As any mother with a young child will tell you, babies grow incredibly quickly. For new mothers, making the most out of baby clothes is of the utmost importance. So what do you do when those onesies just don't quite snap anymore? How do you get an extra month out of those jeans that are a little too short for the winter months? The great thing about onesies is that they're a very workable cotton fabric, and there really isn't any hemming necessary to turn a couple of onesies that fit at five months into a couple of shirts that fit at eight months. Simply cut them off right at the leg holes and gently pull the material around the edges so that it rolls a tiny bit. This way there are no exposed threads for baby to pull at or chew on. The same applies to footie pyjamas. By simply snipping off the feet, you can easily get another month's wear out of the sleepwear.
Adding extra buttons to overalls or snappy shirts makes them naturally grow with your child. Perhaps one of the best investments a new mother can make is a mid-priced sewing machine. This makes alterations and additions a breeze, and provides you with a new hobby.
Things like adding extra material to the bottom of a dress or skirt can be done in just minutes, as can letting out the hem of a pair of jeans or overalls. Buying clothes initially those are mid-priced and made of a cotton material with a lot of elastic and snaps makes transitions much easier.
Shoes are always going to be a problem, but buying a canvas sneaker in the spring can convert into a mule for summer wear, as long as the baby is not walking yet. Think of the ways that you would extend the life of your own clothes. T-shirts that come three to a pack can easily be downgraded to rags or dust cloths. Jeans and pants that have become worn or are too short can be cut and hemmed for summer shorts. Sweaters can become blankies. Things like first outfits and special occasions clothes can be put into a special chest to pass on to your child for when they have children of their own. For the most part, making baby clothes last, laundry runs aside, is about ingenuity and personality. Learn the basics of stitching and hemming and let the creative designer in you shine through!
Is It Worth Sewing My Own Clothes?
Sewing is coming back into vogue. Many people are tired of the cookie-cutter type clothing found in retail stores. They want something unique, and want to show off their creativity.
Sewing was once considered the economical way to dress. In the last few decades, we've seen fabric pulled from all our department stores and other retailers. Many fabric chains have gone out of business. Those left with fabric are either quilt stores, or lean toward calicos and other quilting fabrics.
What happened, and is it still worth sewing my own clothing?
As with so many other items, cheap labour abroad has reduced the price on the clothing found in our retail stores. When clothing goes on sale, you can find high quality garments ready made at very affordable prices. This has made sewing less desirable.
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Sewing is work, takes time, and the outcome is not always certain. When you purchase an item in a retail store, you have the luxury of trying it on first, to make sure that the fit is prefect, and that the outfit is flattering on you.
When you sew, you don't have that luxury. You have to know beforehand that the fabric you are buying is going to work for you, and that the pattern you are making has lines that will both fit and flatter your body type.
Added to this is the assumption that you are an accomplished seamstress, and that you will not have any problems with the construction of your garment.
Having said this, there are many reasons people may still want to sew their own clothing.
The price of a basic sewing machine is still very reasonable. You can buy a machine with many "extras", like decorative sewing stitches, and computerized features.
You may want to sew your own clothing if your figure is hard to fit, or if you have trouble finding colours you like.
On the negative side, if you pay full retail price for the notions and fabric you need to sew an outfit, it will be expensive.
Another negative can be sewing space. If you don't have a place to sew, like a dining room table, it will be messy. If you have small children, you are going to have to be very careful, as pins and needles are hard to keep from falling on the floor.
If you do have a dedicated sewing space, however, that place may become your haven, and you will thoroughly enjoy every minute you spend there.
Sewing can become a passion. Buying fabric can become one of life's greatest joys.
So is it frugal to sew your own clothing? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. The real question is "Do you want to do it?"
Sewing is a very versatile skill. Even if you don't want to make your own clothing, you have other options.
Children clothes are great to make. Just learn a few basic pieces, and you can make them in different fabrics and sizes. Most patterns come in several sizes.
Great seamstresses can pull apart adult garments and reuse the fabric for childrens' clothing.
Special Occasion Dresses can be very expensive and hard to find in the store. If you fabric is very expensive, make your outfit in muslin first so that you know it will fit. Then, pull it apart and use the muslin as the pattern for your expensive fabric.
Sewing for your home can result in significant savings and beautiful, unique decor. Drapery panels are easily made with simple straight stitching lines for hems. The only hard part is dealing with so much fabric.
Easier to make are pillow, shams, tablecloths, napkins, table runners and even bedspreads and dust ruffles.
Bottom line- sewing is a great hobby, and can even turn into a home business. If you enjoy it, do it. If you don't, shop the sales and don't feel guilty. Either way, you win.
Sew, What's Your Problem?
There never seems to be enough hours in the day to do all that we have to do. The last thing a sewer needs when she sits down at her sewing machine is to have everything go wrong! The needle breaks, thread jams in the bobbin area or keeps skipping stitches or a number of other frustrating problems that keep the project from being completed. These problems happen to the novice sewer as well as the seasoned pro, and while we would like to blame the sewing machine and perhaps "throw it out the window", there are measures that a home sewer can take to correct most problems or even prevent them from happening in the first place.
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The sewing machine needle is probably the number one cause of problems for sewers and crafters. This may sound silly, but the first thing to check when having stitching problems is whether the needle is in backwards. Oh, I know you're saying "I've been sewing most of my life and I know how to put the needle in the machine", but in about 25% of the sewing machine repair jobs I go out on, the only problem was that the needle was put in backwards. If your machine will not pick up the bottom thread or skips stitches badly, in most cases it's because your needle is in wrong.
