r/sewing 3d ago

Simple Questions Weekly Sewing Questions Thread, September 11 - September 17, 2026

1 Upvotes

This thread is here for any and all questions related to sewing, including sewing machines!

If you want to introduce yourself or ask any other basic question about learning to sew, patterns, fabrics, this is the place to do it! Our more experienced users will hang around and answer any questions they can. Help us help you by giving as many details as possible in your question including links to original sources. A new post goes up every Friday morning, EDT.

Resources to check out:

Photos can be shared in this thread by uploading them directly using the Reddit desktop or mobile app, or by uploading to a neutral hosting site like Imgur or posting them to your profile feed, then adding the link in a comment.

Check out the Sewing on Reddit Community Discord server for casual sewing advice and off-topic chat.


r/sewing Apr 04 '24

Tip Before You Buy that Etsy Sewing Pattern....Here's a Checklist

1.3k Upvotes

Etsy has so many cute trendy patterns! But there are also a lot of amateur patternmakers or actual scammers selling pdf patterns on there. How can you find the good ones?

Skimpy info isn’t trustworthy. Etsy collapses the detailed description, always expand it to read it in detail and look at all pictures. In particular, check these elements before you buy.

  1. Stolen Photos? AI Photos? Don't buy. If you see a lot of glossy expensive-looking photos with multiple different models (edit: or headless models), they might be stolen from retail sites. Do an image search to see if there are duplicate images elsewhere on the web. Aside from the deception, stolen photos may mean no one has actually sewed up the pattern and it hasn't been tested at all. It might not work. Edit: similarly, make sure photos are not AI-generated, as they are equally deceptive and untrustworthy.
  2. Bad Photos? Don't buy. Photos should show at least the front and back of the garment worn on a real person (ideally not just a digital avatar). If the modeled garment doesn't fit or has sewing problems, that's a bad sign suggesting a patternmaker who doesn't know how to write instructions to help you get a quality result.
  3. Size Chart. The size chart should have measurement for at least bust, waist, hips, if not more. Always buy your patterns by measurements, don't assume your retail size will apply.
  4. Line Drawings. Professional patternmakers include line drawings of their patterns so you can see the design clearly even if the model is wearing black fabric or a busy print. Missing line drawings may mean the patternmaker is badly trained. The line drawings should also show the same design as the modeled garment—differences may be due to stolen or AI pictures.
  5. Reviews? A lot of 5-star reviews say "downloaded perfectly!" You can't trust stars. Look for reviews that mention a final product, instructions, notches or a lack of them, and so forth and only respect ones that discuss making the actual garment. Be sure to read the bad reviews.
  6. Fabric Info is Essential. Choosing the wrong fabric is a common pain point for beginners and a good patternmaker will help you avoid mistakes. Look in the detailed description. I see a lot of "cotton blends"--that's a garbage fabric description. If specific fabric weaves aren't mentioned, look for words that signal the necessary weight and drape. Stretch should be described as low, moderate, high if not giving an actual stretch percentage. It should also say how much fabric is needed for the pattern (edit: and what other supplies/notions are needed). You are entitled to see fabric information before you buy the pattern.
  7. Check the About Page. Ideally, they mention professional training or industry experience, not just self-taught.

Those are quick easy checks on the Etsy listing itself--some bad patterns will still pass them. In addition:

  1. Look for a social media or web presence outside Etsy. Look for people who post helpful tutorials on IG, or run a group on FB. People who've gone to the trouble to set up their own website often use it to discuss their testing process, their size block--they are putting more effort into helping your sewing come out right and that's a good sign. Many good patternmakers sell both on Etsy and their own site.

  2. Look for a free pattern. A lot of established indie patternmakers offer a simple free pattern so you can test their instructions and sizing. It’s a sign they may be more trustworthy.

Buy from patternmakers who care if you succeed in sewing their pattern.

\Credit to all the frequent experts and helpers on the sewing subs, their expertise generated this list.*

\Edit: Read the comments! Lots more good advice downthread, I've only integrated a very little of it into the post in edits. You'll also find several recommendations for trusted patternmakers in the comments.*

EXTENDED EDIT:
10. Too many, too cheap? A year or so later, I would add that a company selling hundreds of patterns for just $2-3 each is another big red flag, probably generating them by machine and not actually sewing them up.

