Sewing

[daniellat]

lol it happens to me all the time. im used to sew at maximum speed and then when it comes to details i need to do it manually because otherwise it turns out into a mess. my machine doesnt have a slow speed button..not that im aware of.

 

[fab_fifties_fille]

gius thats exactly what I do for fiddly bits, just turn the wheel myself, if you consider it it doesn't really take that long and it saves a lot of time doing it over and over and picking the stitches until you get it right. It's still a lot quicker than hand sewing! (this is what I think to myself when I have a sewing deadline and I'm up past midnight turning the wheel by handlol:

 

[perfect10]

gius I do it manually, some details have to take more time than others. and iron a lot, and trim the hem to the max, or what it's called in English.

 

[perfect10]

a dress I sewed a time ago... the pic does not show the fabric very well, but it is my creation as well I am more happy how the fabric turned out than the dress... It is white swallows on apricot base, viscose. Maybe its easier to see on the small pic?

 

[gius]

love the collar ^ :-)

thanks for the input about sewing curves glad to hear other people do it too
i might not bother getting the machine fixed then
i love curves ♥

 

[gius]

oh dear i have just had the most traumatizing experience for 2009 !...

i went to this tailor shop for a trial day
they were looking for someone who could work with one of their tailors

i thought i was pretty okay in terms of skills but after the interview i just realise how much i suck !

they made me sew over a spiral design like this

(this is what i did when i got back home
but the actual fabric given to me was a weird-feeling polyester formal trouser fabric)
and the real spiral i sewed at the tailor shop was a thousand times worse like you couldn't believe it was jagged and everything.. i just had the most awful time controlling the fabric and i couldn't do it manually with them watching me. it would just take too long.. there were a ton of curves to sew through

i had to use an industrial machine ----which I found was pretty similar to my instructor's old vintage Singer in terms of speed and sensitivity...


not only that, they had an iron with a cord attached to it, hanging from the ceiling
i said i had worked with it before (it's the same as my instructor's)
and then they suggested i use the steam button to iron the trousers i was working on and i steamed my hand !!!! god that was hot.

the tailor seemed pretty pissed off when it was time to let me go
he didn't even look at me

SO embarrassing !!

i guess i can only work for myself since i can let myself work with payment per garment rather than per hour.. so time isn't a gigantice issue

 

[from: sophia]

^ Im sorry sewing spirals is a pain in the a$$ I had to do it in school and working with an industrial gives you even less control.

 

[cygnenoir]

Oh noooo, gius, I feel your pain!

We had to do something similar in my sewing class at school. It was called the "Square of Insanity" - it was basically a maze where you would start at the outer edge of a square and sew closer and closer to the center at a predetermined measurement. Then the instructors measured and graded every seam to make sure it was absolutely perfect. I get sqeamish just thinking about it.

And yes, on an industrial too. I swear those things are like driving cars or something!

 

[rockitgirl]

Hey don't get down on yourself! This was only the first time! Now you know you need to practice, that's all. With sewing jobs speed is equally as important as quality. Just practice. That's all you need to do

In my college sewing classes we had all kinds of patterns we had to sew. We started with paper and you should too. Just print some circles, squares, spirals, square spirals, corners, tight S'curves, etc and sew over the lines on the paper with no thread. Do that until you can do it fast and perfect. Then move to different kinds of fabric.

You'll get the hang of it, don't be discouraged, you've never worked in an industrial and commercial sewing setting before. It is different than home and even at home if you are going to work for yourself you need speed also or you'll be working for less than minimum wage in order to keep your garments priced competitively.

Sorry to hear about your hand. Industrial irons are HOT, I think the steam that comes out is pressurized boiling water which means it is actually hotter than regular boiling water. Industrial irons have a water tank on them that have to be heated for at least a half hour before they can be used...It is unlikely your instructor has one though she may have the same iron.

Next time if you have not used something before just tell them "I've used something similiar but not as professional as that, can you show me quickly so I don't burn myself or hurt the fabric?" I promise you they will appreciate your honesty because they don't want you to ruin $40/m fabric or a $500 jacket and if you ask confidently they will see that you are confident about using it but are just making sure to be safe. Remember, it's ALL about the garment, all about the fabric, so they would rather you ask then make a mistake.

