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seriouslywtf
Jul 10, 2003

Seriously. WTF?
I actually have kind of an odd question (or at least I think it's odd). For those of you who use patterns for stuff, do you save them for use again in the future? If so, do you just fold them back up and stick them somewhere, or what? With the paper being so thin and delicate, it seems like it would get worn out/torn/etc. pretty easily.

It just occurred to me that if I'm gonna be spending $7-15 on a pattern, I might want to actually save it and use it again one day. Just a random thought, really.

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squirrellypoo
Feb 8, 2003

seriouslywtf posted:

I actually have kind of an odd question (or at least I think it's odd). For those of you who use patterns for stuff, do you save them for use again in the future? If so, do you just fold them back up and stick them somewhere, or what?
I trace all my patterns. The tissue gets folded up and shoved back into the envelope, and then after I'm done, I either punch a hole in each piece and hang on my k-rad pattern hook hanger (if it's something I think I'll reuse pretty often or use as a base for modifications later) or fold up the paper pieces and file on a shelf. Though I should really go through my oldest paper tracings and just throw a bunch away (I'm still holding onto ones from before I lost a ton of weight, which is just pointless). But yeah, I completely agree with you about the price of patterns and reusing them. This way if you want to make it for someone else or your measurements change, you don't have to buy it all over again.

trickybiscuits
Jan 13, 2008

yospos

Prophet 60091 posted:

So speaking of guys sewing guy-clothes, I need more inspiration for stuff to make besides PJs. Has anyone sewn any good mens clothes? Unless I get distracted by something, I might try and replicate a utilikilt next.
Burda has some good patterns for men- mostly medium level of difficulty, but they're a lot more stylish than men's patterns from the big three patternmakers (Butterick, Simplicity, McCalls). Of course the best way to learn how something is put together is to take it apart. When a pair of comfortable jeans wears out, take a seam ripper to it and save the pieces to use for a pattern- that's how I learned how to sew pants.

Prophet 60091
Sep 28, 2007

The lucky person wins a free plate of their choice.

trickybiscuits posted:

Burda has some good patterns for men- mostly medium level of difficulty, but they're a lot more stylish than men's patterns from the big three patternmakers (Butterick, Simplicity, McCalls). Of course the best way to learn how something is put together is to take it apart. When a pair of comfortable jeans wears out, take a seam ripper to it and save the pieces to use for a pattern- that's how I learned how to sew pants.

Good idea. I just borrowed a book from the library about making patterns from existing clothing. My first major project may be to make a shirt. Should be fun. :)

This brings up something odd I was wondering about when sewing jeans. What causes this rippling at the seams? Is there a way to replicate it if I created my own seam?

Viewers Like Me
Nov 4, 2004


friendship is magic
in a pony paradise
don't you judge me

Prophet 60091 posted:

Good idea. I just borrowed a book from the library about making patterns from existing clothing. My first major project may be to make a shirt. Should be fun. :)

This brings up something odd I was wondering about when sewing jeans. What causes this rippling at the seams? Is there a way to replicate it if I created my own seam?



Y'know I've always wondered about that too.

seriouslywtf
Jul 10, 2003

Seriously. WTF?
Check out these badass pillows I made for my dad's birthday:



He loved them.

handbags at dawn
Mar 8, 2007

seriouslywtf posted:

Check out these badass pillows I made for my dad's birthday:



He loved them.
Are they schnauzers or scottie dogs? Either way, really cute. I bet he did love them.

seriouslywtf
Jul 10, 2003

Seriously. WTF?

boscokitty posted:

Are they schnauzers or scottie dogs? Either way, really cute. I bet he did love them.
They're schnauzers! I just drew it based off of a profile photo I found online. I'm a terrible drawer so I'm glad it turned out semi-recognizable.

Goldaline
Dec 21, 2006

my dear

I just finished this piece for my last Projects project. 50 hours of embroidery and pain. Never working with velvet again--I had to use pliers to get the floss through the fabric at the seams.

But it got into a juried exhibit/sale to take place this weekend, so it was all worth it.

