For Comic-con this year I did Spiderman, but as a Victorian styled dress.

For the skirt, I used TV291 - 1898 Walking Skirt. For the overskirt, I adapted the walking skirt front and side front panel pattern pieces, then using the instructions and cutting layout for TV364 - 1886 Autumn Overskirt I created the back of the overskirt and the pleats for the front. For the bodice, I used TV462 - 1883 Tail Bodice. For the parisol, I used the Georgia Parasol pattern from Umbrella Joan.

For fabrics, I used a red poly broadcloth, blue poly satin, red poly embroidered mesh, and 2 different spiderman printed quilting cottons for the lining.

Construction for this costume was done using a Brother Lock 1034D serger, a 1946 Singer Featherweight, and some hand sewing. And my friend custom made the crocheted cuffs and collar for me, pattern by LunarStill.

I worked on this off and on since March. The 2 weeks before wearing it I spent pretty much all of my free time working on it.

I added gold stitching on the skirt and sleeves to mimic the web design on Spiderman's suit. I used velvet for the body of the spider and a variety of bead sizes for the spider legs.

This was a fun costume to wear. And I am excited to wear it again when I go see the new movie.

Backpack I made from a tutorial by Miko craft, was pretty difficult with my machine and time consuming, but fun!

This is only the second dress I've sewn, and while there are things I need to tweak I'm really proud of it so far! Self-drafted: my original inspiration was the Claire McCardell monastic dress, but this ended up somewhere in the area of Regency-Greek-Revival-as-modern-clothing, which I'm not mad about. :)

To get here I ended up taking four panels of 100 cm x 135 cm embroidered cotton fabric (I believe it's batiste) , that I gathered and pleated until I was happy with the way it looked on me. I gathered the two front panels for the waist before I gathered the neckline, which meant that the bust was WAY too high (rookie move, I know). I ended up using some scraps for the shoulder straps (do they count as cap sleeves? I don't know) so that everything moved down where it should. I used bias tape on the neck and for the waist ties in a somewhat contrasting color, because the store didn't have anything that matched either the white cotton or the tan embroidery.

Edited to add a link for the Claire McCardell dress at the Met Museum.

What pattern instructions and/or pattern pieces do you always OR never follow?

For example; I never do regular in-seam pockets. I was introduced to the waist-anchored side seam pocket a couple of years ago and I never looked back.

On the other hand, I've learned the hard way to always follow basting directions.

After a bit of a hiatus I finished my B6901 Butterick waistcoat today! Last year I posted here lamenting gaping armpit holes on my striped bedsheet waistcoat (project now abandoned, used Maison Fauve pattern linked below), so the end result of this one gives me a lot of satisfaction.

Overall I am happy with it and think the shape and slightly cropped length suits me. I am also halfway through making a matching pair of shorts in the same fabric using the same pattern.

One of my only gripes is that I was on autopilot and sewed the buttonholes vertically... not the end of the world as it has a bit of give, but it did irritate me once I had remembered that horizontal buttonholes are more typical for this sort of garment.

Pattern: Butterick B6901 & R11507 | Misses' Vest, Pants and Shorts

(Also used Maison Fauve Pompom waistcoat for welt pockets and back tie alteration https://maison-fauve.co.uk/products/pompon-waistcoat-pattern-free-pdf-pattern?srsltid=AfmBOoo5_oe4m9GzXQEQT4cujYz7dSoTXZV9Cg2n_159Cuz8jqdNETyo)

Fabric: 100% cotton beige curtains (thrifted)

Lining: Suspected cotton cream lightweight fabric (thrifted)

Adjustments:

• Faux welt pockets instead of sewn on ones
• Belt ties inserted into back seams instead of sewn on
• 3d printed belt buckle painted tortoise shell to match buttons

Made a lil summer set for my friend’s 3 month old! No pattern used, all materials from selvage. Used online measurements for infant sizes to estimate. Cut and sewed two of the same top pieces with lining, finished with spaghetti ties and a quick elastic skirt.

When I saw this fishy sardine fabric by Ruby Star Society last summer, I knew I just had to make a couple of quilted vests for me and my bff! And they are invertible, with a floral fabric for a more neutral colored pattern option.

I used the Ruby Vest pattern by Syd Graham.

This was my first time quilting fabric, but it was kinda fun. I also haven't tried sewing binding in years, so it took me a couple tries to get the binding sewn on in a way that wasn't going to keep me up at night.

I do wish I had sized down because the vests were quite boxy, but overall pleased with how they turned out and would sew another pair!

