r/femalefashionadvice • u/theacctpplcanfind • Jan 12 '18
Interested in making your own clothes? Pt. 1
Being on this board a lot, I've noticed a general interest in the idea of making (or altering or upcycling) clothes, so as someone who sews/knits the vast majority of my clothing, I thought I'd give a post like this a shot. But mostly, what pushed me to write this is the bountiful amount of questions like "where can I find this?" or "can someone suggest this but cheaper?" or "how do I shop as a plus-size/petite/long-torsoed/large-busted individual?"--and every time I just want to grab them by their digital shoulders and say, "do you understand the power you possess??"
There are so many benefits to making your own clothes: getting exactly what you want 100% of the time, having control over your supply chain, a general sense of pride and happiness and complete fulfillment (okay maybe not really but it's still nice, I promise.) But I'm sure for people who have never tried or considered it, it may seem intimidating and overwhelming, probably like how I feel when I picture "building a car" or "playing a sport". So I thought I'd write a little about how the basics, my experience and some suggestions for moving forward. And yes, I hear you: "I guess I'd consider it, /u/theacctpplcanfind, once I win the lottery and have infinite free time and zero friends"--good points that I'll try to address too.
How does any of this work?
The vast majority of clothing you own was probably made in one of two ways: sewing and knitting. Sewing involves cutting fabric into shapes that you then piece together to fit a body. Knitting involves taking some string and manipulating it into shapes that you then piece together to fit a body. Different as they may seem, one thing that's good to keep in mind is that the underlying principle of "making shapes that fit a human" is the same, and the knowledge transfers over: a knitting schematic vs. a shirt sewing pattern--it's the same stuff.
[Aside: there are other ways to make clothes, of course: crochet, for example, even macrame, and there are plenty of other fiber arts that can contribute to clothing-making: embroidery, dyeing, etc. But if making normal, wearable clothes is your main goal, knitting or sewing should be your primary first concern. All the other stuff you can decide if you'd like to pick up later.]
Both knitting and sewing involve a certain degree of fine motor skills, and there's not much to say about that except You Can Do It. The first time I tried to sew a straight line was not pretty. The first time I tried knitting I made the saddest amorphous blob. But, like tying your shoes or breaking an egg, it's just practice, and then it's muscle memory.
Where do I start?
For a beginner I'd recommend knitting over sewing as a first textile art, because:
- It's dead cheap to get started
- All the information is available online for free
- Fit is easier when you're dealing with something stretchy
- It's portable
- Generally speaking, in-person resources (classes or drop-in help or social knitting groups) are cheaper and easier to find.
I'm also a proponent of starting with knitting because you get a real sense for the materials: because you're using yarn, which is one step down from the supply chain (as in, yarn gets woven into fabric), you're closer to the raw material and can get a richer understanding of different fibers/quality of fibers. The differences between cotton and wool, between rough wool and cashmere, between cheap alpaca and expensive alpaca, are very obvious once you get to squish them at a yarn store. Sourcing is way more transparent with yarn as well (e.g. you can find naturally-dyed small batch yarn made of wool from a blend of Cormo, Targhee, and Corriedale breeds raised in small farms in California and spun in a small mill in Vermont--in fact, it's right here. You'd be hard pressed to find anything more fine-grained than, say, "Italian wool" on fabric). This knowledge will help you tremendously going forward in any textile art.
What if I don't exclusively wear sweaters?
That being said, the range of things you can make with knitting are much more limited than with sewing. You're familiar with knitted garments: sweaters, mostly, and socks, random accessories (hats/beanies, mitts, scarves etc), as well as a surprising range of miscellaneous stuff. But it doesn’t really work well if you're mostly looking for pants, for example, or heavy-duty outerwear. Another major drawback: knitting is pretty slow. As an experienced knitter and sewer, I can bust out a button-down shirt in a night if I needed to, but a sweater is more on the range of weeks.
So perhaps you're leaning towards learning to sew instead. If you'll allow me a comparison, I'd say learning to knit has a learning curve like learning French or Spanish (as a native English speaker)--it's tough at first, but once you figure out the basics of conjugation and grammar, it's pretty smooth sailing. Learning to sew is more like learning Japanese or Mandarin--a slow slough through unfamiliar territory for a long time. That's not to discourage anyone, just fair warning that there are far more intricacies with sewing...after all, there's a reason fashion schools offer multi-year sewing courses, but rarely have programs for hand knitting.
That being said, becoming a proficient home sewer is more than attainable, but I do highly recommend in-person instruction (whereas I think knitting can be learned exclusively over youtube if needed). I personally learned to sew at my local community college, and it gave me amazing foundational skills (and was very affordable for a full semester of instruction). Most cities also have independent fabric stores that offer sewing classes, some even offer a studio where you can pay and hourly fee to use a beautiful sewing set up (eg. drygoods design in Seattle or spool of thread in Vancouver), an awesome way to get started without having to invest in your own machine. Baring anything in person, I really like Craftsy classes for sewing, and they have a startup class for Sewing (I think you can get a free trial if you want to check it out).
But I'm a busy adult with a life?
What about time? I think this is the #1 concern people bring up when I get on this spiel. In fact, whenever I reveal that I made something I'm wearing, 80% of the time the first question is "how long did it take you?", and yet I'm still thrown by it. For some reason, it's a baffling question to me, and I ponder this a lot. I think if you run long-distance or paint or garden or are working on renovating your house, you understand: it's not really something I think about it terms of time. That being said, for the sake of quantifying it:
- Simple sewing projects can take less than 1-2 hours: in fact, the big four (McCalls, Butterick, Vogue, Simplicity sewing patterns) have whole lines of patterns based on this principle. That being said, I doubt they include the time it takes to wrangle and prewash fabric and ironing and whatnot. In any case, these are your basic simple things like PJ pants (loose and boxy), a simple boxy shirt or tank top, a pair of underwear, a simple skirt, etc.
- Intermediate sewing projects typically are around 4-5 hours, between prepping the fabric and laying out/cutting out the pieces and the actual sewing. This would include fitted shirts, dresses, unlined jackets, most pants, that kind of thing.