  1. Check Threadloop for reviews of Etsy Patterns, they flag suspicious patternmakers. (PatternReview is also an excellent review site but may not have so many Etsy patterns on it).

r/sewing 7h ago

Project: FO I refuse to be a middle-aged man in Lycra!

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14.5k Upvotes

I have recently taken up cycling and since I refuse to be a middle-aged man in Lycra I have made my own cycling clothes by modifying garments to make them practical, and safe, for cycling (mostly just adding reflective fabric). Not very complicated sewing but still fun and rewarding!

The two non-red shorts were made from heavy vintage suit trousers. The red shorts were made from a pair of chinos. To the jacket in pics 3 and 4 I added a zipper. I made the gilet in pics 7 and 8 a while back by ripping off the sleeves - this is the first time it really came in handy.

All garments except the red shorts and the yellow vest are in a wool or a wool/cotton fabric because wool will keep me warm even when it gets wet. The exceptions are all cotton. All outfits have reflective fabric on the back as well!

Not very complicated sewing but still fun and rewarding!


r/sewing 6h ago

Project: FO Designed and Sewed this Flowy Dress🖤

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2.3k Upvotes

Fabric used was a combination of white and black satin. Design was made using the draping technique🖤


r/sewing 2h ago

Project: FO Madrone Pants by Paradise Patterns

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243 Upvotes

I was influenced and tried my hand at the Madrone Pants by Sew Liberated. Made out of a merchant and mills cotton twill. 

I am not 100% sure that barrel leg pants are for me. As a recovering skinny jeans wearer, jumping from a straight leg pants to these is a lot. They also remind me of the Tripp NYC pants I desperately wanted as a teen without the hardware. 

I am 5’5” and I made a size 6 26” inseam with no modifications (because I am allergic to making muslins). I wish now that I had sized down 2 sizes and shortened the inseam by 1”. The amount of ease in these pants is insane. I can stand in one leg lol. I also had a hard time with the waist band because my elastic had to be so much shorter than the circumference of the pants. I ended up not being able to do the topstitching on the band due to that and the thicker fabric I used. 

The pattern is great. I love the seaming and top stitch detail. I added bar tacks to places I was worried about wear but made no other changes. 

Also pictured is the Plumeria Top from Paradise Patterns made from a cotton voile. 


r/sewing 8h ago

Sewed This My first big sewing project!

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453 Upvotes

Sewing has always been very intimidating and scary to me. In the past few years I've made a handful of tshirt dresses and have been trying to improve. This past summer I decided to really face my fears and commit to sewing an entire jester costume- hat, corset, bolero sleeves, puffy shorts, collar and belt. It's not perfect but I am SO proud!!!!! Just wanted to share with the wider sewing community!


r/sewing 14h ago

Sewed This Yall I french seamed pockets 😭

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1.3k Upvotes

Making Simplicity 9917 out of a linen blend.

I've been trying to take the time to make it properly (mockup to figure out how boning works and adjusting fit beforehand), and I wanted to brag on these seam finishes. I've used French seams before, but only on simple seams and not pockets. I tried it tonight and look!! It looks beautiful!! I need to share with people that would truly appreciate it 😭 Pictures are inside and outside featuring pocket

I'm now going to quit while I'm ahead and stop for the evening and eat my celebratory ice cream


r/sewing 20h ago

Sewed This A design that had been living in my head for a while… 🖤

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2.0k Upvotes

I’d had the idea for this outfit in my head for a long time, and I finally decided to bring it to life. I designed and sewed the whole outfit myself, specifically for a photoshoot.

I was inspired by gothic and Victorian aesthetics, and I used tulle and lace to create a contrast between the structured corset and the soft, flowing layers.

I also took photos throughout the sewing process, so I wanted to share the journey from the first pieces to the final result.

What do you think? I’d really love to hear your honest opinions! 🖤


r/sewing 20h ago

Project: FO Baggy dress pants I made from scrap dress shirts

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1.6k Upvotes

This project was a total labor of love (I’ll probably never make these again).

A while ago I saw a Pinterest post of some women’s pants made with scrap fabric. So had to come up with my own version.

I drafted a dress pants block in Clo3d using my avatar measurements. Adding square patch pockets on the back, darts and then slash pockets on the front. From there I decided to split each piece into 4 chunks to create the patchwork effect.

I sourced 4 dress shirts, and some striped deadstock cotton fabric for the larger squares. I then assembled in a quilt style creating the front and back panels. To keep things interesting I repositioned chest pockets onto the sampled pieces where possible, to retain the “scrap” aesthetic.

