General chat thread for BB girls who like sewing

**Sopdet** · November 28th, 2012, 09:35 AM

I'm babysitting a friend's machine so am going to pull out my material and start making clothes.

I want to make a pair of shorts to wear to Day on the Green on Saturday, just simple ones with an elastic waist.

**Astrid** · November 28th, 2012, 04:40 PM

Forgot about this thread. I am sewing again!!!

First finished project - reversable, wrap circle skirt. Not bad, think my fabric choice was not quite right, so it wont be that reversible, one of the fabrics it just a tad too sheer. Don't think DH is that impression

Next project - a line skirt for wear around the house. Have the fabric, washed and ironed. Forgot to buy a zip, but then thankfully found one in the sewing kit just the right colour and length. Oh, worked out the pattern for this one myself from looking at an existing skirt, as well as looking at tutorials for similar skirts online

Future - skirts and dresses for DD2. She is such a girlie girl, loving dresses, but such a tom boy in that she just destroys/dirties everything she wears. So if I can knock her up something from scraps, she gets something new, that I wont mind being a bit trashed!

Have a bit of a pattern stash, plus I can sometimes work out a pattern for myself.

**Sopdet** · November 30th, 2012, 10:31 AM

one of my mates is coming to stay tonight, he is a gun at hand-stitching (he is a reenactor) so going to get him to help me make something tonight.

**HotI** · November 30th, 2012, 11:16 AM

i took some time out from my sewing 'list' to make something fun. turtle (800x600).jpg

**Sagres** · November 30th, 2012, 11:21 AM

I've got into sewing a bit more lately. Recent projects have been a dresses for DD1 and DD2 for their birthday parties - DD1 a colour block June bug (does that make sense to people??) and a basic tunic with a frill for DD2. I've also made a quilt for DD1s big girl bedroom and some other bits and pieces with the same fabric (cushions, hair tie and clip holder thingy). I've made a couple sets of soft blocks for friends who have had babies (different texture material 'sides' and tags) and at the moment I'm doing some very basic pants for the girls for child care - very light cotton so cool on hot days but more sun smart than shorts.
I have a back log of projects - almost all clothes for the girls! Some basic cotton summer dresses and some dresses for Christmas day. More than one Shwin&Shwin pattern is on the list

**TeniBear** · November 30th, 2012, 01:19 PM

Stuffed up a dress yesterday trying to be fancy. It's now a rather lovely skirt instead

**Sagres** · December 14th, 2012, 11:34 AM

Stuffed up a dress yesterday trying to be fancy. It's now a rather lovely skirt instead

I had my own moment like this last week, some how my cutting for DD1s pants went a bit wrong and they didn't fit her - but hey presto a couple adjustments and DD2 had a nice new pair of pants

**BrightSparkles** · November 30th, 2012, 01:23 PM

Where do you girls find kids clothes patterns? I'm thinking about some pants/skirts/dresses etc

Also, do you have to use an over locker? I don't have one.

**Sagres** · November 30th, 2012, 01:32 PM

Tenibear that sounds like something I would do LOL!

BrightSparkles if you look on pinterest you can find lots of patterns people have pinned. Also Etsy has some good patterns to buy.
Other than that I have a few bloggers that I like and follow them on fb and see when they do a new pattern. At the moment the ones on my list are 'Craftiness is not optional', 'Shwin&Shwin' and 'Sewing in no mans land' (all girl focused). They tend to have a combination of patterns you can buy, some free patterns and free tutorials. Once you get your nose into some of the sewing blogs you tend just find other ones that they link to.

No you don't have to have an overlocker, I don't have one and just use the trusty old zig zag stitch.

**TeniBear** · November 30th, 2012, 02:27 PM

Where do you girls find kids clothes patterns? I'm thinking about some pants/skirts/dresses etc

Also, do you have to use an over locker? I don't have one.

I've bought a couple of patterns at Spotlight and Lincraft, but I haven't made anything from them yet. If you want, I can PM you the link to the tutorial I've used for Amelia's dresses? Once I had the basic one down, I started playing with it to make it my own

The way I make them now only bears a passing resemblance to the ones in the tutorial. I make the skirts more ruffle-y

I find almost all my projects on Pinterest now

**Mrs P** · November 30th, 2012, 03:23 PM

Teni could you please pm me the link too? I'm a learner but getting into sewing for DD

thanks!!

I also look on pinterest a lot. Recently made a dress from a kwiksew pattern and it turned out pretty well but took about 6 hours (well two of my three hour classes I do sporadically!).

**Abigail** · November 30th, 2012, 04:17 PM

Ive recently gotten back into the sewing side of things.

This is a Christmas dress made for one of our girls. Click here - Free pattern online "The Party Dress" I just didnt do the sash. :P

And a reversable vest - can't wait to do this in pin stripes... Click here - also a free pattern.

**HotI** · November 30th, 2012, 05:13 PM

i found the party dress, where did you get the vest pattern?

**Abigail** · January 4th, 2013, 01:39 PM

i found the party dress, where did you get the vest pattern?

Sorry Hoti - I got it from here - Vest pattern.

Does anyone have any idea about a sewing machine that the bobbin side thread keeps pulling up and not laying flat? Ive tried adjusting the tensions. It happened all of a sudden and picks and chooses when it wants to do it. Will a service fix this? I currently have two machines with the exact same issue.

**HotI** · January 4th, 2013, 01:56 PM

Abigail - are you using the same bobbin in both machines? If the bobbin is not wound evenly, it can come out uneven as you sew and therefore be intermittently loose/tight.

**Mother Goose** · November 30th, 2012, 05:30 PM

I need sewing lessons. Where did you girls learn to sew? I failed home ec in school... I sew very very very basic quilts at the moment. But I want to be able to do things like skirts and dresses...

**TeniBear** · November 30th, 2012, 05:40 PM

I'm pretty much self-taught, I read the instructions to my sewing machine thoroughly and look at a lot of tutorials online. If I don't know what a word or phrase means, I just google it.

I've only just started on clothes about a month and a half ago, before that was simple bags which were atrocious in themselves

I want to do proper classes.

Just got back from Spotlight. Geez I spend too much money there! I only wanted a couple metres of one cheap fabric and I ended up with ten metres of various different fabrics, as well as some elastic and 50 refills for my glue gun

This is why I always ask if DH or my mum want to come with me, I can curb my spending if I have a chaperone!

**~Kim~** · November 30th, 2012, 06:20 PM

Adapt and overcome Teni! Well done

I stuff lots of stuff up. I either change the original vision or bin it lol.

MG mainly self taught here too. My mum used to sew and I learned a lot from here when I was a kid, but didn't really come back to it until the last couple of years.

Sagres, thanks for those blogs!!! Awesome patterns on there.

Abigail, love the vest!

BrightSparkles, mainly online for me too. I find the paper patterns you can get at the major fabric stores now are usually outdated or tricky or daggy or not what you want.
Try; Make it and Love it, Prudent Mama, You Can Make This, MADE page, Little Bird Patterns, Melly Sews, Ucreate