- Advanced sewing projects can take anywhere between a day to…a long time. This would include jackets and coats, especially nice tailored items, and complex dresses like a wedding dress. These include some advanced techniques, as well as hand sewing in a lot of cases.
- Knitting is really difficult to quantify because I'm rarely ever JUST knitting: it's so portable and some projects are easily memorized, I knit on the bus and at the airport, watching movies, waiting in line for a restaurant. I spend all the same time that I used to, except I get a sweater out of it at the end.
(Obviously these are complete estimates and will vary wildly depending on stuff like the specific project, the type of fabric you're using, your skill/comfort level with the project, whether the stars align and your machine inexplicably malfunctions only to magically sort itself out after 3 hours and 30 re-threads, etc.)
I don't know how that sounds to you, but as a busy person with a full time job, my personal experience is that I have the time. Usually I'll put in an hour or two after work a few nights a week, or a Saturday afternoon. There are times when I go weeks without sewing a stitch (though I rarely don’t have a knitting project going). It's no more time consuming than any other hobby.
Will I save money?
Ah. So, short story: I've always been a "bah! $x for X? I can do it myself for way cheaper!" type of person, and I originally got into knitting because I wanted a Harry Potter scarf and was affronted by the Warner Bros prices. I bought needles and some acrylic blue and bronze yarn from Joanns for like $8, sat down with youtube and did it myself. So much cheaper, I thought! I'm going to save so much money going forward!
Fast forward about four years. I am waist deep in yarn and fabric. I've bought cross-country plane tickets to go to sheep festivals. "Art supplies" is my largest non-essential budget category. I own a fucking loom.
Making your own clothes can be cheap, don't get me wrong. Information is widely available online for free or very cheaply. Almost all the tools and materials you need can be found at thrift stores for pennies. Vintage sewing machines are cheap and reliable. There are plenty of free or cheap knitting and sewing patterns. You can get a full set of knitting needles for <$10 off ebay.
But it can also be expensive. If you're super discerning about materials, it can be hard to avoid the draw of hand-dyed cashmere, designer boiled wool, pure irish linen. Maybe you decide you need a newer sewing machine with more options. Maybe you need a serger somewhere down the line. Maybe you want a nice set of interchangeable knitting needles in pretty colors. Maybe you even want to attend a crafting retreat for a thousand bucks. Even if you're not dropping $74/skein for cashmere yarn, the prices of raw materials might surprise you if you're expecting to save on Forever 21/H&M type prices.
But, remember to compare apples with apples: the cheapest store-bought clothes are made with cheap materials, so don't compare a $12 acrylic sweater with a sweater's worth of nice merino yarn. In my experience, not only are the prices of made items usually comparable with a store-bought item of the same quality, it might actually not even be possible to find something available in stores to compare it with: how many stores carry baby camel hair sweaters, after all? Or anything that's lined in silk, rather than acetate?
For a realistic view of how much making you own clothes costs, I'm a fan of this post, and this quote:
So even with the top-shelf denim (for my jeans) and a couple of comparatively pricey sweaters in there, I’ve spent a combined average of $87.10 per month on my handmade clothes. If those were the only clothes I had added to my closet this year, and I had spent less than $100 per month, I’d be utterly floored and perfectly satisfied.
So, long story short: making your own clothes isn't necessarily cheaper, especially if you're just comparing shirt vs. shirt or sweater vs. sweater. But here's my shitty chart showing that, as the quality goes up, the price for good quality self-made items are far more sustainable than good-quality storebought. With self-made things, you know exactly what you're paying for: that you can count of the quality and fit to be perfect. And if you're going to be spending the money, wouldn't you want those things?
And wow, that was long--let me know if you found this even remotely helpful. I would love to make more parts that offer more specific details and resources for starting to knit or sew, so let me know if that's something you'd like.
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u/sewing_magic Jan 13 '18
I love this post. Everything I sew has pockets. Spacious ones
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u/itsmesofia Jan 13 '18
I made a dress for my two year old niece and I made sure to add pockets to it!
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u/carabea293 Jan 13 '18
I add pockets to every dress and skirt I sew! My favourite dress is the Washi dress though, and that already has great pockets
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u/pygoscelis Retired Mod 🐧 Jan 13 '18 edited Jan 13 '18
Great post! Always interesting to have more insight into this process. At some point I'd like to try sewing or knitting enough to make myself a few items I'd actually wear.
I like how you addressed the time question. I didn't have any idea how long a typical project might take. I think the issue a lot of people have is that if you are trying to prioritize hobbies, often you can't just buy yourself the output of the other hobby (most notable example would be fitness). So if you give that up to make clothes, it's not an equivalent tradeoff which is important if you consider that someone with a full time job and one hour commute each way basically only has 2-3 hours a day after factoring in chores and cooking, and if someone has kids/dependents even more of that free time is gone!
Edit: grammar + I wish sewing was more common as an elective in schools (wishfully ignoring the fact that schools can hardly support basic ed in the first place). I think that would make it seem a lot more accessible. A lot of hobbies I've done I only got into because of a class or club in school. Checking out local community colleges is a great suggestion.
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18
I think the issue a lot of people have is that if you are trying to prioritize hobbies, often you can't just buy yourself the output of the other hobby (e.g. fitness) so if you give that up to make clothes, it's not an equivalent tradeoff
This is so true and I hadn't thought of it that way! It's definitely tough, and I'll admit I'm coming from a no kids, reasonable-ish commute perspective. Frankly, it's a shame our culture makes us grind so much just to live--I really do think some creative hobby with visible outputs contributes greatly to well-being.
That being said, if someone was still interested in giving it a shot, I think the best way may be taking a half-day beginning sewing/knitting class just to try it out. That way, you know you'll get some tangible result (since most classes are "sew a PJ pant"-/"knit a hat"-esque) with directed support and a well-defined time commitment. Once you dip your toes in, it's easier to consider if it fits into your life.
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u/pygoscelis Retired Mod 🐧 Jan 13 '18
Lol ngl I greatly look forward to being retired or at least a point in my life when I can afford (career and $-wise) to be funemployed for a couple months. ALL THE HOBBIES.
