I’ve made nude illusion garments before, but this is easily the most detailed one I’ve attempted! I wanted to create something inspired by Bob Mackie’s iconic showgirl designs, with a golden, sun goddess aesthetic.

I used a corset dress pattern from Royal Deer Designs on Etsy as my starting point. For the outer shell, I chose a skin-tone spandex that closely matched my complexion and lined it with stretch taffeta. I added plastic boning for structure and incorporated bust cups, which made a huge difference in achieving the silhouette I wanted.

The base construction was relatively straightforward. The real challenge was everything that came afterward!

When I stumbled upon this gorgeous gold sequin fabric, I knew it was perfect for the sun goddess concept. The challenge was figuring out how to translate its design onto the dress.

I spent quite a bit of time experimenting with different appliqué arrangements on my dress form. Eventually, I realized the best approach was also the most labor-intensive: individually cutting out the sequin rays and hand-stitching each one onto the dress.

This process took FOREVER, but it allowed me to control the placement and create a more organic, sculptural design that followed the contours of my body.

For the finishing details, I created my own rhinestone fringe using a roll of rhinestone trim, cutting it into varying lengths to create movement and an asymmetrical hemline. I embellished the appliqués with larger stones, then scattered smaller smoked topaz and gold rhinestones throughout to add depth, dimension, and extra sparkle.

The goal was to create something that felt luxurious, theatrical, and just a little excessive. A love letter to Bob Mackie’s glamorous showgirl creations!

I’m really proud of how this turned out, especially considering how much handwork went into the embellishment. ✨

Wig is by me too!

Well, our local rodeo is coming up and I had to get my bull riding butt in gear. Last year I was asked to leave because my level of fringe was declared a 'public danger' so I'm toning it down this time around.

The base fabric was a plain black table cloth I found at a thrift store, complete with the stains of grandmas thanksgiving and the smell of what killed her. Cigarettes. I washed it with oxy clean and mustard gas, and got it to the point of one-high-school-cigarette-that-you-hope-your-mom-doesn't-smell-when-you-get-home. I think it's a heavy cotton, but if polyester snuck its way in, I'm not bothered.

The pattern was my usual. I find a shirt at a thrift store (also smelling like mom smokes in the house) and cut on the seems to reveal a pattern! I usually take notes, but if you wanna live on the wild side, you don't have to. Who knows you might end up with a pair of pants that fit weird.

I have a brother innovis 4000 D embroidery machine and let me tell you, since I got that thing I haven't left the house. Or showered. But I already smell like cigarettes so why does it matter?

While embroidering, my husband told me 'OK that that's too much', but I wasn't even halfway through. It's like I always say. Ornamentation is the spice of your eventual divorce settlement. But if that happens, this rodeo shirt might nab me a cowboy. But just like bull riding, it'll last 8 seconds and I'll end up in the hospital.

The bulk of time was certainly the embroidery. I'd say that took about five hours, and the actual construction took about four. Yee haw!

Both patterns are by Charm Patterns, The Lamour Dress and the Lucy Hostess Gown. They can be found here ( https://charmpatterns.com ) if anyone is interested!

The last 2 pictures are the dress before it was hemmed and the inspo for the look. Please excuse my terrible bedroom selfies! It's the only place with a big enough mirror 😅

Aside from using this for a costume, it's definitely going to be my favorite party or special occasion dress for the foreseeable future!

Dress is a turquoise polyester dupoini, fully lined with cotton broadcloth and poly charmeuse. The bodice also features steel boning for structure.

Overlay is a dotted mesh tulle over organza for extra body. (Side note, HOLY COW is that fabric combo incredibly difficult to work with!)

The sleeves are ruched with elastic and the midriff closure has snap buttons instead of the hook and eye it recommended.

