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Not all opera singers are barrel-chested. I went to college with several skinny-minnie opera students who went off to star in some amazing shows. Post pics, though. We'll all probably be better help knowing what we're working with.
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Mar 23, 2013 19:47
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Arsenic Lupin posted:They wouldn't sell for much; opera and theater companies sell off their used costumes all the time. The thing about a used opera costume is that it is made for a very specific body type (singers are barrel-chested). Historic reenactors won't be crazy about it unless it's period-accurate and fits. People who just want something for a party will rent. My guess would be less than $100 each, probably less than $50. I'll throw it up on Craigslist and see how it goes. If nothing happens, I'll get after them with a seam ripper.
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Mar 23, 2013 19:59
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Vulvarine posted:So, I've been potentially hired to sew a metric shitton of lycra for an art project. I'm not terribly familiar with stretch fabric, thought I've turned out a number of cotton jersey t-shirts using just straight and zigzag stitches on my old 60s-era workhorse just fine. The lycra stuff doesn't have to be precise, but I'm wondering if I should get a special needle or a walking foot or something, or some kind of magical spray, or if there are specific problems to look out for while working with lycra. Any advice? If your machine can already handle jersey it should be okay with lycra as well, but this can be really specific to the machine. Best practice is to use a ball point needle because a regular needle can snag and slice the material. If you end up with missed stitches it can sometimes be because the fabric is getting dragged down with the thread far enough that the rotary hook can't grab the thread - a throat plate with a smaller opening is supposed to fix this, and would be the ideal solution, but short of that you can buy water soluble interfacing and wash it out, spray-on starch might even work as well.
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Mar 23, 2013 20:34
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Another solution for materials getting dragged down by the needle is to sew over tissue paper, then rip the tissue paper off after you've done the seam. This is supposed to be the only way to sew chiffon without resorting to drugs.
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Mar 23, 2013 23:53
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loving poo poo, I am pissed. Someone ripped off my sewing newb of a business partner and sold her a machine with a non-functioning stitch length selector. Does anyone here have a Juki DL-553 (or any machine with the top-button style stitch length selection) that they're willing to open the back of and post pictures of? I'm pretty sure the mechanism on the upper drive shaft is rotated 180 degrees or maybe just on backwards or something, and consequently the divot where the button goes in is located on the back side from where it's marked on the flywheel. I am not comfortable with doing exploratory surgery and I can't find any loving repair people in my area. I'm just pissed off at the person who sold it, and my goddamn business partner who didn't think it was important to check the loving stitch length selection when buying a used machine. This is extremely goddamn frustrating because we have a hot order that needs to get done last week.
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Mar 24, 2013 20:13
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Pile of Kittens posted:loving poo poo, I am pissed. Someone ripped off my sewing newb of a business partner and sold her a machine with a non-functioning stitch length selector. Does anyone here have a Juki DL-553 (or any machine with the top-button style stitch length selection) that they're willing to open the back of and post pictures of? I'm pretty sure the mechanism on the upper drive shaft is rotated 180 degrees or maybe just on backwards or something, and consequently the divot where the button goes in is located on the back side from where it's marked on the flywheel. I am not comfortable with doing exploratory surgery and I can't find any loving repair people in my area. I'm just pissed off at the person who sold it, and my goddamn business partner who didn't think it was important to check the loving stitch length selection when buying a used machine. This is extremely goddamn frustrating because we have a hot order that needs to get done last week. I can't help you with a picture and I know you probably aren't in Colorado but if you call Ralph's industrial sewing repair in Denver tomorrow they may be able to help you out with some advice or pictures at least. I've had pretty good luck with their customer service or maybe they will have knowledge of repair shops near your location.
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Mar 24, 2013 20:16
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You could offer them to a smaller school of music, like a state university. The fancier, more well known schools have the funding to custom make their own costumes, but the smaller schools have to rent or make do with cheap upholstery fabrics. They might not be able to pay you anything for them, but at least you'll have the knowledge that they won't be torn apart.
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Mar 24, 2013 20:39
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Can anybody recommend a good book (or books) about sewing knits/serging? I've got a 5 needle serger collecting way too much dust. Textbooks or mass market both acceptable. I'm interested in both pattern selection/alteration/creation and sewing techniques.