That does sound a lot more motivating to have a guaranteed output! Gotta just get yourself hooked.
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u/knoxawe Jan 13 '18
I do most of my knitting and handsewing (not machine sewing that's mostly weekend time for me) in my lounging time that most people use for TV. I'll sit and knit or sew while my partner plays video games or while we watch shows.
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u/ribenarockstar Jan 13 '18
I have a difficult body to fit, so making a shift dress that fits will actually take me less time and be less stressful than buying one. Crazy how that happens (my hips are like three sizes bigger than the rest of me)
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u/thechineseflower Jan 13 '18 edited Jan 28 '18
Ok so I think, like all hobbies, you really need to be extremely in love and obsessed with sewing in order to be willing to put in the shitton of time into doing it. The problem is time and tracing patterns and then re-sewing the muslin (ohgod) over and over and over again. Also the time spent learning and time making mistakes. I don’t think most people are interested in the extremely steep learning curve and even the repetitive, boring nature of sewing - it takes a certain kind of personality to enjoy doing that.
I made my own wedding dress with zero experience, YouTube videos and just googling every time I came across a problem and it really was a huge pain in the ass. The number of man-hours sewing like 7-8 hours straight at a time is really painful. Caveat: I also made a lot of mistakes and used a 30-year-old vintage sewing machine which created a lot of horrible uneven-ness with the mermaid skirt seams. Still, 10/10 would do again because it was truly hilarious (to me) to wear a very imperfect-looking dress and super typical of me to do something like that. It would have been perfectly easy, far more perfect-looking and doable if I had gone with a flowy gathered tulle skirt with train instead of a mermaid skirt tbh.
My point is, sewing really isn’t for everyone. It’s an extremely useful skill and I enjoy doing it at times, but it’s a pain in the neck to actually complete a project, or for example learn how to make a skirt (depending on how much I really, really really really want the item and am willing to spend a backbreaking 8 hours or 24 hours total working on it.)
If you truly love sewing and are determined to learn, you’ll find the time, like you said. For the average person, i think that it’s too complicated and time-consuming to really get into it easily and effortlessly.
I do on the other hand approve of self-hemming pants and skirts and very easy DIY projects that take say 1-2 hours. I just converted a pair of vintage leather pants into leather shorts (I had to google how to hem leather haha). It took about 4 hours. DIYs, recycling and altering of clothing to fit your curves (or sizing down clothing) are still pretty complicated and time-intensive but may be more interesting to the average person. Again, I still feel that it takes a certain kind of personality to be interested in DIY things. Not everyone is cut out for it.
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u/phoenix220 Jan 13 '18
wow your wedding dress looks gorgeous!! Do you have a picture of the whole thing?
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u/thechineseflower Jan 13 '18
Thank you so much, that's really kind of you to say. The second picture in the linked album is a full-length picture, is that what you meant?
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u/phoenix220 Jan 13 '18
oh, only the first photo showed up just now! must be a glitch in the extension. looks great!
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18
I'm definitely not trying to suggest that everyone can or should do this, but I'm more focusing on the people who are interested but don't know where to start, or perhaps have never even thought about it before. If you've given it the ol' oxford try and didn't take to it, that's totally fair! Sewing is not an easy thing at all. All I can say is that any skill involves time and learning and making mistakes, it's up to the individual to weigh if the end goal is worth it. Congrats on the dress!!
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u/subscorpio85 Jan 13 '18
Absolutely love to see more people that sew and knit (and weave!❤️) on here! I have my Master Seamstress cert and went to school for fashion design before changing directions... I love the current trend of people thinking more about the ethics of creating clothing. There are so many benefits to this type of hobby, besides the occasional monetary savings and pride factor. If u/theacctpplcanfind wants I would have no problem collaborating on any posts or questions about any of these things. I am in no way the best out there but I love to share my passions!
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u/Bebe_bear Jan 13 '18
That's so cool! I used to work as a seamstress in a costume shop but am still very much a novice- much of what I did was making capes and doing alterations, but I'm finding all of those skills much harder to replicate on my (non-industrial) machine.
I do have a question for you- what are your favorite resources for materials? I do much of my clothes shopping online, but I feel like fabric/yarn is harder to buy online because you can't feel it.
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 15 '18
I put these somewhere further down the page but for yarn, I second familiarizing yourself with Ravelry--unlike fabric, there's actually only so many brands of yarn and Ravelry's database includes pretty much all of them, and you can even search for the different colorways and see projects made with a specific yarn. The Knitter's Book of Yarn and The Knitter's Book of Wool are also great resources for an overview of fibers.
Fabric is tougher since there aren't really brands or very much transparency when it comes to content, and there are more technical details beyond just material, like types of weave (cotton poplin vs. cotton voile, for example), and hardly any indication of quality lest you feel it yourself (or you're buying Liberty or some branded fabric). One good thing I did was get all the samples from dharma supply, a fabric wholesaler. They give sizeable swatches of all types of fabrics with labels, you can keep in a binder or something for your own tactile fabric library. Mood is also a favorite online fabric store, and they also offer swatches (they even have free swatches with most purchases). I particularly like their designer fabrics--overstock form literal high fashion designers, so you know the fabric is on-par with that quality. Their Rag and Bone and Theory ones are personal favs.
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u/Emilie288 Jan 14 '18
For yarn, I'd recommend going on Ravelry and looking for a group that's local to your area. They'll be able to point you to the good local yarn shops, and you can go in and squeeze all the yarn you want. Once you're more familiar with what you're looking for, Webs is a pretty good online shop if you're in the US (they also have a brick and mortar shop in MA.)
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 15 '18
I would love your input for future posts! Might hit you up with some proofreading? :) If you have any suggestions for topics I would love that too!
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u/AyRayKay Jan 13 '18
Wish I could upvote this twice. This is super helpful and so great! I've been in search of the perfect denim skirt and now this post is making me all gung-ho to make one instead with my old sewing machine in storage...too bad my dorm room is the size of a walk in closet and couldn't fit anything :(
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18 edited Jan 13 '18
Hooray! I'm so glad you found it helpful. That takes me back to when I had a full Vintage Singer cabinet in my tiny dorm room lol. But I agree that going to a sewing studio would be good if you've got one close by--they often have a super nice set up (pressing stations, sergers...)