I hope your hand is okay, ice helps with burns though I'm sure you knew that already. I'm sure it hurts a lot, I've ironed my hand before, but not been hit by that steam!

 

[*Jibrielle*]

oh dear i have just had the most traumatizing experience for 2009 !...

i went to this tailor shop for a trial day
they were looking for someone who could work with one of their tailors

i thought i was pretty okay in terms of skills but after the interview i just realise how much i suck !

they made me sew over a spiral design like this

(this is what i did when i got back home
but the actual fabric given to me was a weird-feeling polyester formal trouser fabric)
and the real spiral i sewed at the tailor shop was a thousand times worse like you couldn't believe it was jagged and everything.. i just had the most awful time controlling the fabric and i couldn't do it manually with them watching me. it would just take too long.. there were a ton of curves to sew through

i had to use an industrial machine ----which I found was pretty similar to my instructor's old vintage Singer in terms of speed and sensitivity...


not only that, they had an iron with a cord attached to it, hanging from the ceiling
i said i had worked with it before (it's the same as my instructor's)
and then they suggested i use the steam button to iron the trousers i was working on and i steamed my hand !!!! god that was hot.

the tailor seemed pretty pissed off when it was time to let me go
he didn't even look at me

SO embarrassing !!

i guess i can only work for myself since i can let myself work with payment per garment rather than per hour.. so time isn't a gigantice issue

You suck?!?! When I did my spirals they were horrible!!!! Not even 1 curve lol you will get the hang of it, don't worry

 

[daniellat]

oh gius, im sorry to hear that, like cygnenoir i worked with a square when i first got into fashion school , ive never done any spiral work like that but i remember it was hard, ive never used a machine before in my entire life let alone an industrial..since there where lots of them in the classroom i got around and tried them to see what machine id like the most...the slowest obviously lol, i remember people fighting over that machine i still use it because i prefer tod o it slowly but right the first time. Im sure you were fine, it was just overwhelming to have someone watching your every step and sewing in a "strange" machine, people tend to "bond" with their own and when not around its just akward.

ive used that kidn of iron lots of times and ive never burnt myself that bad but my fingertips are practically senseless lol its the steam because ive only see them at school with a cover up with little wholes and this way you can iron any fabric without burning it, the steam does all the work. i also keep my face away, its like a free heavy duty facial every time i get there lol

dont worry, youll be fine

 

[gius]

thanks for everyone's encouragement and the tips

i didn't really burn myself thankfully.. it was just a shot of steam.. i was holding the iron and pushed the steam button with my other hand, so i got a bit of it.. it was still very hot
to be honest i am really scared of that iron
i think even if i used the hand holding the iron to push the button, i could still get steamed since the air is moving upwards

when the tailor was using the iron, he'd press the steam button but he'd be moving the iron around very fast. so maybe he feels the steam less that way??
i told him i used a similar iron but i never use the steam button, just pressed with a damp cloth

i haven't gone to a school for sewing, just some private lessons or learn from several people here. never had these "sewing exams." didn't really think about what to expect in an industrial setting...
i guess i should have known but oh well

i am kind of glad anyway i had to go through that. it was a real scare haha. i think i won't apply for any job in fashion till i've pretty much mastered this and could do it in my sleep

 

[rockitgirl]

thanks for everyone's encouragement and the tips

i didn't really burn myself thankfully.. it was just a shot of steam.. i was holding the iron and pushed the steam button with my other hand, so i got a bit of it.. it was still very hot
to be honest i am really scared of that iron
i think even if i used the hand holding the iron to push the button, i could still get steamed since the air is moving upwards

when the tailor was using the iron, he'd press the steam button but he'd be moving the iron around very fast. so maybe he feels the steam less that way??
i told him i used a similar iron but i never use the steam button, just pressed with a damp cloth

i haven't gone to a school for sewing, just some private lessons or learn from several people here. never had these "sewing exams." didn't really think about what to expect in an industrial setting...
i guess i should have known but oh well

i am kind of glad anyway i had to go through that. it was a real scare haha. i think i won't apply for any job in fashion till i've pretty much mastered this and could do it in my sleep

A good solid dose of reality is always helpful!! And don't think you should have known. I never would have thought about just sewing over shapes on paper to learn speed and accuracy on my own

You can still apply, don't think that way! Shame on you!! Except this time you know your capabilities and you can approach them as such. Maybe next time it can be an unpaid internship for a couple months. People like drive and ambition so don't be afraid to try again

 

[cygnenoir]

i haven't gone to a school for sewing, just some private lessons or learn from several people here. never had these "sewing exams." didn't really think about what to expect in an industrial setting...
i guess i should have known but oh well

Thank goodness you didn't burn yourself! Those irons are so scary.

