Questions tagged [sewing]
The craft of connecting two things using a needle and thread. This tag can cover all methods from hand-sewing to machine sewing. Questions specifically about specialty "sewing" crafts like embroidery or cross stitch should use those tags instead.
171
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Needle size for sewing floss design onto construction paper
I've made a bag out of thin, very old construction paper. It's about 5 inches tall, and 2 inches wide. I want to hand-sew a design with floss onto it. The floss is the texture of really tight yarn. I ...
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How to crop a T-shirt without it fraying
I have a plain cotton t-shirt that I need to crop for a costume. I was wondering what is the best method to cropping it without it potentially fraying without a sewing machine?
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Difficulty in Sewing T-Shirt Material Together
I am new-ish to sewing and do so purely on a practical/utilitarian basis (e.g. patching an old pair of jeans so I don't have to buy a new pair).
I have a lot of old cotton t-shirts I'd like to ...
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How to sew a rounded neckline on a men's thobe? [closed]
i wanted to know the pattern for sewing the rounded neck of this mens thobe, can someone send me a pattern or give me some clue about it, thanks in regard,
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What kind of fabric for an oilcloth hat?
I want to try and make an old-fashioned oilcloth hat shaped like this Dutch Harbor Souwester Hat. The base material is woven cotton, which I would waterproof using oil and wax.
When picking a fabric ...
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How to tailor jerseys?
Jerseys often get baggier over time. Their knitted material however makes me hesitant to even attempt to tailor them.
Assuming we're talking about factory-produced knitted jerseys, what is the best ...
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How can one interface satin?
Satin is notoriously difficult to work with, from puckering to fraying, from slipping to sliding.
Interfacing a fabric often allows for more structure, and often makes for an easier time sewing with ...
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I have an idea for a clothing concept. How I can mock my design so I can improve it?
I though an idea for some clothes, but I want to see whether my idea is looking good or not and create the rough sketch.
I made some rough doodles/sketches about my idea but I want to see if this idea ...
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What are the proper key terms for inner stitch, side-by-side stitch, and outer stitch?
I'm trying to research sewing but haven't managed to find the appropriate key terms.
There are three types of stitch I've seen: inner stitches, side-by-side stitches, and outer stitches. Examples are ...
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How to cut intricate patterns from velvet?
I want to recreate a certain type of costume:
Image source and copyright: Heimatmuseum Dahme
My specific problem is that the black stripes on the skirt are supposed to be velvet. As far as I know ...
Elmy♦
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How would you make a plushie's bottom flat?
If I just stuff it with whatever filling it's just gonna be a sausage, I need the belly to be flat, and the back convex. Is there filling\stuffing that comes in sheets maybe? Preferably the one that ...
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How to repair mattress tufting buttons
Our dog ripped out a number of loosely threaded tufting buttons from our mattress and I'm looking for advice on how to repair or replace them.
This is the loop that attaches them to the mattress:
...
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Can you sew your own tube yarn?
It seems like a fairly simple thing to do, but I haven't found a single DIY how-to online about making your own tube yarn. I don't mean "t-shirt yarn" or "fabric yarn," which I ...
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Friction against the needle sewing coated outdoor (waterproof) fabrics - lubrication?
I'm modifying/repairing a backpack, and have once again encountered a problem that's fairly common with outdoor gear. In this case it's exacerbated by sewing a very thick stack of fabric where seams ...
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Is it safe to cut into a stuffed futon mattress?
I am attempting to create plans for converting a regular futon frame and mattress into a slide out style sofa bed using the original parts of the futon, an additional iron twin bed frame, and ...
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Is this an actual, named, stitch?
Is this an actual stitch, or am I just hacking together a knot and a running stitch?
Thread needle through the fabric
Run the needle through the previous stitch (between the fabric and previous loop'...
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When do you serge with an open seam
If you are sewing two panels together and then pressing the seam allowance open , when do you serge the edges? Do you serge that end before stitching the two panels together, or do you stitch then ...
