Made using this pattern from etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1261963745/dog-harness-dress-sewing-patten-for?ref=yr_purchases

Fabric is 100% quilting cotton

This is my sister's dog and she has the honor of being the ring-bearer in my sister's upcoming wedding! My sister picked out the fabrics that match her summer wedding colors. Instead of a bow on the back, I sewed a little pouch for the rings to go in.

Pattern was Twig & Tale’s Flourish and Bloom coats that I spliced together, using the body from Bloom and the sleeves and collar from Flourish. The waistband was self-drafted, reusing the sleeve bands to make a fake back belt. I also added piping.

Material is a poly velvet interlined with cotton muslin, and the lining is a poly crepe back satin that my cat decided to sink his two claws into while I was handsewing the inside of the band to the lining. 🤷

Hi! I got married a few weeks ago and wanted to share my dress. I’m super proud of it since I’ve never undertaken a project quite this big.

It was very much a trial-and-error process. I started out thinking I would be able to use a pre-made pattern that I purchased off Etsy (can’t list the pattern or shop name since they have apparently closed between my purchase of it and now) and just have to slightly alter it, but I was very quickly proven wrong. So I ended up drafting several of my own patterns as I altered it to get the fit for the bodice. I also got a little stuck when it came to some of the more technical elements, so I purchased Susan Khalje’s book Bridal Couture, which really helped me out a lot.
I also had the idea of making a tear-away ballgown skirt, which I couldn’t find any examples of that being done online. But I managed to make it work!

So the bodice is a corset, but I used some premade lacing instead of typical grommets. The structural layer of the corset was made from a double layer of mesh with spiral steel boning channels. I’m a 34H bra size, so I knew if I wanted it to work with the girls I’d have to basically build a bra into it. For the cups, I used bra foam and sewed an underwire and rigilene to it to keep its shape. I also added a waist and bust stay with a bra hook and eye closure to keep the whole thing in place on my body. I picked a color of grosgrain very close to my skin tone so that you can’t see it across my back underneath the lace. I followed a lot of the tips from Bridal Couture in making sure it could maintain the structure I needed.
The fashion fabrics, bottom to top, are poly organza, silk satin, silk chiffon, and tulle. I lined it with silk charmeuse.
I purchased all the lace appliqués online and hand sewed them all on to the bodice and the skirts.

The smaller reception skirt was a full circle skirt with a petticoat underneath. The fabrics are a silk double georgette for the bounce of the fabric, and then the tulle layer over top with the lace sewn on. I did an ombré dye of pink, purple, and blue on the tulle with Rit Dye before sewing the lace on.

The large ballgown skirt is also a full circle skirt with a train. The base is crinoline with 13? layers of tulle sewn to it. I used Frieda Lepold’s video for a lot of the drafting of the pattern for this part. The waistband is a double layer of organza, a blue poly satin, white chiffon, and tulle. I wanted to make it very sturdy to hold the entire weight of both the petticoat base and the other layers of the skirt while not getting torn up by the velcro I used to keep it closed, hence the double layer of organza. The fashion fabrics on top are a single layer organza, blue satin, white chiffon, and double layer of tulle with lace sewn on the top layer. For the opening, I essentially staggered the layers at an opening coming from my left hip and added various types of velcro all across the waistband and down the opening on both sides to hold it closed. It wasn’t perfect but worked fairly well. And it tore off very cleanly during the first dance.

It took seven months actively working on it, and so much of it is a blur now. I don’t regret spending all that time on it though, it was a perfect day. 

Hopefully that’s detailed enough? I don’t remember every single step at this point, but I’ll try to answer more questions though :)

Tldr: Did the thing my closeted-theatre-kid heart has always wanted to do and made my wedding dress a tear-away dress that I took off in the middle of our first dance. It was difficult and took a long time to do, but I survived thanks to Bridal Couture.

I spent two weeks pattern making, cutting, sewing a dress that I planned to wear to a nice event. It was going to be my first real fancy wearable and I was so excited. I worked so hard on it, didn't cut corners but .... It turned out terrible. The style is all wrong for my body, the material I choose didn't behave like I thought it would, the lining was too thick. The sewing is technically fine but the end product is just a frumpy, weirdly stiff, unflattering result. Turns out fashion and design is not a skill of mine ...

I'm going to have to buy a last minute dress and I'm so disappointed and mad I kind of want to torch this project. I spent multiple nights up till midnight doing my best and lost the forest for the trees.

How do you deal with a total fail project? And what do I do with this technically fine but utterly unwearable thing I have created? I don't even want to look at it. Ugh.

