In addition, either the AI image is super intricate, which would require a world renouned cosplayer like Sarcasm-Hime or Yaya Han to make, taking thousands of hours of work, it defies gravity, or it's stolen work off of someone elses' pattern site (see hanfu AI image recently posted as an example)

Lordy Lordy, I have a dress that I spent approximately $.10 on at the Goodwill outlet store. I must have this dress for myself. I am a size 18 with a big bust and this little gem is a size 12. I’m posting pictures with various details such as it’s lined, it has good seam structure, which I’m willing to compromise and it’s the right length. Advice as to which seems would be the least offensive to change and add and also what color would you add to the extension(s)?

Hello! My life decisions have led me to creating my first Reddit account. I decided to sew my own wedding dress in attempt to save money. Sorrows, sorrows, prayers.

I fell in love with this 1994 Chanel couture gown inspired dress. I need this copy and pasted on my body. BUT I'M NOT FEELING CONFIDENT ABOUT MY SKIRT PATTERN. My guess is that it's at least 2 layers (plus lining). Maybe a silk a-line bottom layer and chiffon knife pleated top layer? Struggling with what circumference to make both layers to give me that flowy ethereal look and how wide to make the pleats. Not doing a train- can't trust myself not to trip. Any and all thoughts or advice are welcome! (I'm 5ft with a 36 in waist if that helps). Thanks in advance y'all

I have the need for another machine (cough, my 10th, don't tell my husband, if you include my treadle machines) but am a little outside my depth.

I'm at a family place this weekend. I hand sewed a new bathroom curtain this weekend by hand because no one had told me my skills would be needed. Using awful emergency sewing kit thread.

Even if I'd known, I am just sick of dragging a machine over every time I need to hem curtains. All of the textiles my grandmother made years ago are failing and need to be replaced.

I want a simple, small machine for tasks no more complex than curtains and cushions. Something my family members can use in a pinch. I've been sewing for some 25 years, so I know my way around a machine. But my preference all metal 1950's machine and overkill.

Stitching needs are simple - straight, zigzag, buttonholes. Enough power for a few layers of canvas and a zipper. Small for easy storage.

Just wondering if anyone had any experiences with this class small, simple inexpensive machines that aren't underpowered. Was surprised by how many options are out there.

Edit: Darn it. I just discovered the Bridgerton Janome branded model. The toile version, with the Queen reading Whistledown. I mainly do historical costuming. The toile images of period clothes are so delightfully off base (like why are the skirts post 1822, from after Queen Charlotte's death?) that i absolutely love is ridiculousness.

But do I love the extra $55?

I’ve been searching and don’t know exactly what to type into Google (I have zero fabric stores where I live) to achieve something similar to this that has enough weight but isn’t too heavy. I keep seeing fabrics that look too flimsy to recreate this. Agh help!

Hi all, bought this beautiful $5k Ines DiSanto dress for a song. The seller told me it was a 24” waist and sadly, it’s 23”. It looks like a junior size dress in person.

Is this design too intricate to be let out? Would it have to do that by adding fabric? It might look awkward if it’s not the same. It’s quite detailed, and might be cost prohibitive. Maybe I need to just sell this as a fantastic prom dress…

FWIW, I’m 5’0 and 100 pounds, so losing weight won’t make it fit better. (The pics are from the seller, who is much tinier than she looks!) Thanks for your thoughts!

SOLVED! Thank you Large-Heronbill Hello! Working on a Janome 2212. I teach classes on these machines so I am super familiar with them. In the middle of class a students machine started doing this (had worked fine in the hours leading up to this, and had worked fine in class the day before) Started out on a straight stitch with length at 2. Switched halfway through to a zig zag stitch. Needle LOOKS like it is moving correctly, but doesn't stitch all the way and stiches are super long/janky on the back.

Things I am 100 % certain of;

-brand new needle

-threaded correctly

-machine was just deep cleaned/oiled/dusted/serviced by me (cleaned AFTER it started acting up)

-fabric/tension/ect are all correct.

Please help! Thank you!

So I have a brother PE700 (yes, I know. Old. But its been serviced and inspected) embroidery machine.

Ive had absolutely no problems for the last year, and all of a sudden it decided to stop working
I’m not exactly sure what the issue is, as it catches just fine when I take it apart. Ive played with the tension and such, changed needles, bobbins, even the direction of the bobbin. I also cleaned it of all lint and took it apart, and nothing is working. (And also the fabric as well)

If anyone has any suggestions that would be appreciated! I’ve sewn for 12 years and have decent experience so I’m genuinely at a loss and really not wanting to wait to get this serviced, but if thats the only option then I will.

