MagiStream

I used to sew late in elementary school. I just made little baggies out of fabric my mom got for me from yard sales and filled them with rose petals I picked from a bush we have next to the front door and dried myself. I didn't get back into sewing until late this summer.

Now I'm trying to relearn the sewing machine, which I never got too good with in the first place since I was so young. I have gotten much better at sewing by hand when I was required to spend approximately 32 or so hours in total to sew a bunch of cheap bridal decoration rose petals together for a sculpture assignment. It gave some interesting ideas, too. I'm really nervous to try to make anything, though. I want to make things like stuffed animals, but I'm afraid I'll mess up bad enough that the material will be ruined. I did manage to make a cute Christmas pin for Mom out of some scrap felt, though. I was amazed at how well it turned out and she loved it. I think I might use it as inspiration for my contribution to my family's White Elephant this coming Christmas.

I've also started experimenting with Sculpty, prompted by an assignment in another art class, as well as a form of soft sculpture my mom taught me using nylon pantyhose, I like to make fascinators, and I will be playing with paper mache soon. I hope that one day I could do embroidery. I am also taking my painting skills and using them to paint tote bags and am planning to paint some sneakers next time I get my hands on some white ones.

I don't get much done, though, for two main reasons: I'm a horrible procrastinator and I would have no idea what to do with something once I've made it. My studio is small and I really only have room for supplies, not a lot of finished products.

Umalia wrote:I used to sew late in elementary school.

I was that kid in home economics, the one the teacher begged not to come to class any more because I'd run the sewing machine needle through my fingers or sewn various other parts of mine and my classmates' anatomy to the fabric.

I still don't like sewing machines and prefer to leave them to truly talented people like my husband and my girlfriend but I have very neat hand stitch work. I'm planning on making a simple quilt from scratch without the machine just like my great grandmother did out of people's outgrown or ruined clothing. I have some ties which belonged to my grandfather (now passed on) and some gingham nightgowns which belonged to my grandmother (also passed on). I have tee shirts and polos from my husband, a bit of the shirt Dee was wearing when he was shot, some jeans Dorie wore out, even some pieces from the blankets and beds of pets who have passed on.

Our sewing machine is a literal antique, probably about fifty years old now, and solid steel except for the case base in which it sits. Right now it's not working right --- something is jamming the threading mechanism --- but I found a place which can repair it for $99. As this was initially a $2000 professional quality machine and it's an antique I find that a good price for repairing the old boy (even if he does hate me...I've run the needle through my thumb three times since we got it).

I'm hoping to be able to sew my own clothing eventually. Most of the stuff in the store just doesn't fit. My shoulders are too broad and I don't have enough cleavage or their idea of a plus size and mine differ considerably. I just bought a book which tells how to fit a bought pattern to any body type and I'm looking forward to looking good in things I created specifically for my own body type.

TxCat wrote:I'm hoping to be able to sew my own clothing eventually. Most of the stuff in the store just doesn't fit. My shoulders are too broad and I don't have enough cleavage or their idea of a plus size and mine differ considerably. I just bought a book which tells how to fit a bought pattern to any body type and I'm looking forward to looking good in things I created specifically for my own body type.

That's one of the things I'm hoping to learn when I figure out the mysteries of the sewing machine. I even got some vintage patterns up in a thrifts store at a good price up near Crystal River. It's not that I can't find clothes that fit me okay, I can if I'm patient and look around, but I hate clothes shopping and am not too interested in the current fashions.

What kind of clothes are you interested in making?

I'm wanting to make caftans mostly, or a more comfortable variant of what the pioneer women and Victorian women wore.

I mostly wear stuff like this:



or this:



(Those are both store bought and, as you can see, they have fitting problems).

Those styles really suit my figure and they used durable fabric which lasted a while. For learning pattern fitting and tailoring to specific body types I recommend this book: Fit for Real People. It's one in a series but this is the one I found most helpful. The 'ah-ha' moment I had when they explained how to alter a pattern which was too small in order to suit broad shoulders or a body which exceeds the pattern fitting was incredible!

I like the look of caftans. They're simple and you can do so much to make them unique! I hope you succeed in making yourself some.

Thank you for the recommendation. I'll keep an eye out for it. I would definitely need to change the sizes with the patterns I have. Vintage patterns usually run small.

Umalia wrote:Vintage patterns usually run small.

Basic alteration is easy, which is why I felt so dense when I read how it's done. You just need some tissue paper and a dressmaker's chalk and some pins. Where the design doesn't fit, you keep pinning in strips of tissue paper evenly (adjusting for seam fittings and such) until it does meet. The easiest places to do this are up the back and across the butt, where vintage patterns usually do NOT fit modern women.

I figured it would be. In fact, that's what one of the older ladies at the thrift store told me. The patterns definitely need altering if the dresses are going to fit around my bust and hips. That's one of the reasons I would rather make my own clothes than buy them. Whoever designs clothes don't understand women with curves.

/totally barges in on the current conversation

I knit and crochet, plus some very basic jewelry-making, and my mother just gave me her old sewing machine. I'm working on just learning how to handle that thing for now, but someday I also want to make my own clothing. I like wacky, unique clothes that they just don't sell in stores, with wild colors and patterns. Plus I need something to do with all this fabric I've been collecting for years. >.>

Hi, I'm just joining into this thread. Anyways my crafting & hobbies are reading, drawing, polymer clay minis, & writing. I own a sewing machine which I bought brand new from walmart but I cant sew straight to save my life, so my mother ends up using it.

Reading wise I'm currently re-reading Harry Potter & the half-blood prince + many online fan-fictions. I'm not drawing at the moment, I uselessly only do projects that take 1 - 3 hours at the most. I recently took up polymer clay crafting in late December but not creating anything at the moment because I'm fighting with clay thats too soft to work with.