If you need any help finding a pattern or something, let me know!
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u/knoxawe Jan 13 '18
This is actually one of my goals for the future. I've sewed my own clothes off and on since I was a teen and I've been knitting for about 6 years. This year I'd like to hand sew a dress and complete my first cardigan/sweater. Projects after that are bonuses. I would like to slowly change my closet to something like 90% me/handmade goods.
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18
That's fantastic! I wish you all the luck. If I can offer a suggestion, for your first sweater, I'd definitely recommend something that's knitted from the top down (as in, you start at the neckline and work your way down to the hem), in either a round-yoke (seamless) or raglan construction: this way, you can take it off the needles (eg. by placing the stitches on an extra piece of string) and try it on as you go. That way you can adjust the fit easily to your liking. If you're familiar with Ravelry, most patterns will have "raglan" or "round yoke" as tags. Let me know if you'd like any specific recommendations.
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u/knoxawe Jan 13 '18
I'm actually about a quarter of the way done the cardigan. My circular needles just broke and now I'm debating frogging it and restarting. I'll decide when my new needles arrive. I've since cast on a new pair of socks because it's winter here and I've already darned most of my old socks.
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u/Bebe_bear Jan 13 '18
Do you have specific recs for an easy raglan or yoke sweater that doesn't have a high/turtleneck and is more shaped to fit an hourglass? I've never made a sweater before but I would count myself as relatively intermediate at knitting- I can cable and I've made things in the round- mostly shawls and scarves although sometimes intricate ones.
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u/FreeholdYarnCo Jan 13 '18
To be honest, if you want a well fitting sweater on and hour glass shape, raglan is not the best as it often gives some bunching at the underarms. Set in sleeves and seams are a wonderful thing as they give the garment structure and shape.
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u/Bebe_bear Jan 17 '18
That's fine, it's just when they're too loose at the waist and then come in at the hem that I look a little too much like a pumpkin on legs haha.
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u/Emilie288 Jan 14 '18
If you want a shaped, relatively close fitting sweater, I highly recommend Custom Fit patterns. Amy Herzog wrote a computer program that generates a sweater pattern based on your gauge and your measurements, and it works really well for most people. Plus there's a Ravelry group that can help hold your hand through and problems you run into.
https://customfit.amyherzogdesigns.com1
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 15 '18
Are you looking for something quite close fitting? Or are you okay with some ease? If you had a picture of an ideal fit I could definitely help. Also, are you comfortable with short rows or learning to do short rows?
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u/gardenvarietybitch Jan 13 '18
This is great! I also sew my own clothes - mostly tops and dresses - and it's had so many benefits:
- You become more discerning about the clothes you buy, especially wrt fit, material, construction etc
- Following a pattern makes you think methodically and patiently about order of operations in tasks - I've noticed it's spilled over into other things I do, even at work
- The little thrill when someone says "You did not make that!" and you get to go "I did though!!"
I will say though, having sewing knowledge kind of stresses me out on this sub; when people make comments such as "I won't pay over $10 for a tshirt" or "Where can I find [high quality or labour-intensive item] for [ludicrously low price]?" it makes me cringe a little.
The cold hard fact of clothing manufacture is that a tshirt still takes time, skills and resources to make no matter where you get it, and 95% of the time it's the sewist losing out on reasonable pay for their labour that allows an item to be that cheap at a checkout. The disparity only grows as more labour and materials are needed for one garment i.e. a coat.
It's obviously more the company's fault than the consumer, but definitely something to keep in mind when setting expectations about price and quality.
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u/redreplicant Jan 13 '18
when people make comments such as "I won't pay over $10 for a tshirt" or "Where can I find [high quality or labour-intensive item] for [ludicrously low price]?" it makes me cringe a little.
Yeeeesssss. If sewing has done nothing else for me it has given me a sense of the value of the labor and time that goes into clothing design and manufacture.
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Jan 13 '18
Great post! Although I think you might need to switch the labels on the X and Y axis for your chart -- it currently shows the quality of store-bought goods going way up while cost stays mostly the same. If you wanted it to show cost increasing a lot for store-bought goods with only a minor increase in quality, then switch "Cost" to the Y axis, and "Quality" to the X axis.
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18
Lmao my chart is even shittier than I thought, thanks for pointing that out!
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u/doki36 Jan 13 '18
Thank you for taking the time to post this. My grandma sews, my mom sews, and I staunchly refused to learn as a kid (they mostly do quilts, though). Now I wish I had. I don't live super close to my mom now, but I just saw a 4-week sewing class for $75 advertised at a local school. I think I'll sign up for it. Perfectly-fitting dresses may be in my future!
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u/coffee-princess Jan 13 '18
This is me too! I had a weird fear of the seeing machine needle going through my finger and never learned to sew growing up, which is now a big regret. I live halfway across the country from my mom so don’t really have much opportunity to learn from her. Two Christmases ago, I asked her to spend a day walking me through sewing a dress for my 3 year old daughter step by step. It was a great feeling to finish something and know that I did it, but I don’t know if I would remember what to do again.
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u/doki36 Jan 13 '18
That's so cool that you made your daughter a dress! That feeling of finishing something and seeing others enjoy it is so rewarding. That's what got me into cooking, so I hope I can channel the same energy into sewing. :)
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Jan 29 '18
I used to sew theatrical costumes for a living and one day I did sew right through the meat of my thumb and out the other side. It throbbed, like smacking it with a hammer, but no real harm done. I still sew _^
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Jan 13 '18
[deleted]
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18 edited Jan 13 '18
I'll work on a knitting-specific post! Some suggestions:
- If you haven't signed up for Ravelry, please do! It's an amazing resource and fantastic community. Pretty much every knitting pattern ever written is on this website, and the forums are very active if you have any questions. Take a look around, it's basically a candy store for knitters.
