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Moms Stuffing
Jun 2, 2005

the little green one

Kalista posted:

The only problem is finding circular needles in the right size that are long enough! For some reason, I've never had trouble with holes, or ladders where the needle change happens, and my wrist pain went away. Bye bye dpns!

I have one of those sweet Boye needle sets with different sized cables for circulars. :love:

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gum bichromate
Sep 4, 2006

~*~*~*~*~*~*~* I AM NOT A SLAVE! TO A BREED!! THAT DOESN'T EXIST!!! THE BEAUTIFUL PIBBLE, THE BEAUTIFUL PIBBLE
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Here's a prototype purse I made. That's a shadow, not a stripe. It's actually chocolate brown. I probably should have planned better with the bird, since his little legs are sort of cut off on the bottom of the purse.



and some glove puppies! I'm going to make more Bostons to sell in my etsy shop because I love it so much. The boston is Sgt Stubby, and the jack is Mickey.


and a shot of the stubs :3:

Micomicona
Aug 7, 2007

Google Embryo posted:

I have one of those sweet Boye needle sets with different sized cables for circulars. :love:

COVET COVET COVET

I've been eying one of those sets for a good long while now; I probably ought to break down and buy one as I do most of my knitting on circulars. Except for socks, actually, which is kind of odd. I like using a circulars instead of straight needles for most things, but I just enjoy the rhythm knitting socks on DPN's more, I guess.

Also, awapplesauce that is the cutest purse ever. just so you know.

Kalista
Oct 18, 2001

Micomicona posted:

COVET COVET COVET

I've been eying one of those sets for a good long while now; I probably ought to break down and buy one as I do most of my knitting on circulars. Except for socks, actually, which is kind of odd. I like using a circulars instead of straight needles for most things, but I just enjoy the rhythm knitting socks on DPN's more, I guess.

Also, awapplesauce that is the cutest purse ever. just so you know.

I've had the Denise circular set, and the Boye set too, and I prefer the Knitpicks Options (metal version) circular set over all of them. There are less cable choices, since you can't connect different cable lengths together (they really need to fix that!) but the needles are pointier and the cables themselves are nice and supple. The only other gripe is that the needle size isn't printed on the tips anywhere (how the hell do you leave that out?) so you have to use a needle sizer to figure out which ones to use. I just keep a needle sizer in one of the pouches with the cables though.

deety
Aug 2, 2004

zombies + sharks = fun

I'm another fan of the Knitpicks Options set. I love the metal tips (they also offer wood for those who prefer it), and they're nice and pointy. Knitpicks also offers fixed circulars for lengths that are shorter than their set runs, which is nice for those of us who aren't on an all-Addis budget.

I never picked up the Boyles because I heard quite a few complaints about them. I have the Denise set, but wasn't that thrilled with them. The ends of a couple of my cords have popped off, and plastic is my least favorite needle-type. I was apparently freakishly hard on them, because the two Denise tip sets that I used the most now have nasty little gouges around the points.

Muffy_the_Diver
Oct 19, 2004

ALL ABOARD THE BUTT TRAIN

DeliciousDarkness posted:

A few companies to google are Truly Victorian, Mantua Maker, Past Patterns, Ageless Patterns. Even Butterick has one. To get you started this website has a pretty good source of reviews of patterns, mostly historical: http://www.gbacg.org/GreatPatternReview/index.htm
As you may guess I'm very much into historical garments :) If you have any questions I'll be happy to answer. Maybe I'll post a GWS-esque thread with pics on making a corset if I get around to it.

Holy cow, that site looks like an awesome resource! Now I know what will be taking up the remainder of my afternoon :3:

I've always loved older styles of clothing, but I've never really been able to find anything that I'd actually wear (and within my budget), so a while back I stocked up on a whole host of patterns - a pile of simplicity costumes, butterick/mccall's historical pieces, and a bunch of vintage simplicity/mccalls/anne adams (don't know who this one is, but seems to be mail-order) dresses/pillows/menswear. One of them is dated 1955 (postage on it was $0.06), and a bunch of the others are stamped with $0.01 postage, which gives a bit of a timeframe on them. Once I get my sewing/art room sorted out and organized (recently moved), I'm hoping to mix/match/edit patterns so I'll have some really cool, completely unique things to wear.

DeliciousDarkness posted:

About the machine tension, off hand my suggestions would be change the needle, and clean/dust the machine to make sure there's no lint. Also, rethread every thread, maybe something came off.

