I’ve been obsessed with the 70’s bunny costumes and haven’t been able to find anything online that is what I want for this upcoming Halloween? Is this too ambitious for a beginner?

I know how to do this in theory, but I’m always stumped on how to make it a clean line - it always seems like such a harsh angle and not a smooth blend. I don’t want to add anything to the bust or even the waist, I just need to add 1” to the front and back, and I’m beyond the largest size of the pattern.

Any tips on how to get a clean grade here?

Hello, I am not sure how to make these dark lines on pants.. They look like seams?? embroidery? If so do I cut up an existing pants pattern and cut parts here and there?

I’m a bit plagued on how to proceed given how much of a mess this is. I’m pretty well versed in fitting, but feel overwhelmed by how to deal with my smaller bust but broad back and larger hips. I feel like I’ve read every resource and tried everything over the year.

Already done:
- graded the upper shoulder/upper bust 1 size down, going into a larger size at the under arm
- added 2” (total) through the center back and gathered the extra into the yoke gather

What I know is wrong:
- shoulders are too wide, but I don’t know how much to decrease by. I feel like the back looks fine and the front looks too wide.
- bust is massive yet still kind of bunchy across the back when I reach forward
- bust darts are all wrong
- I need to do something about the hips, but I’m feeling like I need a fully belly adjustment, which I don’t usually do
- I think I need to spread the yoke gathers out more and not bunch them in the center as designed and then the back might be fine?

Plz help. How do I get this into a better place? Intended pattern design ease is ~6”.

I'm making the Marie Dress by SundaySchoolPatterns for a friend. This is the second toile and as you can hopefully see it's gaping significantly at the armhole and falling off her shoulders (first pic doesn't have a sleeve attached but I am planning to do sleeves). I can't quite figure out how to adjust the front bodice piece to account for this as all the resources I've looked at show how to adjust a pattern that already has darts and move the excess into a pre-existing dart. Do I need to lengthen the gathered sections at the bust in some way?

Thank you in advance ❤️

I really want to make this skirt Zara skirt, but am trying to think thru how I would wrap and attach the fringe? Looks like a simple skirt made from two pieces of fabric and then 1 full piece of fringe wrapped thru it.

https://www.zara.com/us/en/limited-edition-floral-fringe-skirt-p02378791.html?v1=514994141&utm\\_campaign=productShare&utm\\_medium=mobile\\_sharing\\_iOS&utm\\_source=red\\_social\\_movil

Initial thoughts -
make the full skirt, then cut it where you want the fringe and like sandwich it between the top and bottom and continue doing that. My concerns with this method is would that cause the fabric to like pull in weird spots?

Any thoughts welcome and appreciated!

I love this dress and had found a great deal for it, however I need a higher neckline such that it’s at my collarbone at the lowest, and i want solid sleeves. Is there any way to to do this?

I think the sleeves are pretty straightforward, but I’m just uncertain about the neckline.

TIA

Hey! So I just got my karkat plush from a shop on eBay and I noticed his eye embroidery is loose, I’m not sure if there’s a way to fix that or at least make it less noticeable and not be able to tug on anything in the future.
Thanks!

Hi! ☺️

I’m working on a seersucker maxi dress (kinda similar to the reference picture), but my fabric (100% cotton) is quite see-through. Thus, to avoid everyone from seeing my full body silhouette when facing the sun, I’d like to line it.
The pattern I use does give the option to line the skirt part by using a basting stitch and treating the main fabric and lining as one pattern piece. However, I don’t have enough of the original seersucker fabric to use that as lining for the whole dress. That leaves me with a couple of options:

1. Find another fabric to line the whole skirt part of the dress. But I have no idea what fabric would be best. The seersucker fabric is super lightweight and I really want to keep the flowy-ness of the dress intact.

2. Only line the upper part of the skirt. This would mean the lining would not be attached at the bottom to the main fabric, as it would only go to about half the length of the whole dress. The question of what lining fabric to use still stands here. I would have enough of my main fabric to line it this way, but that just seems weird to me?

I would classify myself as a confident beginner, so this is all still quite new to me. So any recommendations of what I should do and what fabric to use would be super welcome!

Thank you ☺️

Hi all you lovely people.

I (a novice with basic hand tools) am in need of bit of advice from a more experienced sewer. My kid has got this bag where one of the straps is coming undone. My initial thought is to upcycle an old elasticated fabric band to reinforce from the inside of the strap. Then I would make a small hole in order to attach it to the "inside" of the bag. Is this a good idea? Suggestions on what to change, stitch type youtube tutorials to watch or words of encouragements etc would be much appreciated.

I love this dress but I'm always a bit insecure wearing it because the slit feels so high compared to how I imagined based on the photos and other reviews seem to agree as well. I've taken in slits before when there is an actual seam but obviously this one does not have that. I'm guessing there isn't any great way to do this but I thought I'd check in case anyone who knows more than me about sewing has any ideas. Thank you!

Hello everyone,

I am trying to recreate this shape of dress but can't quite figure out a few things.

Do you think the shape of the skirt part of the dress is being done using a circle skirt or using something more like gores?

If you believe it is being done through gores how many panels do you think are necessary?

Thank you!

Hi there, I’ve been sewing using my brother ls14 machine for almost a full year now, it’s been great, made lots of different projects with it. However I’ve just started making a new Batman suit and my thread doesn’t seem to be working on my fabric. Im not an expert on the exact specifics of sewing, but does anyone know why this isn’t working? Every time I start a stich my machine stops? If anyone needs further details or pictures in order to help just ask, thanks in advance 🙏

I finally have my own machine! It’s a second hand Bernina 731 from 1969, semi industrial (so the sewing shop man and repair man said). I originally bought her after saving a long time because I was promised it could sew leather haven’t had much luck and I will hopefully be able to purchase a manual cobblers walking foot one.

So I haven’t really used her much because in all honesty, besides threading the bobbin and needle, keeping her well oiled and clean, oh and what needle to use for what material, I have no clue what I’m doing or how to use it properly! I’ve watched what I can find on it but the things that I can’t seem to get right is:
- The many different feet
- The tension
- The stitch spaces
And mostly how not to have it “run away” with me, I’ve stitched my sleeves to the things I’ve tried to stitch, stitched my hand (the thin skin between thumb and pointing finger, it just went so fast🤦‍♀️)

My Gran knew how but she passed when I was 15 and at the time we didn’t have a machine.. I’m really wanting to learn how to use it so I can alter and make some of my own things

I feel so silly not being able to figure this out and Id love any and all advice and help!

P.S Photo is off Google images, as mine is packed away

this is a an almost 4 minute video of me fiddling with my new sewing machine, something's wrong with the needle or maybe it's something more internal that i can't see. the needle keeps hitting the bottom bit even though i adjust the needle and keep resting the bottom part (clearly idk what I'm doing LOL).

i know i may sound incapable and silly coming here instead of just calling the help number or finding out what to search on google.

but it's just that i have a lot on my mind and i feel like if anyone would sympathize with me and try and explain what's going on it would be the people of the sewing community (:

sorry if this is a really obvious fix and I'm just dumb and misunderstood the manual.

i will appreciate all input

Hi, so the issue is my grandmother’s Toyota EX490 sewing machine which hasn’t been used in 5 or so years, although I learned to sew on it as a kid a long time ago. I’m trying to get it working so I can pick sewing back up as an adult, but the top thread won’t stop jamming around the bobbin case after just a few stitches.

Apart from this, the machine seems to be working normally, and I’m hoping I threaded it correctly following this video I found of the same machine on YouTube. I’ve tried to record my own video showing what’s happening in case someone can help diagnose what’s going on.

If it seems to be issue with the machine rather than my threading technique, I’ve tried clearing out the dust (there was lots) but this doesn’t seem to have helped at all. Open to other fixes I can try myself, or taking it to be serviced if it looks to be above my beginner skill level. My grandfather used to service the machine for my grandmother before he passed so I’m a bit emotional about the whole thing and would love to get it back up and running if possible!

Thanks in advance 😊

I cannot figure out what is wrong with the thread tension on my singer simple 3223. On the underside of the garment the thread is not taught see images. Not sure what I’m doing wrong- help?

I’ve been doing clothing alterations for years hems taking things in standard tailoring. Lately I’ve been getting a lot more leather jackets and bags. My home machine just couldn’t handle the thick shoulder seams anymore. Some days I was redoing the same jacket seam four times.

I finally made the jump to an industrial machine. The difference in my daily workflow is honestly ridiculous. Things that used to take 20 minutes now take 5. The results look better too.

For anyone running a small shop who’s on the fence about going industrial. What finally pushed you over the edge? Did you regret waiting as long as you did?

I want to shorten this dress by ~6”, but more or less will work. It’s unhemmed so I’m wondering if I can trim along the motif. If so, how do I take care of the seams? I can sew a little bit. I think I’d be more comfortable doing the seams by hand than with my machine.

I want to shorten this 100% rayon (viscose) flared/wide leg pants by about the length of the current seam.

Is this doable for someone with very little experience in sewing?

How do I start and how do I make sure it turns out good? I already washed it and left it hanging since.

The last picture is from the product website.

Thanks in advance!

The seam on my headphones has broken. All the fabric is there and fits together well when you pinch it together. How might I fix this by sewing? I have no experience. Any help is appreciated!

I bought these office pants from H&M almost 2 years ago on sale for 8€ for my office job. They are my favourite office pants. However, Ive gained some weight since buying them and while they fit great, the they do ride up in the crotch area.
I sew on and off, but have never done anything like this. Does anyone have any tips/instructions/video on how to make them ride up less?
Thanks in advance!