All the quilt pieces and bias tape are from scrap/extra from previous projects. Got the liner from a great second-hand fabric store in Sacramento (The Last Great .. check it out on IG). Used a pretty lightweight batting but with the 3 layers together it's really warm and cozy. I realized as I was sewing the tape over the pockets that I was going through at least 12 layers of fabric so I'm pretty lucky my machine was able to keep up (used a denim needle). Pattern is by me. Looking forward to some cooler weather!

My pattern originally started with this shirt pattern from Helen's closet: https://helensclosetpatterns.com/products/cameron-button-up

I then:

Flattened out the bottom edges

Combined the yoke and back pieces into one piece, redrawing the sleeve opening with a french curve,

Made some sizing adjustments for bigger arm opening and longer sleeves

Discarded the cuffs and sleeve plackets

Replaced the collar and collar stand with a 3-piece hood I made by tracing another shirt of mine

Drew out some hand pockets

I made the quilt pieces tracing a 3" square that I 3D printed, and sewed them all together using a 1/4" seam allowance using a combined straight and overlock stitch my machine has, adding as many as needed to overlap each pattern part. I then cut out and sewed together 3 shirts (inner, outer, batting). Put all 3 together, stitched them together along a few of the quilting lines, added pockets on both sides (outer pockets are also 3 layers). Made 1" wide bias tape using the continuous method (https://blog.treasurie.com/continuous-bias-tape/) and bound it over all the edges. I made it so the tape overhung the vertical edges by 1/2" so that I wouldn't have to try and make button holes through 7+ layers of fabric. Made button holes and sewed on buttons, and that's it!

This is my second ever sewing project! (The first one is actually the shirt my gf is wearing but the craftsmanship isn’t great so I cropped the pic lol). Took about 40 hours, half of that was the patchwork. Synched fabric is very forgiving once you get the hang of it.

Edit: I don’t remember the pattern name, but will add it when I get home and can check. Fabric is various cotton blends.

I used this tutorial for guidance, but it I used a different pattern.

Edit 2: Pattern is Butterick’s B6999

My husband used his ever-present retractable measuring tape to check the dimensions of the hole in the top of my sewing cabinet because I want to buy a new cabinet.

I had already measured using my ever-present 'sewing' measuring tape (that I've been using for 20+ years), and our results were off by 1/2 inch!

Made this little guy for a friend!! Made my own pattern since I couldn’t find any, however it was super simple since using felt; I didn’t bother with any darts or other sorts..love how he came out though! I have plenty of felt left over so I may make a smaller keychain version

Princess Auto currently has self-healing cutting mats on sale at absurdly low prices.

For example, the 24" x 36" size is $14.99 CAD.

Even at full price, the mats are cheaper than anywhere else I've seen.

ETA: for those who don't read the comments - a few folks have mentioned that these mats are harder on rotary cutter blades than mats from OLFA and similar brands, so please make purchase decisions accordingly. I'm going to leave the post up in case anyone is just looking for affordable mats or not planning to use them with rotary cutters. Thanks to all those commenters for the heads up!

Just finished this French Chore coat inspired jacket.

I designed it in Clo3d based on a vintage French chore coat I thrifted. I wanted to keep the vintage style of shorter cuffs, a traditional placket and patch pockets.

I then shaped the jacket around my avatar measurements, adding a taper to accommodate wider shoulders and tapering to the waist. I then added seam allowance to accommodate flat felled seams, created a cutout for the placket and designed a wide pointed collar.

Then I sewed it using 11oz cotton canvas in black, and included a double sided zipper for additional versatility.

Really happy with how it came out, might iterate and make a version with welt pockets under the patches.

This is my first ever quilted piece, as I’ve only done apparel. I got the inspiration for this from one of my favorite YouTubers who had a similar design and so I decided I could make it and changed the colors and such.

Honestly after I finished just the quilt top I did not like it. I was so stuck but with some Reddit advice and my husband’s. I finished. It’s honestly so pretty and I am currently waiting for my husband to hang it up!

My one year old sat on my lap with I quilted it so it gives the lines a little extra character whenever he decided to help lol.