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How do I rescue a skirt that I attempted to lengthen but now has a very wavy hem?
I tried to upcycle a skirt by adding a lace trim to increase the length, but I think it sticks out like a sore thumb.
The skirt is straight but the hem below has extreme waves.
How can I flatten these ...
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When to chose jersey binding vs. bias binding
I recently had a problem with binding a rectangle of fabric with rounded corners. The fabric had a slight stretch to it and the corner was rounded off about an inch / 3 cm, so no sharp angle there.
...
Elmy♦
- 12.6k
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How to take the measurements of a plus-sized woman?
I'd like to make some clothes designed for my wife, who is plus-sized.
I understand the basics of bust, waist, high hip, hip, but I've never taken measurements before.
The differences I can see from ...
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Fraying hems on trousers
A perennial problem I have is that I often wear khaki/chino trousers and the hems fray.
Is there any way to repair this?
At one point I took some of these trousers to a tailor with some olive green ...
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1
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Connecting 5mm wide elastic bands in multiple locations
I have a project where I have two 5mm wide elastic bands (such as these ones) that I would like to connect in ten distinct locations that are seperate from each other.
So far, I have tried using ...
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Corset making: which material should I use for the boning?
I'm interested in historical costume making (or rather "historybounding": integrating historically inspired items of clothing into my day-to-day wardrobe). Currently I want to tackle making ...
Elmy♦
- 12.6k
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3
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What flattening technique is used when a pant / trouser length is altered?
When purchasing a new pant, it needs to be altered to the length of my leg. When I get the alteration at a branded store, the edge is nice and flat, as shown in the image below.
However, when I give ...
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2
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Needles for machine-sewing rubber
Now I have a sewing machine with a walking foot (Bernina Activa 145), I'm having another go at my upcycled bike inner tube wallet design (old question from when I tried hand-sewing it); the answer I ...
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Is there a way to "revive" or protect hand sewing needles from corrosion?
I often find myself hand sewing small seams or buttons, repairing a garment or embroidering something using standard hand sewing needles. After about 8 hours of active use, the needles start to become ...
Elmy♦
- 12.6k
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Captain America suit's raised surface pattern?
What is the technique/fabric technology to make raised surface pattern as seen on Captain America suits (see the image below)? At first sight, I thought it was quilting pattern, but upon closer ...
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How do I attach frilly extension of skirt using a sewing machine WITHOUT the thread appearing on the front of the skirt?
How do I attach frilly extension of skirt using a sewing machine WITHOUT the thread appearing on the front of the skirt?
Without sewing machine only alternative to sew on the frilly extension is to ...
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How can I attach fabric detailing to a dress?
I would like to add patches of material to a dress (95% cotton, 5% elastane), however I don't own a sewing machine and it would be a lot of work to sew by hand.
Essentially I just want to add shapes ...
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My grandma's fingers are becoming too old for knitting. What alternatives are there?
My grandma is getting old. She loves her knitting and needlework. Especially with less visitors coming to her retirement home in Covid times, it keeps up her spirits. But now she tells me her fingers ...
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Are you supposed to oil the upper thread tension discs on a sewing machine?
I am getting erratic behavior when I adjust the upper thread tension knob on my sewing machine. For example, no matter how slowly I adjust it, it's either too loose or too tight. Or during sewing the ...
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Adding a guy rope point mid-panel to a tarp, how should I sew to minimise the risk of tearing?
I have a lightweight bike-camping setup that involves a coated nylon tarp over the bike. I'd like to add some guys to improve the shape and stability, but this will require stitching attachment ...
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What is the best way to reinforce/mend a fraying elastic strap by hand?
I would like to mend the elasticized shoulder straps of a dress. The straps are fraying along the edges. The material of the dress is synthetic, with a close-knit weave and four-way stretch. I do not ...
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Why are needles designed for sewing thick canvas or heavy leather three-edged?
