Sewing, Mending, and Tailoring Thread - Necessary skills for putting your anime girl patches on your mallninja gear.

[Bugaboo]

This is a thread where people who sew or want to learn how to sew talk about sewing and show things they sewed
I used to sew many years ago, I've since forgotten literally everything I learned but I really want to make plushies. I bought an old pikachu plush doll and I took it apart at the seams with a seam ripper and traced the pattern, I hope to recreate it so I can make more pikachus.
Only issue is, I forgot how to prepare a sewing machine to use, the model of my sewing machine is I dunno but it says PFAFF Creative 1475 CD on it and I think it might be older than me.

 

[Bean5]

I was hoping this thread would have more content....

 

[Bean5]

Well i guess i'll say something then .
I'm currently working on small clothes for my side hobby of figures and fashion dolls (pls no bully, they'll look/dress better then ever will)
Learning to make small clasps for leather gloves by just bending jewelry wire around pliers has been an interesting process and if i remember, ill edit with some tutorials. I think I enjoy making fasteners and buttons more than sewing lol.
On my desk is an over the shoulder sling bag with mini eyelets, a sewn sweater for a 30cm body (been kicking my ass with fraying), and a pair of overalls as I learn to make pockets. Trying to figure out how to carve shoe soles from stamp rubber atm (to make 'footprints' in pics, just something different) or just use clay and sculpt it, not sure what to do about that.

 

[Cheesegirl78]

I'm making pajama pants for my grandsons out of Batman fabric. The boys love them and I can make a pair in an hour or so.

I have three crochet afghans in progress, all Christmas presents.

 

[Kuchipatchi]

I've been getting back into quilting recently. I'm making a quilt for my nephews and nieces for when they visit Mum's house and it gets quite cold there in winter. I've nearly finished the front piece and still have lots of scrap squares left so I'll make another quilt to sell.
The problem is that I don't have a long-arm machine and getting it done professionally is quite expensive.

And I want to make plushies of my OCs at some point but I don't have the material yet.

 

[Bean5]

I'm making pajama pants for my grandsons out of Batman fabric. The boys love them and I can make a pair in an hour or so.

I have three crochet afghans in progress, all Christmas presents.

Wholesome plans, hope they use them

And I want to make plushies of my OCs at some point but I don't have the material yet.

Id be lying if i said that I didn't have an idea to do the same hahah. Right now ive made a few plushies for other's characters on comm and its a major pain, but once you get a pattern down it'll be a beeeze.
Could try an anime style and draw on cotton or linen for the face

 

[Kuchipatchi]

Id be lying if i said that I didn't have an idea to do the same hahah. Right now ive made a few plushies for other's characters on comm and its a major pain, but once you get a pattern down it'll be a beeeze.
Could try an anime style and draw on cotton or linen for the face

If you plan to make a human plushie, this is a good template to use.

2012 Plush Pattern - Free by SarahForde on DeviantArt

www.deviantart.com

I've used it 3 times and it's easy to work with.
Can I say that Sharpies are terrible for drawing on fabric. Use actual textile pens or if you have the patience, embroider the details. XD
I plan to do that for my next plushies.

 

[Bean5]

anyone know of a decent free pattern depot for modern wear and coats ect? I want to make some small scale jeans, coat ect but need a pdf type file i can scale down

 

[Seora]

My elders have taught me from a young age how to sew etc etc. Never fully got into it until now. I have a khaki jacket that I’m sewing army (german) and other various patches on.
They’re hard to source on Etsy for obvious reasons but eBay and what I have in my family already is mainly what I have. As for the various other patches, Etsy is largely a scam for patches as they are drop sellers from Ali Express and Ali baba, it took two minutes for me to find the same patches for cents whereas on Etsy they were up marketed to 5+ not including shipping. There are exceptions to this but I only really order from there if I can’t verifiably find it anywhere cheaper.

 

[Neurotypical Mantis]

peyote stitch giving me a new level of smoothbrain

 

[Mr. Confederate Man]

Bumping the thread for self-sufficiency reasons.

Tax: Ms.Confederate Woman got me into quilting as a way for us to spend time together (she likes to quilt, I like to make coats, good fit). We now have the most stylish blankets known to man, all whilst listening to old Art Bell Coast to Coast AM. It’s a blast

 

[gorororo]

Going to do my best to talk about sewing regarding self-sufficiency now that the thread's been moved. I have an interest in clothing/textile history, so a lot of my thoughts on sewing are related to that.

The best way to take care of your clothes is preventative maintenance and to fix the problems before they get bigger. Reattach buttons before they fall off, adding patches before the fabric wears through, etc. When fixing the problem area, sew beyond where the problem is. If the fabric has already worn through or a seam's torn, the area next to it is going to be weak as well and needs reinforcement. The tighter the stitches are, the stronger it will be.

I'm trying to make more of my own clothes and I find the hardest part is usually working out the pattern. As a shortcut, I've taken either old clothes or clothes from the thrift store and seamripped them to get a pattern.

Historically, fabric is expensive. It takes a lot of effort to go from raw material to roving to thread and to fabric. As a result, most clothing throughout time tends to minimize cuts so it can be reused or minimizes how much fabric is used. Children's clothing can be made with a lot of fabric hidden in the seams & hems and let out as the kid grows.