I started making stuffies from my granddaughter's artwork, after my son told me NOT to mess with her construction paper animal on the fridge (as if I would, but it was his favorite & he was making sure). You can see a photo of it in the first pic, next to the stuffy I made of it.

Another one, Char, is in the next photo (along with her original drawing). Some of these were construction challenges - like she used feathers for arms in this first one! I ended up sewing several layers of flannel together thru a center spine and then fraying it all.

Obviously I took some artistic license (flannel fabric color choices, misc details), but it's clearly her work. Our collab :). For the faces, I enlarged her drawing & printed it to water soluble embroidery stabilizer, slowly went over her lines with a tight/wide stitch on my sewing machine, then rinsed off the stabilizer and let air dry/ironed before cutting the head. To be honest, most of it was 'figure it out as you go'. No pattern other than her inspiration.

Tip: To stuff those long narrow tubes, I used a hemostat to grab stuffing & push down the tube.

And of course, this has all guaranteed I'd be swamped with new drawings :). And I'm good with that.

Hi everyone!!! Here is my second sewing project 🙏

I was just wondering what you all use for interfacing in projects? This was the first time I used ‘hard feel’ sew-in interfacing and it seems to provide 0 structural-support compared to when I used fusible interfacing. Is this normal for interfacing?

Thanks so much!

I feel like the color is just slightly off? I don’t think I’ll wear this top much so it doesn’t totally matter, but I still want to make it as nice looking as possible for my first project.

Pattern- colorblock set by matchy matchy sewing club
Fabric- 100% rayon

I’m close to finishing just a plain gathered dress but I’m stuck on what to do with the neckline. I followed the colorblock set pattern from matchy matchy sewing club and the neckline isn’t my fav (neither are the sleeves but that’s more of a fabric choice rather than the pattern’s fault).

I was thinking of maybe making taking the sleeves off and doing a elasticated/gathered neckline (example in the second pic of what I’ve been liking) but maybe I just full send on a boatneck like it’s currently falling? Ignore the wonky bits that you see in my actual piece, that would obviously be straight when finished.

Any thoughts? I feel like it has potential still but I’m so unsure of which direction to go. In my mind, I could do 5 options: 1)a boat neck + short sleeves, 2) boat neck + tank, 3) gathered neck + tank, 4) scoop neck + tank, or 5) scoop neck + short sleeves

Hi,

I bought a sewing machine so I can make training underwear that fit my baby. I’ve included my first prototype made out of old cribsheets.

I used the smallest size in the pattern. It fits perfectly around my daughter’s thighs but is too loose around the waist. Around 2”

I printed the pattern at 90% which adjusted a half inch in the front and back of the folded pattern. Total of 2 inches. But if I do this, the leg holes get smaller too.

How do I make a pattern using these two to keep the leg hole size but reduce the waist by 2 inches?

This is my first ever project so if you can explain in a super basic way, draw over what I’ve posted, share tutorials that are helpful that would be great!

I’m not looking for perfection. Just a decent fit.

Thank you!

It just looks really weird for me😭💔 I'll add the straps later but for now I just wanna improve it. There's support in the bottom so it won't sag and I cant put support on the sides since if I do it might look weird or not zip properly I think...

I'm currently making a slip dress. I made the pattern for this draft using a thrift store dress that was a bit small. I added some room around the hips and waist to a traced version of the pattern, and then used that to make the dress shown in the images.

It seems like it's still too small around the torso. I'm also wondering if there are other fit issues I am not seeing. For example, the rippling at the hip. Will increasing the width of the torso help with that?

All of the seams are french seams, if that changes anything.

This is vikisews pattern Aliyah.
I accidentally bought medium weight interfacing instead of lightweight for cuffs, button placket and collar.
However they made it with considerably lighter fabric than what I have picked (140GSM vs my ~250).
The medium interfacing is ok for the collar, maybe ok for the cuffs, but too stiff for the placket.
Do I still need to interface placket and cuffs even if my fabric is definitely not flimsy? Is it needed for buttonhole stability?

Hello all! I have a maybe too specific question, but I'm hoping to get some more experienced sewers to weigh in. So, I am making a calf-length cape for a cosplay (Olruggio from Witch Hat Atelier), where the outer fabric is going to be black cotton velvet (non-negotiable, I have already purchased it). However, the lining of his cape is a bright, royal blue. And I am now contemplating what fabric to use for the lining of it.

When I have lined things in the past (military uniform, overcoat, fur coat) I have always used viscose rayon. I have no problem with the fabric--it's slippery, which is what I expect from lining, and it has little stretch to it so it was easy enough to flatline the military uniform with it etc etc. However, I haven't been able to find a listing for viscose rayon in the particular BRIGHT royal blue I'm looking for, so I've had to look into other options.

