Any seamstresses in this bunch?
 

Im seriously considering making my own clothes, Ive been gravitating toward a "hippie chic" sort of boho look for some time, and it looks like the best way to do that is to get busy with the sewing machine. Do any of you have any favorite SIMPLE patterns to share? I bought a few from ebay and got others at the local walmart. My favorite looks are Kurtas/Long Tunics, and big flowy skirts. I found an online simple skirt pattern that looks to be doable, but I'd like to flesh out my options ya know?

I'm in exactly the same position -- I'm in touch with a few people, hopefully they'll email back, I'll certainly share if they do.

Any ideas?

wow, that was QUICK!

are you interested in that simple skirt pattern idea?

one thing: you are in the UK, and I am in the US.........what about the differences in sizing?

Hahaha, it was kinda...

I know that sewing.about.com has some interesting stuff, flowy skirts being one of them as far as I remember... I don't know if sizing would be a problem really, I don't think it's ever too big a problem to convert.

Patterns I like/have are:

McCalls, M4527
Simplicity 5069, 4528, 4969

This designer, Khliah Ali, really has some neat looks!

ps: I just discovered she is the daughter of former heavyweight boxing champ Muhommed (sp?) Ali!!! who'd a thunk it?

you must be good with numbers LOL! tell ya what: I'll let YOU do all the converting! deal?

Bwahahaha, having said all that I've never done this before, so.... :o :p
We'll manage somehow!

I can sew a button back on a shirt, but that's about the extent of my expertise. Still, I would love to make my own clothes. I'm not a fan of most of what I see in stores, and it's too expensive, anyway. But it seems like men's clothes would be harder to make. :shrug:

you think so? the lines look simple enuff, but then, I havent made any men's clothes so I dont really know. I DO know that they dont cost as much at retail as Womens' so Im thinking there's probably a reason for that...

ah well........its a misogynistic conspiracy :lol:

Im with markolas. You need help with a button-im your girl. Although i did hot glue some little dangly coin things to a scarf one time for my "belly-dancing" class. But i guess that would be considered more "arts and crafts" :lol:

I have always thought it'd be way fun to make one's own clothes - I don't have the patience - though I did make a Princess Leia costume for Halloween one year - with nothing but a sheet and a needle and thread :D It fit too..and didn't look too bad - which makes me think if I applied myself and had the right tools I could maybe be a talent at it....

But yeah - I can sew buttons on and do simple repairs - but I really wish I'd learned more as right now I have two pairs of pants that I'd love to have taken in (a wonderful problem to have)!

If you do end up making clothes you HAVE To post pictures of what you make :nod:

I think my first project is going to be this 6-gore skirt but I first have to make the pattern template. Im mostly going for the hippie/boho look. I like the loose flowy looks from those days....I also found another site that has instructions on how to make a pretty cool halter dress without an actual pattern, just from some straight pieces and a circular piece! I LOVE that kinda thing...

i do quilts
and have done a few coustoms for my neice and nephew
but clothes - not so much -

just as a total aside - have you ever seen the clothes they make with quilt like stuff - they are hillariously terrible - they feature them in the quilt mags


good luck with the clothes

I don't know about the clothes - but the bags and such them make with it? HIDEOUS!!! I hate that stuff....it's just ugly.

A coworker of mine quilts...she does beautiful work - nothing beats a homemade quilt!

My mom crochets...mostly blankets but in the 70s she used to make my sister sweaters and stuff - now it's all blankets and the occassional scarf or shawl...I tried to learn once but got bored and gave up :rolleyes?

:laugh:

when i was little, i crocheted several skeins of yarn together. it wrapped around the house a couple times. that's the only crocheting i've ever done. :cool:

I can crochet a mean chain stitch :lol:

:lol: Well ya got farther than I did! My mom does made beautiful blankets - I keep telling her she could sell them at craft shows but she doesn't want to "turn it into a business"

She usually gives them away to people who seem to need a little "warmth" in their life :o

lol, yep! that's all i know. it's the only skill my paternal grandmother ever passed on to me. i think she also taught me how to do more useful stitches at one time, but i've now forgotten.

i'd also love to start sewing my own clothes - i was just talking about this with my friend the other day. she's a pretty good seamstress, and she doesn't even need patterns - she just takes apart old clothes and learns how they're constructed. my mind just does not work that way. i need patterns.