I already dusted it and re-theaded per the instructions, and I'm currently waiting on some needles I ordered a few weeks ago (it takes some really obscure needles with much thinner shafts than most other machines); hopefully the needle is the problem!

RobertKerans posted:

It's the tension, and the weight of fabric together. You might be able to get around this by keeping the material very taught, but that might be a pain.

You should only be using the chain stitch for embroidery, though, it unravels too easily if used for basic stitching. Use either a basic sewing maching, or overlock fully.

EDIT: the overlocker has chain stitch as an option because it works normally by running a line of it alongside the loop stitches finishing the edges off. It's a fairly pointless addition to have it as an option on its oown, thogh I suppose it could be used for repairing bits of overlocking, and for decorative edging. Used to be the default stitch on basic machines until they invented ones that didn't unravel straightaway.

This is really good to know! I've got a Singer CreativeTouch FashionMachine 1036 (quite a mouthful) without a foot pedal, so I think I'll go hunt for a pedal and then just use the Babylock as an overlocker.

squirrellypoo
Feb 8, 2003
Uff, I just blew £50 on bra and swimsuit making supplies at elingeria.de. I've never made either before, but I've been reading more and more about other sewers who make their own and I'm itching to give it a shot, especially since my temporary sewing room will be demolished and I'll only have very limited space for projects in the summer.

I got:
chocolate/turquiose bra kit (it has all the bits you need to make one bra and two pants, minus the underwires, which you buy separately)
Elan 350 bra pattern (since it's reviewed highly in a Threads article and it's similar to Victoria Secret bra I used to like)
Some swimsuit fabric that was black with a stripe and butterfly but must've sold out now because it's not listed anymore.
And various bits of elastic, lining, clasps, etc.

I'm quite excited since the January issue of Knipmode magazine features patterns for one bra, two pants, and a camisole so even if I don't like the Elan pattern I've still got one to fall back on.

Anyone here ever attempt lingerie or swimwear before? Any tips?

MoCookies
Apr 22, 2005

squirrellypoo posted:

Uff, I just blew £50 on bra and swimsuit making supplies at elingeria.de. I've never made either before, but I've been reading more and more about other sewers who make their own and I'm itching to give it a shot, especially since my temporary sewing room will be demolished and I'll only have very limited space for projects in the summer.

I got:
chocolate/turquiose bra kit (it has all the bits you need to make one bra and two pants, minus the underwires, which you buy separately)
Elan 350 bra pattern (since it's reviewed highly in a Threads article and it's similar to Victoria Secret bra I used to like)
Some swimsuit fabric that was black with a stripe and butterfly but must've sold out now because it's not listed anymore.
And various bits of elastic, lining, clasps, etc.

I'm quite excited since the January issue of Knipmode magazine features patterns for one bra, two pants, and a camisole so even if I don't like the Elan pattern I've still got one to fall back on.

Anyone here ever attempt lingerie or swimwear before? Any tips?

I just started crocheting a swimsuit top today, so I'd definitely be interested in hearing about people's experiences with lingerie or swimwear. I've decided that if the crochet top doesn't end up looking like I want it to, then I'll just end up sewing something similar. Good luck Squirrellypoo!

Santclair
Aug 6, 2006

by angerbotSD
I presented the project today for class. It was pretty awesome, everyone else did a little two-minute 'How To Make PB&J' speech and then there's me with my 15-minute 'how to sew a purse and make it look ok' tutorial. I managed to get hired to make one for a few of my friends in that class (as well as the teacher), so it ended pretty well.

akeidolon posted:

I did a design on one of my jackets with acrylic paint mixed with a fabric medium. It came out really good, I wasn't as careful as I should have been with ironing it to set and smooth the paint so I accidentally pulled up a few small parts where it hadn't dried completely and stuck to the baking sheet between the paint/fabric and iron. It held up very well, didn't lose flexibility through being washed or over time.



what ratio of acrylic:fabric medium did you use? I'm thinking this may be part of my problem, that it's either waaaaay too thick or waaaay too thin.

awapplesauce posted:

Oh that's awful, I'm sorry! Screen-printing paint would probably be at an art supplies store, but you might be able to find it at a Michael's or something.

barraGOUDA posted:

You should be able to find screen printing ink pretty easily at your local art store, but it's online too (Dick Blick, for one). Are you planning on freehanding your design, or are you considering actually going through the whole screen printing process? Here's a tutorial from Instructables if you are...there are kits out there but they can get pretty expensive.