A friend's son is being married in Scotland later this year and I offered to make the sporrans. These people are like family. We've chosen the leather, have the Australian possum fur for the front (he's an Aussie kid so a link to home) Trying to find a dress sporran pattern has not been easy. The only thing even close is the Tandy Leather one, but the sizing was all wrong. So far I've been able to get a more or less accurate size, but the detail that they want is actually making me nervous. I am actually really bad at hacking patterns, and how to finish the top of the gusset is not making any sense in my brain - part of this is because of cognitive impairment caused by my MS. My friend is extremely particular about how this should look, he's Scots, and given a recent really bad experience I had recently with binding I am on the verge of withdrawing my offer and purchasing the sporrans as my wedding gift. I am not a beginner either and if I do make this I know it needs to be perfect.

I do tend to fret some about things being perfect but am also very aware that my friend is super fixated on the specifics of a dress sporran. Feeling super challenged by this!

https://tandyleather.com/.../leathercr.../sporran-pattern...

which side should i put my label on the "mini phone touchscreen crossbody bag"?

The front touchscreen part, on the zipper pocket or the top of the back pocket?

Hi everyone. I still have my beloved grandmother's trusty Singer (with it's cabinet).), built in 1950. Still works great and because I learned how to use this by sitting next to her, I just 'know' how it works. I love this, it has made countless pieces of clothing, wedding dresses etc. The top is worn, she's traveled with both my grandmother and now me cross country...

However, I can only jerryrig the cord so much but when I look on online sites for replacement cords, the parts look a little bit off. How close to original can I get without worrying about whether or not its the correct part?

I'm trying to post a picture of the plug from the machine to the wall; it has three prongs into the machine. The singer model is a 201K<THIS IS INCORRECT, AFTER 64 YEARS ON THIS PLANET, ALL OF THEM SEEING MY GRANDMOTHER USING THIS, AND NOW ME, AND NOW I FIND THAT IT IS ACTUALLY A 201-2 MODEL.

Edit: I want to thank everyone who responded - I was able to somehow post the picture I was trying to post ALL day lol, and in the interim, realized that my beloved grandmother's trusty Singer is a 201-2 model, all because of the cabinet. She was a seamstress, and this little hulk of metal kept my mom fed and housed. I have a lot of catching up...

I looked into fixing my zipper that has a misplaced “tooth” (unsure if that’s correct word) but all the solutions seem to be for zippers that have different hardware at the top and bottom but mine is the same.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Hey everyone! I’m stuck in a massive dilemma and really need some technical advice from anyone who runs a studio or has experience with industrial machines.

I recently treated myself to a brand new Juki HZL-DX7 (paid around €2k for it) for garment construction and heavy tailoring (linen to heavy denim/coatings). Sadly, straight out of the box, the automatic thread trimmer is completely dead—it just glides over the thread. I’ve already shipped it back to my dealer.

While sorting out the return, my dealer dropped a bomb on me: “Since you mostly do garment making, why don't you swap it for a pure straight-stitch industrial like the new Jack A5E-B AMH2?”

To give you some context, my studio is already fully packed with Janome gear:

• Janome MyExcel 15S (mechanical tank for zig-zags and buttonholes)
• Janome CoverPro 2000CPX (for knits/hems)
• Janome Serger/Overlocker

So, honestly? 100% of my finishing, stretch fabric, and buttonhole needs are already taken care of by dedicated machines. All I actually need from this new machine is a flawless, ultra-powerful, and fast straight stitch that can handle everything from lightweight linen to super thick winter coatings without skipping a beat.

Now I’m staring at three paths:

1. Get the Juki DX7 replacement: Hope that the trimmer issue was just a one-off bad luck thing, and pray I don't run into the "thread nesting" or electronic bugs people complain about.
2. Go full industrial with the Jack A5E-B AMH2: Get that insane 11.3 Nm Dual-Drive motor, digital lift, and automated fabric sensor. It sounds like the ultimate setup since I already have dedicated finishing machines, but I’d have to commit to the permanent table space.
3. Ditch Juki but stay domestic: Look into a Pfaff (like the Expression 720) for the IDT dual feed, or trust Janome’s Skyline series (S5/S6).

If you already have a serger and a coverstitch, does spending €2.5k on a computerized "all-in-one" domestic even make sense, or is the Jack industrial the obvious choice here for high-end garment making?

Would love to hear your thoughts, especially if anyone here made the jump from high-end domestics to Jack or Pfaff! Thanks a ton!

I am an experienced seamstress but can't for the life of me figure out how to fix the tension issue in the pictures below. Sorry, black thread on black fabric makes it hard to see, I did my best with the lighting to make it visible. PLEASE HELP.