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Apr 3, 2013 02:24
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Help! Help! I was making these lycra "fingers" by loosening the presser foot and doing free-ish motion quilting on my late-sixties Singer Stylist 457, and made about 500, when it suddenly decided that it wouldn't stitch properly if I was moving the fabric in the reverse direction, or if the presser foot was loosened. The top thread shreds beneath the dogs somewhere for no discernible reason. It seems to work ok with wovens, but lycra is suddenly not ok. I cleaned it, oiled it, tried a different needle, thread, fiddled with the tension, everything. Took it to a sewing repair shop, they had nothing to say. Basically, I need to buy a sewing machine to finish this blasted project, and I don't have time to shop around or get a great deal or anything, because my deadline is April 20th. More or less, I need to buy a lovely plastic Singer at a JoAnn store. They don't accept returns on sewing machines anymore, so I need to be relatively sure that it can do free motion quilting (up and down, up and down) on lycra. I care little about anything else, just that I can successfully move the fabric both forward and backward with just a fine straight stitch. They have the Tradition, Talent, Heavy-Duty, Curvy, Confidence Quilter, and One. Does anybody own or use any of these machines? Any suggestions would be so so appreciated.
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Apr 3, 2013 20:42
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Vulvarine posted:Help! Help! I was making these lycra "fingers" by loosening the presser foot and doing free-ish motion quilting on my late-sixties Singer Stylist 457, and made about 500, when it suddenly decided that it wouldn't stitch properly if I was moving the fabric in the reverse direction, or if the presser foot was loosened. The top thread shreds beneath the dogs somewhere for no discernible reason. It seems to work ok with wovens, but lycra is suddenly not ok. I cleaned it, oiled it, tried a different needle, thread, fiddled with the tension, everything. Took it to a sewing repair shop, they had nothing to say. Most places will let you bring in a small swatch of your own cloth to test out on the floor models. See if they will let you test out the free motion foot on each machine with your own fabric?
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Apr 5, 2013 21:59
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Looking to print an all over design on a shirt. Someone recommended this place - http://www.digitalartwear.com any other suggestions?
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Apr 6, 2013 07:18
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nolen posted:Most places will let you bring in a small swatch of your own cloth to test out on the floor models. See if they will let you test out the free motion foot on each machine with your own fabric? I ended up going to a family-owned Sew-n-Vac and buying a Viking Emerald 116 after testing one. I didn't have time to do my usual exhaustive research, so I really hope I didn't goof up on this purchase, because it was a big one for me. I ended up having my old Singer serviced, too, in the process finding out that the guy who sold it to me originally was a loving idiot who might need to have his hands broken.
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Apr 6, 2013 13:11
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I'm doing a costume for a convention - I've never sewn before, so I'm pretty much learning as I go along and doing (so far) alright. Got some questions that I can't seem to answer online, though. Technically this is cosplay (and there's a thread for that), but the questions I have deal with just the sewing aspect of the pieces. Here's what I'm looking to dress up as:  Two questions so far: 1) Those cuffs are sort of hourglass-shaped; can I just use a regular large cuff pattern (the one I'm looking at now is from a pirate's overcoat) and make the cuff sort of hourglass-shaped to get that sort of shape on the arm? Is there anything else different I should be doing to it? 2) I'm wondering how I can create the holes in the lighter shirt to add those rings in there. The rings I have now can just be clipped in once I've made the hole, but I'm not sure how to do it. Will making a circular hole, then reinforcing it similar to a button hole do the trick? (working with cotton fabric in both cases) Morpheus fucked around with this message at 00:10 on Apr 8, 2013 |
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Apr 7, 2013 23:55
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Morpheus posted:2) I'm wondering how I can create the holes in the lighter shirt to add those rings in there. The rings I have now can just be clipped in once I've made the hole, but I'm not sure how to do it. Will making a circular hole, then reinforcing it similar to a button hole do the trick? I'd use grommets. How heavy are the rings you have? You might want to reinforce the fabric where the grommets are with a backing of some kind. Also, this thread is great for more cosplay-specific help.
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Apr 8, 2013 21:17
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Ok, I'll admit it. I saw Spring Breakers and now want black sweatpants with "DTF" on the butt. Are there any silver metallic (or white) iron-on sheets out there? Or large 4 inch letters I could iron on? My Google fu is failing me.
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Apr 8, 2013 22:41
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This looks like what you want. http://store.junetailor.com/store/p-79-iron-on-foil-embellishment-sheets-2-sheets-silver.aspx Barring that, get some silver paint and freezer paper and make a stencil!
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Apr 8, 2013 22:56
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Reformed Tomboy posted:I'd use grommets. How heavy are the rings you have? You might want to reinforce the fabric where the grommets are with a backing of some kind. Yeah, I read that thread too, but I figured that since it wasn't something to do with building masks or attaching LEDs to the clothing it wasn't an issue. But I'll check over there, just in case. For the record, the rings are slightly heavy, brass rings. I was thinking grommets, but worried about the amount of weight that would add to the fabric, and the clinking that would also arise from it.
