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Underground > Art, Fashion & Design >

Making your own clothes

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14:06 / 24.09.06

I am more enthusiastic than I am meticulous, so I don't think anything I make will ever look other than DIY-ish, so your technique sounds good to me, thank you!

15:16 / 24.09.06

Hemming boot-cut trousers:

The iron is your friend, if you want stuff to hang right. It's sometimes possible to shape, sculpt and shrink stuff so it hangs properly, as well as helping crease the hem in the right place. (I think wool is so popular for tailoring partly because it's possible to shrink away the excess with a hot steam iron so hems and edges fold in perfectly flat.)

If the trouser leg is flaring out - same situation with hemming an A-line skirt - then you're looking to get a wider piece hemmed up inside a narrower piece. I've been finding this tricky for many years of sewing, so I'm listening with interest as well as offering my own ideas.

Binding the edge as previously suggested is an option. Also, a narrower hem might be easier to get into place if the many-times-folded option didn't work: zigzag the cut edge first then fold it over just once? You could also try running a gathering thread (use heavy-duty thread?) around the edge of the hem, pull the gathers so it fits inside the leg (or fits flat onto it if you're working with the leg turned inside out), then tack your hem into place by hand, press it, over-sew by machine when it feels like it's behaving right.

07:16 / 26.09.06

*strokey beard*
Yes, yes.... I think you all have the answer to the trouser problem. I think if it's not a weight problem, then it's a lack-of-iron issue. I probably ought to do the whole thing more carefully, really, and now that I know it's possible to do a good job, mayhap I will.

So then, what's the basic kit that one ought to have to undertake basic hand-sewing jobs?

08:38 / 26.09.06

what's the basic kit that one ought to have to undertake basic hand-sewing jobs?

Pins! Pins!

Plus thread, in different colours (it's helpful if the thread you use to do rough 'tacking' before you sew for real contrasts so you can see it when you pull it out later). Cotton's probably fine; polyester breaks less easily sometimes. A reel each of back and white is useful to start with.

Needles, lots of different sizes to try out with different weights of fabric/thicknesses of thread. I used to have a needle-threader too, but they're faffy and I don't find it all that difficult to thread a needle really.

Chalk, to draw lines on your clothes when you're planning your next alteration-spree. Good for altering your own clothes because you can bend down, draw a line, straighten up and then notice that it's far too high or low or wonky.

Some kind of box/bag to keep the stuff together is also helpful. Can't think of anything else essential but random stuff like iron-on webbing, buttons, press-studs, ribbon and other bits and pieces are nice to have around for playing with if the mood strikes.

08:59 / 26.09.06

Scissors too. I have two pairs reserved for sewing: one tiny pair for snipping individual threads e.g. when handsewing, embroidering and so on. Keeping them only for cutting single threads keeps them sharp for that use. The other pair are my cutting shears - for cutting cloth. They're the longest blades in the finest steel I can afford, and again not for use on anything else so they stay sharp. I've found that using scissors on paper and other craft stuff can blunt them pretty quickly although I guess it's not actually a problem if you are prepared to sharpen your scissor blades.

15:47 / 27.09.06

Glass-headed pins don't leave blobs of melted plastic on your iron.

11:29 / 30.09.06

Hmm, yes. I've not used either of those types much. My favourite pins are dress-maker's weight 100% stainless steel ones.

Is it a bad idea to make a frock from light minty green coloured linen? I love the colour - a cool bluey green shade - but I'm also concerned it might make me think of toothpaste all the time.

13:34 / 01.10.06

Is thinking of toothpaste a bad thing? Perhaps you could use a different brand of toothpaste that wasn't the same colour as the planned frock. Then it wouldn't remind you of toothpaste because your toothpaste wouldn't be minty green.

10:42 / 12.12.06

this is pure bragging, really, rather than asking for advice. but i just took a photo for my blog of all the things that i have made for our family-that-is-finally-on-the-way (two years worth of knitting and crocheting, minus a bunch of stuff made for all the other people in our lives who were actually managing to make babies), and it looks like this:

clothes

i'm pretty damn pleased with myself! i have a bunch of other projects on the go too. the most satisfying at the moment is converting a jumper that my mother had half-knitted before she died into a baby blanket (involved some tricky cutting and picking up of stitches, but i am nearly there - it's made of brown alpaca wool and is divine). i also have plans for a swag of cardigans, booties, cute little knitted pants etc etc. i am totally addicted. i cannot wait to see them on our very own real life baby!

was this more a 'gives me a happy' thread type post? um, to make it more on-topic i am happy to give advice to any other would be knitters or crocheters...

16:58 / 13.12.06

Nice work - that must have taken you some time...

I'm still knitting, but not very enthusiastically at present. I've discovered that I prefer making soft toys and so on to large garments (especially when said garments are made up in DK or 4-ply wool, ARGH the tedium). But I'm planning an austerity year next year, so may get more into it (not that making anything with super expensixe wool e.g. Rowan, which is pretty much all I can get over here, can really be called austere, but the effort involved certainyly makes it feel like it).

18:50 / 13.12.06

I have to confess, I think the main reason that I love making baby clothes is because they are so small. You get the same amount of satisfaction at finishing something for a fraction of the work! That's why I don't make anything much for adults (except the occasional scarf or hat), and why I can't seem to finish any of the rugs I have started.

Have you tried op shops for old, cheap wool? Sometimes you can get real bargains - once I got a whole bag of fluffy wool in wonderful colours for only a few dollars. I have also bought gorgeous wool off ebay with great success.

14:19 / 27.06.07

I have been trying to find a sewing pattern for a adult sized cat costume, can I find one...well no that's why I'm asking Barbelith for help.

All I managed to go on my google search is pull up some very dodgy outfits and child's size costumes but I want it to fit a bit better than a baggy adult-sized romper suit.

Anyone know of anyone who does adult sized animal costumes? I have tried Simplicity, butterrick, McCalls already.

Thank you!

15:33 / 17.07.07

Oh! Just saw this -- those are lovely, sorenson.

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