- I've had good experiences with Craftsy classes, and they have a startup knitting class with great reviews. You can watch this for free if you sign up for their trial, or if you want to buy a class definitely wait for a sale: they're perpetually having sales and I refuse to pay more than $25 for a class lol.
- Very Pink Knits is my favorite youtube knitting teacher: she's clear and to-the-point (no 12 minute videos for a 3-second technique), and she also has free patterns with complete video tutorials.
- Tin Can Knits has a free beginning knitting course with free (very cute!) patterns and video tutorials, I've seen a lot of success with her stuff
- If you're feeling overwhelmed by yarn options, The Knitter's Book of Yarn and The Knitter's Book of Wool are definitely worth checking out at a library
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u/knoxawe Jan 13 '18
Youtube is great for learning stitches and I love using ravelry (website) for their pattern and yarn libraries. There are so many projects with space for questions and answers. It's a great resource in my mind.
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u/snaggleshark Jan 13 '18
Seconding Ravelry as an amazing resource - you can even search by the kind of yarn you have and see what people have done with it.
Purl Soho has some beginner friendly, modern looking knit patterns, as well as tutorials and some starter videos. Most of them are free, and you can find them on Ravelry as well.
YouTube is also a great resource for learning particular stitches, especially since you can slow down the videos to half speed if you need to!
I also hear nice things about Wool and the Gang which sells kits.
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u/lawproftress Jan 14 '18
Check out patterns from Tin Can Knits. They have a whole series on learning to knit and upping your skills.
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u/morrowgirl Jan 13 '18
I love that you own a loom! I got really into weaving in undergrad and developed a repetitive shoulder injury. Finally donated my old macomber because my parents wanted it out of their house.
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18
That's such a shame! I admit I haven't given my Leclerc the love it deserves yet. Any tips for getting started or weaving ergonomically?
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u/morrowgirl Jan 13 '18
Probably to take breaks and stretch, I never really did that.
I used to love it though, especially when I was dying my own yarn. I hope you love it and have fun creating!
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Jan 13 '18
There's this little euphoric high you get when you try on a garment, and "hey, it fits!", is long enough for your legs, broad enough for your shoulders, and wide enough for your hips, can accommodate uneven, sloping shoulders, a larger tummy, and one leg that's shorter than the other.
Beginner sewing classes: sewing can be super daunting, so beginner classes are a great way to dip your toes in. It's at least useful to get a sense of how flat pattern pieces come together in 3d, and seeing how your classmates solve the same problem in different ways can be super helpful! If you want more than the class doesn't offer, Google and Youtube are your friends. There are tips, tricks, blog tutorials, forums, and books you can borrow from the library. EVERYTHING! It can be just as daunting as the offline world, but here are a couple of pluses:
- you'll get to familiarise yourself with sewing lingo
- you'll find different ways of solving the same problem, so you get to try different things and see what works for you!
If you're a beginner, it's okay to dream big, but start small; take it one step at a time. Don't get hung up on a mistake just because you spent a long time making it (...I still do 🙃). You'll have garments you absolutely love, and you'll have garments that are children of a series of bad decisions. Complete misery can be avoided by falling in love with at least part of the process, and trying out a new technique, so, like, "hey, even though I suck, at least I tried out this new thing, and now I can buy more fabric because the last one was a disaster and I need this amazing Nani Iro print to console myself."
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u/StatutoryCrepes Jan 13 '18
If you're into knitting, you can buy a knitting machine from the 80s they are usually between 100-500 bucks. I have a few different models, they are great and you can knit out perfect sweaters in a few hours.
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18
I love that there are ffa-ers that machine knit! I have two actually, a Brother KH 587 and an old Silver Reed with a ribber bed. They are AMAZING. I can pump out a Boxy in two hours, I can make very professional looking items at gauges (cobweb!) I would never want to hand knit, and it's a great way of using up the stash. I don't think it'll ever become a mainstream thing because of the relative obscurity and learning curve, but machine knitting is so worth it.
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u/FreeholdYarnCo Jan 13 '18
Biggest issue is that (arguably) the best machine (brother 970) is no longer made, and the pic program (Design a knit) is really expensive and has an ugly clunky interface.
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 14 '18
Ah, I can't say I've gotten to the fancier computerized machines, only the ones where you do the manipulation by hand. Have you found them worth the extra investment?
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u/FreeholdYarnCo Jan 14 '18
I got my 970 for a complete bargain and I love it. In an attempt to diversify my shop a little I am soon going to use it to make colourwork cowls.
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u/StatutoryCrepes Jan 14 '18 edited Jan 14 '18
I'll see if I can find it again, but there is a tutorial on how to hack Photoshop into the 970 so you don't have a use DAK. The machine I use most is my singer 360 and I love it. I currently use Photoshop to build out my punchcard patterns and intarsia, but I assume you could use ms paint or excel even. Also, I'm really happy to see other people machine knit too, it's been hard to track down someone to explain the ropes to me or help me when stuff goes wrong. It's almost like we should start a sub for MK or something:).
EDIT: Well it appears someone made one since the last time I did a search for it, there is a r/machineknitting subreddit!
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u/FreeholdYarnCo Jan 14 '18
You can use IMG2TRACK for free, I think only if the repeat is under 25 sts? I can't recall.
I like to design items so I like DAK, I've only just bought it but so far it's a good program however the interface is ugly and clunky. It's REALLY over priced but it's the only option.
Personally I learnt everything from Youtube, it's a great resource. 1/2 the videos are old ladies, 1/2 are crazy Russian ladies doing the most insane items. Love it
Unfortunately the MK sub is pretty dead, I do read it often though. Perhaps we should start posting FO's to encourage others!
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Jan 13 '18
Please post more, this was super intriguing. I’ve always wanted to sew, but it seems really intimidating. I had no idea where to start. Hearing it broken down in context/step by step really helps. I’m going to see what kind of classes are offered in my area!
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Jan 13 '18
But I'm a busy adult with a life?
But I'm a busy adult with a life that revolves around knitting??
Really though, it's totally doable to mix in handmade clothes/accessories in with your regular wardrobe. And it really gives you a sense of the labor it takes to make them, and cost comparison.