I have mixed feelings about the importance of this sort of skill. In the sewing class I took there was more emphasis on technical skill than creativity. I think it depends on what you want to do with it. I want to be able to express my ideas through design but I don't know that I need to be at the level of a professional seamstress.

People will argue this point, however. I do think it's odd that there are designers that don't sew at all, but I'm not sure that being able to sew circles perfectly is all that important to design!

 

[fab_fifties_fille]

ah dear gius, that sounds like quite a stressful interview!

The industrial irons we have at uni, have an 'extractor' type thing in the actual ironing board, so when we are steaming and pressing garments we also press the foot pedal that operates the extractor/cooler in the ironing board, and this takes some of the heat out of it, and basically cools where you've just pressed so you're not dealing with such a hot garment. It makes a wooshing sound though so if the tailor had this on his you probably would have heard it!

Industrial machines are stressful, when I'm sewing up stuff for university I do try to do the majority of it on my own machine at home, as it depends on the machine that I pick, they very much have their own personalities, some are awful some aren't so bad. When someone finds a good one though it's like daniellat says...there'll be a lot of people trying to get on it. Industrial overlockers are even worse I find, if your foot slips they can halve a pattern piece in a matter of seconds!

 

[Feline]

Oh gius, I understand exactly how you feel. I went for an interview at a dressmakers, and I remember one of the things she asked me to do was put a zip in and I made such a mess of it. I have ND & HND in Fashion Design and sewed at home for years, but on a strange machine with someone breathing down my neck, I was totally all fingers and thumbs! I'm sure she didn't believe I could sew, even though I took in the things I had made for my Final MajorProject. Anyway, don't let it put you off as at least you know what to expect next time. Keep practising and keep enjoying your sewing.

 

[daniellat]

Thank goodness you didn't burn yourself! Those irons are so scary.

I have mixed feelings about the importance of this sort of skill. In the sewing class I took there was more emphasis on technical skill than creativity. I think it depends on what you want to do with it. I want to be able to express my ideas through design but I don't know that I need to be at the level of a professional seamstress.

People will argue this point, however. I do think it's odd that there are designers that don't sew at all, but I'm not sure that being able to sew circles perfectly is all that important to design!

people at school always argue about this. i did event touched a machine in my life before fashion school and it was hard at first but i wanted to learn, i wasnt sure ill need it afterwards as long as i knew how to draft patterns in order to know how to design clothes that are really wearable. but now ive found that it is soo much better to know...im going solo with my own line at the moment and im practically sewing all by myself. i have help to cut and iron and sew the basic stuff but its been really handy to do it myself. at least at right now...i hope in the future i wont have to do it myself but right now it has saved me a lot of money.

 

[cygnenoir]

That's a very good point, daniellat.

It's probably a good thing to assume that if you are planning to be a designer, you will likely have to do everything yourself in the beginning! Of course, you would want every seam to be perfect. I guess I was thinking about that fastasy world where you design and other people do your sewing. Ba ha ha.

Personally, I'm studying sewing primarily to make things for myself and to help with my styling work. I'm not certain I want to be a designer at any point. I'm fairly sure every other person in my class is certain they are the next John Galliano or whoever though!

 

[gius]

i started learning just for myself too
but i kind of want to be really good at it, even if it's for me. it just looks great when it's perfect


anyway it's very different for me to sell my own design
as opposed to my labour.
i feel more attached to design, it takes more out of me.

labour is kind of practice in its own way. so it benefits both i guess


(a sort of response to Feline ^^
about keeping enjoying sewing.)

 

[gius]

btw i don't think it's procedure to actually make the stitch length smaller when you're sewing a steep curve, right?
like this (on paper)

you have to actually use the same stitch length all the way through?



in this second picture, i found it easier to stop sewing just at the very tip of the narrow curve, with the needle kept down.
then turn the paper/fabric and sew the other way down

but you can see the tip becomes a little bit pointed or squared sometimes.