Double click this link and see something interresting about another method of making an exact duplicate of your body for dressmaking purposes http://www.leanna.com/DuctTapeDouble/
There's also a woman with a strange sounding name who offers sewing catalogues with tons of sewing related "things" for sale... wish I could remember her name but anyway... she invented something called a "perfect pleater" board among other things. Try googling that. I think she's also got a magazine (no it's not Martha Pullen and not Nancy Zieman) I just can't remember her actual name. It's frustrating but someone here might remember and if so maybe they'll post it). This lady has a video tape for sale that demonstrates still another very good way to make a sturdy/inexpensive body doubleing dress form. I've seen the tape (VHS) and it's good!
Yes I agree there. The female voice is very soothing too, especially for total beginners like me who got stressed out trying to thread my brand new sewing machine! I got there in the end thanks to the lessons.
These videos are so helpful. I hope to subscribe fully once I have mastered the very basics.
On second thought maybe you were just looking for a suggestion or two about simple projects to make.
How about finding a round paper mache' "box" with a lid and covering the box itself with lightly padded fabric inside and out except for where the cover fits over... no padding there or else it won't fit well. You can use a little extra padding to make it bulge outward in a rounded effect on the sides, even adding some pin tucks, lace or ribbon trim, embroidery or piping to define sections. You can do these things to the fabric before you attach it to the box. Make a round little pillow stuffed densely with sawdust or fiberfill to fit on top of the cover then cover the cover cushion and all inside and out to create a large pin cushion on top with spaces for various sizes of needles around the sides. Assemble a collection of sewing aids... scissors, tape measure, sewing gauge, chalk, thimble, basic threads... what ever you think would be useful for simple repairs for instance or sewing on a button and place all of these items into the box. It's a small useful project that can be very creative and shows off your handy work. Makes a nice gift too.
Sigh, that was a lot less wordy then what I thought you were asking for.
I think sharing is one of the best things about being in a creative community. We get to inspire each other and if you like an idea, try it and get stuck.... you know who can help you get back on track. It's just like having a bunch of sisters (maybe a brother or two also) that you can count on and LOL, want to impress.
Speaking of projects I'm a new Grandmother of a one month old baby boy. Have sewed extensively but only for girls. Could really use some ideas for him that his Dad won't think are tramatizing.... yeah, I'm laughing too.
Hi Barbr316, I'm a newby here, just looking around to see what I can learn and where I might be helpful. I realize this question was posted some time ago but there might be others new to the party who will be strolling around just like me so I figured why not add to the already posted body of wisdom. What I'm reading even though it was posted a while ago is new for me.
When I was just starting to sew someone suggested that I make a scrapbook with samples for each technique as I learned and that I keep notes and illustrations to make it easy to duplicate and to help me avoid making mistakes I had already made. I numbered the "pages" and kept a legend of what was on each page. One method of doing this that works is to get a box of zip lock bags, punch holes in the solid end of each about half of an inch in to make them easily fit into a loose leaf binder with the zip side facing outward. You can slip samples into a bag and include a paper page explaining what's there, how you did it, what application(s) your sample might be useful for, what you encountered doing it on various types of fabric, what thread/needle/machine foot/plate/tension worked best etc, and any special preparation or care that would be needed (for example to preshrink or that this wasn't needed) and things to avoid for one effect that might be useful for another. You will create a very useful heirloom by doing this. As you learn more about fiber content, types of interfacings and linings, methods for transferring pattern details, methods of altering patterns etc you could pin, staple or paste samples or miniatures to a sheet of paper or just make notes as you go.
I recently found a page where I notated everyone's body measurements in my family during June of 1989 with a note to reposition some style elements on a pattern I used for a then nine year old and her sister who at the time was three-and-a-half. The older one wanted to look more grown up then her sister though the dresses were similar.... I was thrifty and didn't want to buy a second pattern. Lots of trial and error resulted in a happy big girl over and over again without needing to rethink what to do to her version with each incarnation of the dress. Wow, I was really patient back then. The then nine year old eventually became a twelve year old who enjoyed making period costumes for her dolls and her sister's dolls. I caught her on more then one occasion leafing through my book and laughing at my comments. It's a nice memory. Every now and again I dig out one of my old notebooks and write an adendum. Lots of things that needed to be done one way years ago can be done differently now but the basics are right there to refresh my memory and I can always add a page, paragraph, illustration or a few more samples.
I recently became a Grandmother for the first time with a darling little boy, son of my younger child ... the one who doesn't sew yet. Lols, maybe she'll be inspired.
Leonie, I'll bet there are a lot of women who can't imagine how having a full bust could be any problem at all but on the other hand why lament when you are lucky enough to be a sewist who can end up with what ever she really likes best.
Creating fullness that accomodates a more generous then typical bust through the use of darts is definately the way to go. I read Nehzat's excellent suggestion and it's a great description of how to calculate for that adjustment. I would also suggest that rather then assuming all the fullness you need must be provided from one set of darts consider creating a second pair of darts slightly shorter then the oiginals and parallel just to the outside of the original pair for a less exagerated look. You might also consider the addition of a second set of darts from the side seams just below the armhole... say two-and-a-half to four inches down and angled slightly upward toward the apex at the fullest part of your bust. If the lines of your garment will accomodate this addition and you have sufficient fabric to lengthen the bodice on both sides to allow for what will be taken up in a dart the result of the natural movements of your body will not affect fabric at the waist as much for two reasons. You will have have less need for very sharply angled darts and also a portion of the edge of your bodice where it's attached to create the waist seam will be slightly biased so it will have a bit of give built in resulting in less of a tendancy to rise. Larger busted women are also frequently prone to having each side of ourselves slightly disproportionate with the other and side darts provide a good opportunity to adjust for this so there's a more symetrical appearing finished garment. Remember dear new friend that people see what we expect to see and that can work to our advantage. I'd also suggest that a bit of very soft elastic... the sort that is frequently applied to the leg opening of panties or the waist of a half slip be placed at the inside of the front waist of your dress just ever so slightly stretched as a sort of stay mechanism. They make such pretty elastic these days in every color imaginable. This will also give you a lovely finish detail. You might like it so well that you'd want to continue it all the way around the waist.
I'm looking forward to hearing if any of this works well for you.
To increase the waistline you can decrease the intakes of the darts and let out the seams on your skirt and pants to fit your waist circumference. Then you need to add to the length of your waistband by sewing a piece of matching fabric to it.
Make sure to add enough length for the button or closure overlap. After re-attaching one side of the waistband to the waistline you can insert elastic bands. It is best to place the elastic at the sides. Approximately 15 cm on each side.
Sew the elastic bands to about 20 cm of fabric, by pulling and securing the ends on the waistband with pins then sew them in place vertically by machine. Sew about 1.5 cm from each end of the elastic bands so that they will not unravel. This way the waistband will gather with the elastic bands at the side of the garment.
Welcome to eSewingWorkshop. Thank you for joining and taking the time to help out other members. I hope you learn new things and enjoy being a member as well.
Thank you. Right now we do not have a video on how to pad out a model to your dimensions. However "isew4fun" has given a very good description on how to do this.
As far as fixing the waistline rising on your dress. The best thing to do is to increase the bust dart intake on your pattern.
To calculate your bust dart intake divide your bust circumference by 20 and add up to 2.5 cm to it. If you are big busted you can add the maximum of 2.5 cm, if not add less, as little as half a cm.
I was a size 28 but in my mind of course aspired to be a 14 so I purchased a dress form in the size 14 hoping one day it would fit me but in the meantime I would adjust it to fit reality. A good sewing friend of mine helped me to drape a skin fitting sloper that mimicked not just my dimensions but also my posture, curves and mass distribution. It's important that the fabric being used have little to no stretch; I chose a tightly woven cotton. I put one of my own well fitting bras on the maniquin, padded it out densely and then through trial and error layer by layer padded the remaining surface of the maniquin to a bit larger then my own dimensions then covered the padded out dress form with the sloper and slip stitched it in place distributing the padding for a close match to my own body. I used a slender tape to mark off high and low bust points, vertical center front and back, shoulder seam placement lines, waist, hip and vertical underarm to waist hip and hem placement lines right onto the sloper. Having these markers in place was particularly useful for me because I'm not precisely identical from one side of myself to the other and doing this extra step helps me to minimize the need for precise alterations later. Hope this helps someone; it's worked out fairly well for me.
Although your son has a beautiful voice, I think that I enjoy hearing you narrate the videos much better! I understand your English perfectly and enjoy hearing your accent! I hope you don't re-do all of the older videos!
first you ahve to check if the sleeve has the false plaquet with the buttons,if that is so...well it can only besortened to behind this opening. If the sleeve needs just a small adjustment,it will not be able to happen,due to the opening leaving a hole when it is unpicked.
You can go into the sleeve in the seam of the underarm lining....this gets you inside and the all needs to be undone and re-sewn. Always remember to replace the edge vilene that holds the hem in place to give the sharp fold . good luck!
hi there,just a tip,we are all very tempted to use this edge...it does not need finishing.If it is not cut off,it will pull up after wash due to tight weaving,so be aware,cut it off before you lay op your patterns.
The best way to charge is to charge per hour. Decide how much you need to charge per hour, then keep track of how long it takes you to do the alteration.
You should also consider the time spent on fitting and pressing the garment as well.
You can charge more for expensive cloths. If you do a fine alteration, you can always charge more per hour.
Keep in mind that you don't want to charge less than the minimum wage per hour.
Be brave and charge what you believe is fare compensation for your work. Clients satisfied with the quality of your work are willing to pay more, come back and refer you to others.
The sleeve caps are usually larger than the arm holes. You either have to gather the cap or ease it to make it fit the armhole. The excess fabric is going to give the sleeves more room to move and be comfortable to wear.
Make sure that when you set in the sleeve you do so by matching the marks on the sleeve and armhole and gather or ease the fabric between the notches.
To gather or ease the sleeve cap, sew two parallel lines of ease stitches about 5 mm apart, within the seam allowance and gather the fabric between the notches as needed. This way you can fit the sleeve in the armhole and sew it easily.
To give the sleeve a finer look when easing, leave about 3 cm of un-eased fabric at the top of the cap, where it is sewn to the shoulder seam area. However if the excess fabric was more than half an inch then you would gather the entire top cap of the sleeve.
Salvage or selvedge is the finished or tightly woven edge of the fabric.
When fabric is woven the salvages are positioned on either side as it comes out of the machine. So the sides with the salvages are the length of the fabric and the raw edge or as you called it the ragged edge is the width.
i enjoy and learn soo much from you. i would like you to help me get an adjustable manneqine to help me improve my sewing . please if you can tell me the cost of it and the shipping cost. thank you
I would love to know how to alter "shorten" the shoulders on a blouse or jacket, also, and cannot find anything on this. I'm really surprised....I would think that this is such an important alteration. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ahead of time!
Thanks, I’m glad you have found the lessons helpful.
You can make the skirt looser at the side seams before adding the seam allowances. You can also add to the center front and center back at the same time.
If the waistline gets wider than the waist measurement, you can easestitch the waistline to make it fit the waistband.
The seam allowance for the center back should be 2.5 cm from the top to the bottom, if you are not putting in a slit.
Make sure that the skirt is large enough at the hemline or short enough to be sewn without a slit.
Be careful, tight skirts with out any slits can be dangerous to wear.
Double click this link and see something interresting about another method of making an exact duplicate of your body for dressmaking purposes http://www.leanna.com/DuctTapeDouble/
There's also a woman with a strange sounding name who offers sewing catalogues with tons of sewing related "things" for sale... wish I could remember her name but anyway... she invented something called a "perfect pleater" board among other things. Try googling that. I think she's also got a magazine (no it's not Martha Pullen and not Nancy Zieman) I just can't remember her actual name. It's frustrating but someone here might remember and if so maybe they'll post it). This lady has a video tape for sale that demonstrates still another very good way to make a sturdy/inexpensive body doubleing dress form. I've seen the tape (VHS) and it's good!
Yes I agree there. The female voice is very soothing too, especially for total beginners like me who got stressed out trying to thread my brand new sewing machine! I got there in the end thanks to the lessons.
These videos are so helpful. I hope to subscribe fully once I have mastered the very basics.
All the best
Maggie
On second thought maybe you were just looking for a suggestion or two about simple projects to make.
How about finding a round paper mache' "box" with a lid and covering the box itself with lightly padded fabric inside and out except for where the cover fits over... no padding there or else it won't fit well. You can use a little extra padding to make it bulge outward in a rounded effect on the sides, even adding some pin tucks, lace or ribbon trim, embroidery or piping to define sections. You can do these things to the fabric before you attach it to the box. Make a round little pillow stuffed densely with sawdust or fiberfill to fit on top of the cover then cover the cover cushion and all inside and out to create a large pin cushion on top with spaces for various sizes of needles around the sides. Assemble a collection of sewing aids... scissors, tape measure, sewing gauge, chalk, thimble, basic threads... what ever you think would be useful for simple repairs for instance or sewing on a button and place all of these items into the box. It's a small useful project that can be very creative and shows off your handy work. Makes a nice gift too.
Sigh, that was a lot less wordy then what I thought you were asking for.
Anyone else have an idea for beginner projects?
I think sharing is one of the best things about being in a creative community. We get to inspire each other and if you like an idea, try it and get stuck.... you know who can help you get back on track. It's just like having a bunch of sisters (maybe a brother or two also) that you can count on and LOL, want to impress.
Speaking of projects I'm a new Grandmother of a one month old baby boy. Have sewed extensively but only for girls. Could really use some ideas for him that his Dad won't think are tramatizing.... yeah, I'm laughing too.
male voice is more easily understood
female voice is more charming
Hi Barbr316, I'm a newby here, just looking around to see what I can learn and where I might be helpful. I realize this question was posted some time ago but there might be others new to the party who will be strolling around just like me so I figured why not add to the already posted body of wisdom. What I'm reading even though it was posted a while ago is new for me.
When I was just starting to sew someone suggested that I make a scrapbook with samples for each technique as I learned and that I keep notes and illustrations to make it easy to duplicate and to help me avoid making mistakes I had already made. I numbered the "pages" and kept a legend of what was on each page. One method of doing this that works is to get a box of zip lock bags, punch holes in the solid end of each about half of an inch in to make them easily fit into a loose leaf binder with the zip side facing outward. You can slip samples into a bag and include a paper page explaining what's there, how you did it, what application(s) your sample might be useful for, what you encountered doing it on various types of fabric, what thread/needle/machine foot/plate/tension worked best etc, and any special preparation or care that would be needed (for example to preshrink or that this wasn't needed) and things to avoid for one effect that might be useful for another. You will create a very useful heirloom by doing this. As you learn more about fiber content, types of interfacings and linings, methods for transferring pattern details, methods of altering patterns etc you could pin, staple or paste samples or miniatures to a sheet of paper or just make notes as you go.
I recently found a page where I notated everyone's body measurements in my family during June of 1989 with a note to reposition some style elements on a pattern I used for a then nine year old and her sister who at the time was three-and-a-half. The older one wanted to look more grown up then her sister though the dresses were similar.... I was thrifty and didn't want to buy a second pattern. Lots of trial and error resulted in a happy big girl over and over again without needing to rethink what to do to her version with each incarnation of the dress. Wow, I was really patient back then. The then nine year old eventually became a twelve year old who enjoyed making period costumes for her dolls and her sister's dolls. I caught her on more then one occasion leafing through my book and laughing at my comments. It's a nice memory. Every now and again I dig out one of my old notebooks and write an adendum. Lots of things that needed to be done one way years ago can be done differently now but the basics are right there to refresh my memory and I can always add a page, paragraph, illustration or a few more samples.
I recently became a Grandmother for the first time with a darling little boy, son of my younger child ... the one who doesn't sew yet. Lols, maybe she'll be inspired.
Leonie, I'll bet there are a lot of women who can't imagine how having a full bust could be any problem at all but on the other hand why lament when you are lucky enough to be a sewist who can end up with what ever she really likes best.
Creating fullness that accomodates a more generous then typical bust through the use of darts is definately the way to go. I read Nehzat's excellent suggestion and it's a great description of how to calculate for that adjustment. I would also suggest that rather then assuming all the fullness you need must be provided from one set of darts consider creating a second pair of darts slightly shorter then the oiginals and parallel just to the outside of the original pair for a less exagerated look. You might also consider the addition of a second set of darts from the side seams just below the armhole... say two-and-a-half to four inches down and angled slightly upward toward the apex at the fullest part of your bust. If the lines of your garment will accomodate this addition and you have sufficient fabric to lengthen the bodice on both sides to allow for what will be taken up in a dart the result of the natural movements of your body will not affect fabric at the waist as much for two reasons. You will have have less need for very sharply angled darts and also a portion of the edge of your bodice where it's attached to create the waist seam will be slightly biased so it will have a bit of give built in resulting in less of a tendancy to rise. Larger busted women are also frequently prone to having each side of ourselves slightly disproportionate with the other and side darts provide a good opportunity to adjust for this so there's a more symetrical appearing finished garment. Remember dear new friend that people see what we expect to see and that can work to our advantage. I'd also suggest that a bit of very soft elastic... the sort that is frequently applied to the leg opening of panties or the waist of a half slip be placed at the inside of the front waist of your dress just ever so slightly stretched as a sort of stay mechanism. They make such pretty elastic these days in every color imaginable. This will also give you a lovely finish detail. You might like it so well that you'd want to continue it all the way around the waist.
I'm looking forward to hearing if any of this works well for you.
Hi lenemoe,
To increase the waistline you can decrease the intakes of the darts and let out the seams on your skirt and pants to fit your waist circumference. Then you need to add to the length of your waistband by sewing a piece of matching fabric to it.
Make sure to add enough length for the button or closure overlap. After re-attaching one side of the waistband to the waistline you can insert elastic bands. It is best to place the elastic at the sides. Approximately 15 cm on each side.
Sew the elastic bands to about 20 cm of fabric, by pulling and securing the ends on the waistband with pins then sew them in place vertically by machine. Sew about 1.5 cm from each end of the elastic bands so that they will not unravel. This way the waistband will gather with the elastic bands at the side of the garment.
Hope this helps.
Nehzat
Dear isew4fun,
Welcome to eSewingWorkshop. Thank you for joining and taking the time to help out other members. I hope you learn new things and enjoy being a member as well.
Nehzat
Dear Leonie,
Thank you. Right now we do not have a video on how to pad out a model to your dimensions. However "isew4fun" has given a very good description on how to do this.
As far as fixing the waistline rising on your dress. The best thing to do is to increase the bust dart intake on your pattern.
To calculate your bust dart intake divide your bust circumference by 20 and add up to 2.5 cm to it. If you are big busted you can add the maximum of 2.5 cm, if not add less, as little as half a cm.
Hope this helps.
Nehzat
I was a size 28 but in my mind of course aspired to be a 14 so I purchased a dress form in the size 14 hoping one day it would fit me but in the meantime I would adjust it to fit reality. A good sewing friend of mine helped me to drape a skin fitting sloper that mimicked not just my dimensions but also my posture, curves and mass distribution. It's important that the fabric being used have little to no stretch; I chose a tightly woven cotton. I put one of my own well fitting bras on the maniquin, padded it out densely and then through trial and error layer by layer padded the remaining surface of the maniquin to a bit larger then my own dimensions then covered the padded out dress form with the sloper and slip stitched it in place distributing the padding for a close match to my own body. I used a slender tape to mark off high and low bust points, vertical center front and back, shoulder seam placement lines, waist, hip and vertical underarm to waist hip and hem placement lines right onto the sloper. Having these markers in place was particularly useful for me because I'm not precisely identical from one side of myself to the other and doing this extra step helps me to minimize the need for precise alterations later. Hope this helps someone; it's worked out fairly well for me.
Hi GrannyDee,
I have a different model Singer machine from the one in the video lesson and was able to thread my machine perfect.
What model Singer do you have?
Nehzat,
Although your son has a beautiful voice, I think that I enjoy hearing you narrate the videos much better! I understand your English perfectly and enjoy hearing your accent! I hope you don't re-do all of the older videos!
Vicki
first you ahve to check if the sleeve has the false plaquet with the buttons,if that is so...well it can only besortened to behind this opening. If the sleeve needs just a small adjustment,it will not be able to happen,due to the opening leaving a hole when it is unpicked.
You can go into the sleeve in the seam of the underarm lining....this gets you inside and the all needs to be undone and re-sewn. Always remember to replace the edge vilene that holds the hem in place to give the sharp fold . good luck!
hi there,just a tip,we are all very tempted to use this edge...it does not need finishing.If it is not cut off,it will pull up after wash due to tight weaving,so be aware,cut it off before you lay op your patterns.
Dear Carol,
The best way to charge is to charge per hour. Decide how much you need to charge per hour, then keep track of how long it takes you to do the alteration.
You should also consider the time spent on fitting and pressing the garment as well.
You can charge more for expensive cloths. If you do a fine alteration, you can always charge more per hour.
Keep in mind that you don't want to charge less than the minimum wage per hour.
Be brave and charge what you believe is fare compensation for your work. Clients satisfied with the quality of your work are willing to pay more, come back and refer you to others.
Nehzat
Dear Diana2lvn,
The sleeve caps are usually larger than the arm holes. You either have to gather the cap or ease it to make it fit the armhole. The excess fabric is going to give the sleeves more room to move and be comfortable to wear.
Make sure that when you set in the sleeve you do so by matching the marks on the sleeve and armhole and gather or ease the fabric between the notches.
To gather or ease the sleeve cap, sew two parallel lines of ease stitches about 5 mm apart, within the seam allowance and gather the fabric between the notches as needed. This way you can fit the sleeve in the armhole and sew it easily.
To give the sleeve a finer look when easing, leave about 3 cm of un-eased fabric at the top of the cap, where it is sewn to the shoulder seam area. However if the excess fabric was more than half an inch then you would gather the entire top cap of the sleeve.
Let me know how this works out for you.
Thanks
Nehzat
Thank You! That will be great!
Dear maryangers and judyfromtx
We will cover shoulder and armhole adjustments on jackets in the next few months. Since many of our members have requested this topic as well.
Thanks
Nehzat
Hi Lizy,
Thanks so much.
You can purchase adjustable mannequins for dress making from eBay and Amazon or any other manufacturer or supplier on line.
Thanks
Nehzat
Salvage or selvedge is the finished or tightly woven edge of the fabric.
When fabric is woven the salvages are positioned on either side as it comes out of the machine. So the sides with the salvages are the length of the fabric and the raw edge or as you called it the ragged edge is the width.
hi ,
i enjoy and learn soo much from you. i would like you to help me get an adjustable manneqine to help me improve my sewing . please if you can tell me the cost of it and the shipping cost. thank you
I would love to know how to alter "shorten" the shoulders on a blouse or jacket, also, and cannot find anything on this. I'm really surprised....I would think that this is such an important alteration. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ahead of time!
Dear Sally,
Thanks for your kind words.
We have a video on how to shorten pants and re-sew the hem by hand or machine: Pants Alteration: Shortening and Hemming by Hand and Machine Video Lessons
You can use this lesson to shorten and hem jeans as well.
We will make a video on how to fix frayed hems very soon.
Regards,
Nehzat
Dear Dorothy,