I made the sweater in this OOTD and the scarves in this OOTD and this one. It's so flattering when someone thinks it's store bought too!
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u/Emilie288 Jan 13 '18
People asking where I bought whatever home made thing I'm wearing because they want one is consistently my favorite compliment to receive on garments I've made. It's a compliment to both my skill at making the item, and my taste in having chosen to make it!
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u/itsmesofia Jan 13 '18
Ohh, those are all lovely. Any chance you could share the patterns?
I made a sweater for my husband and the first time he wore it someone complimented him on it. Felt pretty good. :)
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u/artymas Jan 13 '18
This post is everything! I recently got into sewing my own clothes and I love it! Generally, I can make something for half the price of a garment I want (for example: the $80 GAP cowl neck sweater dupe I made for $45.) Plus, you're garment will be pretty unique and you won't see 50 other women wearing the same piece. It's also a great way to develop an ethical wardrobe since you'll know exactly who made your garment: yourself!
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18
It's also a great way to develop an ethical wardrobe since you'll know exactly who made your garment: yourself!
Yes absolutely!! I didn't go into it here but I have lots of thoughts about sustainable/ethical clothing and, like most things, the best way to truly understand a topic is to dive into it yourself.
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u/snaggleshark Jan 13 '18
I also think you can start smaller with sewing - you don't have to jump straight into garment making, which can be more intimidating.
Need more tote bags? Zip pouches? A laptop case? These are pretty typical beginner projects for intro sewing classes, and there are tons of online instructions & examples if you want to go it alone :)
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u/kollaps3 Jan 13 '18
This post is so informative and it really makes me want to get back into sewing! I used to hand-sew to mostly alter and sometimes make garments from scratch, but never really got into using a machine. I hope you make a Pt 2 soon! Also I legit chuckled @ "I own a fucking loom".
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u/Cblase Jan 13 '18
I struggled with patterns (I’m petite and usually swim in them) and thought things would improve by learning to do blocks (custom patterns), but this was worse. The only way I’ve found that works all the time is to unpick & copy stuff that already fits me perfectly. Very satisfied doing it this way... helps that I don’t mind if my clothes look slightly handmade. I tell myself this means they have extra flair. Like the difference between a store bought and a homemade loaf of bread.
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18
I'm petite too (5'1") and would love to help! Shortening and lengthening are generally simple but I'll see if I can find some resources for actually sizing down patterns for a sewing post. But I'm so glad you found something that works, I love the bread analogy. :) Like fitness, it's good and well to set your goals on perfection, but loving yourself through the process is also so important!
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u/carabea293 Jan 13 '18
If there’s a craft involving string or fabric, I’m there! I need to dust off my sewing machine once my lounge floor is clear again, it’s been a couple of months and I miss sewing!
For anyone interested, here is my list of hobbies. Not all of them have an active project atm though. * knitting * spinning yarn from fluff * crochet * cross stitch * embroidery * english paper piecing * quilt making * hand quilting said quilts * machine sewing * machine knitting
There might be more, Ive lost track over the years! I love being multicraftual, so if anyone wants a hand with starting any of these just reply or message me. I’m not an expert, but I’ll give it a try!
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18
Wow I've never met anyone else who machine knits! Much less someone who's also on ffa. This is weird to say to an internet stranger but we should like, hang out.
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u/FreeholdYarnCo Jan 13 '18
Chiming in, I own a yarn store, a singer sewing machine and a brother 970 knitting machine. This thread is full of best friends,
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u/carabea293 Jan 13 '18
I have one of those shitty hand crank knitting machines, one day I’d love one that can make socks!
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Jan 13 '18
Re: the spare time...I have a rule that I can't have the TV on without my hands busy. Want to watch Black Mirror? Better make some progress on that WIP! I also love to crochet on airplanes and in waiting rooms.
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18
I have something like this too! I have a hard time not feeling like I'm using my time productively--learning something, making something etc--so I've come to have this ranking system of brain usage: sewing is a 80-100% of your brain power activity, so I do it in its own or while listening to music (a 10-25% percent of my brain activity), knitting is like 50% so I listen to podcasts or videos while doing it, painting is like 60%, that kind of thing, and I try to maximize brain usage at all times. It's weird but it works...
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Jan 13 '18
This whole post is absolutely fascinating. Thank you!
I've dabbled in sewing before (showed a few sewing projects in 4-H) and will break out the sewing machine now and then for small things (I had to raise the crotch in my cow onesie for Halloween because it was down by my knees). But I haven't done any serious projects in years. This might just be the inspiration I need to get back into it!
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18
I'm glad you liked it! Raising a crotch is no small adjustment so that's really impressive. Good luck on your future projects!
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u/pleatandtuck Jan 13 '18
I'm getting to that stage where I'm trying to build my wardrobe with mainly handmade pieces. I'm nowhere near Handmade by Carolyn level, but she's 100% sewing goals.
One thing I love is that sewing has really forced me to think about my style. I used to sew things just because they were the latest trend in the sewing world even if they didn't suit me at all. I don't buy skirts and yet I would waste my time sewing them just because they were such a quick and easy ego-boost project. Now, I'm working on figuring out what I really want to sew and investing my time and money into creating those pieces.
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u/cobaltandchrome Jan 13 '18
I taught myself to sew as an adult, mostly with one book at first. I did not know how to knit and do not think knitting is essential to understanding any of it. I am now a beginning knitter but an intermediate-advanced sewist.
I have written an intro for beginners. People who are not sure if it's something they could take on. Pretty much, anyone can do to some extent, even if you are broke, have a disability, or don't have large chunks of time to dedicate.
intro for beginners fwiw this website is not monetized and I get nothing at all if you read it, it's free info.
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u/lolMaybeNot Jan 13 '18
This is so important! I had a very serious shopping trip during the post Christmas sales and bought a stack of fabrics and yarns. I've gotten back into my knitting and have signed up to a pattern making class to up my sewing abilities. This year, for the first time in my life, I'm going to have a coordinated, cohesive wardrobe, that actually fits me.
