r/sewinghelp

I’m a street size US 18, hoping to lose a little bit of weight my wedding is May 2027. Would this dress fit me? I’m open to doing alterations!!! I’m having trouble finding/reading their sizing chart

I recently altered a skirt of mine that was too long and tried to mimick the original thin hemline. Problem is, it looks like I missed some of the folds covering the raw hemline when doing so, so it unfurled in the wash. It looks to be a pretty loose linen cotton blend fabric, a little stretchy (which would explain the looseness). I’m worried it will get worse with time and my stitches aren’t exactly the smallest nor tightest because I wanted to avoid puckering(I used a back stitch).

Is there a way to keep this from fraying further in the parts where it unfurled without making it uneven? I’d prefer not to have to shorten the skirt if I could help it.

Hi, I am trying to create a pattern for a dress like this for my little girls first birthday. I have the pattern pretty much sussed but I can’t for the life of me picture how this sort of sleeve would look laid flat. I’ve been searching ‘flutter sleeve’ but I’m not even sure that’s quite right. Any help, particularly pictorial would be much appreciated. Also any help to work out the calculations to create the arch at the top would be great as I’m more of a trial and error drafter 🥴. Thanks in advance!

Hi all,
I’m looking for some advice about some second-hand curtains I recently bought. I don’t have much experience with curtains, so I’m a bit lost!

We love the fabric and would really like to use them in our bedroom, but I’m not sure how they’re meant to be hung or what needs adapting. I think they’re pencil pleat curtains, but they don’t seem to have any of the cords or curtain hooks attached.

What would you recommend? Is there an easy way to get these ready to hang, or would it be better to have them reworked into standard pole-top curtains? Unfortunately, they’re not quite long enough for us to lose much fabric in the process.
Thanks in advance for any advice!

I fell in love with these trousers in a sale, but they were bigger that I’d usually wear. I want to take the inseam in about an inch, maybe an inch and a half but it’s double stitched. What’s the best way to take these in? I was just going to unpick and take in how much I was all along that seam so it keeps the shape but I’d like to keep the double stitch. I can do this easily when it’s sewn normally on the inside but never taken in a double stitch. Any advice? I’m using a heavy duty 4423. Thanks

I want to recreate the top in the first pic but I’ve never sewed gathers before. Anyone know any tutorials/patterns that could show me how to make that bust?

hi everyone! so i just bought a sewing machine and just used it tonight. i have no knowledge in sewing, except hand sewing for a bit in the past. i watched a lot of tutorials so i was confident - i decided to shorten my sweatpants as they were too long on me. now my stitches are all bunched up
please help! and any extra tips are appreciated!

edit: ive read all ur comments and THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! ur comments have been a huge help🥹 !!

I am trying to use a zig zag stitch to stitch this together. The problem is the stitch is only catching on one side. If I use different fabric it is fine but I’m not sure why it’s different or how to fix it. I tried cleaning the bobbin area, changing the needle, changing the tension but I’m not sure what else to do.

Hi! I want to make some flowers out of scrap fabric like these. Any idea how I can make them soft and squishy but still hold up their weight if I put them in a vase? I tried stuffing with batting but it’s not strong enough to stand upright. I don’t want to put something too hard in the stem because I still want it to feel soft like a plushie.

I’m making a Mr/Mrs banner for my cousin’s wedding and want something like the picture. I plan on using linen for the pennants and felt for the lettering. What weight linen should I use? I’ve never sewn with it before and just know I don’t want it to be flimsy. TIA!

Hi everyone! I come to you for a very specific bit of advice!

I am attending a wedding anniversary celebration from a couple of friends (a Bangladeshi and Portuguese couple). The theme is 100% Bangladeshi and we can wear what we’d like, but I’d love to wear a saree this time around (I bought a salwar kameez set for their wedding last year). I have other sarees, including a couple of pre-stitched sarees that I bought for conscience, in case I can’t manage to properly tie/pleat the regular sarees 😅 but I’d love to try.

Now, this is the one I’m planning to wear. It’s 100% silk and my husband bought it for me during a trip to Bangalore. Looking at saree “anatomy” online, I’ve identified the blouse piece at the end of the Pallu, which I assume is the rectangular piece with the gold flowers. The rest of the saree has paisleys.

My questions are:
- what’s the best way to finish the raw edge? A rolled hem? Baby hem? This is fairly stiff silk.
- in photo 2, is the border below the flower panel part of the pallu or the blouse piece? Where exactly should I cut?
- any tips for cutting the blouse? Do I follow a specific grain? Do I use the border for the border of the sleeves?
- I have a well fitting princess seam pattern that I was thinking of using for the blouse, but it has puff sleeves. I could alter, but are puff sleeves ok for a saree blouse?
- with a woven saree blouse, what types of fastening do you use? My pattern has an invisible back zip, but what would you suggest?
- do you line your blouses? If so, with what fabrics?
- are there specific techniques or patterns that you recommend?

Any other tips are much appreciated! Including any tips for pleating or styling this type of saree. As for the blouse style, most of the community is Muslim, so I’m going for a style with sleeves and not a lot of cleavage or back showing (not too cropped either).

One thing I need to mention is that I know I should have a fall attached to the bottom, but unfortunately I only realised this now and I have no way to source the matching fabric before the event this weekend. So it will have to do!

Thank you so much in advance.

I’m an advanced beginner, and recently completed my first mini patchwork quilt. I was mostly happy with it (my cat is very happy with it) until I started sewing the front of the binding. As you can see in the photo I had terrible bunching/bird nesting happen all the way around on the back. I tried ripping the seams out and going slowly and even changed the needle, but it kept happening the entire way around.

I intend to recreate a teeny little version to do some trial and error testing, but any information on what could be a likely cause would be great.

Do I need a different foot for the binding?
Is the stretch in the bedsheets a cause?
Is tension something to address?

Note, I used a regular foot that came with the machine for the entire quilt with a standard straight stitch and 1/4 seam allowance.The squares are 100% cotton. The batting is very thin 100% cotton. The backing and binding are old bed sheets with a tiny bit of stretch.

In fist time my English is bad.

I start sewing and In this image note irregularities stitch
How I correction that?

I try Regulator but doesn’t work

My machine is BROTHER DB2-B755-3

It’s been years since fashion school- my mind goes blank when trying to remember what methods to follow for certain fabrics…
I’m draping a tank top made with silk mesh (very see-thru). What is the best method for finishing the 2 separate bust pieces? Since the fabric is so transparent and id like to wear it out in public, I’m considering doing a double layer (bagging) the bust pieces. Can you do the bagging technique on silk? Please share what you think the next best step would be here! Thank you much!!

UPDATE: solved!

Changed bobbin to match the same thread in use. Adjusted tension up and down. Going at first at lower speed and then at higher speed. Same exact results every time. Why is this still happening?!?!?!

Hi all, I’m wanting to make a pouch that has a zipper install like this one but I cannot wrap my head around it. I am confused about the order of operations here, and more specifically how to attach the binding while simultaneously top stitching the top. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated