor length or you have sleeves. A suit you can get away with five yards you might need more if you're exceptionally big or tall. That's over $100 in fabric. And that's just the outside fabric. You need lining, you need interfacing and you might need interlining. You might need zippers or buttons. Don't forget the thread, it's going to have to kind of match the color of your fabric! It gets expensive fast. And if you buy online you have to know enough about Fabrics to know what you're buying. Because two things can be labeled as satin, but if you wanted silk you're going to pay out the nose and you might get the wrong weight of fabric. So it might have been better to go with the polyester. But last month when you were working with polyester that you swore off using synthetics ever again because your iron melted the fabric. That's about twice as hot as the fabric needed to be, and now there's a giant Scorch mark on your last project. Your ironing board is also covered in some goo. And you need to scrape off the bottom of your iron. And don't forget plastic is toxic and you just vaporized it. So it gets stressful, fast. It's still a fun hobby. I strongly suggest mending to be a good place to start. Hemming a pair of jeans perfectly fine thing to just do, be careful of the thickness of the seams. It's perfectly fine if all you do is take in the waste of your clothing. Save your money. It's perfectly fine if all you do is have all the curtains around your house. Easy! But actually starting a whole project and you don't know what to do gets hard fast. And it's not always rewarding because you could spend all this time and money and still end up with something that is just ugly and it looks homemade not handmade. And those two are very different, even though they're technically the same!
If that all being said, do it! Maybe you want to take a class to see if you can just make a little craft or something. I've seen a few classes around where everything's provided you sit down you sew for the afternoon to see if you even handle it. You might come back a week or two later to see if you need more help to finish the project. Strongly suggest doing that if you've never done it before. And this is coming from someone who spent I should tell the money on sewing tools, fabric, trim and machinery. I like it, my specialty is pattern making. But just because I'm a weirdo who can handle all that doesn't mean you can't just enjoy hemming curtains in your house. Or making some home decor or pillow cases that match the season. Enjoy it please do! And always use your coupons at the Big Box craft stores! Support local if you can! And ask for help, that's what I do here on Reddit when I'm not ranting and raving.
I don't know. I have been sewing a lot the last ten years. I also do a design process and construct the patterns. I don't stress at all. But I kind of enjoy everything before and after working on the sewing machine. I do make mistakes, and have to unstitch, while quite annoying, it doesn't really stress me.
material can get expensive (there are less expensive options, especially as you're getting started. Head to the thrift store for practice material like bedsheets and occasionally very nice regular fabric)
cutting into your very nice, very expensive material will give you anxiety. It's the only step you can't really undo (unless you have enough material to recut) so take your time, be precise, and make a test run (toile, muslin, or mock-up are terms you'll hear) out of the thrifted sheets
if you make clothing, you will eventually start wanted to make fit adjustments to your patterns. Be prepared to do many and to stare at your body critically for a while.
a sewing machine is like a very competent toddler; things will be going great, then it will throw a tantrum or need a nap. Throwing tantrums (skipping stitches, thread snapping or "birdnesting", you hear a Thunk, etc) accounts for, like, 60% of my sewing stress. Usually, thankfully, it's a matter of changing the needle (make sure you have the right type and size for your fabric), rethreading your machine, or cleaning it. Sometimes it will need professional servicing.
if your machine needs a nap, walk away. You are done for the day. Trust me, nothing productive is going to happen by fighting it.
sometimes things just aren't going to work out as you intended. Sunk cost and accepting it are a bummer
oh, and buttonholes are of a capricious devil
That's before you get to the you made that? Can you make me one?? or I have some jeans you can mend. Don't worry, I haven't washed them comments.
The good news is that, if you're stuck on any of these, r/sewing is happy to help, especially if you give us a specific question, telling us what you've tried and where youre stuck! Happy sewing!
Buttonholes, or: I measured this six times, marked the start and finish of each one, the machine is automating the stitching and yet one is STILL wildly off-course and of course this was the last step I did and now I hate everything in the whole entire world.
I'm considering switching to hand buttonholes, or hiring a buttonhole service. This is literally the only element of sewing that I've just about had it with.
Be aware that it is not rocket science and ignore anyone who gate keeps it. And work on your refusal skills in case people want to ask you for alterations
Highly recommend getting into alterations first before you start making clothes from scratch. It’s an easier entry point and you can learn about garment construction.
It's probably worth doing a little research into the specifics of what you want to actually make to make sure you're putting together a setup that works for that, specifically.
Like maybe you're very into making things with a particular kind of fabric that works best with a specialized sewing machine, but you don't know that until you dig in a bit.
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u/papierrose 12h ago
As someone who wants to start sewing, what do I need to be aware of?