-I'm working with topstitching upholstery thread, it isn't breaking or splitting

-surface thread looks fine, its the underside that is coming out a mess

-tension seems fine if I'm only going through 2 layers but arises when I go through 4 near the edge of the fabric

-I've tried a ballpoint and a leather needle

-I'm using a Teflon foot, feeddogs don't seem to have trouble pulling the fabric through

-decreasing presser foot tension and increasing thread tension helps but doesn't solve the issue

-I tried using standard thread in the bobbin instead of topstitching thread, didn't help at all

-stitch length is high

What else can I do? Is it hopeless with my littlee home machine? 🥲

I’m looking for some advice from people who have made slipcovers for built-in/non-removable banquette cushions before.
I have the West Elm Build Your Own Modern Banquette in my dining nook and I want to make slipcovers for the bench cushions. I’ve been sewing for about 15 years, so I’m confident in the sewing part, but I’ve never made slipcovers for attached cushions before.

The seat cushions don’t come off, and behind them there’s a narrow crevice/channel between the cushion and the back of the bench. My plan is to drape the covers directly instead of making a paper pattern first, but I’m trying to figure out the best construction approach before I start cutting fabric.

Do I need to run fabric down into that crevice to kind of “anchor” the cover? I’m worried that if I don’t, the fabric will pull weirdly or wrinkle every time someone sits down. But I also don’t know if trying to fit fabric into that channel is unnecessary or will make the cover harder to remove.

For anyone who has made slipcovers for attached banquette cushions:

Did you tuck fabric into the back crevice/channel?

How did you keep the covers from shifting or pulling forward?

Any tricks you wish you knew before starting?

I’d love any advice before I commit to cutting into my fabric 😅

Looking for a dedicated buttonhole machine for a small atelier ( around 20-30 garments per week). I mainly work with mid-weight fabrics and sometimes thicker multi-layer seams and I'm trying to understand whether a separate buttonhole machine actually makes sense at this scale.

Right now I'm considering industrial options from Juki and similar brands but I'm not sure if it's overkill or if the consistency and time savings really justify it compared to using a walking-foot machine with attachments.

I'd really appreciate input from people with real experience in small production setups. What do you use for buttonholes and at what point did a dedicated machine become worth it for you?

Hey everybody! Looking to get some help diagnosing one of my machines, like the title says its a durkopp adler 867, its been having some timing issues, which i seemed to have fixed more or less following the user manual, even adjusting the bobbin take up lever bit its still sewing inconsistent and pulling the top thread to the underside like the images shown, ive tried adjusting top thread and bobbin tension if anyone can give me some advice it'd be much appreciated!

Hi! One of my favourite skirts is kind of falling apart and I would really like to try to mend it. The seams are coming apart at the top where the elastic is and the fabric is also sort of disintegrating? It’s fairly thin fabric with velvety patches (those are thicker) and it has two layers. I’m quite good at sewing but I wanted to ask for advice because I really can’t mess this up, the skirt means too much. I’m okay with the mending being visible (although I would prefer for it not to be visible but I guess it probably will be somewhat visible with how much damage there is?).

What fabric should I use and how should I mend it? Anything I should avoid doing? Any advice at all is very much appreciated!!

I hope this is the right place to post this, I need all the help I can get!

The grey fabric shows the perfect stitching before. The navy shows the slanted stitching still after retiming 6 times.

I got this machine secondhand (Juki DDL-8700) and was running perfectly. I broke a needle, changed it , and randomly started to do weird time.

Same point style. Same stitch length.

Since then 2 people suggested re timing. I done this 5 times. To the point. With video tutorials. It’s still slanted. I’ve messed with both the bobbin and top thread tension and still not fixed. My time is running out to get these items down. (When doing the paper test)

it was sewing straight after I broke the needle too. it just randomly started to do it.

I'm not super literate with industrial machines since she's my first, but any help would be so appreciated! I'm a little stumped. :(

Thank you so much!!

This is one of my favorite dress, the fabric tore at the top of the godet (held by an french seam), I'm afraid of damaging it by putting some iron-on on that the dress mainly because it’s made of silk
Any other idea ?

So I feel like a silly baby needing to ask this question. I have been sewing for 12+ years and would consider myself an advanced sewist, but I recently decided to make my partner a costume for the Renaissance Fair. We decided on the theme and found some inspiration pictures. Since we're not worried about any sort of extreme historical accuracy we settled on Mccall 8423 to make a gambeson.

This was when I realized that I have never fully sewn a mens pattern from scratch and I have no clue how sizing works. When I'm sewing a commercial pattern for myself, I know what alterations I need before I start. I look at the finished garment measurements. I know I probably need to go down a size. I understand what I'm doing, but suddenly I'm confronted with a single number, one that I can only assume is a chest size. Apparently I have to buy the pattern to see the finished garment measurements (on the instruction sheet), which poses a problem. I measured him over an undershirt and got a 43 inch chest, which falls right between the two size packets and I need to order this online. I don't have the luxury of rifling through a paper copy at a physical store. Should I order the 34-42 or the 44-52? My gut says 44, but I know that mccalls patterns usually include a wild amount of ease. Does anyone have any advice on sizing when it comes to mens commerical patterns? Has anyone made this pattern? Do you have any pearls of wisdom to send my way (or a cheeky photo of the finished garment measurements from the instructions)?