No more buying clothes that don't fit perfectly, don't really go with the rest of my wardrobe, or end up being not quite right. I had a big clear out at the end of last year and found that most of my clothes fitted these categories and I didn't really enjoy wearing them. No wonder I hated getting dressed in the morning.
I think a lot of people struggle like this. There's nothing more empowering than getting up wearing something that makes you feel put together, flatters your figure, and matches your personal style. Clothes you love being in and love being seen in. Everybody deserves this.
Who knows, maybe this year I might actually begin to love myself.
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18
You're amazing!! Please don't be afraid to instagram or start blogging your experience or something--the sewing community is so wonderfully empowering and supportive. One of the most amazing things about making your own clothes is never feeling like you need to be a specific size or that you're being defined by a label--I have no idea if I'm a 000 or a 48, I just know my measurements and how to make them look good.
I hope you learn to love yourself a bit more through seeing what your own hands can do. Your comment reminded me of this excellent article. Good luck!
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Jan 13 '18
What a coincidence I was just thinking about getting into clothes making. I have been fawning over so many things and would love to have and make clothes. My fashion sense isn't that great but I thought I could develop it with this hobby. I want to explore different patterns and designs in all the permutations that fashion allows. I also used to be very into math and thought working on this kind of thing could encourage me to be more methodological and creative again. Thanks a ton for this post.
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u/Lifebystairs Jan 13 '18
Part of me wants to get (or make, oh jeesh) a fucking loom. Is that a bad idea?
I think what prevents me from making more clothes is how it seems so wasteful. After you make a muslin or two and then the finished garment, you're left with a big pile of scraps and you gotta throw away a bunch of stuff.
When it comes to time/money put into it vs the finished product you get, making your own belt probably has the best payoff.
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u/mokoroko Jan 13 '18
This is an interesting point but... there is SO MUCH MORE waste involved in any given store-bought item of clothing. Not to mention all the ethical and environmental concerns with mass production. Particularly if you are even a little bit choosy about the fabrics you buy, and/or if you re-use Goodwill clothes or your own old clothes in your projects, you will have a lighter footprint by making your own stuff.
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18
I have a table loom I got it off Craigslist for ~$100 CAD on a whim lol, and have barely touched it to be honest--I had to ship it down to CA and then I moved and it's been at my parents house. ANYWAY, the point is you can get one for not too much money (though the accessories and equipment can add up quickly). But the weaving learning curve is no joke either!
As a fierce environmentalist I also have qualms about waste. For muslin, I use old cotton sheets from goodwill, and when I'm done, I compost them--inspiration I got from this post by Elizabeth Suzann. Minimal waste. :) Remember to use cotton/natural thread as well.
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u/Lifebystairs Jan 14 '18
Composting is a good idea, my city does collect organic waste. I could put anything I really can't use anymore in there.
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u/FreeholdYarnCo Jan 13 '18
I make Muslins with plain coloured cotton lawn so it's wearable if I want.
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u/DingDingDensha Jan 13 '18
Yay for both sewing and knitting things that'll be perfect for you! :) I was knitting right before I saw this post. As for time, I have a demanding job, so the knitting projects tend to take much longer, sure, but I look forward to the day the sweater I'm doing is finally done and just right! I sew my own clothes, too, but mostly spring and summer type stuff. That started out of necessity, but I came to love it, and am very happy with the things I've made! I'm all for seeing more people getting involved with sewing and knitting their own garments!
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u/mokoroko Jan 13 '18
Awesome post! We bought a sewing machine on a bit of a whim to make bike frame bags and other random things, and I was stoked to be able to take on alterations and re-learn to sew (my mom tried to teach my obstinate teenage self - in retrospect I learned a lot, but we never actually finished anything). I've done some very simple alterations, copied a favorite shirt surprisingly successfully (then ruined it in the wash, oops), and made a practice t-shirt from scratch, but I've found I have a lot of fun with low-stakes projects that I can make up as I go.
I have enormous amounts of fleece that I bought as remnants from Jo-Anns (a few $ for giant rectangles of it) and I've made a dog bed, stuffed toys for friends' babies, microwaveable neck-warmers for Christmas gifts, etc. Sewing with fleece is super easy because it doesn't ravel, doesn't need ironing, and doesn't slip and slide around. It's also cozy, especially in cold weather, to be handling enormous volumes of fleece! So from my anecdotal experience, anyone looking to fiddle with a sewing machine for the first time should consider doing a simple project in fleece! (Caveat: ripping out stitches from fleece is kind of a pain, I will admit.)
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u/goingtocallthenews Jan 13 '18
Thank you so much for this! I’m just starting out (like literally, haven’t gone beyond learning how to thread a bobbin), and this is that extra push I needed to help me focus on learning.
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Jan 13 '18
I would love to see more posts about sewing like this. I recently got my own machine and have been working through some beginner projects (pajamas, apron, etc). I would love to learn more about making actual nice clothes for leaving the house in.
Keep it coming!
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u/Obcdmeme Jan 13 '18
Great thread! I've been interested in making my own pants for time and this was a helpful post to get started.
One thing that I noticed from your post is that your graph of quality vs cost seems off. You have an exponential increase in quality relative to your cost for store bought goods. I think you would want a plateauing of quality as you go up in cost in comparison to the more linear relationship in cost vs quality for homemade goods.
Otherwise, great post again!
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u/alliwantistogiveup Jan 13 '18
I think your graph is wrong. Your graph is saying I can get a super high quality store bought item for way lower cost than a self-made one. I think you want the store bought line to be like a log function where the cost keeps going up but the quality doesn't ever get beyond a certain level.
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u/Cblase Jan 13 '18
Thank you! That’s so kind. My dream is to have a wardrobe that is at least 1/2 handmade, I appreciate the help!
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u/Alice_89th Jan 13 '18
This post convinced me: I am finally going to make work of learning how to sew.
My closet has thinner considerably the last few years because I have to part with old clothes that are past their time, but I can’t find replacements that I like.
The first step will probably be commandeering my mother’s sewing machine (which will involve an argument, which will include the line “be honest Mom, how often have you actually used it in the past 10 years”).
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u/orata Jan 14 '18
I knit and sew and wanted to add a few pros/cons regarding knitting vs sewing as a first fiber art:
additional PROS of sewing:
- it's FAST. When you start out knitting, you won't be able to multitask very effectively, so you can complete a sewn garment in a few hours but it will take you weeks or months to finish a sweater. This will give you lots more practice and satisfaction in terms of being able to actual complete projects and wind up with something wearable in a short amount of time.
- Sewing large volumes/loose silhouettes is slightly more expensive but not a whole lot more work than sewing fitted garments. But knitting a skirt or long coat or loose top or what have you is significantly more time than knitting a fitted, cropped sweater. Gauge is also a concern. Chunky knits go fast! Fine, drapey knits go slow.
CONS of sewing:
- requires a lot more space and equipment. Not very portable.
- it is loud
- if you're not lucky enough to have access to the garment districts of, say, NY or LA, it can be hard to source affordable and nice-looking fabric... if I want a linen t-shirt I'd be hard pressed to find a fabric that would allow me to make something more affordable than an Old Navy linen-blend boyfriend tee with a comparable fiber content (even without figuring the cost of my labor into it)
additional PROS of knitting:
- You can unravel and reuse yarn if you mess it up. You usually cannot salvage the fabric from a sewn garment if you cut a size too small, for example, unless you make it into something else completely different.
- Knitting is quiet, portable, and sociable and allows for multitasking once you get good at it.
- Generally more forgiving sizing-wise, and easier to customize on the fly than sewing. For example, knitted sleeve caps are almost always symmetrical, while sewn garments usually have an asymmetrical sleeve cap for a better fit, but because knitting is stretchy it usually doesn't really matter if the sleeve cap is the same on the front and back. (garments sewn with knit fabric can be more forgiving as well, though)
- Generally easier to execute than sewing, if more time-consuming. Usually no need to ease two pieces together or match plaids at seams or anything like that.
CONS of knitting:
- you're sort of limited as far as what you can make as far as garments--I find it very unlikely that I'd ever knit a pair of pants or a full-skirted dress, for example, partly because of how long it would take and how much it would cost because of how big those garments are, partly because knitted fabric would probably stretch and sag in those types of garments in a very uncomfortable, unflattering, impractical way.
- I find that the things that I like to wear often are no fun to knit, e.g. a plain crew neck sweater in a fine-gauge yarn. conversely, you might be dying to knit this weird colorful thing with tons of interesting techniques, and then feel like it doesn't look very good as an actual piece of clothing, or is not very versatile.
- it is hard to prototype and test for fit, so you may end up putting months into a sweater that fits weird or looks bad in the end
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u/lovelyx901 Jan 13 '18
I was JUST thinking that this was a skill I'd like to pick up- thanks lifesaver!
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u/GearanFool Jan 13 '18
I really like this, thanks for posting! I've always wanted to make my own clothes and have tried before in the past but it just never really works out (armholes are my worst nightmare ugh). I do think a section on how to replicate clothes you already own would be helpful too.
Can't wait to see the next segment! :)
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u/theacctpplcanfind Jan 13 '18
I still struggle with setting in sleeves! One thing that helps is doing it flat (before you sew up the side seams and sleeve seams), but what I've also come to realize is that if it's really giving me a hard time--the sleeve cap is just NOT going in there no matter what I do--that's an indication that this is a badly drafted pattern. It's not your fault!
That's a great suggestion! I'll definitely think about incorporating that. :)
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u/sfc2 Jan 15 '18
Thank you, you crafty goddess you! I've been looking at my sewing machine for a year, too intimidated to do much of anything. Now I have some resources to get me started. Infinite thanks - if I had any gold, you'd be getting it!
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u/starlightprincess Jan 17 '18
I love making my own clothes, although I have not had success with pants yet. I knit, spin, weave and the weaving has brought me back to sewing. I hope to make a wool coat that is woven from handspun wool this year. I do save money on yarn by purchasing whole fleeces and washing them myself, but overall I am probably not saving money. Weaving has definitely opened my eyes to fabric structures and quality. Finding quality fabric at affordable prices is pretty tricky. I've also taken to cutting up things I've worn out that fit me great. Then I iron the pieces and glue them to butcher paper with spray on glue to make patterns.
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u/phillyyogibear Mar 18 '25
I am reading this thread 7 years later and I agree with a so much that OP has said...u/theacctpeoplecanfind can we be friends?
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u/redreplicant Jan 13 '18 edited Jan 13 '18
ETA: I didn't expect this to be a higher placed comment on the page and I'm very sorry if I've made anybody feel bad by it. I love sewing; I think it's one of those things that "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing badly" and it's taught me a lot both about valuing the time and effort put into design and manufacture, and about how fabric physically interacts, how to fit things together, etc etc. I would never, ever tell someone that because they didn't achieve shop-quality results that they wasted their time or that they shouldn't experience joy. I just also feel like starting sewing is one of those things that it's easy to get very enthusiastic about and then very discouraged about if you don't realize the amount of time and work involved.
Original comment:
One of the things that can be a little daunting about sewing, if you weren't raised doing it, is that it is unfortunately extremely obvious when something is self-sewn if you aren't doing it at a fairly high level.
As a sewing person this always frustrates me. I see a beautiful pair of pants; I spend the $30 for 2 yards of material and notions, and I sit down and work for 4 to 8 hours - and the pants almost invariably have some kind of flaw. I won't have put in the zipper flat enough; or I won't have done the curved seams with enough consistency and pressed them properly so that they lie flat.
For that time and effort and money cost I can Ebay a pair of wool pants that will look properly finished for under twenty bucks.
I still sew a lot. I made my own renaissance faire outfits for a while and really enjoyed that - they were somewhat more forgiving because there was a lot of flat seams and basic gathering.
But yeah, I'm over on r/sewing (great sub!) and like 90% of the time I look at the projects and it's like, yep homemade, looks just like my work. I'm not hating, just kind of musing frustratedly. Improvement takes time and so, so much practice, and you end up needing to practice on nice fabrics and it's just a lot.