Thanks! I asked a painter friend of mine where I would find some here in town, and she was actually able to not only tell me where to get it, but offered me one of her two (!) screen-printers that she doesn't use much, complete with lessons on how to do it. I may take her up on it later, but for right now I'm just gonna paint it on left-handed (I'm ambidextrous, except when embroidering).

Santclair fucked around with this message at 01:01 on Jan 10, 2008

machinegirl
Apr 16, 2002

*sigh*

Kalista posted:

The only problem is finding circular needles in the right size that are long enough! For some reason, I've never had trouble with holes, or ladders where the needle change happens, and my wrist pain went away. Bye bye dpns!

Here's a solution to that! When you've finished with a needle, instead of going to the next with the empty one, knit one stitch from the next onto the needle you just finished. Does that make sense? I've done that with my pair of fuzzy feet, and as long as I have my stitch markers, everything's been a-ok, with no ladders!

DeliciousDarkness
Apr 29, 2007

by Y Kant Ozma Post

squirrellypoo posted:


Anyone here ever attempt lingerie or swimwear before? Any tips?

We did swimwear last year in school. I didn't do any underwired stuff, apparently it is quite a challenge to fit. If you are doing a mockup/muslin, make it in the same fabric as your final garment - no two spandexes have the same stretch exactly (well, I'm sure maybe they do... but this is what we were told).

If you don't have a serger (preferred), use a medium-size zigzag with a ballpoint or spandex needle. Stretch the fabric a bit when you sew, not too much though. Let the machine pull it while you hold it a little taut. If I were you I'd do the bottoms first before I get into an underwire bra. When cutting, don't cut double - just cut one piece at a time - it's very easy for the spandex to get out of whack. Thread trace the grainline, or cut next to the selvedge and line up the pattern piece with a c-thru ruler. Lay the pattern piece down and trace carefully with tailor's chalk, making very sure not to stretch it, then cut out, for more accuracy. Actually, try making a triangle top beforehand too.

Although it has its own rules, swimwear is a lot easier than you would think, I had a lot of fun with it!

Here's a few links I found.
http://www.getcreativeshow.com/seminars/swimweartips.htm
http://www.paragonpatterns.com/SewingTipsArchive/knitTips/working%20with%20knits.html

handbags at dawn
Mar 8, 2007
Any quilters in this thread? I'm taking a quilting class later this month, and am feeling a little apprehensive about it. I usually stick with needlework, haven't used a sewing machine in years, but my mother has talked me into taking this class at her shop.

It's a simple pattern, blocks of two rectangles stacked next to each other, one light/one dark alternating, using the fabrics from this line: http://mordac.unitednotions.com/Attachments/attachments/images/assort/large/1867.15998.jpg . Mom will quilt it for me on her handy-dandy quilting machine monster.

Hopefully, it will go well and I can post a picture. Wish me luck.

Otherwise, for the thread, if anyone has any questions about cross stitch/needlepoint/hand embroidery in general, I can attempt to answer them. Don't know if anyone even does those anymore but me - knitting seems to be the current trend.

Micomicona
Aug 7, 2007

boscoki posted:

cross stitch/needlepoint/hand embroidery

I used to embroider a lot when I was younger, and would like to start again because it was a lot of fun and a nice way to make fabric things prettier, but looking through craft stores for embroidery patterns I'm finding a lot of pastel kittens frolicking in front of crosses or doe-eyed children with bouquets of tulips full of butterflies and saccharine. Am I looking in the wrong places? Are there any embroidery (cross-stitch or freestyle) patterns that are less... that?

handbags at dawn
Mar 8, 2007

Micomicona posted:

I used to embroider a lot when I was younger, and would like to start again because it was a lot of fun and a nice way to make fabric things prettier, but looking through craft stores for embroidery patterns I'm finding a lot of pastel kittens frolicking in front of crosses or doe-eyed children with bouquets of tulips full of butterflies and saccharine. Am I looking in the wrong places? Are there any embroidery (cross-stitch or freestyle) patterns that are less... that?
If you like free-hand, "transfer"-type embroidery, this site has some great patterns: http://www.sublimestitching.com . No saccharine patterns here, mostly kitschy cute stuff. This site also has some funny patterns: http://www.subversivecrossstitch.com , but they're not on a very challenging level, stitching-wise.

