Hi! I am not a sewer and I need help or suggestions please ☺️

I have this problem. My tops always seem to gape at the back on the neck 😕 I was wondering if maybe I could do a quick tiny stitch to bring the fabric together like a pleat. Or maybe 2 pleats so it looks more symmetrical 🤷🏻‍♀️ do you think that would fix my problem?

Photo shows gaping at the back.

Thank you for your kind help ❤️

Hello everyone!

I am a beginner and bought a generic cheap amazon/temu sewing machine because of my limited budget as a uni student (you know, the white one with the purple accents) some months ago, and I believe I would like to upgrade to make my life easier and get more into sewing

The problem with this one was that it jammed with denser fabrics and i cant adjust the height (I made teddy bear shorts using my old denim but I had such a hard time, some parts I even left unsewn...). It is also quite loud imo and I live in a tiny apartment with 2 other apartments attached next to mine

After some research i concluded that Brother xm2701 is probably good enough for me, budget and use wise. I could not find much about how loud it is though.

Can comment based on experience? some tiktok comments said that it is quite silent. I also saw there are foam mats that may help with the noise. do they help?

thank you!

My boyfriend recently found his father’s old baby blanket that was sewn over 30 years ago. He wants to restore it, as it was heavily used throughout the years.

There’s lots of damage to it, some old areas where mold had started to grow, and it’s really large.

We washed it on a handwash cycle and dried it on delicate with a splash of bleach to kill the mold. My question is, is it worth trying to salvage what we can, is there a cleaning method that could help with the stains the mold left, or is it better to just gut the project and remake it? He bought some poly-fil to help with the middle part but that’s about it as of right now. Photo of the blanket laid out and just one of the spots with mold damage for context.
Thanks!

Hey there! I’m looking for some pattern-making advice, especially if you guys have experience with hats or pet accessories

I’m trying to make a small baseball cap for dogs and cats that looks as close as possible to a real human baseball cap :) especially the relatively high front shape

I started from an existing pet-cap (the yellow cap I bought, image 2) and modified it to get a pattern (image 3)… but the problem is that every version I make still looks very flat compared with a normal baseball cap

the animal’s head obviously has a very different shape from a human head, so I know I probably can’t reproduce a human cap pattern exactly, but I’m tryin to can get very close to it

So far, I’ve tried:

• shortening the back pieces to leave more volume toward the front
• changing the shape of the front and side pattern pieces
• adding darts to create more volume
• experimenting with a homemade internal “shoulder”/support piece to hold the front up
• making several mock-ups with different proportions (see image 4)

The main problem is always the same: once the cap is worn/tightened around the animal’s head, the crown tends to collapse or flatten instead of keeping that higher, boxier baseball-cap silhouette.

I’m gonna test Decovil/interfacing on the front panels to see how much of the problem is simply a lack of structure in the fabric

would you approach this by changing the pattern itself, adding internal structure, changing the panel construction, or a combination of those?

I’d especially love advice on what you would change in the front/side pattern pieces to create more height and prevent the crown from collapsing

I’m be super happy to redraw the pattern completely if my current construction is working against me lol

Please help meee <3

Hey sewing community! I got a great deal on this adjustable dress form recently after searching for ages to find one that wasn’t going to cost beaucoup bucks. But in my excitement of finding it at the thrift, i completely forgot to consider the material this thing is made out of.

it’s basically a plastic sheet formed to fit the shape of a woman, so no way to pin it to hold fabric to it… i can’t even get a straight pin to stay in place through the thin fabric already covering it 😣 so i’m hoping to ask for some help or thoughts: what should i add to this dress form to give me the ability to pin garments to it? basically how to i get this dress form to behave like a dress form 😅

some initial thoughts/ideas:

IDEA #1: i was thinking i could try to find some sort of magnetic tape or something to line the inside of it so i could use magnets to hold the fabric up, then hopefully as i pin material together it would just hold on its own from tension…???? feels like a way dumber idea now that i’ve written it out though, LOL.

IDEA #2: i also have a good amount of aida fabric that i found thrown out behind a michaels, and that would hold pins well but doesnt want to conform to the shape of the mold at all. i could cut them into strips though, which might make shaping a bit easier.

IDEA #3: i could use very thin foam sheets? like a sew-in foam sheet like you might use for stabilizing a bag or something you might get in a pack for other crafts. i do need to add an inch to the butt lol so this could be a good fit.

maybe a combo of 2/3?? have any of you run into a situation like this before?? please lend me your wisdom 😭😭😭

Hey everyone!
So I have this really narrow silk or viscose crepe fabric that is stretchy with only 83 cm (~33 inch) of width and about 270 cm (~106 inch) of length

I wanted to make a flowy asymmetrical hem slip dress situation out of it but i cant think of a way to lay out any pattern… especially cause they all are mostly cut in bias to give that flowy look

What do you do in such a situation?
Just make a waist seem and connect two pieces together? Make two separate garments?