Needles designed for sewing thick canvas or heavy leather (e.g. on a traditional sailing ship) have a triangular point, see example 1 and example 2. (These needles are sometimes also called “rigging ...
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What type of sewing machine is appropriate for making heavy fabric bags?
I've been making custom bags, purses and totes out of heavy cloth fabrics for the last several years and have been struggling with my two home sewing machines (Brother CS6000i and Janome HD3000). I ...
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When should I cut fabric with scissors, rotary cutter, or knife?
Inspired by Can a pizza cutter cut through fabric? I started thinking. I tend to cut fabric with scissors, or occasionally a scalpel (x-acto knife) on a cutting mat. I used to have a rotary cutter, ...
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How can I identify/select a foam for stiffening a bag (buying online)?
I've started making my own bike luggage. The first is a simple zipped frame bag, unlined. Now that's finished successfully I want to make a full length toptube bag. Because these sit on top of the ...
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Are these fabric scissors?
I am new to sewing. I have a box of old sewing stuff (+ other stuff) from an older relative, which includes the two pairs of scissors below. Sewing tutorials say you need to use fabric scissors to cut ...
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What drawbacks would there be in drawing miniaturized patterns in a vector-image program and then scaling them up?
As a means of making demo sewing patterns I was thinking of making them with the use a program such as Inkscape and then scaling them up.
My idea is to use small scale designs, so I can rough them out ...
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How I can protype clothes without making them fullsize?
Recently, I came up with some ideas for clothes as gifts. But instead of making them full size and potentially wasting money, I thought of making some prototypes first as a means of displaying them ...
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How I can design a skirt pattern without taking measurements?
I am thinking of making a skirt as a birthday gift for my sister. Therefore taking measurements seems kinda impossible.
So is it recommended to use size charts in order to make the pattern instead, ...
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How I can calculate how much fabric I need to buy?
I am planning the materials I need for the skirt mentioned in my question here. It is a pencil skirt with false cuts and I want to order the appropriate amount of fabric.
But I do not know how I can ...
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1
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Is it a good idea to hand sew a denim pencil skirt with false cuts instead of using sewing machine?
I am thinking of making, as a gift, a custom pencil skirt with a false cut. I make a rough sketch in order to figure out the appearance of the skirt (the upper part of the image is how will look in ...
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What should I look for when I look for sewing machine needles?
I am thinking of buying new needles for my Silvercrest SNM 33 B1 sewing machine, but I do not know whether sewing machine needle have a specific compatibility with specific a sewing machine ...
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Why does the thread keep snapping on my Silvercrest sewing machine?
I started using my mom's sewing machine for the first time a Silvercrest SNM 33 B1 sewing machine, but the thread on it keeps snapping.
Why does this happen? Is it my needle's fault or are the threads ...
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135
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Hand Sewing Patch to Huge Elbow Holes in Sweater
I have a favorite (cashmere/lambswool) sweater from a fast fashion store that I sort of let go to seed from wearing it all the time. It now has huge elbow holes that go further up my arm where it gets ...
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What is the best way to decrease the circumference of a vest arm hole?
I created a vest from a jacket by removing the sleeves. Now I see that the vest arm holes are too big.
I have two ideas how to make the arm hole smaller I would like to know the best way.
My ideas so ...
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Curtains lined with the same material: where should I put the seam?
I'm making some small curtains with both sides facing inside the house (they're for a cabin bed). Normally the inside (fancy) fabric would be folded over and slightly larger than the lining fabric, ...
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Are all ruffles gathered, or are there different types of non-gathered ruffles?
Are all ruffles gathered, or are there different types of non-gathered ruffles? I am new to sewing and I was wondering if all ruffles are gathered or not. By ruffles, I mean the ruffles we often see ...
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How does Flanders ground connect to cloth stitch?
I am currently in the process of learning the five-hole ground used in Flanders bobbin lace. However, I can only find information on the ground, not on how to transition from the ground to cloth ...
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