Ive got a pattern for a nice wrap skirt thats just a bit too small....Im thinking I can enlarge the pattern pieces and thus have a wrap skirt (fortunately, they arent too difficult to do)

Ive been researching simple patterns and Ive found a couple of free downloads...or free online instructions. I kinda like the idea of simple/free ya know?

i made a wrap skirt a while ago, but i forgot to shrink the fabric before cutting the pieces, so i ended up just having to make it into a regular a-line skirt after everything shrunk in the wash. :laugh: i learn all my lessons the hard way.

i like simple/free, but i don't mind paying for patterns that i know i'll get a lot of use out of.

well i say i quilt but the quiltin part is my least fave -
i like to make the tops of the quilts and then they sit around waitin for me to quilt them
im gonna break down and find someone with a automatic quilter and pay them to do it
lol

here are a few i have done -
the first is only half - the blue green squares end up surrounded by the yellow red squares
the second is for my god child
third is my original plan for the god child one (did u notice the piss poor spellin of my own god childs name?)-
fourth is a spiral one i messed with
and fourth is a weddin present for good friends -
who got married three years ago and are still waiting - and still togethr -

wow! Quilting always seemed like a lot of work to me, but I love the patchwork skirts Ive seen (as long as the fabric swatches dont clash!)

very nice work, btw!

thanks -
i was hopin i wasnt hijackin your thread - :wavey:
the patchwork part is easy once you get the hang of it - it's just like everything else it seems -practice makes better (not perfect as it is usually miscliched ) it is actually alot of geometry but it doesn't feel like school did - lol

and yes - the tendancy of alot of quilters who make clothes seems to fall in the Clash category for me - but to be honest my tastes are pretty strange -
thank god

and i am finishing the jessica one for this xmas or else
it's been like three years - and i made the mistake of showin her mother -
so now its
"hows the quilt coming along??" everytime we talk
three years
lol

3 years? sounds like me and my counted cross stitch pattern (Green Man) I cant seem to finish that, but I'd dearly love to get it done and framed and hung :lol:

Very cool!! You do good work - and a gift like that is the best kind in my opinion...I like!!!

Mary - you'll have to post pics of the stuff you end up doing....if other people have sewn/crocheted/knitted stuff I'd love to see it too :nod: Not to hijack your thread mary - but I love seeing what people can do with their hands (stay away from that comment ya pervs :p )

i said it before :
just more showers :xoxo: :)

and if you are gonna lob softballs at us - you know we are gonna take a good swing :)

Ive got to get the $$$ together for materials and such before I can actually sew anything, but Im really impressed with Kaliah Ali's line of patterns in Simplicity, so I'll prob start with one of those....

I first read the title as sewers, as in... like... drainage sewers. :rolleyes: But, yeah, I used to sew quite a bit a few years ago. I took lessons for awhile, but they weren't that groundbreaking. I learned how to make a shirt and a dress from patterns - both out of really ****ty, ugly material. :shrug:

haha, me too.

I'm thinking, yeah, I've got a sewer mouth...

I did too.

But yeah, I don't sew, but I've always wanted to learn. I think it would be cool to make my own clothes.

alright guys, I tried to get the mods to fix it, but Ryan wasnt able to, and suggested I ask Suze or Chris to help me. So far, no luck!

AHA! the dubious title hath been fixededed! Thanks Chris!

Mary- I sew, but not terribly well. The majority of my sewing is done for finishing my knitting projects- sewing seams, hoods, buttons, things like that.

In fact, the last projects I actually finished were these:

A roll-up knitting needle case:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...y/DSC00466.jpg

And ugly, lumpy pillows:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...y/DSC00460.jpg

I'm sure there are great resources online for sewing, but I'm only familiar with a couple of places that might be helpful- craftster.org, a great forum for all types of crafting- you can get questions answered there, see finished projects, find links for tutorials, free patterns, etc; and reprodepot.com, which is an online fabric store with AWESOME fabrics. I buy from them a lot for purse linings, etc.

^^

I was waiting for you to pop up! I like those pillows - they're quirky and fun!! And it reminded me that that is one thing I'm capable enough to make...pillows :p

Can you post or PM? :wavey:

Thanks! :)

I shouldn't even be taking the time to pop in- I'm behind on making my mom's Christmas present, which when finished will look like this:

http://www.knitsimplemag.com/images/...y/holiday2.jpg

It doesn't yet look like that. Instead, it looks like about a hundred separate knitted pieces in a big pile, waiting to be felted, glued, sewn together, etc. I am an idiot to think starting this like, on Thanksgiving, would be smart.

^^

Ok. That? Is adorable!!! So you knitted all of the elements? Man...well done you..good look getting it all put together :)

I still have the dark green leaves to go and the berries... but yeah, every piece is knitted. The base is made of rolled up quilters' batting, then you cover that with felted knitted fabric and then sew everything to it. Basically- you're doing on purpose to knitted pieces what you do by accident when you machine wash a wool sweater!

Thanks for the words of encouragement ;) I am an idiot.

go back thru the posts, I think I posted the link for the free download....