I really want it to be a dress or maybe a two piece but looking like a dress…

For reference here a picture of the fabric (folded in half) and a top for size reference

Hi all,

I was looking for nice curtains to sew up for our son's room in our new home, when I came across curtains with a diagonal color block concept at a business I work for. I love it and I'd like to recreate them myself. I've attached a 3D mockup I've made to illustrate the idea.

The thing I'm most worried about is getting everything straight and patterning this right so I waste the least amount of fabric. A few considerations:

- I'd like these to be lined (uni color is fine) for a neat look

- If I can't find them in blackout fabric, I'll make them with a blackout lining

- The fabric will be about the same weight and drape. I've seen a post on here with someone looking to make linen & velvet curtains, I won't be doing that.

- I've mostly sewn garments so far (pants, shirts, clothes for my son) and a few pillowcases and pin cushions so far. I have some experience, but I've never sewn on this scale before.

- Fabric will be bought on the "Lapjesmarkt" in Utrecht, NL probably so I can feel the fabric before buying.

- Window is 2 meters wide, but I'll likely make them full width of the room, which will add an extra 35cm and 42cm on the sides.

- I'm thinking I'll mark/cut them in our new home, where I have the most floor space without any furniture for now so I'll be able to spread out over 6m x 4m.

My questions for the community:

- How can I make sure those lines are as straight as possible? I'm worried about getting them skewed (I'm not the neatest cutter and my seam allowances vary a bit usually) so I'll take all the tips and tricks I can get.

- What are you favorite curtain sewing tutorials?

- Any other tips for curtain sewing you'd like to share?

Thanks in advance!

(Repost because the previous post didn’t have a picture somehow, I hope it works now)

Hi all! I’ve been trying to figure out shirring (w/ elastic thread) on my Juki MCS-1500N coverstitch machine and cannot get it. I’ve tried, what feels like, every combo recommendation of setting & threading that I can find on Google. YouTube tutorials don’t use this machine, but boy they make it seem easy.

Anyone have this coverstitch model and can give me pointers?

Happy to purchase different elastic thread too, if that’s the problem…. Using the wawak page as my ‘tax’ picture either way 🥴

I have a pattern that is designed based on a height of 170cm (~5.6ft tall) individual. The pattern has a shorten/lengthen line and the instructions say

"the pattern is drafted for a height of 170cm, as a starting point, compare your height to this and adjust accordingly.

Eg. Your height 178cm, then lengthen by 8cm.

Eg. Your height 160cm, then shorten by 10cm. "

Because I am 5ft tall, ~153cm, which is a ~17cm difference, which means to raise the shorten line by ~6.69 inches. That seems like a lot...

Im not sure if i should shorten ~3in at the waist, then shorten the hem 3in?

The toile i made i only shorten by 1.5inchs bc i converted incorrectly lol, but the dress is still massive in every place besides the waist fit ok. I am interested in making another toile with the 6in shorten, but wanted to see if anyone had advice before I spent the time and money making a second toile.

I wanted to now if anyone has any tips or experience with such a big shorten change.

(The pattern I am working on is the Teddy Dress but My Keeper. I have found this pattern to be a bit frustrating but I reallt love the cut and idea of the dress)

these pants can button, but they’re super tight in the waist and hips. i’ve seen some videos on adding triangle fabric to the waist but i don’t love that look for these pants, i also don’t have any matching stretch fabric to use.

any creative ideas to add some space? they’re linen.

I'm on the search for a good men's baggy shorts pattern! Ideally with length at/just below knee, a fly construction and some pleating.

Have been searching for a while and low key desperate at this point, would love some suggestions!

Many men's shorts patterns I have seen are too straight legged/too short - they don't have the baggy look I'm looking for.

Here's an example of what I'm after. I might end up buying this, but am super dubious as it's obvious this shop uses a lot of AI. Would much prefer buying something from an indie seller or well known company1

As the title suggests, I have four 15.75" square napkins. The fabric is a slightly heavy winter fabric.

Any ideas before I give up and use them in something else? Thanks!

I was wondering if anyone knows how I can reduce how wrinkly it gets around the corners of the opening?

