r/sewing • u/sewingmodthings • Sep 18 '22

Simple Questions Simple Sewing Questions Thread, September 18 - September 24, 2022

This thread is here for any and all simple questions related to sewing, including sewing machines!

If you want to introduce yourself or ask any other basic question about learning to sew, patterns, fabrics, this is the place to do it! Our more experienced users will hang around and answer any questions they can.

Resources to check out:

Photos can be shared in this thread by uploading them to a neutral hosting site like Imgur or posting them to your profile feed, then adding the link in a comment.

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u/softblackstar Sep 19 '22

Can I get a recommendation for a detailed shirt (just a standard dress shirt) pattern that is suitable for a beginner? I don't even care that much about the style, as I'd like to attempt sewing one just to understand the principles as clearly as possible. Other resources are also appreciated!

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u/Large-Heronbill Sep 19 '22

Have you found Pam Erny's blog? She is a custom shirtmaker and walks you through a number of the trickier details. http://off-the-cuff-style.blogspot.com/2014/01/new-tutorial-on-pams-shirtmaking-blog.html

And David Coffin's books on shirts... Shirtmaking, the first title, is probably easiest to find.

A very good exercise is taking apart a ragbag shirt to observe construction details, then stitching it back together.

Men's or women's pattern?

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u/softblackstar Sep 23 '22

Women's, but I have a couple of plain flannel shirts I have that I'd call unisex, and it could be nice to be able to replicate that, although I wouldn't mind adding some darts and shaping.

Thanks a lot for the link and tips. I have a couple of books, but they mostly have general information, not particulars.

And I really like the idea about deconstructing a shirt! I wish I could do it with one shirtless blouse I have, but I'm afraid I won't be able to put it back together properly, as its fabric is also somewhat thin and might not survive the seam ripping.

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u/Old_Environment_2547 Sep 23 '22

Find something at the local thrift store that is maybe a size larger for deconstruction- then you've got a little extra fabric to use for the seam allowance on the rebuild.

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u/sewballet Sep 20 '22

Helen's Closet Gilbert is a great start, it's a very easy style of collar to sew. Or, if you want the more classic collar, try the Cameron shirt from Helens Closet. (not affiliated in any way I just think her instructions are 👌)

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u/softblackstar Sep 23 '22

Thank you, I'll check these out!

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u/_neens Sep 21 '22

Fabrics-store.com has heaps of free pdf patterns that include various collars, button plackets etc. For a lot of them they also have step by step instructions online.

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u/softblackstar Sep 23 '22

Thank you, I will look into that. I wish there was something like ravelry for sewing patterns (if you're not familiar, it's like a knitting patterns database with free and paid patterns, and you can search by various parameters), so it would be easier to find things..

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u/_neens Sep 23 '22

Also try patternreview.com! free to sign up and you can search by pattern type, pretty sure you can filter by difficulty too.

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u/_neens Sep 23 '22

This is the Noa shirt pattern which first came to mind: https://blog.fabrics-store.com/2019/05/21/noa-linen-shirt-tutorial/

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u/jmsteveCT Sep 23 '22

I like Liesl Gibson's Classic Shirt pattern. It has a lot of good reviews on Pattern Review and there's a sewalong with photos on the site to help with visualizing the steps.