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Apr 9, 2013 17:47
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amishsexpot posted:Ok, I'll admit it. I saw Spring Breakers and now want black sweatpants with "DTF" on the butt. Are there any silver metallic (or white) iron-on sheets out there? Or large 4 inch letters I could iron on? My Google fu is failing me. Same. On an unrelated note, I'm trying to make varsity jackets this summer, and I'm having mixed success. I didn't find any particularly good patterns online, and would like to style it after one of the ones I have. Are there any resources that are especially good for getting patterns from existing clothing/do I have to seam rip an existing piece of clothing to make this work? e: Or any general advice on varsity jackets/sleeves, because gently caress sleeves man they are really hard.
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Apr 11, 2013 04:03
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RIP ZEEZ
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foutre posted:Same. I like this blog for some tutorials. http://www.afashionablestitch.com/sewing-school/ Here is the section on "rubbing off" a pattern from an existing garment. http://www.afashionablestitch.com/2012/sewing/the-rub-off/ Here is a pattern from a great pattern company. http://www.voguefabricsstore.com/Patterns-Folkwear-251-Varsity-Jacket.html Funhilde fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Apr 11, 2013 |
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Apr 11, 2013 04:07
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Hello sewing Goons! My mother in law bought me a sewing machine for Christmas this past year and I'm brand spankin' new to sewing! I've done crochet and more recently knitting. I was hoping that someone could recommend a good beginner book (preferably available for kindle) or website that can help get me started learning the basics. I'm not really interested at this point in learning to make clothes for myself or even alter things but that may change as I learn more. Mostly I'm interested in making knitting bags, purses, pouches etc. Eventually I'd like to learn to quilt but I see that as something for down the road from now. I apologize if someone has posted book recommendations before! Thanks! Edit: the machine is a Singer 4411 Heavy Duty Peppercat fucked around with this message at 21:28 on Apr 15, 2013 |
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Apr 15, 2013 21:20
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I can't think of any books, but if you want to learn about making totes and quilts quickly, you can start with some of Jenny Doan's tutorials. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7i6Wrl4rZ8 http://www.youtube.com/user/MissouriQuiltCo/videos?view=0 She does most of them with pre-cut fabrics, really easy for a beginner. Her store also sells precuts at a fair price, and has a forum where you can get help from other quilters and her staff. You don't have to use precuts, and I don't most of the time. Beware of the addiction to fabric and quilting tools, though. It's a monster, and I love that monster. 
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Apr 19, 2013 04:36
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My mother loaned/gave* me a brand new Singer 1116, which is apparently Babby's First Sewing Machine. Works great. Very basic, but it works great. I have a button-hole presser foot thing (which I have no idea how to use), a regular presser foot I am a broke dude and all I have made so far is this wallet, with varying degrees of success. Mostly experimenting with materials. Some "discontinued samples" I got at a fabric/craft store ended up being too heavy, the first one I made is too light. I'm almost scared to try anything too complicated. I bought some gold thread specifically marked as being for topstitching jeans/denim and it sort of threads into my denim needle, but it's thick and the lower thread on the bobbin behaves weirdly, like it's all zig-zaggy. I think that means the tension is wrong? but I don't want to screw it up and not be able to put the bobbin tension back to the setting that is working perfectly for regular all-purpose polyester thread. * Meaning it's pretty much mine, but if she ever decides she wants to use it for something I have to give it back. But she's had it for years and not even opened it. I'm really, really new to this and I've mostly got scrap to work with, but I'd love to be able to make my own clothes. Pretend I am a complete idiot. Is there a website or book geared towards teaching clueless men how to sew?
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Apr 19, 2013 09:24
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I can honestly say that the only places where I've learned to sew were Jr. High and Youtube. I do mostly quilting these days, but I have made a few bridesmaid's dresses and my own mother's and grandmother's dresses for my brother's wedding.  Start with something simple. Pajama pants are simple. There are people on Youtube who will show tutorials on all kinds of stuff, for all skill levels. And really, Sewing for Dummies is an obvious choice, isn't it? Once you learn what those fancy feet do, what the tools and notions are, and how to understand the hieroglyphics on a pattern, Bob will most definitely be your mother's brother.