Hi, we do costumes at work for Halloween. This year I wanna make my own, but I'm not sure what fabric to use. I want it to look as close to the fabric as possible, but nothing scratchy and I don't want to wear a felt fabric costume because that would be far too hot. Any advice, please. For the lace part I already have a plan. And I will probably wear a bodysuit because the backs of the toy costume aren't velcro or anything.

Thank You!!

Dar lovely community,

I want to beauty my weighted blanket. This depresión gray doesn't do it for me. I tried putting it into a duvet cover but it will inevitable buch up inside.I thought of making a nicer quilt inspired cover for it and sew it directly to the blanket so it stays in place.

The blanket is 7kg with glass beats. The squares containing the beats are quite big so not evenly distributed. I tried to sew through to make smaller squares, it was very difficult and, as you can see, gave up on the first column.

I know I could "gut" the blanket to take the beats and remake the blanket from 0 with small squares, but I seems like a risky move.

What would you do? I am up for work if it is worth the result but I am also not the most experienced seamstress. Anyone has experience doing weighted blankets?

Thank you!

I've got this cream sashiko stitch design fabric with the measurements of 110 cm by 300 cm (43 inch by 3.3 yards). It has a texture to it and it's lightly sheer. Do you guys have any recommendations what to sew with this fabric?

1# Where do you all get official Juki presser feet for that machine in the US?
2# Avoid CKPSMS bran presser feet being sold as a replacement for the DNU-1541.

You can't adjust the inner presser foot independently of the needle on the horizontal, you can only adjust on the vertical. Meaning that if the needle hole is not machined in the correct position on the inner foot, you can't do anything about it. For example in my photo you can see the needle is too far to the back of the whole, there is nothing that I can do to move the inner foot back to center the needle in the hole. The issue here is if that needle has any play in it at all (and it does) it could have a needle strike on the foot throwing your machine out of time if you don't have a clutch like the DNU-1541S. Even still that's really bad for all the other reasons too.

All of my CKPSMS feet that I ordered that had be advertised as being replacement feet for the DNU-1541 have bad hole position and will cause needle strikes on the foot. I would avoid this.

Now its possible that I maybe wrong about not being able to adjust the horizontal position but all my research says that's the case. So if I am wrong please by all means call it out as I would love to fix this.

So that leads me back to the first point. Where do you all get your presser feet from?

I really fell in love with this style of jacket (https://en-grasser.com/vykrojki/all-patterns/men-s-hoodie-pattern-49/). It's made for strechy knit but I would like to use my midweight 280gsm denim with only a small amount of stretch (2% elastane). Do you think it will work if I just size up one size and try it? Or do you know similar patterns that are made for woven fabric?

I tried contacting grasser but I only got a notification back that the mail could not be delivered, so I'm not sure what's up with that.

Thanks!

I'm obsessed with this jacket, I would love to recreate this!

However I'm a bit confused about the fabric used here;

Looks like sherpa for the body.

Then the bright stripes look like ripstop fabric.

What about the patterned fabric though??

I see it's quilted and it's some kind of synthetic fabric, but I would appreciate any recommendations. What kind of fabric would work the best with fleece and also ripstop and have a good variety of prints to choose from?

I'm not sure if it's a ripstop as well, it doesn't really look like one to me or maybe it is, idk.

Would appreciate any help/thoughts

Thanks!

I made these pants a year ago. I adapted them from the "Oxford Pants" pattern by DollueByHoang on etsy. The original has two pleats on the front; I didn't care for how that looked on me so I altered the pattern. I think due to them being designed for women's wear and my size in general they don't sit quite right on me. The hips are odd and the crotch seam sits awkwardly. I never have luck finding patters or even ready to wear pants in this style for men. Anyone out there have something they'd recommend?

The fabric is a woven wool with vertical pinstripes of gold metallic thread

Original pattern: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1277677997/oxford-pants-sewing-pattern-high-waisted

First time sewed it. Made out of old bed sheet. Took more than two weeks to finish, from learning pattern making and sewing as part time. Procrastination also made me late. One thing I learned is not to try pants with bed sheet. The cloth needs to be little heavier. I think I need more practice/ dummy project before I can cut a real pants draft.

As promised in my buttonholes post a couple weeks ago-- here she is, the finished couture tailored cape coat!

My sister in law likes clowns so for her birthday I made her a clown doll. I have started making handmade gifts instead of buying things for my loved ones recently, and I’m really happy with how it turned out.

Hi, all! This is my daughter’s graduation dress, which I finished on Sunday for the ceremony on Monday. Part of the reason for the short deadline was that the design kept changing, and the other issue is that she lives abroad and was not available for fittings.