For anyone learning to sew, I'd say skip the little kits that come with a needle and thread. The thread tends to be cheap and it frays when used in a sewing machine. The basics you'd need are a needle, thread, scissors, pins, and a seamripper.

As a textile nerd, I'd love to someday have a treadle sewing machine or a loom.

 

[mold]

My next big project is setting up a sewing room for the winter and getting better at making stuff.

Textile production and repair is a huge hole in a lot of preppers' plans so I'm glad to see this thread.

 

[Doctor Love]

Waxing your clothes is a great idea for an effective hazmat suit.

 

[oishii desu]

I'm a clothes and textiles autist as well, happy to see there are at least a few others here.
My basic advice is:

• A sewing machine isn't necessary technically but it makes everything a whole lot easier. It will also save your joints long term so invest in one now. Most modern machines are garbage, especially entry level. Grandmas are dying everyday and none of their kids want their nice, all-metal vintage machines. Look to craigslist, estate sales, and facebook marketplace for your machine.
• Sergers are nice but ultimately useless. They really only shine when you're working with knit fabrics. If you want long-lasting clothes you should avoid knits anyways. There are better ways to finish seams and edges than a serger finish. (French seam, flat-felled, Hong Kong binding, pinking, etc)
• For handsewing, learn a basting stitch, backstitch, cross-catch stitch, slip/mattress stitch, and whip stitch
• Learn how to sew on hook and eyes, buttons with and without shanks, and snaps
• Woven fabrics are the easiest to work with and longer lasting than knits overall.

I've been working towards an all handmade wardrobe for a few years now, with some exceptions. I'm trying to decide if I want to get into spinning and make a sweater from a raw fleece. I know how to dye as well so it could at the very least be a fun experiment into natural dyes. I have a drop spindle that I've played around with but have access to an actual wheel if I get serious about it. Weaving also interests me but it's a bit more challenging to try out for fun.

I'm trying to make more of my own clothes and I find the hardest part is usually working out the pattern. As a shortcut, I've taken either old clothes or clothes from the thrift store and seamripped them to get a pattern.

It's very challenging at first, but the more projects you do the better you get at visualizing the patterns. If you're really interested in it I recommend looking up some flat patterning videos, bare minimum it gives you a more technical mindset when you begin sewing. If there's interest, I can upload and share PDFs of the sewing books I have. A lot of it isn't geared toward beginners however so there may be a bit of a learning curve. (A large portion of it is also useless from a self-sufficiency POV but interesting to read about)

 

[Mutley]

We had to learn how to sew at school and my mom was a seamstress so she taught me a few tricks. Probably one of the more useful skills i learnt in my younger years.

If your after nice little sewing kits for your bug out bag or just because you can, have a look at Varestruleka (Although they are out of stock at the moment)

 

[CharcoalChkn]

Will knitting and crochet be included in this thread?

I'm currently learning, so practicing different stiches then unravelling to practice again so I don't waste yarn (lol), with the eventual goal of making my own clothing items, mostly sweaters, coats, hats, scarves and socks (the usual things).

I know they aren't technically considered tailoring. But it is self sufficient clothing.

 

[WhoBusTank69]

For practice, and because freehanding sucks, you can find tons and tons of old patterns at your local thrift stores.

 

[Haloperidol]

Will knitting and crochet be included in this thread?

I really wanted to suggest the knitting & crochet threads because that’s what I know how to do personally, but I held back because the cost of yarn still tends to be much more than just buying a product outright. And producing your own yarn is very, very time-consuming and can be expensive. Raising animals for your own fleece even more so. Still, I think it should be included under self-sufficiency because you’re reducing your reliance on others. Knit items in natural fibers that look and fit exactly the way you want are just unbeatable.

There are many practical uses for knitting outside of garments too: I-cord is useful and strong, I‘ve made straps for various things, made bags and so on, there’s a lady in (I think) Ireland who knitted a crazy lace fence out of wire. And knowing how to repair and patch knitwear is a good skill. So yeah, maybe it’s a stretch but I would enjoy if we opened this up to include fiber crafts.

edit: I gotta run but I’ll try to follow up with some links

 

[fat_rat_on_the_grass]

I really wanted to suggest the knitting & crochet threads because that’s what I know how to do personally, but I held back because the cost of yarn still tends to be much more than just buying a product outright. And producing your own yarn is very, very time-consuming. Still, I think it should be included under self-sufficiency because you’re making your own items. Especially if you raise animals for your own fleece, though that’s more of a luxury for fun than a practical thing for survival. But I digress.

There are many practical uses for knitting outside of garments too: I-cord is useful and strong, I‘ve made straps for various things, made bags and so on, there’s a lady in (I think) Ireland who knitted a crazy lace fence out of wire. And knowing how to repair and patch knitwear is a good skill. So yeah, maybe it’s a stretch but I would enjoy if we opened this up to include fiber crafts.

Even embroidery would be lovely too! But i dont know if that bleeds too much into an artform or not.. However I agree a knitting thread would be great to share videos and patterns and ideas cause man I've seen people loosely finger-knit cables together, its great in any field.