Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in advanced_sewing's LiveJournal:

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Sunday, April 7th, 2013
9:00 am [dana_knockouts]	Pattern Alteration for Flat Constructed Sleeve? Hello Advances Sewers, I need some help! I want to perfect a shirt pattern and I'm really struggling with fitting the shoulder/sleeve seam. All the commercial patterns I have found have set in sleeves but I prefer to use flat constructed sleeves and this seems to cause fitting problems in the shoulder area. I know how to remove the sleeve cap ease from the sleeve but it then seems like the shoulder needs to be extended to accommodate the loss of shaping in the sleeve cap that would normally come from the sleeve cap ease? Does that make sense? What I'm trying to say is that with a set in sleeve, the sleeve cap is roomier than a flat constructed sleeve and I'm not sure how to compensate for removing the ease for a flat construction. It ends up being tight on the point of my shoulder. All the fitting resources I can find place the shoulder/sleeve seam based on the assumption that you are using a set-in sleeve and when I tried to have the shoulder seam in the same place for a flat constructed sleeve, it ended up being tight on the point of my shoulder. Here is my most recent attempt at making a shirt Can you picture what I'm describing? Can you point me in the direction of any resources that might be useful? I'm also experimenting with drafting my own pattern from a basic torso sloper but all of the pattern manipulation resources I can find only talk about set in sleeves. What gives? Does anyone here have experience with flat constructed shirt sleeves? Please help. Thanks in advance! (13 Comments |Comment on this)
1:57 am [dubaireader]	Making the bust part of a wedding dress Having not touched my sewing machine for over 10yrs, I rather rashly offered to make my daughter-in-law's wedding dress. Unfortunately my own daughter then got engaged and I find myself with TWO dresses to make! They have both managed to purchase patterns that are *similar* to the dresses they desire, but both have made considerable changes to the bust design. I would go out and buy a pattern that covers this area but I live in Dubai and there are no shops selling patterns here as everyone uses tailors. One requires a 'swetheart' bustline, while the other fancies a sort of sweeping criss cross design. Can anyone please point me in the direction of a suitable site for constructing the required pattern pieces. Thankyou for your help. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, March 1st, 2013
6:57 am [dana_knockouts]	Men's Herringbone Jacket A few months ago I posted several times in this community asking for help with fitting a man's jacket. I finally finished it and I'm so excited to share the results and say thank you again to everyone who contributed their expertise and encouragement! ( Pictures!Collapse ) If you're curious, you can read about every excruciating detail here on my blog. I've also posted a tutorial for the custom labels here. Thanks again for all your help!  (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, December 30th, 2012
6:56 pm [dana_knockouts]	Progress! Feedback welcome. I posted a few times in this community in the last few weeks asking for fitting help with this pattern and now that I've started to get the actual garment put together, I thought I would share the progress I've made so far. I'm a little disappointed with the fit so far. It makes him look like a rectangle! Many of his jackets have vertical darts running from the corner if the pocket to just below the pectoral and I think that this jacket would benefit from the extra shaping. Unfortunately, I've already put in the pockets so I don't think there's any way to add darts now. Drat! Also, the pockets ended up being so bulky! Should I remove all the insides and make them non-functional pockets? I'll take it in a little more at the seams but I'm not sure if I should put the sleeves in first to see how they will affect the fit. There are more details here, here and here. Feedback welcome! (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, December 14th, 2012
8:03 pm [dana_knockouts]	Details, details... Thanks to everyone who commented on my post about fitting my jacket muslin! I'm hoping to be ready to start sewing on Monday. Here's my second muslin, if you're curious. The last thing that I'm concerned about is the shoulder seam. I've heard over and over again that the back piece of the shoulder seam should be a little longer than the front part, and eased in. But on the pattern I'm using, the seam matches perfectly without any easing. Should I adjust the shoulder of the back piece to be a bit longer? How much longer?  Should I just slash down through the shoulder seam and across to the armscye and spread it? Can someone suggest a tutorial that would show how to do this? Thanks again for all the help! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, December 2nd, 2012
9:58 pm [dana_knockouts]	Winter dress I made a winter dress for work. It's a 100% wool twill, which ended up beeing much stretchier than I had realized so it took quite a lot of tweaking. I also added this cute ribbon and bow detail, since it's an otherwise very simple dress. More photos and details here if you're interested. I knew that the fit would make or break the dress and I still have a lot to learn about fitting. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out but my sleeves are still not perfect.  I interfaced the hem. Have you tried this technique? I've posted a tutorial here. Cross-posted to sew_hip and my own journal. (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 18th, 2012
9:14 am [dana_knockouts]	Fitting issues with men's jacket Hi all, I've just started my first foray into tailored men's garments. I'm using "Tailoring: The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket" but I'm having some fit issues that are not addressed in the book. The thing that I'm most unsure how to deal with is the fit of the collar. ( Cut for photos...Collapse ) Cross-posted to my journal and sew_hip (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, September 24th, 2012
