17
votes
Accepted
How can I finish stitching those last few inches?
You have two options: Prettier - the Ladder Stitch, and Stronger - the Baseball Stitch.
First, the Ladder Stitch.
Quoting the linked site:
First, poke your threaded and knotted needle through ...
- 820
16
votes
Permanently mark pin placement for shirt
Sharpie might work, but will have some bleed on the fabric when applied that may cause the mark to spread farther than would be covered by the pins. Additionally, while you want something "permanent" ...
- 3,902
11
votes
Accepted
Durable T-shirt design methods
This is an article that I have posted on my website for quite some time. I hope you find it helpful.
Plastisol / Screen Printed Transfers
These are transfers that are screen printed by an outside ...
9
votes
How can I affix keyboard keys to a suit jacket?
The simplest approach is a hot needle.
Hold a rather thick needle with pincers (pretty much any kind) and heat it up - stove fire will take seconds to make it glowing hot, but a candle flame should ...
- 820
9
votes
How to crop a T-shirt without it fraying
T-Shirt fabric does not fray. Fraying is a property of woven fabrics; most t-shirts are made of a jersey knit that resists fraying. It may shed a few loose pieces, but it's a very resilient fabric ...
- 3,902
9
votes
How to crop a T-shirt without it fraying
Everything Allison C mentioned in their answer is correct, but if you don't want the t-shirt to curl up at the edge, you can try iron-on interfacing.
The default interfacing is non-stretch and coated ...
Elmy♦
- 12.6k
8
votes
How can I splice the tail of my tie and have it not look terrible?
To prevent (actually: to minimise) fraying, you can use zig zag scissors known as pinking shears.
And you can use non-woven interfacing. Make sure you choose a type that has a pre-glued side. You ...
- 1,999
8
votes
How can I splice the tail of my tie and have it not look terrible?
You need to stiffen the fibres so that the thread does not tear though them while you are sewing.
Clear nail polish
I ended up buying a small container and applied in all along the edges of the tie ...
- 11k
8
votes
Accepted
Reviving wool from possible moth damage
A quick hack would be to roughen up the bare patches with an old toothbrush or the coarse side of a Velcro strip. Try to treat only the bare patches like this, and be extra careful at the edges ...
Elmy♦
- 12.6k
7
votes
Efficient cutting and preparation of fabric for sewing clothing
I would hesitate to cut my fabric into smaller pieces for storage, just because I can pretty much guarantee that as soon as you cut your fabric, the universe will send you the perfect pattern for that ...
- 1,576
7
votes
Accepted
Does this type of hemming have a name, and is it fixable by hand?
The "Stitching" on the edge of your sleeve, is actually a strip of fabric, that was folded around the raw edge of the loden cloth, and sewn to the loden cloth.
This strip of fabric is called "...
- 396
7
votes
Fabric alternative for leather
Waxed cotton has the weight and drape. Here's a wiki link https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waxed_cotton
Another benefit to waxed cotton is its ability to "heal". Once punctured leather, pleather, and ...
- 1,639
7
votes
How to crop a T-shirt without it fraying
If you want a flat edge similar to the bottom hem of a t-shirt, you can use iron-on hemming tape.
This is a strip of extremely thin fabric, coated in glue that melts when you iron it. You just:
cut ...
- 6,594
6
votes
Accepted
What materials can be used to fill a puffy jacket?
After asking around, I had suggestions for:
Poly fill
Down
Flannel
Wool
Batting
Poly fill and down seem suitable for very puffy jackets (source), but didn't fit my vision of this particular one - ...
- 2,385
6
votes
Accepted
How can I trace a pattern from a top with darts?
If the dress is ready for replacement, you can remove the seams. You don't have to remove all of them, just the ones so the fabric can be layed down flat. I wouldn't recommend removing seams if you ...
- 1,999
6
votes
How can I affix keyboard keys to a suit jacket?
If you look closely at the images, you'll see the keys seem to float above the surface of the jacket a bit. I don't see an evidence of the keys being sewn directly to the fabric with side-holes, ...
- 436
6
votes
Accepted
Creative embroidery technique to fix a damaged knitted sleeve
I know this is not an embroidery solution per se, but what about binding the edges of the sleeve with something like a light weight felt (use real wool felt, not the kind you played with as a kid), ...
- 1,576
6
votes
Accepted
Topstitching the inside AND outside seam of pants
Since this was mass-produced clothing, they probably do have a special machine for it! You can see an example in action around 2:45 in this video "How It's Made: Jeans". They're using a machine like ...
- 2,385
5
votes
What wire other than 1.6 mm stainless will work for chain mail?
I made a butted link hauberk some years ago out of galvanized steel wire (the stuff I got was used in repairing fences - 20 gauge). Not as shiny as other materials but I felt it was more authentic ...
- 311
5
votes
Does this type of hemming have a name, and is it fixable by hand?
In order to answer, I want to back up a minute, and explain a bit about how loden fabric is made. Loden is a type of felted/fulled wool fabric, which means that an original fabric is created by ...
- 1,576
5
votes
How can I make yarn from an old t-shirt and does the material matter?
It depends on what you're making with it. When you're dealing with seamless T-shirts, I'd start at the bottom. Cut the hem off, then go around and around cutting about an inch (2.5cm) in one ...
- 91
5
votes
How can I add an internal pocket to pants that don't have one?
You could sew a passepoil pocket (I don't know if there is a more common way to call it in English), and maybe use a zipper to close it. If there is a seam at the side, you might want to use that as ...
- 1,999
5
votes
Can I patch up a straw hat?
Your hat has a very open structure, so, to fix a hole invisibly is hard/impossible, as you need to weave in material where it's missing, but then you got a double amount of material at the edge of the ...
- 1,999
5
votes
Fabric alternative for leather
Check your local thrift and goodwill stores. You might be able to find a suitable sized duster which only needs a little repair, some leather treatment or a good cleaning to fill the bill.
If not, ...
- 3,235
5
votes
How to make adjustments to a PVC raincoat?
I'd recommend you head to a camping supply store
(like REI or Academy ) and pick up some tent repair tape.
Its usually rip-stop nylon with adhesive on the back.
It will reinforce the pvc so you can ...
- 311
5
votes
Accepted
"Set-in" vs "Flat" sleeve sewing -- is there really a difference?
To be absolutely honest, the difference is marginal in most (but not all) cases.
You probably won't even notice any difference in:
short sleeves
wide or baggy garments (like a tunic or pirate blouse)
...
Elmy♦
- 12.6k
5
votes
How to avoid gaps between stitches in crocheted clothes
I crochet swimwear and I have observed that if I crochet tighter, it reduces the space significantly between stitches. The type of stitch is probably the biggest factor contributing to holes though. ...
- 317
5
votes
What kind of T-shirt is this?
I think what you have there is a microfibre eyelet Dri-Fit garment.
This weave is often referred to as "eyelet" (or an eyelet fabric), as well as (mock) eyelet. I have not been able to find ...
- 10.6k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible