"Sew cool!" sewing appreciation thread

Mintyeon

Mintyeon

♧ Soft and Sweet! I'm a real treat! ♧ ,,>~<,,
Joined
Jun 19, 2019
Messages
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I've noticed that there are quite a few sewists on the post so I thought I'd make a place for us to congregate and discuss the topic of sewing! <3

Here's my story!
I became obsessed with learning how to sew at the age of 9 when I found a needle and a spool of thread!

My first project was repairing my sister's Barbie Princess and the Pauper singing Erika's dolls dress which had popped a seam in the bodice.

How I repaired it was I went around and around in a loop between the two broken seams creating an almost darning effect on the front with the dress on the doll to repair it.

it was a mess but it worked! I think I still have it somewhere!

the next thing I did was try to make my own Erica dress using an old t-shirt and a different Barbie dress, I'm pretty sure I still have that dress as well as the sketch I drew up for my design.

then I made Barbie bags using cardboard scotch tape and t-shirt fabric!

after that, I got a sewing machine for my 12th birthday a (real pos) Walmart brother and I sewed Barbie clothing on that till my needle broke!

I didn't know how to replace a sewing machine needle so I stopped using the machine and went back to hand sewing where in I made an entire fashion line for my sister's teacup piggies!

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how I made the dresses was I cut out a rectangle rolled the Hem sewed it by hand, rolled the top hem, created an elastic Channel threaded an elastic through, and close the ends creating a skirt Loop!

then I made them cute little matching rectangle bows where you wrap the string around the middle of a rectangle to make a bow it had an elastic loop sewn to the back to make it attach to the pig's ear!

I also made teacup piggy jackets my little sister was very spoiled with lots of handmade outfits for her toys!

then when I turned 19 I got my current Brother sewing machine for Christmas! The brother se425 and it sews like a dream!

much better than what I started with!

I mostly use it for repairing things though as I have a hard time sourcing large quantities of fabric I've never had much money so I've gotten creative using old clothes to create things on my sewing machine!

How I learned to sew!
I needed to be taught how to thread the hand-sewing needle,
And there was a DVD that came with my first sewing machine that taught you how to thread the machine and wind a bobbin that's it!

Everything else I Learned was completely self taught.
I didn't have access to youtube or the internet till I was 18 and my mom didn't know how to sew so I kind of made it up as I went using my clothing as a reference point for how things were put together!
 
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This is a sweet idea! Anyone working on any projects? Non-cosplay, since we have another thread for that.
I'm making some curtains for my parents' laundry room which is kind of an enclosed porch. I like the fabric pattern we picked out and have been doing my best to pattern-match the panels that are getting joined out of two pieces. I got these two joined edges looking almost perfect!!

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Sadly my machine has been sewing seams a bit too tight despite all my fiddling and the repair shop hasn't detected the problem yet because they never sew a long enough seam. So the neat and tidy flat-felled seam I sewed wants to curl in a spiral instead of hanging straight. SIGH. It's fine, really, I'm just really picky about my own work.

Oh I love your story @Mintyeon! I didn't see you added it until just now. It's so adorable you made clothes for your sister's piggie, I hope she loved and appreciated them!

I'll add my sewing history too!

I grew up in a family of makers and creatives who themselves grew up without much money and enjoyed fabricating the things they wanted or needed. So my grandpa made everything from cabinets to kids wagons to functioning model steam locomotives you could ride on. My grandma and my mom sculpted with clay and sewed. Grandpa made me a sturdy dollhouse and I'd come to grandma with something like the box blank checks came in and ask her for help turning it into a sofa or a bed for my house. She always had a lot of fabric scraps in her stash, but I was afraid for a long time of the fast moving needle of the sewing machine so she showed me the basics of a needle and thread and I made little pillows for the fabric-covered boxes of the sofa and bed. I think I sewed something on her old treadle machine once. Everything was pretty crude. I kept up with it when I shifted into Barbies, made them really simple sleeveless dresses out of stretchy knits with nice floral prints on them. I think I made a tiny t-shirt once and some skirts. The things I made I tended to bond with, and I think I got addicted to that feeling because I still chase it now when I'm crafting.

I never really learned to sew "for real" until I was an adult. (long history of letting my little fears get in the way of doing something fun or useful sooner in life... don't be me!!) I had always been into costumes and my mom helped me make some great halloween costumes. Eventually I was living too far away to ask for her help with them, but also closer to conventions where costumes were welcome at different times of the year. That really spurred me to figure it out. I sewed a big part of my first cosplay by hand, until I decided it was time to finally learn a sewing machine, and my mom handed me down a Singer Stylist that was slightly older than me. I brought it home on an airplane, and got serious. For the past 12 years or so I've been using a Babylock Crafters Choice machine I've loved, and will continue to love if the shop can sort out what's going on with tension. And the Singer is still with me but her motor may be going so I'm cautious with her.

Since my first attempts I've constantly been absorbing knowledge from the internet and friends and books, and trying different things.

New friends who were also into sewing, historical research, theater, and film, were wonderful to bounce ideas off of, inspire each other, and help with projects. I wound up assisting a friend with costumes for a big stage production of 101 Dalmations: Kids! sewing like 50 dog costumes and 1 cat, lol. That production got me comfortable with sewing fast and using unfamiliar sewing machines. That friend later brought me in on a bunch of indie and short film wardrobes and props. Only a few of them ever debuted because film is like that, but we did our part!

The majority of sewing I've done has been costumes for myself and others, but I'll try anything I have a need for. I love the feeling of getting something puzzled out and assembled with care. It's great to get together with a friend and help push through on a costume with a deadline.

Ok I've gone on LONG enough haha! If you love sewing tell us why!
 
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Jellybean said:
This is a sweet idea! Anyone working on any projects? Non-cosplay, since we have another thread for that.
I'm making some curtains for my parents' laundry room which is kind of an enclosed porch. I like the fabric pattern we picked out and have been doing my best to pattern match the panels that are getting joined out of two pieces. I got this seam looking almost perfect!!

[editing in a minute to add pics from my other device]

Sadly my machine has been sewing seams a bit too tight despite all my fiddling and the repair shop hasn't detected the problem yet because they never sew a long enough seam. So the neat and tidy flat-felled seam I sewed wants to curl in a spiral instead of hanging straight. SIGH. It's fine, really, I'm just really picky about my own work.
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That sounds amazing really looking forward to the fabric pics!

And my machine is so freaken sensitive about what needle it uses I have to perfectly match my needle and fabric types otherwise I see the bobbin thread on the top!

What kind of machine do you have?

I've got a brother se425 because I wanted to make custom embroidery patches to sell on Etsy but never got around to it because the other supplies I needed totaled to around 150$ and I'm like "I'll get around to it eventually!" lol it's a lot of money to spend on supplies for me being a thrifty crafter!

Oh btw does anyone on the post own a mlp sewing machine?
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Mintyeon said:
That sounds amazing really looking forward to the fabric pics!

And my machine is so freaken sensitive about what needle it uses I have to perfectly match my needle and fabric types otherwise I see the bobbin thread on the top!

What kind of machine do you have?

I've got a brother se425 because I wanted to make custom embroidery patches to sell on Etsy but never got around to it because the other supplies I needed totaled to around 150$ and I'm like "I'll get around to it eventually!" lol it's a lot of money to spend on supplies for me being a thrifty crafter!

Oh btw does anyone on the post own a mlp sewing machine?
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I am admittedly a little more lazy than I probably should be about matching needle, thread, and fabric types. I tend to use specialty needles for things like denim, sharps for dancewear, and I have some for topstitching and otherwise I tend to use slightly small universal needles or sharps. I've gotten away with it fine until lately, lol.

I love that we are both excitedly typing away and editing and now we have to go back and refresh, but I answered your question about the machine type before I saw you asked it! :rofl:

Yes, when the tools get expensive it's rough! A lot of times you can find supplies secondhand at a discount from people clearing out their stashes on things like FB Marketplace, if you and they both know what to call the items. XD

I was so tempted to buy a MLP sewing machine I found at a toy fair, the seller was so sweet too. Talk about a collision of my hobbies! But it didn't function, and out of respect for the amount of space I already take up in our home, I don't collect bulky MLP items unless they're something that just brims my heart full of joy and covetousness, haha. Like, they can pry my UK Schoolhouse playset with box from my cold, dead fingers. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
 
I'm so excited to see a thread about sewing! I'll admit right now I'm not working on anything in particular. I just started sewing again about a month ago, since the stroke my depth perception is off and I've lost most of the vision in my right eye. It's made sewing difficult, and I'll admit I let myself get frustrated and just put away my things for a while. But I'm back at it and hope to get to a few projects. Skipping past cosplay (since I know I've talked about my sewing projects enough in there for that topic). I want to actually make some curtains also after I pick a fabric. My classroom was painted over the summer so I feel like I can make some now and it will look nice. I've also collected some fabric to make a few skirts. I've noticed one pattern for button-up shirts I would like to try as well.

I started sewing when I was little because both of my grandmothers would sew as a supplemental income to their first jobs. I wasn't allowed to use the machine as a kid since you know kids hurting themselves, but I did learn to stitch by hand and be pretty patient with it to get the stitches I want. I made lots of badly done Barbie dresses and blankets for my toy ponies and horses.

Both of my grandmothers passed away when I was pretty young still so I'm mostly self-taught with a machine. I might not know what something is called (bad memory), but I'll Google the crap out of how to use it. lol, right now I have a Singer heavy-duty machine since I was working more on blankets and like outside stuff before Covid. I did used to make a lot of MLP plush from the older pattern and animal beds like hammocks and such for ferrets and like pet rats.
 
@Mintyeon, I loved reading your story - the fact that you are entirely self-taught is very cool!

@Jellybean, the fabric matching on that curtain panel is SUPER satisfying!! And sewing costume stuff is not easy, so kudos for getting involved in that!

@MaddieHatter, I’m sorry to hear about medical stuff getting in the way of your hobbies, but that’s impressive that you’re getting back at it!


My mom sewed a lot of clothing when I was a baby/toddler and I remember her telling me about how she would sew clothes for her Barbies when she was a kid. I asked her to show me how when I was 6/7 but she wasn’t in a place of patience at the time and we didn’t pursue it.

Fast forward to 2000 when I was 20 and my mother-in-law taught me to use her machine (a 1970s Viking Husqvarna) because I wanted to make a lavender pillow for a gift. Shortly after that she gifted me her machine. I only did small projects & repairs with it over the years, but in 2009 I started making reusable gift bags for Xmas so I could do away with wrapping paper entirely. Then I taught myself to make reusable bowl covers & my first full set was MLP fabric, of course!

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She’s no longer my Mother-in-Law, but she’s still my best friend and she just recently gifted me a brand new Viking Husqvarna that had belonged to her mom who just recently passed away. :redheart:

My daughter is a Theatre major at university and she’s done some pretty cool costuming stuff, plus she loves cosplay. She learned to use my machine when she was 8ish & ran with it!

My little hobby business is called Rebel:T/L/C’s wherein T/L/C stands for Tops/Lids/Covers.
 
@Rebeldream
I think I follow you on Facebook actually. Sometimes I forget FB vs the forums, but I'm pretty sure I've seen your stuff posted. I think it's a wonderful idea to keep from having as much waste.

@Mintyeon those are adorable little pig outfits.
 
So much cute stuff
 
Jellybean said:
@Rebeldream Your bowl covers are very cute! My partner would not be thrilled to look in the fridge and find pony prints. :rofl:
@Mintyeon This little piggy has a HUGE WARDROBE! how fun!
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That's not even half of it! That was like 1 month's worth! I made them for YEARS! :rofl:

Edit:
I just noticed that my FF minty is the same shade of green as my great-grandmother Nancy's sewing machine!
:greenheart: :minty:
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Sorry, the lighting isn't great so it's hard to see but trust me it's the same I swear!
 
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I started sewing as soon as my mom was confident that I wouldn't injure myself with the needles and the scissors. Any scrap fabric I found would turn into bags and ponywear. Of course they looked like a child has sewn them by hand, because that was exactly what happened. As far as I remember I've always wanted to be a seamstress, but you need insane luck, to live off of that, so my parents gently (and sometimes less gently) streared me away from that.

I think, I've been begging for a sewing machine for basically forever, but my parents finally got me one, when I was 15 or 16 (I'm actually not sure), but it was one of those toy sewing machines, that has only one spool, so it was basically useless. Such a shame, because it was compact, and also a really pretty purple. So my parents went out again and they got me a Singer. I'm not sure about the model, and I'm also too lazy to get up and check.

I've been using it to make little purses, plushies for friends, parners, and sometimes I take a few centimeters off a pair of pants, but I rarely make things for myself.

I'm reposting these from my plushie thread in the art forum, but I'm working on a little something:winkpony:
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I'm planning to donate them for next years fundraiser. The pattern is by Lisa Pay, she's on youtube. They are hand-embroidered and handsewn, and I am planning to make a few more. And then hopefully, if I don't hate the pattern by then, I'm gonna make myself some G3s.
 
I love the ponies and the doll outfits. You’re all making me get that itch to pick up a project. I really like the embroidery. How did you manage that by hand? I’ve been trying to learn but mine just doesn’t look right.
 
Jellybean said:
@LilyLightly020 What a cute plush pattern!! Are you embroidering the eyes and symbols?

@Mintyeon I love your matching Minty machine! The Machine needs some clover stickers on it now :rofl:
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Yep.

MaddieHatter said:
I love the ponies and the doll outfits. You’re all making me get that itch to pick up a project. I really like the embroidery. How did you manage that by hand? I’ve been trying to learn but mine just doesn’t look right.
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It's kind of hard at first, but don't be shy about trying to learn different stiches and techniques from youtube, or books or other places. It also takes a lot of practice, so don't give up. Mines not perfect either, and sometimes I hate it, but in the end it ususally turns out okay.
 
You’re both correct! I’m going to try my hand at it again some this month when I have free time. Any good hand embroidery tutorials others would suggest?
 
MaddieHatter said:
You’re both correct! I’m going to try my hand at it again some this month when I have free time. Any good hand embroidery tutorials others would suggest?
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Honestly, this is kind of embarassing, but I've just been winging it for the last few years, but I'm sure, there are lot of great ones on youtube
 
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