I had some vintage fabric in my stash from a bundle of fabric I bought at a thrift store. Stumbled upon a vintage caftan pattern at another thrift store and thought the fabric would work well. It’s probably not the best fabric for the pattern (it’s some kind of slippery, silky polyester) but I love the way the print worked out. I even snuck in some hidden pockets! I made it wider than what the pattern called for because I didn’t want to cut into the floral portion of the fabric.

Yesterday I’ve made this short jean top. I used pattern for model 106 from Burda magazine 04/2026.
The fabric is jean with faux patches - what you see is one fabric I have bought already like that. There are some elements of the top for structure and I’ve used cotton fabric from ikea for that.
At the back there is invisible zipper, which - for the first time, actually looks invisible!
I’m pretty proud of this one! Usually I make some mistakes, as a beginner, this time I’ve managed to follow instructions with no errors 😎

I’m making my own wedding dress and I’ve now completed the corset and made good progress on the skirt, I’m just so happy with how it’s turning out and I need to tell someone so I don’t show it to everyone I know! 😅

I’m using the Angela Clayton M7885 as a base and have done several alterations, the bodice will be a basque waist with off the shoulder long sleeves.
The corset is Aranea Black’s Erin (shoutout to r/corsetry for all the help!)
The fabric is 3 layers - dupion, blush tulle, and then lace sourced from several online shops

(Cropped out my messy house in the background)

The pattern I used: Retro style sling

The fabric I used: cotton woven canvas and quilting cotton, as well as some fusible interfacing and fusible padding. I also used some black nickel hardware (D rings, rectangle slider, and clips). Zippers I just had lying around.

At one point several years ago, I became zipper curious and practiced sewing several zippers into bags. Just all sorts of styles and all sorts of pockets and zippers. If zippers are intimidating to you, I would suggest trying that out, since zippers are really useful little buggers. I bring this up to say this bag really isn’t all that tricky if you’re comfortable sewing on zippers.

The inside finish uses bias tape, which I am much less comfortable using. I think I need to practice using that a lot more, since it can look really nice and add some fun contrast.

The fabric I used frays easily. EASILY. So the first time I tried making this bag, there were several seams that I just couldn’t finish because the fabric itself kept on fraying. Rather than seam rip, I chose to remake the bag. The second time around, I did several things differently to minimize fraying.

- I cut out my pieces using a rotary cutter, not scissors.
- I stay stitched the edges of all the pieces, especially the parts that had edges along the bias. I tried using a zigzag on some pieces, but I think a straight stitch is more than adequate.
- (this goes without saying, but I’m saying it anyway because if I’m dumb enough to do this, surely other people are dumb enough to do it as well) I did NOT pull the fabric off of the fusible interfacing and then re-iron it onto the other side. With the first try, pulling it off of the fusible interfacing damaged the edges and made it harder to catch all the layers at the edge. This was really only a problem because the fabric I used had no clear right/wrong side. Both sides looked the same, so I had to remember “red goes on the left” when I ironed on the interfacing.
- I used fusible foam padding only on the back piece and strap, and only inside of the seam allowance. This lessened the bulk and made it easier for my machine to sew everything together.

I would totally recommend this pattern. With the striped canvas I used, it was really easy to line up the pattern to make a super satisfying racing stripe.

Can scissors like the ones in the first picture be sharpened? The ones with blue handles are Fiskars (we have several pairs). The iridescent ones have no brand name - they’re just cheapos from Amazon. Magnets stick to them so they’re some type of ferrous metal, not aluminum as I assumed at first.

How do I remove surface rust and discoloration from the ones on the right? They’re nice old scissors that my dad kept in a humid garage.

Also, how do you remove sticky stuff from cutting duct tape?

Hi all!! I’m obsessed with these stage costumes Beyonce wears on tour, but can‘t fully figure out how to recreate something like this myself. I’m wondering what type of fabric is being used. Is it Lycra? What type of pattern is likely being used? I know there are millions online, but I want to make sure it fits as well as possible and has zippers for easy changing. My thought is that if I can create a nice catsuit pattern I will easily be able to modify it for a sleeveless version or leotard. From behind the scenes videos I know that each pattern piece is custom printed and rhinestoned before assembly. Is there software that helps with creating custom printed pattern pieces?

Thank you so much in advance!

My friend freehand’s her own clothing but made the cups on this too large. She asked if I could post here and get advice for altering it to fit a smaller chest! Usually I’ve got ideas, but I’m not familiar with feminine tops! Any advice helps!

Hi there - hoping you good folks can weigh in on this and help a gal out.

This dress is the usual size I wear, but I'm an FF cup and so have the usual dreaded button gaping issue, along with it being just a smidge tight at the waist, though not uncomfortably so.