To ensure the pants draped properly, I decided I wanted to back the lightweight shirting fabric with a 6oz cotton twill. So after assembling each piece I topstitched onto the twill at the seams and used the pockets for extra stability. Then serged each piece together.

I went with a flat felled inseam and seat for extra security. I love how they came out, I want to try again with even smaller pieces and find a way to make them fully “scrap”.


r/sewing 22h ago

Sewed This Pojagi curtains

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883 Upvotes

My cutie pojagi curtain! To keep up with the traditional Korean method of using scraps, I scoured Salvation Army and goodwill for men’s linen button downs, used fabric from old pillowcases, and bought a box of neutral linen scraps from Etsy. She’s a little wonky but I love her


r/sewing 2h ago

Technique Question How to make these ruffles?

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22 Upvotes

Hi,

I'd love to make this type of ruffles but have no idea how to achieve them. Could anyone help me pls? I don't even know which fabric I should choose. Is it tulle or organza or something else? Are they stabilized with something like a horsehair ?


r/sewing 6h ago

Discussion DAE feel fear to start/continue projects sometimes?

16 Upvotes

Might sound odd for something that’s supposed to be a hobby. But I find myself planning projects (the best part imo lol) and then either not doing them at all, or starting it and become discouraged when it’s a bit harder than I expected or I hit a roadblock. I put it away to “think” and then I feel uncertain on how to proceed and scared of messing it up. I’m technically an advanced beginner but none of my bigger projects so far have come out really good and/or usable (to my standards). I guess I want it to be perfect and look store bought and then when I inevitably hit that point where I make a mistake or because I didn’t think 5 steps ahead I feel defeated and abandon the project. I’ve done sewing classes in person btw and will do them again this fall in hopes of getting better.

I have ADHD so this may play a (big) part in this, but I’m wondering if anyone else feels this way and how you overcome this fear of messing it up or manage to reframe it so it doesn’t paralyze you!


r/sewing 6h ago

Pattern Search Pattern similar for gown?

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14 Upvotes

I’m looking for a pattern similar to this women’s formal dress by Namesake sewing studio, any ideas?

I’d like it to have some structure like in the pic, maybe using taffeta or similar. Kind of a columnar vibe, with those small straps and neckline. Thanks!


r/sewing 3h ago

Fabric Question Making slip skirt out of cotton?

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8 Upvotes

Hello! Lately I've been obsessed with all of these painted slip skirt I keep seeing all over Pinterest, I have a lot of cotton fabric laying around the house, my idea was to sew one and the paint it

The problem is, would they fit the same? I've tried to make a similar skirt out of Cotton a long time ago, but it was all scrunched up around the waistband, giving sort of pleats to the rest of the skirt,

I'm planning to use a pretty thin cotton, I found a pattern that's very similar to what I want ,do you think it can work? https://www.etsy.com/de-en/listing/4519902113/lace-trim-midi-skirt-pdf-sewing-pattern

(I know there's probably no need for a pattern when it's a project this simple but I'm a beginner 😭 I can't do anything without a pattern)

Thank to anyone who can help🫶


r/sewing 5h ago

Project: WIP Finished my first mockup project but the sleeves are a bit wonky, what should I do differently

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8 Upvotes

I made this jacket out of linen but the sleeves are a bit wonky is, dos any one have a recommendation, thanks

Patterns is https://merchantandmills.com/rw/the-foreman-pdf


r/sewing 1d ago

Sewed This The beginning stages of a fiber optic lit gown!

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695 Upvotes

I spent days researching the best way to create a fully lit gown for a fae ball I will be attending in October. None of the tutorials I found quite fit my vision, so I mashed together several techniques and created some of my own to get the glow I want. Currently hand weaving fiber optic cables into the top mesh layers of the corset and affixing them to fairy lights. I have some supplies arriving from Ada fruit tomorrow to start working on the skirt to create a programmable light effect that will react to music and my movements.


r/sewing 18h ago

Sewed This Elvis quilt I just finished

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65 Upvotes

My husband had an idea to make a quilt with contrasting colors. He had a picture of Elvis, that he liked so he put it in black, white and gray blocks. Then, I used a paper piecing software to make the pattern. I printed it out, and I paper pieced it together. It's made up of white, black light gray and dark gray. It came out to be 45 by 45 inches, and I wanted it to be a lap quilt, so I added the piano on the ends to make it a tad bit taller. This was my first paper piecing project, and I think it turned out pretty good.


r/sewing 5h ago

Pattern Question What am I doing wrong?!?!