Drimble Wedge
Mar 10, 2008

Self-contained

Goldaline, that is seriously amazing. I'd love to see closeup pics of the bodice.

handbags at dawn
Mar 8, 2007

seriouslywtf posted:

They're schnauzers! I just drew it based off of a profile photo I found online. I'm a terrible drawer so I'm glad it turned out semi-recognizable.
They are - my first thought was schnauzer. I only put scottie dog in there in case I was wrong. :)

Goldaline
Dec 21, 2006

my dear

Drimble Wedge posted:

Goldaline, that is seriously amazing. I'd love to see closeup pics of the bodice.

Here's some I snapped. I'm hoping to get some professional ones taken before I ship it out.




No picture of the back, its all lumpy right now because I had to pin it to fit my ridiculously sized mannequin.

Not an Anthem
Apr 28, 2003

I'm a fucking pain machine and if you even touch my fucking car I WILL FUCKING DESTROY YOU.
Goldaline, your poo poo is ridiculous, do you have an online portfolio to look through? Very awesome.

squirrellypoo
Feb 8, 2003
wow Goldaline, your embroidery work is amazing!! Velvet is such a bitch to work with, you can add me to the "never sewing with that loving velvet ever again" list.

Goldaline
Dec 21, 2006

my dear

Not an Anthem posted:

Goldaline, your poo poo is ridiculous, do you have an online portfolio to look through? Very awesome.

I really, really need to get off my rear end on that and make a website. Unfortunately, my HTML knowledge ended in like, 1999. So I'm kind of dreading it.

I do have a blog, where I talk about what I'm working on at school, my processes, ect, it's http://www.havinghorns.blogspot.com . I usually have photos of my final works on there too.

seriouslywtf
Jul 10, 2003

Seriously. WTF?

Not an Anthem posted:

Goldaline, your poo poo is ridiculous, do you have an online portfolio to look through? Very awesome.

Agreed. Beautiful, and clearly painstaking work.

Debbie Metallica
Jun 7, 2001

Goldaline posted:


I just finished this piece for my last Projects project. 50 hours of embroidery and pain. Never working with velvet again--I had to use pliers to get the floss through the fabric at the seams.

But it got into a juried exhibit/sale to take place this weekend, so it was all worth it.

Was that up on crafster? I hope so- it looks familiar. It's awesome. :)

Juriko
Jan 28, 2006

Prophet 60091 posted:

Good idea. I just borrowed a book from the library about making patterns from existing clothing. My first major project may be to make a shirt. Should be fun. :)

This brings up something odd I was wondering about when sewing jeans. What causes this rippling at the seams? Is there a way to replicate it if I created my own seam?



Isn't that just caused by the shrinking of the denim between the rows of stitching after the wash?

Goldaline posted:

I really, really need to get off my rear end on that and make a website. Unfortunately, my HTML knowledge ended in like, 1999. So I'm kind of dreading it.

I do have a blog, where I talk about what I'm working on at school, my processes, ect, it's http://www.havinghorns.blogspot.com . I usually have photos of my final works on there too.

You should just find someone who does webwork/design to make you something in exchange for some fibers work.

horribleslob
Nov 23, 2004
Can anybody recommend a miniature sewing machine? It'd be nice not to do the minor things by hand.

Prophet 60091
Sep 28, 2007

The lucky person wins a free plate of their choice.

Juriko posted:

Isn't that just caused by the shrinking of the denim between the rows of stitching after the wash?

Ahh. Maybe I'll buy a half yard of denim and experiment.

handbags at dawn
Mar 8, 2007
I went to a quilt show this weekend, and it was cool to see other people's quilts that had been entered in the contests. My favorite, that didn't win BUT SHOULD HAVE, was a western/cowboy themed quilt that looked totally normal from the front but had this fabric on the back:



:dance: I laughed and laughed, and when a grandmotherly woman walked by and said, "oh, I love the cowboys, look at that six pack!" I lost it.

guaranteed
Nov 24, 2004

Do not take apart gun by yourself, it will cause the trouble and dangerous.
Oh my god, I just saw fabric online somewhere that was just like that, only firemen. Crap. Where did I see it?