Each sewing machine requires the "flat" side of the needle be put in a specific way facing the front, the back, etc., depending on your particular model. Sewers in a hurry to get a project done may simply insert the needle and not pay attention to the position of the flat side, and immediately begin having problems. If by chance you have a sewing machine that takes a needle that doesn't have a flat side, you'll notice that each needle has a groove in it where the thread lays as it penetrates the fabric. Depending on whether your machine shuttle system faces to the front or to the left, the groove of the needle will also face front or left.
A needle that is dull, bent, or simply the wrong size or type can cause major sewing problems. Just because the needle "looks good" doesn't mean that it is good. A small "snag" on the tip of the needle can cause runs in the fabric, and even a slightly bent needle won't sew properly. A good rule of thumb would be to change the machine needle before each new project, and, because some fabrics and fabric finishes can increase wear on the needle, you may need to change the needle during the project if you notice stitching problems.
Always use the right size needle for the type of fabric you're sewing. I've seen sewers trying to sew denim with a fine lingerie type needle simply "because the needle was in the machine and still a good needle", and others trying to sew fine fabrics with needles that are much too large. A needle too fine for heavy fabric can bend or break when it hits the fabric, while too large needle for the fabric can make puncture holes in the fabric and also cause the thread to pull unevenly while stitching. Do yourself a huge favour and check the machine needle before you begin any new project.
The second thing to check is the thread itself. We have found that "cheap" thread is definitely not a bargain! The fibres of the "bargain" thread splits easily while you're sewing and can cause knotting of the thread, breakage of the thread and can also cause a build-up of lint in the bobbin area and along the thread line from the spool to the needle. If you hold a length of the bargain thread up to a light you can readily see the frayed edges and roughness of the thread. Stick to a good quality thread and you'll minimize the potential problems.
An additional area to check for stitching problems is whether the sewing machine is threaded properly. Each machine has a certain sequence for threading, and it only takes one missed step in the sequence to cause your machine to skip stitches. If you're in doubt, take the top thread completely out and start all over again.
Many times it's the small things that cause much frustration and loss of sewing time. Taking just a few minutes before starting a project to make sure everything is in order can save hours of "down" time, not to mention frayed nerves and the possibility of taking the machine to a repair shop unnecessarily.
Waist Shaping or Don't Waist Your Time On Unflattering Garments
A complaint often heard about crocheted garments is that they often turn out unflattering to wear. A major reason for this is that many crochet patterns dont feature sufficient shaping. However a beautifully stitched pattern or the yarn, or both, any garment needs to be shaped to fit the wearers body.
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In this article an easy step towards better fit: waist shaping will be discussed.
Why do it?
A reality check in the mirror will confirm what you already know: your body is not a tube. Whatever your specific body shape, if you are a woman the line of your silhouette is far from straight.
So, sewing together two rectangles into a tube, calling it a sweater and hoping for it to fit, seldom works.
Tube-shaped garments often work better for children and men, since most of the time they dont have a bust, and their hips are pretty straight.
Many classical knitted garments work as tubes. Maybe this is why designers often use the same technique in crochet. Knitting and crochet are different, though. Generally speaking, knitted fabrics have more stretch and drape, and therefore adapt themselves more easily to any underlaying shape. Crocheted fabrics are firmer and keep their own shape better. Crocheted fabric is somewhere between knitted and woven fabrics on the stretch scale. So you cant only look at knitting design when you design a crocheted garment or modify an existing crochet pattern. You also have to find out a little about dressmakers techniques, and use some of them like waist shaping, for example.
Waist shaping makes most garments more flattering for female wearers. It is not only for the slim and slender. Ample girls can often greatly improve their looks with a waist-shaped garment. When our bodies grow (horizontally), we tend to focus on our expanding belly and butts. But our busts grow too. A straight garment which hangs down from the bust may seem like a good idea if you want to hide some of your extra weight; in reality, though, it often makes you look larger than you are. Trying to avoid this is not about self denial, but about any womans legitimate aim to look her best, whatever her size.
So, where to do it?
Find your waist
To include waist shaping in a pattern, you first have to find out or decide where your own waist is.
Many people have a rather clear idea about where their natural waist is, or should be, or used to be. It can be more difficult to find if you have a very straight or a very rounded figure. One tip Ive read about (but honestly havent had the occasion to try yet, so if you do, Id be happy to hear about your experiences) is to tie an elastic around your belly. You then bend from side to side until the elastic stops moving about and settles at the waist. Another indication is where the waistband of your skirts and trousers usually sits. This obviously doesnt apply to your low rise jeans
Remembering where it is use a measure tape
Once youve found your waist, or decided where it should be, measure, or have someone else measure, from your shoulder down to the waist. There are some recommendations that you should take this measurement from the base of your neck down to your waist. For our purposes, I find it more practical to measure from your shoulder (mid-way between the neck and the shoulder tip). This also saves you the trouble of deciding where the base of your neck is.
If you like, you can take your measurement at the front and at the back of your body, and then calculate the average. Measuring only at the front works pretty well too.
Note this measurement carefully. You will use it for every single crocheted top you make for yourself over many years. Your bodys width can vary every few months, but your height changes only slowly over the years.
The length of different crocheted garments may be very different, but whether you are making a cropped halter top or a full length coat, it will always hang from your shoulders. Thats why the measurement from your shoulder down to your waist will always be relevant.