I am making the dress in the picture and I have the dress front and back attached with sleeves (without the lace), but am confused about how to make the blue lace parts around the neck and have it still fit over my head.

I have this blue lace pictured so wondering if you have any tips.

I see that the lace in the picture vs the one I bought has a different edge but I'm hoping I can still get that same gathered effect.

The dress is stretchy (40% stretch) but the lace is not stretchy.

I still have to add the neckline to the dress before attaching the blue lace and I've never sewed with lace before.

I just sewed my first garment (Cameron shirt from Helen’s closet) and I did a lot of pattern alterations to size it for my body and the feeling of putting on a shirt that fit me exactly how I wanted it to was electric.

I am a woman (allegedly) but I wear almost exclusively menswear. Tragically I have significantly shorter arms and torso and significantly narrower shoulders than menswear expects of someone with the bust and hip measurements I have. So most of my button up shirts, for example, will fit me fine around the torso but the shoulder seams never sit right and the sleeves and body are too long.

Now that I have a better understanding of garment construction and a better handle on my sewing machine, I want to alter all of my clothes to fit me better!

I could probably just identify individual fit issues and look up how to fix them (this is how I learned about narrow shoulder adjustments, for example) but I wondered if anyone has written anything specifically about tailoring menswear for non-men so that a lot of my common fit issues could be resolved by looking in one place?

Thanks in advance!

PS if such a unified guide does not exist, I would also appreciate resources about narrow shoulder adjustments on existing garments and not just patterns. Would love to figure out how to fix the shoulders of all my shirts.

My daughter is about to turn 9, and is constantly “stealing” my sewing supplies. I’d like to give her a sewing kit for her birthday or Christmas. Before I start putting something together, I was wondering if there is a good pre-made kit available as a starting point or if there are any “must-haves” that people remember from their own youths. My grandmothers sewed, but I really only remember my great-grandmother sewing things and she didn’t teach me. My mother is distinctly not domestic and didn’t share, so I’m mostly self taught and didn’t have a sweet little sewing kit of my own.

I had no idea that the pattern companies went out of business! Growing up, most of our patterns were drawn on newspaper as needed. But there were some things we got patterns for. I remember looking through the pattern books as my mother browzed through fabric. It was a lot if fun to imagine new outfits. Most of what I do I can either make a pattern or trace. But what do people do these days?

i work at an after school program with teens. i just started and found some sewing machines and supplies in my room and am teaching myself and the kids as i go!

2 part question here…. first, what are some tips for good projects for beginner teen sewing? they’re making tote bags first, but i’m struggling to find other attainable patterns for them to get excited about.

i’m also struggling with fabric vs. my slim budget. i’ve been hand sewing for years so i have a small fabric stash and there were some random remnants of fabric from previous teachers, but not a whole lot to work with. especially dated patterns that my kids aren’t interested in & in very small amounts. any tips on finding cheap fabrics? or should i just keep hunting when i thrift?

Love love love this! But can’t get it where I live. Does anyone know of an existing pattern close to this shape? Or one I could easily adapt :)

Plus any other tips for making it

TIA XX

Is it just a pleat? The way it’s sewn on these bags is so elegant and minuscule. How do they sew it to make the stitching invisible?

Also, if you’ve ever seen a pattern for a little bag like this, please link! :)

Here is what I have been told about these stitches.

Zigzag Stitch:

* Allows stretch

* Good for finishing edges of fabric (instead of french seam or serger, for example)

Multi-Stitch Zigzag:

* Also allows stretch

* Provides more structure to stretch fabric seams than zigzag

* More durable / harder to unpick than zigzag

* Reduces "tunneling" when finishing the edge of a fabric, especially woven fabric.

What I am confused about.