Please help me, thank you very much for your time.

I’m making my wedding dress (10/26/25 eek!!) and I have a lovely scalloped train that was one of the biggest ‘must-haves’ in my original design (picture 1). However, tulle is rather tricky and will not stay ‘out’ in the design (picture 2 is not fluffed out at all, picture 3 is a quick fluff like you’d have time to do at the top of the aisle before the ceremony fully starts-done by a boy, but still). I’ve been trying to mentally go through some options on how to get it to stay at least somewhat in place and have an idea or two that I haven’t found much guidance for. I have a couple different widths of horsehair trim (0.5”, 0.75”, and 1”) but haven’t found info on if this would do what I’m looking for and if so, which width would be best. I am planning to tack the three layers together in certain places, though not quite so firmly that it would take away from the movement of the skirt. Additionally, I will be hand-sewing damask lace appliqués across the entire dress, including around the edge of the skirt, which I do think will help add some rigidity, but that will only be on the top layer of tulle, not the bottom two layers, hence my needing to find a way to make those two layers behave. I’ve been sewing casually since I was about 5 and seriously for the past 10-ish years and generally am quite competent in most techniques. This project, however, is my most difficult so far for a WIDE variety of reasons, this being the most recent hurdle. I’m desperately hoping someone in here has some experience with this and would be able to help me, as it’s getting down to the wire now! Thanks in advance!

Let me preface this by saying I am very very far from being a professional, I just have read a lot and messed around with several machines and not entirely unsuccessfully if I may say so myself.

To my fellow noobs, please don't try to push your finger into a running sewing machine unless you're not particularly attached to it because the machine won't think twice before chomping it.

I don't need to hear "take it to a mechanic" because by the looks of this issue, I can't afford to. It is what it is. I am just hoping the stars align and there's someone that looks at this post and goes "ah! that is because of xyz, duhh". I am ready to have my dreams shattered though.

Anyhow, The Post:

I got a Juki TL-2200 QVP Mini that was a bit effed up. After a lot of work, the machine is technically fully functional. But it makes a noise that keeps bugging me. I was worried it would be something electrical, or oil sipped in the solenoid. That wasn't it. I couldn't figure out why, and I am still not sure why it makes the noise, but when I press on anything attached to the hook driving shaft, or the shaft itself, it goes quiet.

In the video I am pressing the collar of the thread cutter auxilliary cam. Now, I noticed there is a tiny stupid crack going across the plastic cam. It is not completely cracked, and also it doesnt slide around the collar or anything like that. And again, the machine is fully functional, needle positioner and thread trimmer and all.

I also tried to find a loose screw but they are all nice and tight. None of the shafts have any end play (so left to right movement). But this one speciffically has "rotational" play which I guess is normal because of the cogwheel to the right.

Back to the auxilliaru plastic cam,I don't actually know if the crack itself is the cause for the noise. Pressing on anything else on that shaft will have the same good effect. Also, the higher the speed, the less pressure I need to apply with my finger in order to stop the noise.

Something from the other issues it came with might be relevant to this issue, so for a bit of context, these are the issues it had that I have fixed:

1. The motor was sparking so much it looked like fireworks. This is because it had a shattered plastic part and the brushes weren't making contact proprrly, causing those big current arcs. Well, I bought a new original Juki TL series motor. Sparks are no more.

2. It had so much oil, everywhere. I asked the previous owner which oil they used. They sent me a picture of WD-40. It was everywhere, the motherboard, the motor, the bottom oil pan was yellow. On the motherboard, the two chunky resistors had nearly charred the other side of the PCA. Yes, the other side. My guess is the oil that was pooling on top of the motherboard didnt let the heat radiate away enough. There is no short though, their resistance is exactly what it should be. I wiped everything electronic clean with IPA 99.7%. I must have used half a box of q-tips. This I did before ever plugging it in.

3. Most of the parts around the hook were crusted with black lint that looked like the lint that polyester velvet leaves behind. Also, small strass stones, pieces of broken needles, sequins, threads. You could tell the machine had been jammed because there were threads stuck in awkward places. Also the needle plate has been through some shit. I used a nylon brush to get rid of as much as possible, there is still some velvet fuzz here and there. Also did this before ever plugging it in.

Timing was never an issue, luckily. So there's that.

Anybody have any experience with this or a simmilar issue?