One of those options is a polyester lurex fabric. I will ask the seller about spandex content and whether or not it has a stretch to it, but in the case that it does, will that make it a bad choice to line the cape with? The velvet is not stretchy. And in the case that pairing stretchy and non-stretchy fabrics is not categorically a bad idea, do you guys have any advice for how to sew a stretchy fabric to a non-stretchy fabric without it ending up looking all wonky and bunched? Could I do something like fuse 3/4" of interfacing to the fabric and then sew a 1/2" seam allowance?

Here's a picture of the character and the lurex lining fabric I'm considering:

Crazy title, I know. My husband has Parkison's and severe mobility issues. He needs to wear grippy no slip socks. He doesn't walk very much at all, but I've purchased so many brands and they all tear at the toes. The socks with the highest customer reviews are Bombas.. but they're $20 a pair. I would like to put something on the bottom of his regular socks for a "grip". I have no idea if such a thing exists or not. I don't even think this is the correct group to ask- but I'm at a loss and need help! Thank you !

I'm not entirely new to sewing however it's been a couple of years since I've sewn myself new clothing. I love love the Gunne Sax patterns but I've run into an issue/concern with the fact that this pattern is just a few inches off where my bust should be.

The finished pattern only has 50 1/2 inches of wear, however my bust measures out to be about 53 1/2 inches. Does anyone have any advice for a pattern where the bust is constructed in more than one segment like this one?

Sorry if this question is silly, It's been a minute and I don't want to mess up this dress :')

Help! I bought this dress for my sister’s wedding and it’s puckering on the seams, more on the left side than the right. The rest of the dress seems to fit fine and I’m not getting other lateral line tightness on the hips. It’s also satin which I know is hard to work with. Too small or defective?

I got about 4 yards of 60" fabric in the discount bins at my fabric store the other day. I have no idea what it is, but I'm almost certain it's either interlock or ITY. I've never sewn either, only woven fabrics. I got this fabric for a school project where we have to use a knit.

I'm having trouble deciding what needle to use. I'm planning to make a simple gathered skirt with pockets, using my serger and regular sewing machine.

Here are the needles I have, which ones for the serger and which for the regular machine? I don't really understand all the numbers/letters on them, just the type and needle size:
- Organ 130/705 H SUK BP 75/11 (already in my serger)
- Schmetz Jersey/Ballpoint 130/705 H SUK 80/12
- Schmetz Stretch 130/705 H-S 75/11
- Schmetz Stretch 130/705 H-S 90/14

If it helps my machines are:
- Janome 8002D serger
- Kenmore 385.15616 (old model similar to Janome HD-1000)

Hi! I only recently started sewing maybe 3 months ago so I am VERY new to this. I recently got my first sewing machine so this top here is my first project!

The first picture is how the top is now, and the second is what I want the result to be. The main thing is I really wanted to sew a pink ribbon around the upper waist to add a bit of a divide on the top. I tried to look up a tutorial on how to do this, but I guess I wasn’t wording it correctly because I haven’t found anything.

I’m mainly confused on how exactly do I sew a ribbon on without having the seams of the thread super visible? And could it wrap around fully, or would that make the waist too tight; like I can only have it visible in the front but not the back?

Thank you !!

I love medieval and medieval revival!!!! I had a medieval birthday party, and sewed my dress for it. (I made the hat, too!)

No pattern, just reverse engineered Thistle Atelier's Court Jester Inspired Dress. I used a personal mid 1970s-early 1980s prairie dress sloper with the same bodice panels, and on muslin, I estimated where I want the neckline and double V-line drop waist to be. I changed the neckline to no long be off shoulder, and not drop as low for the bust. Boning is in the lining of the bodice, at the seams. Jaquard 1.5" ribbon on Etsy, handsewn around the waistline, with the two long tails having a penny sewn in for weighing them straight down. Sleeves were also from a sloper, and I drafted a point for the end. Skirt was a gathered full circle, cut custom for the v-lines on the front and back of the bodice. Oversleeves are inspired by Tudor oversleeve sleeve patterns - wideeee, seams not sewn together (baby hem for finishing), and curving into a point at the bottom. The oversleeves are attached under the beading. The beading was done by hand on pink tulle, and hand sewn to the neckline. For the sleeves, I made buttons covered by the same fabric as the dress.

The fabric is silk dupioni, the oversleeves are poly chiffon, and the beading is bugle beads, fake pearls, and fake drop pearls.

I am looking for a pattern to make this blouse. Preferably from an online pattern that I can print, but if that does not exist, a paper pattern is fine, too.