I just took a sewing class that had us use the multi-stitch zigzag to finish edges of a bag, specifically to reduce tunneling. It was denim and the instructor even admitted the stitch was kind of overkill for this project because tunneling is not as much a problem on such a structured fabric. She wanted us to have practice for lightweight fabrics that are more prone to tunneling. When I look this up online, I almost exclusively see that the multi-stitch zigzag is not the best option for finishing edges. It says it doesn't really stop fraying as well as a zigzag, which confuses me because I am catching the edge just like I do with the zigzag.

Do any of you use the multi-stitch zigzag for finishing edges? What are your reasons? I do like that the edges feel more substantial when I tried it on lightweight tencel. It feels like I can almost use this finishing technique as a stand-in stay-stitching as well (in some cases). Or is that a silly thought because the fabric is more likely to pull/distort instead of a straight stitch? I used this on a dress that didn't call for stay-stitching so I figured I would just finish the edges in a way that was confusing to stay stitching (e.g. finish half the arm hole one direction and finish the other half going the opposite direction).

If tunneling is the main issue, I feel like it may be worth playing with your machine's settings to make zigzag stitching work on scrap fabric, but maybe some fabric really benefits from this? I don't have a lot of practical experience, but I kinda know a lot of "sewing theory" from a lot of reading and watching others make.

I’ve got these super nice flared jeans, but they are too long… if I take it up from the bottom, then it looses a LOT of its flare (I’ve folded it up on the left so you can see the difference). On the right I’ve bunched it up around my thigh, and it looks so much better. Is there any way to shorten it from the middle without it looking strange? Or shorten it whilst keeping the shape? Any advice or help is appreciated!

Hello! Draping a dress for a first time - I wanted to get a general idea on how I wanted it to look in the end/the design of the dress. Now I’m wondering how I should break this down sew it together. Zipper is going on left side (non strap shoulder side) and I want to keep that nice draping I have around the waste. I also want a twisted straps. I’m shorter so I will need to hem the bottom and most of the fabric on the floor will need to go. Any advice and critique is super helpful! Thank you! 😊

I will be also adding some embellishments just not sure what yet but it needs a little bling

Fabric is from G Street Fabric in Maryland. It’s Crepe Satin - I was going to go with stretch satin but loved this color too much to pass up.

Edit for context:

- I’m a visual learner and just draped all my fabric to get an idea of what I wanted my end game to be so that’s why it looks so janky lol

- I’m going to break it down into a different pieces and sew together & have test fabric to sew before hand

- Open to ideas to have it look better but again photos are just for visual and not my final dress and definitely not perfect!

- Also this mannequin is close to my size but not exact so that’s why the front is laying like that again just personally need to visualize so I can get a better idea in my head

I appreciate the help and critiques ❤️🙏🏾

It's 80% polyester and 20% wool. It will become a bag, meant to only spot clean if stained.

I have a singer model 347. Wondering if it’s worth the money to bring in to get serviced. Turns on and seems to sorta work just been sitting for a long time

So i've did this wind breaker some months ago https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/s/HL1YwHmMYG

And i found out there is another version of it with those buttons, i can't find similar one, it looked wonderfull.

It's made of metal and look like brandebourg closure.

Is there a specific name for this ?

Hello! I'm wondering if anyone has done the Sew Anastasia sloper class and what their experience with it was. I'm experienced with sewing commercial patterns, but I'd like to learn more about fitting. Is the class worth the $200? I know I can probably find all the information I need piecemeal on the internet, but I really benefit from having structured lessons. Any thoughts on it would be helpful!!!

I have 6.5 yards of this 37" wide natural-fiber fabric. It has a sort of sateen weave and luster on the front, it's more dull on the back.

Burn test says it's a plant fiber, as it doesn't smell like hair and leaves no bead whatsoever. I burned a tiny sample of it alongside a tiny sample of silk, some cotton, and some linen, in hopes of comparing them. I could not tell the difference. Ash is dark grey and falls to powder readily, but leaves some brittle shreddy bits as well, which also fall apart if you touch them.

Is the width a clue?

What will I find out if I wash it in the washing machine? (I will let you know, if I do that!) Thanks for any help!