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Apr 20, 2013 03:44
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Bertrand Hustle posted:My mother loaned/gave* me a brand new Singer 1116, which is apparently Babby's First Sewing Machine. Works great. Very basic, but it works great. I have a button-hole presser foot thing (which I have no idea how to use), a regular presser foot I would check out the Vogue book of sewing. It tells you how to read a pattern and install a zipper and all kinds of stuff. I would also say get an easy pattern for a skirt or PJ pants and go for it. There are also a few books out there that have patterns and easy projects included. If you go on Amazon you will see a bunch.
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Apr 20, 2013 05:00
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So, hopefully this isn't a question that gets asked too often, but I need some help! I'm not sure if this is just something that happens, or if I'm doing something wrong. I'm sewing leather, but every once and awhile something gets all messed up on the bobbin side and threads get all caught up and the bobbin-side looks like crap and is all tangley. I took a video, which was originally going to show the process of me making a keyfob for the purpose of asking my co-workers how I could go about doing it faster... Then it ended up illustrating the bobbin-side issue I see every once and awhile. If anyone has some time (the video is about 5 minutes), I'd love any suggestions! (At this point I'm completely fine with having to move the thread-guide thing around as long as it makes the stitch look better, so you can disregard that part of the video, unless you do have any suggestions on speeding up the process  )I'm using a Juki LU-563 and upholstery thread. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVPHWYvsQWA
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Apr 26, 2013 01:16
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I am something of a newbie, but that looks like a tension issue to me. Can you increase the top thread tension and/or decrease the bobbin thread tension?
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Apr 26, 2013 12:59
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armorer posted:I am something of a newbie, but that looks like a tension issue to me. Can you increase the top thread tension and/or decrease the bobbin thread tension? Thanks! Definitely pointed me in the right direction. I think I finally figured it out. I increased the top thread tension a little and also increased the bobbin thread tension. I had a double-check in the manual to make sure I was changing the bobbin tension correctly and... I wasn't. Woops. I was messing with the wrong screw the entire time. So basically it took me all day fiddling with the tensions, but I think I found the golden settings! Correct me if anyone thinks this is wrong, but I think if the bobbin tension is too loose, some slack can get in there around the bobbin assembly, and that's what causes the needle to pull up a bunch of extra thread. Causing a big yucky yuck. Edit: Turns out, I was kind of wrong in my conclusion! The tangled bobbin-side mess was because of a machine-threading issue I believe. I guess if you thread it with the presser foot down, it can cause problems with the thread getting between the tension discs properly. I've since been making sure to pull on the thread every time I lift the foot to make sure the thread is in the right position between the discs when I put the foot back down. Problem hasn't arisen since! (Since I'm sewing leather, I have to lift the foot a lot to make sure the needle lands in exactly the right place... Leather is so unforgiving.) I found this article, which really broke things down and I think is a good read in terms of understanding thread tension http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/4302/understanding-thread-tension/page/all cloudy fucked around with this message at 22:59 on Apr 29, 2013 |
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Apr 26, 2013 22:23
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I'm considering buying my own machine, since the one my mother loaned me (Singer 1116, babby's first sewing machine) struggles with denim and multiple layers even with the appropriate needle. Most of what I plan to make is wallets and men's clothing. Shirts, jeans, pants, things like that. The ones I've been looking at that are actually in my price range are the Singer 4423 Heavy Duty and the Brother CS6000i. I've found some disturbingly negative reviews for the Singer, like one that said it's not actually heavy duty and can't handle multiple layers of denim. On the other hand, I found a video demonstration where a guy stitches easily through multiple thicknesses of fabric: 3 layers, then 6, then 9, then 12, with nice even, tight stitches. And then he does two rows of stitching through a loving yardstick.  The Brother CS6000i looks incredible, but I can't find anything about what kind of projects it can handle in terms of thickness changes (like heavy seams on a pair of jeans) or whether it can handle heavy fabrics like denim, heavy canvas, and so on. And being that it's a computerized machine I'm afraid that if it needs service, it'll be prohibitively expensive.
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Apr 30, 2013 06:04
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Don't do the heavy duty. My GF's into doing leather and denim and we returned two of those because when we dropped the dogs they'd never come back up. I ended up getting her the Singer Curvy and it's been swell. Best thing to do is go to JoAnn's or whatever and test out as many machines as possible. Just...give the heavy duty a pass.
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Apr 30, 2013 06:18
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If there is a sewing /vacuum shop you can go to I recommend checking out what they have as well. Usually they have great service plans, refurbished machines and helpful staff. You can try the machine before you buy it as well. My serger even came with classes.