I love to stitch, but have the same problem - too many puppies, kittens, crosses, etc., so I tend to do a lot of sampler/blackwork projects. Blackwork has a great looking effect for not much work. It definitely avoids the "fluffy" problem. I especially like things like this: (picture not mine)



My current project for a while (haven't been stitching for a few months) is a map sampler for my husband - http://www.heritagestitchcraft.co.uk/pages/images/mgl093.jpg . Now that I've said that, I'd better finish it. :blush:

Oh, and another option is needlepoint. I've found that there are a lot of really stunning patterns for needlepoint, especially William Morris or Art Deco patterns. Needlepoint doesn't tend to hold my interest, so it's only good for small projects for me, plus I never can keep the tension right as I like to stitch in hand.

I will stop now. ;)

guaranteed
Nov 24, 2004

Do not take apart gun by yourself, it will cause the trouble and dangerous.

boscokitty posted:

It's a simple pattern, blocks of two rectangles stacked next to each other, one light/one dark alternating, using the fabrics from this line: http://mordac.unitednotions.com/Attachments/attachments/images/assort/large/1867.15998.jpg .

I have been fighting the urge to buy that fabric for weeks because I already have so many projects in the works. No pictures of anything at the moment, though.

I find the only way to avoid accumulating a (big) stash is to plan a project for any fabric I have to have. It sort of works. I'm currently working on four projects in rotation, though, with a couple more stacked up, so I'm not buying Flirtations, dang it. I also have scrap quilts and crazy quilts that I work on whenever I have scraps from cutting a new project, because I'm trying to work in a zero-waste zone. It sounds insane, but it keeps me from getting bored with the monotony of a single project and putting it down and forgetting about it.

squirrellypoo
Feb 8, 2003

DeliciousDarkness posted:

If you are doing a mockup/muslin, make it in the same fabric as your final garment
hmm, that might be tricky, as I only bought a 150x105cm offcut of the swimwear fabric. :/

quote:

If you don't have a serger (preferred), use a medium-size zigzag with a ballpoint or spandex needle. Stretch the fabric a bit when you sew, not too much though. Let the machine pull it while you hold it a little taut.
I don't have a serger but I've sewn tons of knits in the past so I'm quite comfortable with my machine. Though once my much-delayed bonus comes through, I've promised myself to actually take the plunge and buy a serger. Not that I really need one, but at this point I'm looking for challenges and it seems the next logical step.

quote:

If I were you I'd do the bottoms first before I get into an underwire bra. When cutting, don't cut double - just cut one piece at a time - it's very easy for the spandex to get out of whack. Thread trace the grainline, or cut next to the selvedge and line up the pattern piece with a c-thru ruler. Lay the pattern piece down and trace carefully with tailor's chalk, making very sure not to stretch it, then cut out, for more accuracy. Actually, try making a triangle top beforehand too.
Ahh, these are really good tips, thanks! I wouldn't have thought to cut in a single layer, but since there's a non-repeating print on my fabric, it'd probably be best to do a single-layer layout anyway. And I'm planning on using my rotary cutter to avoid slippage as much as I can...

Edit: boscokitty - I just noticed your username. We have a 6 month old cat. His name is Bosco. :)

squirrellypoo fucked around with this message at 11:38 on Jan 10, 2008

handbags at dawn
Mar 8, 2007

guaranteed posted:

I have been fighting the urge to buy that fabric for weeks because I already have so many projects in the works. No pictures of anything at the moment, though.

I find the only way to avoid accumulating a (big) stash is to plan a project for any fabric I have to have. It sort of works. I'm currently working on four projects in rotation, though, with a couple more stacked up, so I'm not buying Flirtations, dang it. I also have scrap quilts and crazy quilts that I work on whenever I have scraps from cutting a new project, because I'm trying to work in a zero-waste zone. It sounds insane, but it keeps me from getting bored with the monotony of a single project and putting it down and forgetting about it.
The Flirtations fabric came in one of those "jelly roll" things, so the pieces are already precut. Perfect for me as a beginner. I'm glad to see someone else liked the fabric - I think the only reason she was able to finally talk me into a class was because the fabric was so great looking.

As far as the stash thing, I'm with you there, except with needlework. I had to prune my stash a couple of years ago; I'm not saying how much I had, all I'll say is that I had four large rubbermaid tubs just full of patterns and magazines.

squirrellypoo posted:

Edit: boscokitty - I just noticed your username. We have a 6 month old cat. His name is Bosco.
Yay for Boscos! I hope he lives as long as my Bosco did - 18 years.

