Making your own clothes?

[mini me]

mini me, those roses are so fab I'm gonna have to experiment with the idea if you dont mind!

Modal is also usually quite inexpensive no? If you can source it. And it takes dye really well and is superbly cool.

Thanks!
I'll go to textile market probably this weekend or next to see modal since it's cool and soft for summer

 

[lukewarm]

I really do like that tank as well. I've never heard of modal before but it does sound very cool. I haven't made anything yet, (soon!) but I did successfully alter a white cotton tunic! I was very proud of that small feat

 

[oceanharlot]

i make all my own clothes. just start. thats the best way. buy a simple pattern and just start making. you'll progress to more difficult patterns as time goes on, just keep at it!

 

[5AvenueMarceau]

Hey, I have the standard "Metric Pattern Cutting" book which is incredibly handy and broad, but can anyone recommend a pattern making book with more advanced details?

 

[gius]

^I hear the one they use at Parson's is one by Helen Joseph Armstrong.. a heavy book
I used that Metric Pattern cutting book. It's quite good.. I also have one by Masaaki Kawashima for menswear--there's a lot of different collars and sleeves and coat types in there. I think I've seen another book also that shows different kinds of pockets and buttonholes

 

[laisla]

there are some free patterns here: http://burdastyle.com/pattern
I think I might give one of the easier ones a go, might have to alter them slightly to suit my own style though.

 

[gius]

Has anyone here tried to make a dress shirt ?
I'm trying one now...

This here is just a draft.
You can see the bottom hem goes outwards...
Is that normal? It's my back, I think, which is rounded

It's a dress shirt, so you are supposed to close it in the middle.
It will close if I add buttons, but it's only at the top and at the bottom that can close,
as you can see here...

I was wondering what I should do about how it goes outwards.
I still have to make the front sleeve hole bigger because it's stretching the shoulder seams...and I have to add a bit of width to the chest. I'm not sure how to add width to chest... Where do I mark it on the pattern?

 

[gius]

One other thing, there is a yoke in the pattern. Is it too high up ??
(In this photo, I'm pulling the fabric down at the back..)

 

[fourboltmain]

Lay it flat and post your measurements, both you and the garment. The yoke is a question of taste and style, there's no high or low point. I've made a shirt, without a yoke (I don't dig them) and I got a pattern 2 sizes too big to start with. My mistake.

I ended having to slice up the pattern, but there's certain way to do it without changing the entire shape. I think you drafted or cut or did both without thinking about ease. That's the first thing off the top of my head, but it's hard to tell with these pictures.

There's no easy answer to this, but I'll tell you to always make a muslin first, second and third. And don't even worry about the nice seams and interfacing. Just baste the damn thing together and test fit it as you go along. When I do a muslin I like to use at least a 1 inch seam allowance so if I have to rip the seam, I still have more material to play with. I'm not very good at this either, so take my lack of skill into your own consideration. The basting stitch also allows me to rip the seam without spending all day doing it. Snip, snip, pull.

Also, you say it'll button up, but what about the facing that gets sewn into, pressed and interfaced behind the buttons/holes for support?

Last thing, I see puckers on the fabric. Did you wash and dry the fabric before your cut it? That 1/4 shrink on the fabric after washing becomes a full 1" on the entire piece.

Just a few things to think about.

 

[5AvenueMarceau]

I'm not good at menswear so anything I would usually do and suggest to you would be irrelevant probably, plus fourboltmain has pretty much said all the things I could have.

Where do I mark it on the pattern?

If you were to mark any changes to the pattern, surely you would alter the side seams?
But in terms of the actual garment I'm not sure what you could do without having to go loads of steps backwards. Perhaps, if you are already correcting the shoulder seams area, you could undo the shoulder seams and it might give you more room for manoeuvre, more fabric free to correct.
I really am just guessing put perhaps you could then try pulling the centre corners of the fabric upwards? Although this would undoubtedly affect the shape.... hmm I dunno, I really am just speculating...

 

[gius]

dress shirt part 2...
thanks for the help guys.. i took some time off and have started working on it again--the fit is perfect now

i just have a problem with looseness at the sleevehole (for the back of the body)

so you see in the 1st picture, the fabric should lay flat on the person's body; but mine curls at the side, so it means i have too much fabric there

what can i do ?
use a dart ??
if i cut a dart (triangle) into the pattern, it will create fullness where the point of the dart will be ... because that is what darts are for anyway

 

[gius]

by the way, yes it was the 'ease' that i was missing from my first draft
so you were right fourboltmain

 

[SweetFantasy]

I might make a dress on the holidays, I gotta buy fabric.

 

[jun3machina]

aha! love this thread too! im getting sick and tired of going to the cruddy stores i have around town here that have icky clothes and decided this fall, (since i just finished school and now have some free time ), im going to design my own capsule collection for myself.

i'm going to work with a limited color palette, going to draw out my designs and whatnot and make them, as if i was doing a line for myself. Just found some amazing rust/saffron colored wool for a coat, some embroidered white cotton for a dress, some grey silk for a dress, and a graphic print for a dress.

so far the plan is for a winter coat, a few dresses, some tunic/blouse tops, a black mini skirt and some accessories. i think it should be really fun! my pallete is going to be oranges, yellows, deep cobalt blue and black/white/grey.

i'll postn pics of fabric swatches/drawings/etc as i go along.....i really want to invest in a dress form too...but not on of those newfangled thing...im really lusting after an old victorian cast iron one.

 

[gius]

^i'm hoping to do the same.. 'capsule' collection
just need to fit the perfect block first focusing on basics for now

 

[marylauda]

I found this picture on the Sartorialist and I'm thinking of trying it if I can find a shirt to use. It's her dad's polo!

 

[jun3machina]

basics are good, because without a strong understanding of that, anything else will *ahem* fall apart at the seams

but in all seriousness, it's so cool to have this thread and the sewing thread to show others what we're working on, get feedback, and ask questions!
that book someone posted above looks very interesting...im going to have to go find it now. i recommend the Vogue Book of sewing. it covers all basic seams, hems, alterations and shows proper cutting, fitting, etc....

 

[fourboltmain]

by the way, yes it was the 'ease' that i was missing from my first draft
so you were right fourboltmain

I'll be damned.

You owe me a beer or something for this one:

http://cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_c/c-228.html

Scroll down to the shoulder section. I think you should slash and spread the dart into the yoke with the apex being at your shoulder blades. But I'm not entirely sure. So make some muslin samples and go from there.

I just started draping class today, I think instead of pins I'm going to use a staple gun on a foam dressform. I'll post whatever nonsense I come up with.

 

[liashoes]

I found this picture on the Sartorialist and I'm thinking of trying it if I can find a shirt to use. It's her dad's polo!

I saw this too and am seriously looking for the right shirt! Good luck.

 

[marylauda]

I went through my stepdad's closet and found a shirt. It's a little tough to get on whichever way I try to..but I folded it and it looked pretty cool.