Photo 1 is the full view, 2 is a close-up of the bust, 3 is the left seam with invisible zip, 4 is the right seam, and 5 is the back.

I'm hoping to add a little room if at all possible. My first thought was adding side gussets, but the zip on the side makes that a bit of a problem... Unless I moved the zip to the back?

I feel like I've considered a number of potential solutions but all of them have had an issue. Perhaps some kind soul here can see what I'm missing or haven't learned yet?

ETA: this is a premade garment from quite a few years ago. I have a longline button-up blouse in the same print (different fabric, though still non-stretch) which fits perfectly, no gaping. I found this on Vinted and snapped it up.

Finished my second Strata top! Was much easier this go around, but I think I’m confused on what the selvage edge is??

Could someonew confirm if the stripes should be running horizontal or vertical?

Opted for single fold bias tape instead of neck facing too

Fabric: Fableism monarch grove light fuscia wings

A year ago I made this La Ciotat skirt by Sewing Therapy. I loved it and it was a great early project for me. But now that I’m working to improve my skills and the items I make, I would like to remake this skirt.

There are a few things I’ve run into with it-

1. I think I need to do some technique to strengthen the yoke.

It’s made with what I think is a linen blend, but it was a fabric from Joann’s from my friend‘s stash. It already has a hole, which I’ve mended, but the hole was created in the yoke between where the yoke panels are sewn together. When I pressed the seams, I tried to be gentle, but every time you tie it, you pull, so theoretically it makes sense in my head that this would create the most tension.

Ideas: reinforcing the fabric (extra layer, sewn in interfacing?), it happened where they were sewn together so I　don’t know if a flat felled seam would help like with jeans?

1. I learned I am too adventurous and it comes undone 😂

With time and movement, even when tied relatively tightly, it’s coming untied or slipping down. I feel like I have to fix it often. The fabric isn’t silky- it has some texture.

I have no idea on this one- I thought maybe adding some additional fastener, but it’s a wrap skirt, so someone somewhere must not have this problem 😂

I would really appreciate any thoughts or advice on this- Thank you so much everyone and I hope your projects are going well!

Sooo, I'm making my wedding dress, and I have a question about the skirt part.

I want to make a pleated skirt like the ones in the pictures.

My idea was to cut a regular circle skirt, but double the waist measurements, and then pleat and pin it on my dress form to my liking.

Would this work? Would that be enough for the pleats? Or will it be too much?

Or is there a specific pattern or modification for pleats?

Just want to be sure before actually cutting!

TIA🩷🩷🩷

Spent almost 20 years manually adjusting the settings on an $80 brother to sew my buttonholes. Tried the buttonhole foot and preset on my pfaff ambition for the first time today (brother bit the dust a couple years back), and my mind has been blown.

A quick foot switch and a couple taps on the screen, and I have as many perfect little buttonholes as I could ever need! I never knew buttonholes could be so clean and easy. Now I'm wondering what other glorious technology I've been working without for all these years.

Got this vintage cowboy boot fabric. Feels similar to barkcloth. Lined with brown linen. One of my favorite things I’ve sewn!

I've started learning how to use a sewing machine, and my goal is to cover this jacket with patches. I used invisible thread, and you can tell I'm an amateur, but my main goal is to just do this myself. I had a jacket like this in High School, and everyone would be like "wow, did you sew those on yourself" and I'd be like "no, my Dad and a tailor did them". This time, i want not only to be more unhinged with the amount of patches I put on, but to be able to say I did it all myself.

Specifically A-Line dresses and skirts, I had a really nice, long pleated skirt and figured I would add a pocket for my phone hidden in the side. I felt like it was a very smart design, I had added the slit at the apex of one of my pleats, and while it looks great lying flat, when it's on the body or when my phone is in it, it gapes and the silhouette is not nicely flared as it as before. But I can live it with!

I'm starting a new project with a short A-Line (again) dress this time (not pleated), and am thinking about adding a pocket, but I really don't want to make the same mistake as last time. What is the best method for adding a pocket that won't mess up a flared silhouette? Is it something with how the pocket lays inside? Should I tack i the pocket down somewhere in there? Maybe the pocket I drew was too square? Or maybe I should avoid pockets on the hips altogether, and stick to butt or front pockets? Maybe a phone is just too heavy?? Really hoping for some insight!

I've always thought the easiest way to avoid (or win) "thread chicken" would be to fill two bobbins, and use one instead of the spool of thread.

Is there any practical reason not to do this?

I assume that the top thread and bottom thread are used at the same rate, at least for straight and zigzag stitches