Micomicona
Aug 7, 2007

boscokitty posted:

Embroidery!
Ok, now I'm totally in love with blackwork. Thanks for all the hints, I ought to pick up some cheap pillowcases and go to town on them.

Plus:


(from subversive crosstitch folk) I want to hang it above the fireplace mantel! THAT IS WHERE IT BELONGS.

Pile of Kittens
Apr 23, 2005

Why does everything STILL smell like pussy?

Muffy_the_Diver posted:


Do you have a pattern you use for the bustle? I've been meaning to try my hand at one for a while now but I don't know where to look.


It's not a bustle skirt or a bustle that you stick under a skirt to pooch it out. The key to clothing at Burning Man is making it light, easy, and modular. As such, my bustles are little one-off affairs you tie with a band around your waist (or safety pin or baste on) to go over a skirt or some hot shorts or what have you. I'm thinking about using thicker, more visually attractive waistbands, with velcro closure (so you don't have to tuck it into or under something else to hide the ends).

Moms Stuffing
Jun 2, 2005

the little green one

Micomicona posted:

Ok, now I'm totally in love with blackwork. Thanks for all the hints, I ought to pick up some cheap pillowcases and go to town on them.

Plus:


(from subversive crosstitch folk) I want to hang it above the fireplace mantel! THAT IS WHERE IT BELONGS.

I want to hang this in my cube at work.

machinegirl
Apr 16, 2002

*sigh*

Micomicona posted:

Plus:


(from subversive crosstitch folk) I want to hang it above the fireplace mantel! THAT IS WHERE IT BELONGS.

I have "gently caress The Dumb poo poo" that I need to frame.

st. vitus shimmy
Nov 3, 2006
every morning i pull on them pants

Goldaline posted:


Oh, and I do sometimes make real clothes! This one isn't terribly well crafted, sorry, I just whipped it up yesterday for kicks--winter break is boring!






Judging by your other work, I'm about 99.9% sure that this is a completely original design that you made your own patter for, but on the magical off-chance that it was made from a mass produced pattern, I would be all rainbows and puppies over you if you told me how to find it.

Goldaline
Dec 21, 2006

my dear

st. vitus shimmy posted:

Judging by your other work, I'm about 99.9% sure that this is a completely original design that you made your own patter for, but on the magical off-chance that it was made from a mass produced pattern, I would be all rainbows and puppies over you if you told me how to find it.

Awww man, I want some rainbows and puppies. But yeah, I just sort of botched it together. The top is just based off a plain, fitted t-shirt (I appliqued the bib on, it's not a seperate piece) and the bottom is a pretty simple 4-gore flared skirt.

edit: I actually can't work from commericial patterns anway, I usually don't even make a paper pattern for myself because I am a bad, bad person and I cut directly into my cloth.

squirrellypoo
Feb 8, 2003
All this cross stitch talk made me remember my one and only project. I made this this summer, mostly in the back of cars, using stuff from my mom's 30 year old stash of materials, floss, and pattern books. Now I just need to take it to the store to get a mat and frame. :)



(we live on a boat)

And in other news, the collar of my suit jacket is pissing me off. Or rather, the under collar. I pinned it a couple ways but it's not laying quite right so I've let it sit overnight to think about what it's done. In the meantime I'm dismantling some £2 Ikea pillowcases to turn into placemats and a remote control caddy. Exciting stuff.

ClownBabby
Mar 20, 2004

squirrellypoo posted:

a remote control caddy. Exciting stuff.

What a great idea! I'm so sick of lost remote controls.

I'm sure yours will be infinitely more professional than anything I make though :)

Nrapture
Feb 8, 2007

Micomicona posted:

I used to embroider a lot when I was younger, and would like to start again because it was a lot of fun and a nice way to make fabric things prettier, but looking through craft stores for embroidery patterns I'm finding a lot of pastel kittens frolicking in front of crosses or doe-eyed children with bouquets of tulips full of butterflies and saccharine. Am I looking in the wrong places? Are there any embroidery (cross-stitch or freestyle) patterns that are less... that?

Sorry I'm late to the party here, but you may also want to take a look at http://www.heavenandearthdesigns.com/. I can't personally vouch for their patterns because they look more time consuming than what I'm willing to commit to at this point. Most are pay patterns, but a couple are free. If anyone makes one, I'd love to see pictures!

squirrellypoo
Feb 8, 2003
weeeee I'm a centrefold star today!!