Edit: Here we go:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200214263084&ih=010&category=71206

guaranteed fucked around with this message at 03:10 on Apr 28, 2008

teknicolor
Jul 18, 2004

I Want to Meet That Dad!
Do Da Doo Doo

boscokitty posted:




I wish that were big enough to make my wallpaper, because I would. :)

handbags at dawn
Mar 8, 2007

guaranteed posted:

Oh my god, I just saw fabric online somewhere that was just like that, only firemen. Crap. Where did I see it?
It's by Alexander Henry, apparently. He seems to have several kinds, firemen, policemen, cowboys, etc. When I was looking for it, I discovered that you WANT to have SafeSearch on when you gis for "shirtless cowboy fabric."



I can't find an image bigger than that one, sorry. You should have seen the bed-sized quilt with those "guys" on the back. It was pretty awe-inspiring.

edited to add construction workers lol

handbags at dawn fucked around with this message at 03:11 on Apr 28, 2008

guaranteed
Nov 24, 2004

Do not take apart gun by yourself, it will cause the trouble and dangerous.
Ahahaha, I just found that one too, only with a blueprint background. And it's called Heavy Equipment.

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squirrellypoo
Feb 8, 2003
How much do I love Alexander Henry?? He and Michael Miller are my fabric designing icons, nevermind any fashion designers...

equilter have got Heavy Equipment in ivory, navy, or white for $8.95/yard. If you do a search for "Alexander Henry" on there you'll get about 50 pages' worth of his k-rad designs...

The musclemen also come in the firemen variety! (fyi, the cowboy version is called "Wranglers" if you need to search for it).

squirrellypoo fucked around with this message at 10:22 on Apr 28, 2008

handbags at dawn
Mar 8, 2007
I'm sorry to keep derailing this thread with quilting stuff, but I finally got around to taking pictures of the first one I finished.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boscokitty/2451364767/sizes/o/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boscokitty/2452192066/sizes/l/

It's aggressively bright, but it was made for a nine-year-old, so she loved it.

Debbie Metallica
Jun 7, 2001

I love it!!!

squirrellypoo
Feb 8, 2003
I just finished sewing up a 1950s halter dress using a vintage Porsche duvet cover I scored off eBay. I'm pretty much in love with it. :)

photos of the Porsche dress here...

handbags at dawn
Mar 8, 2007
I got my daughter this kit last weekend at the quilt show, and she got it done this morning. She's very pleased with it! (She's nine.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boscokitty/2463856685/sizes/l/

squirrellypoo
Feb 8, 2003

boscokitty posted:

I got my daughter this kit last weekend at the quilt show, and she got it done this morning. She's very pleased with it! (She's nine.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boscokitty/2463856685/sizes/l/
That's great work! Are those Parisian kitties I see, too?

I found out yesterday that I'm going to be published in a book next Spring! I got asked to submit a few ideas and one was accepted so now I've got to recreate it, photograph it, write out the construction instructions, but a fun and pithy bio (oh god) and photo of myself for it.

Nione
Jun 3, 2006

Welcome to Trophy Island
Rub my tummy
I have a question. I'm an okay sewer. I can make basic curtains, pajama pants, hippie style skirts, follow simple patterns, etc, I've made a couple of dresses before. My brother is getting married a year from now and his fiancee asked me to be a bridesmaid. Anyway, I'm considering making the dresses. There's only going to be two of them, mine and another. I've found a pattern that is simple and attractive, and I'm confident that I can pull it off. And if not, I have a couple of people I can go to for assistance.

What I'd like is fabric advice. The bride absolutely hates bridal satin. Her dress has none of it and she doesn't want her bridesmaids in it either. (This is one of the reasons why I agreed to make the dresses, because most moderately priced bridesmaids dresses are that duchesse satin.) It's an informal outdoor wedding, the groomsmen are all wearing brown suits, and her colors are brown and aqua. I would really like to make what is essentially a lightweight sundress that I can then wear over again. Something that is washable and doesn't wrinkle badly. However, it still needs to be fairly high quality as it's going to be a bridesmaid's dress. I was thinking about a poplin, are there any other suggestions? Also, I'm going to visit all my local fabric stores, but the vast majority of them are JoAnn's or Hancock. We have a couple of others that I know of but not many (St. Louis). Are there online retailers that anyone recommends that have swatches you can get before you place an order?

seriouslywtf
Jul 10, 2003

Seriously. WTF?
Nione, perhaps you could use a washable linen? Or if you're not totally married to it being washable, a nicer linen? I think that would make an awesome lightweight summer type dress that would also work in an outdoor wedding.