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Apr 30, 2013 06:22
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Funhilde posted:If there is a sewing /vacuum shop you can go to I recommend checking out what they have as well. Usually they have great service plans, refurbished machines and helpful staff. You can try the machine before you buy it as well. My serger even came with classes. THIS THIS THIS. I think the main theme of my posts in this thread can be summed up as DON'T BUY NEW. You'll get better support, a better price and a better machine by buying through a local shop with someone who can fix your problem in the store instead of having to send it out. Plus, this is cheesy, but it keeps your money in your community instead of giving it to JoAnn's national clusterfuck. I never knew someone could be so passionate about small electric motors until I went to my parent's local vaccuum shop and took my machine in. It's the best! Sometimes there's even a shop dog. Always buy things from a place with a shop dog. I'm back in a place with a machine for a bit and I'm brainstorming short projects. Any ideas?
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Apr 30, 2013 13:22
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Cosigned in triplicate. Sewing machines depreciate like cars: much, much faster than they wear out. If you go to a store that does repairs or trade-ins, you can get a few years' back top-end or at worst midline for what you'd pay for a brand-new cheapie from Joann. I bought my Bernina eight years old in the mid-1990s. It is still going strong 20 years later and solves all the problems I need solved. With the money I saved, I've bought a metric fuckton of feet, each one of which solves one problem brilliantly. The exception IMHO is sergers. If you want a serger, buy a recent one. Threading and tension control are royal bitches, and modern sergers have come a long way in automating both of them. A trade-in is still a good idea, but don't go with something ten years old.
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Apr 30, 2013 17:55
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Is there any reason that you're not considering an industrial machine? They're basically made for this application.
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Apr 30, 2013 20:27
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To be fair, pretty much any machine can handle the number of layers of denim used in seaming jeans. You just need the right needle.
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Apr 30, 2013 20:39
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Yeah I prefer my regular machine for hemming jeans and the like. At least one of the bloggers I follow uses his 50s Singer on denim. I use my industrial for faux fur mostly .
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Apr 30, 2013 20:55
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turing_test posted:Is there any reason that you're not considering an industrial machine? They're basically made for this application. Me? Probably because I don't have a couple thousand to drop on a sewing machine?
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May 1, 2013 00:31
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You should try looking on Craigslist or similar (or looking at your local sewing and vacuum repair stores) - I'd be very surprised if you couldn't find a used machine for under $200. You definitely can sew heavy-duty materials on a home machine, but this isn't what they're designed for. I don't believe that the CS6000i has all-metal parts, so the innards will wear out very quickly if you're trying to sew mainly jeans / canvas etc. The Singer that you posted does have all metal parts. I have a Janome 2212, which is also an inexpensive machine but is all metal. I would highly recommend that you look for a used industrial machine if you want to sew jeans or heavy-duty materials. It will also be much simpler to fix yourself if you decide to do your own maintenance.
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May 1, 2013 01:27
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Bertrand Hustle I really don't think you need an industrial machine for denim. As I and several people have pointed out in the thread, most machines (especially older) can handle denim seaming with the right needle and some muscle. I've never worked with leather, but I assume if you're doing only two layers at a time, you wouldn't have much of a problem. Even if you wear through three used home machines in the next five years, you'll be out $300 instead of the $1000 you might spend on an industrial machine.
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May 1, 2013 02:59
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Hi thread. I'm a very amateur sewer who has made simple things like tote bags, Christmas stockings, pajama pants. I want to make a large picnic blanket that has some kind of waterproof or water resistant backing so I could (for example) lay it on damp grass. The top would have to be soft fabric as I'm mainly interested in using this to bring my infant outside to play in the park or backyard. Could you suggest a suitable fabric for the back/bottom layer? Do you think I would need a pattern or could just wing it? I apologize if this isn't the right thread to ask.
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May 2, 2013 02:25
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frenchnewwave posted:Hi thread. I'm a very amateur sewer who has made simple things like tote bags, Christmas stockings, pajama pants. I want to make a large picnic blanket that has some kind of waterproof or water resistant backing so I could (for example) lay it on damp grass. The top would have to be soft fabric as I'm mainly interested in using this to bring my infant outside to play in the park or backyard. Could you suggest a suitable fabric for the back/bottom layer? Do you think I would need a pattern or could just wing it? I apologize if this isn't the right thread to ask. Most stores these days are selling laminated fabric in cute patterns. Just use one side of that and one side of a flannel  Found a cute tutorial. http://www.designsponge.com/2009/04/diy-wednesdays-picnic-blanke.html
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May 2, 2013 03:39
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