Full text here

And I'm in the Metro tomorrow, though I don't know if that's with photo, or just the interview. The Daily Express one was fun, though, because it was a studio shoot with full hair and makeup people (I lost my false eyelashes virginity). They even taught me the stereotypical "Daily Mail" pose so I can emulate the page 3 models, hahah

Debbie Metallica
Jun 7, 2001

Way to go!

I'd love to learn more about repurposing clothes. I've got a small stash of weird clothes I'd never wear but bought because I thought I might do something with them but never HAVE done something with them...

squirrellypoo
Feb 8, 2003

Ozma posted:

I'd love to learn more about repurposing clothes. I've got a small stash of weird clothes I'd never wear but bought because I thought I might do something with them but never HAVE done something with them...
You should take a few photos of the weirdos and post them in here. We might be able to make suggestions or give you ideas. I think it's easier to hack apart something you're never wearing currently anyway because you've really lost nothing if it all goes tits up. If it was some beloved heirloom I'd feel a lot more nervous about chopping and changing.

Also, I'm in this morning's Metro newspaper, too. I think the media are coordinating efforts, even I'm getting a bit sick of seeing me...

Space Poodle
Nov 11, 2007
I'm no pro. I've never even taken a class. But, I'm not in the "making curtains and pillows" category, either.

I got a serger for Christmas and decided to make my baby pajamas as my "learn to thread the fucker" project, using two dolla Wal-Mart remnant fabric covered in puppies.


I thought it was alright. But... you can see the hem. Heh.

Zaxxon
Feb 14, 2004

Wir Tanzen Mekanik

akeidolon posted:

I did a design on one of my jackets with acrylic paint mixed with a fabric medium. It came out really good, I wasn't as careful as I should have been with ironing it to set and smooth the paint so I accidentally pulled up a few small parts where it hadn't dried completely and stuck to the baking sheet between the paint/fabric and iron. It held up very well, didn't lose flexibility through being washed or over time.



could you give a specific walk through of this, Especially the matierials? Would it work for T-Shirts?

seriouslywtf
Jul 10, 2003

Seriously. WTF?
So, I finally had my beginning sewing class today. It was a 4-hour long class that taught me every facet of the sewing machine and how to make a basic pillow. It was loving awesome. I had a lot of fun, learned so much, and had a great time meeting the few other people who were there. And my pillow loving rules. I don't care how simple it is--you guys have to look at it anyway.



I plan to take a basic alterations class next. Then, onto making poo poo!

seriouslywtf fucked around with this message at 06:18 on Jan 24, 2008

Space Poodle
Nov 11, 2007
It is simple, but you did a good job with the angle on that fabric.

seriouslywtf
Jul 10, 2003

Seriously. WTF?

Space Poodle posted:

It is simple, but you did a good job with the angle on that fabric.
Thanks! I even put in a zipper on the bottom, which I'm pretty proud of.

squirrellypoo
Feb 8, 2003

seriouslywtf posted:

Thanks! I even put in a zipper on the bottom, which I'm pretty proud of.
poo poo! That's pretty hardcore for a beginning sewing class, well done! I was going to ask if it was an envelope flap-style or just sealed up, but I didn't think you'd be doing a zipper so soon! :)

The pillow looks great, and it sounds like they got you super excited to go out and try other things, which is exactly what you need starting out. I'd suggest picking up a simple A-linke skirt pattern (something like this maybe?) for your next project if you fancy it (and since you're such a whizz with ye olde zippers!).

Pegacorn
Apr 21, 2005

by Fragmaster
Do you guys think this is a good business idea?

I like to buy weird stuff at thriftstores and piece it together to make really cool stuff, so I was thinking I could start a fun side business where people send me thriftstore finds and tell me what they want (dress, pants, whatever), send me an item of clothing in their closet that fits them really well, and then I could make them cool clothes using the measurements of their item of clothing they sent me. That was kind of long winded and complicated. But basically they send me cool fabrics and I made clothes for them, but it's cheap thrift stuff so it will be cheaper for them than dressmaking from scratch.

I could advertise on etsy and craftster, maybe try to get on a few blogs after I have some samples made?

My other idea is to skip all that stuff and just make cute pajamas and stuff out of vintage fabrics and sell them without dealing with the custom part of it.

What do you think?