Edit: Oh, and I've used Fabric.com multiple times now with good results.

squirrellypoo
Feb 8, 2003

Nione posted:

Something that is washable and doesn't wrinkle badly.
Linen is probably out, then. I've heard that linen blends don't wrinkle nearly as badly as 100% linen, but I've got some linen/cotton and linen/tencel blends from fabric.com to make shirts for my boyfriend and both wrinkle just from where the clothespin is holding them in my sewing room. So as soon as you sit down in it, you're going to get lines...

I'd try to steer towards natural fabrics, though linen and cotton and silk all tend to wrinkle very easily, and from your description, it sounds like even a lightweight wool crepe or summerweight wouldn't really work.

quote:

Are there online retailers that anyone recommends that have swatches you can get before you place an order?
Fabric.com are great but rather impersonal. I can highly recommend gorgeousfabrics.com - Ann who runs the shop is also a very talented sewer and honestly, I'd drop her an email with what you said here and she'd be able to send you a bunch of swatches of good stuff that'd work. Luckily time is on your side!

Nione
Jun 3, 2006

Welcome to Trophy Island
Rub my tummy
Thank you! I ordered some swatches and hopefully will be able to find something I like. And yeah, when I said that about not wrinkling, I was specifically talking about linen. I have a linen skirt and a couple of blouses, one of which I made, that are the bane of my ironing existance. And then I drive to work and I'm a mess again. But we'll see. Bridesmaids don't get to sit down much anyway, right?

huplescat
Jun 8, 2005
I hope this hasn't already been covered, but how easy/practical is it to reverse engineer clothing?

The reason I ask is my work pants are slowly dying after 3 years of constant use and I really need a new pair. The shop they come from sells the same design still, but they only have lovely fabric this season and I refuse to pay $200+ for that. The ones I have are a wool mix and I got them half price at $100 so I ain't paying double for crap no matter how nice they look.

So is it possible? I don't want to have to pull them apart either, but I guess that's an option when they're so worn they're unwearable.

Goldaline
Dec 21, 2006

my dear

huplescat posted:

I hope this hasn't already been covered, but how easy/practical is it to reverse engineer clothing?

The reason I ask is my work pants are slowly dying after 3 years of constant use and I really need a new pair. The shop they come from sells the same design still, but they only have lovely fabric this season and I refuse to pay $200+ for that. The ones I have are a wool mix and I got them half price at $100 so I ain't paying double for crap no matter how nice they look.

So is it possible? I don't want to have to pull them apart either, but I guess that's an option when they're so worn they're unwearable.

This is essentially how I learned to make clothing--I've never been much for commercial patterns, I just take things apart and learn how to make basic shapes from them. You shouldn't have to pull them apart--lay them flat and trace them out on some muslin or junk fabric with a similar weight, and use that to make a prototype that you can alter, then make a final paper pattern and find the actual fabric that you like.

huplescat
Jun 8, 2005

Goldaline posted:

This is essentially how I learned to make clothing--I've never been much for commercial patterns, I just take things apart and learn how to make basic shapes from them. You shouldn't have to pull them apart--lay them flat and trace them out on some muslin or junk fabric with a similar weight, and use that to make a prototype that you can alter, then make a final paper pattern and find the actual fabric that you like.

Awesome :) Thanks!

Goldaline
Dec 21, 2006

my dear
So unfortunately all of my end-of-semester photos were given to me in slide-only form, but here's a shot-of-a-shot of my favorite piece this year:



The quilting on this was a monster, it took me nearly 3 weeks. I was embroidering that son of a bitch until about 11 at night the night before my critique. All the construction and piping and lining was done from the hours of 11 to 7, just in time for some chipped beef at a diner and a 8:30 critique.

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seriouslywtf
Jul 10, 2003

Seriously. WTF?
Beautiful work, Goldaline. I wish I could get into quilting.

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