Sewing

[gius]

that is cool, daniellat ^^ did you put something inside the bra cup for shape? something washable



today i spent the whole day making a welt pocket (with and without a flap)
it's amazing how long it takes for just a pocket
how many steps.
it's my first time to do it without my teacher, so my first one was a mess.. the "welts" were so uneven i've redone it several times but it doesn't seem to align on the seamlines i created. plus i'm using fabric cut on the bias

this is my first one (with teacher's help)

it has my hand at the back so the top 'lip' is floating
but should be pressed flat.

 

[daniellat]

that looks pretty good gius, welt and flap pockets are hard to do, once i made sort of pocket catalog with all different poclet styles and different fabrics and it was haaard once the teachers werent home helping me. Welt button holes i wont event tell you how hard they are, but your pocket looks great, you should post your future sewing projects, you seem to be very good at it.

And yeah i put some light foam inside the bikini top, its not as hard as a pre-made cup but helps with the no show after wet he he. Im working on a different style right now, i hope to finish it tomorrow.

 

[shutterbug]

Today I'm adding a bit of heavy fringe to spruce up an old sweater. Here's what I have so far. It's all pins and needles at the moment. I'm taking the, eye-it-as-you-go-along sort of approach heh.

 

[haute femme]

Looks striking so far!! I can't wait to see the finished product. I always have urges to use fringe/upholstery lining to customize garments too.

 

[ettebe]

Today I'm adding a bit of heavy fringe to spruce up an old sweater. Here's what I have so far. It's all pins and needles at the moment. I'm taking the, eye-it-as-you-go-along sort of approach heh.

please remove pictures from quotes

nice i cant wait to see the finish product

 

[Crying Diamonds]

I love everything that is happening in this thread.

As I said a while back, I did a Victorian corset-making workshop last weekend.
I have to say - I was thrown in the deep-end slightly.
I went from making my simple little patterns in my own time at college to creating this complex piece of machinery designed to take strain and morph something natural into something synthetic.
The weekend was only to make a sort of mock-up of a corset in plain cloth and I didn't quite finish it so I shan't post photos.
You had to be able to listen and remember and work fast because of the limited time we had - indeed I would have a better sample if I had had more time.
But I learnt a lot - several trade secrets that you could just slap yourself for not thinking of before and it was fun
I also learnt that though corsets have a bad reputation for permanently mutilating the wearer they didn't just exist for aesthetic reasons, for example - they supported the spine for housemaids hauling heavy objects etc.
Making a corset is truly an art - each corset must be measured perfectly for maximum comfort for the wearer. The boning and seams are on the outside of the corset, again so the wearer is comfortable.

It was a great experience - I recommend it to anyone.

 

[gius]

thanks C-D i didn't even know about corsets supporting the back.. but it's easy to see it now, even films.. everybody is so well poised

my own teacher in sewing and pattern drafting is the same everything you have to catch by ear.. and sometimes she gets angry if she sees you writing notes, she'd rather make you memorise it by eye
some of us have notebooks on our laps, under the tables, busily scribbling things down ...

 

[eDiot]

i tried to make a copy of the wangbag.

 

[haute femme]

^ you got the shape exactly correct! great job... seems like a great bag for spring summer

 

[eDiot]

thanks so much- i use it all the time now.great size&shape

 

[from: sophia]

So inspired right now by all the stuff people are doing I think I am going to make this dress I have been waiting to make its going to be sheer on the back and plain on the front.

 

[shutterbug]

Here are the photos of my finished sweater! It looks a bit uneven in the back but that's because I'm leaning backwards. Looks pretty good otherwise! I had fun experimenting.

 

[shutterbug]

Looks striking so far!! I can't wait to see the finished product. I always have urges to use fringe/upholstery lining to customize garments too.

I'm glad I'm not the only one! I also like making belts and necklaces from tassels...

 

[Elegance.Is.Refusal.]

i bleached some black jersey and due to it being scrunched it turned out quite interesting and i like the rusty shade of red/orange

so i knocked up a baggy vest type dress it took about 5 mins from a pattern i already drafted, the longest part was probably bleaching the fabric. i left all the edges raw if i had a machine to sew on bias binding i would have, they have one in uni but im always too impatient and i quite like the raw edges.

all images my own

(oh and i dont have a funny mark on my leg its just the bottom of my tattoo poking out below the hem)

 

[daniellat]

guys i just found a gold mine. For everyone interested in sewing, this should be very very helpful. It has tutorials with step by step pictures of pattern alterations, lingerie, jackets, pants, zippers, buttonholes and pockets.

 

[gius]

thank you you also mentioned vintagesewing.info in a different thread.. i found some good online sewing books through there. and they have this great one on tailored pockets
http://www.vintagesewing.info/1930s/33-pt/pt-04.html

also showing you how to make the 'pouch'
which i couldn't find instructions for in the sewingtutorials blog

i have learned to make only one pocket so far
the welt for a suit jacket
and i'm kind of craving for a new pocket to learn because the pouch is quite ugly on the inside.. it needs to have a lining to hide it

i was reading Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing
and i want to try the patch pocket this weekend
has anyone made it?
i was surprised there is hand-sewing... when you fold the facing down to the pocket and also when you attach the pocket to the garment, it is by hand.

i wonder if there is hand-sewing even in industrial sewing?

 

[daniellat]

there is no hand sewing the industrial way, thats the way i learned it in school, they never taught us all these little details.

 

[gius]

have you made something using hand-sewing details?
if so, what do you think of them...
useless or helpful?
important or unnecessary?

E.I.R. it's an interesting texture on the dress
also that you mentioned bias binding if there was a machine. i machine only one part of bias binding but when i'm finally folding the raw edges down, i sew them by hand...



for myself i find hand-basting is so helpful in keeping everything from moving when sewing the final piece.

 

[Elegance.Is.Refusal.]

have you made something using hand-sewing details?
if so, what do you think of them...
useless or helpful?
important or unnecessary?

E.I.R. it's an interesting texture on the dress
also that you mentioned bias binding if there was a machine. i machine only one part of bias binding but when i'm finally folding the raw edges down, i sew them by hand...



for myself i find hand-basting is so helpful in keeping everything from moving when sewing the final piece.

theres an idustrial machine at uni that sews on bias binding, it feeds through a metal feeder that folds it and stitches it onto the edge of the fabric and in incases the whole edge on both sides. which does it in one step although you can sew it on like this with a regular machine it just takes longer. although if i only want the tape to show on the inside of the garment without topstitching on the outside i'd hand stitch it, or topstitch it if thats the detail i wanted.

it would probably make more sense if i had pictures to illustrate

 

[daniellat]

the metal feeder you mention is wonderful, its almost foolproof, they sell this not only for industrial but for any other type, i dont have it at home but ive seen them, they actually have them on ebay. they sell pressing feet for any application you have in mind.

^^
i have made several stuff all by hand, because thats how my mom and grandma taught me, i was afraid of the sm when i was younger and wanted to do it all just by hand. When i got into fashion school things changed, and i couldnt figure how to sew without a machine near me. But apart from the basic program we could always design different stuff and incorporate different techniques to the sewing and patterndrafting program and the fact that i knew how to handsew really helped a lot specially when sewing nightgowns.

Its not a matter of better or worse but i would say that in order to sew a garment you have to know how to do both. The sewing machine is for speed and by hand is for finishings, i take the good from both and use it when need it. i like both. but i wouldnt dare to do a whole outfit just by hand....im too impacient