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legendof
Oct 27, 2014

Zigzag stitch is the best choice for sewing machines and stretchy fabrics. If you have a fancy machine there are other options, but zigzag is pretty reliable.

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legendof
Oct 27, 2014

Rotary cutter. Get a rotary cutter and a cutting mat. Also consider getting a quilting ruler. Rotary cutters will change your life.

legendof
Oct 27, 2014

Nicol Bolas posted:

And by slow I mean I try to lay out everything verrrrry carefully and try to cut cut verrrrry carefully but I'm still kind of a mess because I'm just cutting on my carpet and I suck at pressing stuff, so my cuts look like a serial killer did them. I was planning on doing the tissue paper sandwich trick to help but that might not be enough. There's a sewing studio near my house though, I may go to them and shell out the hourly rate for personal guidance and their tools (huge tables, circular cutters, etc). That seems like a good way to make my mock-up and see if I even want to try. Wedding is in spring so I have time if I decide to throw up my hands and say gently caress it. Is that less madness?

I would definitely invest in a large cutting mat and rotary cutter.

legendof
Oct 27, 2014

Yes, just about every modern sewing machine will take a twin needle.

I'd recommend getting a newer machine because even the cheap end of new machines have so much more functionality than older machines. My personal recommendation would be https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F7DPEQ - $80, Brother is an excellent brand, and the machine is super popular so it'll be trivial to find accessories (needles, presser feet) and tutorials for it.

legendof
Oct 27, 2014

That is all good advice. Patterns can be intimidating, so you might want to start with a pattern for something even more simple first if you're not used to using them. Don't forget that there are tons and tons of resources on YouTube for sewing, I find that they're often more helpful than just reading instructions. Lastly, I do recommend starting with a simple project to practice sewing/using your machine, if you have one (and for clothing to come out professional-looking you will want one). A pillowcase like you suggested would work, or you could try making a drawstring bag - they're just straight seams at right angles and they're useful around the holidays in place of gift wrap on oddly shaped presents :)

legendof
Oct 27, 2014

I can't review the Janome because I've never heard of that brand, but I have the Brother 1034d and really love it, FWIW. I will say it took me a good four hours to learn to thread it correctly - watch youtube videos instead of reading the manual, cause they're way way more helpful, and get cones of thread that are specifically marked as serger thread, cause I spent a lot of time snapping thread despite a correctly threaded machine because the thread was poo poo quality. (I can make recommendations if desired.) But now I can thread it correctly the first time every time, and it's overall been very good to me.

Also I suspect those pieces of advice may not be specific to this particular serger, but as I've only owned the one I don't really know. I will say that this machine is ubiquitous enough that I have had no trouble finding tutorials on how to use it for xyz, which is handy. If you can't find reviews of the Janome you might not be able to find troubleshooting info or tutorials either.

legendof
Oct 27, 2014

Does anyone know where to buy stretch lace? Not stretch lace trim, but the stuff that's ~12 inches across? I've had a terrible time finding it. I'm in Seattle, but I'd accept online stores that ship here.

E: fantastic, thanks!

legendof fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Jul 6, 2017

legendof
Oct 27, 2014

Princess Tutu posted:

fabricdirect.com has stretch lace, and it's on sale right now!

Dropping back in to recommend that people avoid this site - I ordered from them on the 6th and my order still hasn't shipped, and they're ignoring my emails and phone calls. I'm not sure if I've been scammed or what exactly.

E: update August 3: they claim my order was lost in the mail and that they've shipped a new one but won't give me a tracking number.

legendof fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Aug 3, 2017

legendof
Oct 27, 2014

I have a serger (the brother 1034d that everyone has) that's worth probably about $100. I tried to serge faux fur and broke a needle. When this happened, I also managed to mess up the timing somehow - it makes a metal on metal grinding noise, I think the upper looper is hitting something. Unfortunately, I can't find a place locally that does serger repairs for less than $120, usually much more. Is there anything I can do? It's not under warranty.

legendof
Oct 27, 2014

Has anyone tried a sewing class on Craftsy before? I am fed up with being unable to find well fitting jeans and want to try making my own, and I can't find any local classes any time soon on the topic, but there is one on the site which I'm considering buying.

E: also soliciting recommendations for jeans patterns to use as a starting point.

legendof
Oct 27, 2014

Daaang those are amazing!

legendof
Oct 27, 2014

nesbit37 posted:

There is a fabric pattern that I really like that is up for preorder until 5/20 (for the curious: https://knitoriousfabric.com/collections/products ). I really want to just make a men's t-shirt with this stuff, but am surprisingly having difficulty finding a pattern for one that doesn't do something weird like add pockets to it. Anyone have a good, pretty basic, t-shirt pattern they can recommend? These patterns are fairly expensive so I need to make sure I lock down how much fabric I need before I put the order in since its too much just buy an extra yard and hope its ok.

If you just want to make a unisex tee, just trace a shirt you already have - I wouldn't bother to buy a pattern for something that straightforward. If you haven't done that before, watch a YouTube tutorial.

legendof
Oct 27, 2014

It's gonna turn into a dumb tube. I think you need something stiff holding the flat side of the "D" flat- if this weren't going around a table I'd have a couple suggestions, but since it needs to be flexible (in only one direction) I'm at a bit of a loss. Could you make it a "C" shape instead, and have it overlap the table on the top and bottom a bit?

Also, I don't know how much you've worked on vinyl before, so I'm just going to point out that it gets significantly more pliable when it gets hot (and a little stiffer in the cold), so if this is going to be on a table outside, just keep that in mind.

legendof
Oct 27, 2014

Hard to tell without seeing the machine, but my intuition says that if there's that much wrong there are other problems. If you have a sewing machine repair shop or a store with sewing machine displays near you you might be able to call and see if they'll let you come in and test it out with the cables and pedal from one of their machines so that you can find out how broken it is before you spend :20bux: on replacement parts.

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legendof
Oct 27, 2014

n0tqu1tesane posted:

My mom recently borrowed my Singer Heavy Duty to recover some outdoor wicker couch cushions, and in taking the old covers off discovered that there were six existing covers still on the cushions

This made my day. It's like a house with six layers of linoleum, only so much more inexplicable.

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