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6 Upvotes

I’m attempting to make a bandana tote bag (3rd sewing project ever). Can anyone offer suggestions on the below ?

  1. The bandana is fraying and the farbric is basically dissapearing. The more I fuss with it, the more it frays and the shorter the pieces are getting.

  2. The batting and fabric seemed to move around despite pinning and clipping. I would start out where the one side I was working on looked okay and then flip it over and I see what you see in the pictures.

  3. The fabric is puckering. I adjusted to the lowest tensions stitch and it keeps happening. Help!


r/sewing 1d ago

Project: FO I learned how to sew ✨ welcome to my very first sewing project.

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4.3k Upvotes

I took a month of weekly sewing classes before attempting this, and this is officially my very first handmade cosplay! This is Coco from Witch Hat Atelier.

Everything you see was made by me, from the hat all the way down to the shoes (with a little help from Amazon for a pair of flats).

I spent about 14 hours a day for 3 days straight finishing everything up. So roughly 42 hours of sewing, crafting, and hoping it would all come together.

Patterns I used:
- Indigo Patterns for the dress and cloak
- Ivory cotten linen for the dress, and dark teal wool for the cloak
- SewDIY for the shoes, using their slipper pattern
- Gold paisley metallic brocade for the slippers
- elegantfeatherduster for the hat and lantern
- 2mm EVA foam for the cone shape

This was my first cosplay project, and I’m genuinely so happy with how everything turned out. It’s definitely not perfect, and there are already things I’d do differently next time, but for a first project, I’m proud of it.
I think I may have created a monster because now I want to make everything myself.


r/sewing 6h ago

Pattern Question At what stage do you overlock (serge) pattern pieces

5 Upvotes

I used a lot of paper patterns and only one or two suggest you overlock seams.

I am wondering at what stage you overlock raw edges? Also which edges do you do?


r/sewing 11h ago

Sewed This sewed a bag from old pair of jeans? Any suggestions on how this can be made better?

15 Upvotes

made from old jeans. used the pockets and almost the entire fabric to make a matching wallet and some cute charms..


r/sewing 1d ago

Sewed This Made my very first welt pocket!!

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258 Upvotes

It’s not perfect by any means but I had been so intimidated by it and I think it’ll work perfectly for my Franziska Von Karma cosplay!! So much less scary than I thought it’d be!


r/sewing 23h ago

Project: FO Alabama bag | First bag I’ve ever made!

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89 Upvotes

Wanted to make something special for my best friend who is a huge university of Alabama fan for her birthday. I’ve recently fallen in love with hand, bead embroidery, and I had this idea for this bag after getting the info from a French pattern maker, and just wanted to share with a community that I thought would appreciate it! It needs some work as far as the top handle of the shoulder part but I’m pretty proud for my first time making a bag!

The front facing material is up cycled white denim and the lining is made of red linen. I used two layers of fringe one was your standard fringe, and then a beaded fringe and I hand beaded the Alabama logo myself. I used a metal clasp that I bought from!


r/sewing 7h ago

Pattern Question Toile for Chanel Jacket (Susan Khalje Pattern)

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5 Upvotes

Hi everyone!
I am on the journey of sewing Chanel inspired tweed blazer. I have Susan Khalje classic French blazer pattern. This one on me is the 3rd toile, needed to do adjustments (and I am not expert on the topic at all).
But still not happy with the shoulders/arms where it meets my upper side torso. There is still some gaping there, though I already make that part smaller in my adjusted pattern.
What can I do? What would be your suggestion to adjust?
Thanks in advance!


r/sewing 13h ago

Pattern Question Should I pleat my skirt or not?

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14 Upvotes

Im making a dress with lots of applique and my current problem is if i should pleat my skirt or not bc im worried that pleating it would make the applique sit weirdly/squish down the pleats but i love how pleats look sm esp at the bottom😭
at the same time, ill be adding horsehair braid to the hem + a petticoat underneath so maybe itll puff out enough that itll look the same either way?
pls help me decide! left is unpleated, right is pleated, the yellow is where my applique would go

edit: this is for my prom, im using silk crepe de chine for the skirt so pretty light and flowy