Cherry Hammer
Jan 31, 2005

what's a cherry hammer?

Pegacorn posted:

Do you guys think this is a good business idea?

I like to buy weird stuff at thriftstores and piece it together to make really cool stuff, so I was thinking I could start a fun side business where people send me thriftstore finds and tell me what they want (dress, pants, whatever), send me an item of clothing in their closet that fits them really well, and then I could make them cool clothes using the measurements of their item of clothing they sent me. That was kind of long winded and complicated. But basically they send me cool fabrics and I made clothes for them, but it's cheap thrift stuff so it will be cheaper for them than dressmaking from scratch.

I could advertise on etsy and craftster, maybe try to get on a few blogs after I have some samples made?

My other idea is to skip all that stuff and just make cute pajamas and stuff out of vintage fabrics and sell them without dealing with the custom part of it.

What do you think?

Sounds good, but I would not have people send you a garment. That seems like a headache in the making and a bit of a liability.

I would maximize your exposure by selling ready-to-wear garments on Ebay with a link to your Etsy and Craftster pages, where you could sell custom pieces.

Invest time or money in a good diagram of how your customers should measure themself, and start a PayPal business account.

Don't sell your services short and run a smart business and you will have fun. :)

edit: hurr... I do think having people send fabric or pieces to be customized is a good idea; but having them send you something just to take its measurements is not a good idea.

seriouslywtf
Jul 10, 2003

Seriously. WTF?

squirrellypoo posted:

poo poo! That's pretty hardcore for a beginning sewing class, well done! I was going to ask if it was an envelope flap-style or just sealed up, but I didn't think you'd be doing a zipper so soon! :)

The pillow looks great, and it sounds like they got you super excited to go out and try other things, which is exactly what you need starting out. I'd suggest picking up a simple A-linke skirt pattern (something like this maybe?) for your next project if you fancy it (and since you're such a whizz with ye olde zippers!).

Yeah, I just tried to make another pillow on my own at home last night (I have a sewing machine that someone gave me a few years ago) and the zipper was a little more jacked up this time. :P But it was still okay. I really need a zipper foot for my machine.

I picked up a simple A-line pattern and hope to try to jack that one up this weekend too. ;)

Debbie Metallica
Jun 7, 2001

seriouslywtf posted:

I really need a zipper foot for my machine.

It really makes a difference. I've eyeballed it before but the results are messy. And unfortunately, everything else you do can look perfect but if you screw up a zipper... either it looks homemade or it actually screws up what you've done. I made a really cute pencil bag for my sister once, or rather it was cute until I finally put in the zipper. The whole thing buckled funny because I was too lazy to put on my zipper foot and just tried to do it with a regular foot. Mistake!

Making pillows is always useful anyway. My boyfriend made fun of me for making a bunch but he uses them all the time. :)

And, in my opinion, if you just have room and time it's not a big leap from making a pillow to a quilt if you're up for it. You may be more interested in sewing clothes, but quilting is handy. Just putting together a simple patchwork or square quilt is pretty easy, in my opinion. It helps teach you to be very exact with cutting and with sewing, which is something I still kind of struggle with. I don't like to be really careful about seam allowances but quilting forces you to do that if you want even a simple design to stay lined up.

Sorry for pimping quilting so much, I'm just curled up under the fruits of my labor so I felt the need to preach. :)

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pink stiletto
Jan 1, 2006
Forum Veterinarian

Ozma posted:

And, in my opinion, if you just have room and time it's not a big leap from making a pillow to a quilt if you're up for it. You may be more interested in sewing clothes, but quilting is handy. Just putting together a simple patchwork or square quilt is pretty easy, in my opinion. It helps teach you to be very exact with cutting and with sewing, which is something I still kind of struggle with. I don't like to be really careful about seam allowances but quilting forces you to do that if you want even a simple design to stay lined up.

Sorry for pimping quilting so much, I'm just curled up under the fruits of my labor so I felt the need to preach. :)

I've really been wanting to start quilting lately. How long would you think it would take a beginner to make a smallish quilt (just large enough to cover me, I suppose)? I'm terrible about just eyeballing things, so I think it might help me to actually measure things and be careful about seam allowances. Pretty sure I could at least piece it together myself. Luckily my mom used to quilt many years ago and volunteered to help with it once I've got it pieced together. I just need some sort of push to get started on this thing. Hmm...maybe an inspirational trip to the fabric store is in order...

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