6:37 pm [helenatroy]	A person is looking for a seamstress to mod a beaded dress ($$) Hi I hope this is ok. I saw this ad on Craigslist (below). I thought someone on this community might possibly be able to and want to help. (Location is not specified in the ad. I put $$ in the subject line of my post, I assume this is paying, it was in the 'jobs' section of craigslist.) http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/trd/3287184416.html Highly skilled couture seamstress needed for wedding dress alteration. I have a dress which I need altered to a different style and bustle added. Also have a delicate beaded lace overlay fabric which i would like to add as a "top piece." It needs to be done by the end of November. Only skilled applicants please, have at least 10 years experience with high end beaded gowns. (Comment on this)
Saturday, September 8th, 2012
1:20 pm [girlygothic]	Looking For a Fabric/Design Term I'm going bonkers trying to remember/figure out a term I might not know, and which might not exist. But I figure if anyone knows, it will be someone on this list. What do you call this kind of print? It's sort of like a paisley, but it doesn't have the defining teardrop shape. I could be wrong, but it strikes me as having similar middle-eastern roots as the paisley. The things you get sidetracked on while trying to reorganize/inventory your fabric collection - Gah! (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, August 26th, 2012
8:48 am [ext_1369840]	Dresses without waistlines help Hello my name is Max, i am fairly new to patternmaking but more advanced in sewing. I recently purchased a patternmaking book , and i am to the point where i want to draft a dress without waist line foundation. My main problem with this is that it is in my understanding, that to do this, you must use two measurements . The center front hip depth, and the hip "arc" measurement ( center front hip level to side waist) + 1/2" ease . Doing the simple draft is not difficult at all, however the dificult part comes when my book tells me to  place my pattern on the waistline  line and then close the waist dart to open up the shoulder dart, however given my measurements this does not seem at all possible since the side waist does not meet the waist line properly, can any one else help me with this? I've been stuck on it for months now. Im using Helen's Armstrong Patternmaking for fashion Design (5th ed). Current Mood: creative (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, July 9th, 2012
6:58 am [dana_knockouts]	Pants fitting - Baggy in back of thigh Cropped Pants I'm pretty happy with how these pants turned out and I like how they look in the mirror but I feel like the pants look terrible in photos and so do I. I know I have a difficult figure for pants, but I just love a little cropped pant so I'm going to ignore the fact that the fit isn't perfect and they're not the most flattering style for me and wear these like crazy. And every time I wear them I'm going to obsess about how I can make them fit better. There are more construction details posted on my livejournal. This pattern is still a little baggy at the back of the thigh. One pattern drafting tutorial I read said that the inseam of the back piece should be 1-1.5 cm shorter from crotch to knee than the inseam length of the front piece, and that you have to stretch the back piece from the crotch to the knee as you sew for a better fit. This is the first I've heard of this, as I'm still pretty new to the whole pants game. Can someone weigh in? Does this work with stretch and non-stretch fabric alike? Thanks for any advice! (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, July 2nd, 2012
8:55 pm [girlygothic]	How Do You Track Patterns? Every time there's a pattern sale and I'm looking through the books to see what patterns I might want to pick up, I find myself once again trying to figure a system for keeping track of what patterns I already own. In particular, I need to figure out some system I can take with me to the store (so just having a list of them on my computer at home won't work). Anyone out there got a system they'd like to share? ETA: I didn't originally think to mention that I don't have a smartphone. So any system that requires web access or an app won't work. But I do like the idea of photos, and was thinking of going that route (I just wasn't sure if maybe that was overboard), so I'm glad to hear that works well for some folks. So my plan is to take photos (or grab images off the web) and keep them all in a separate iPhoto library. I'll name them for pattern company and number, and tag for things like type of garment (dress, shirt, etc.) style details (v-neck, empire waist, etc.) and whatever else I can think of. So then, when at home, I can easily search/sort for whatever I'm looking for. For taking with me to the fabric store... I'm going to look into syncing the iPhoto library with my iPod, as one person mentioned they do. Not sure that will work, as my iPod is an older model. So if not, then I'll just print out pages of thumbnails and/or a simple list by pattern number that I can take with me. Thanks to everyone for sharing their methods/ideas. (20 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, February 10th, 2012
8:52 pm [silkexoskeleton]	Making Corsets is a Cinch with Electra Designs (Kickstarter Campaign) I'm not sure if this falls under the category of advertising. If it is, please feel free to delete, and accept my apologies. I am Alexis Black of Electra Designs Corsetry. In addition to making high quality custom corsets, I also teach corset making. I would like to create a comprehensive collection of corset-making instructional materials that show people how to make corsets using my unique construction methods. I thought you might be interested. If you would like to learn more, please visit my kickstarter campaign page, pledge your support and share the project anywhere you think it might be appreciated. There is a short video there I think you might enjoy. Thank you so much! (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
8:15 pm [janestarz]	Knit fabrics - different drafting? Hello and good evening to all. I have a question about drafting patterns for knit fabrics. A little background: I've been sewing costumes for more than five years and have finally started to get a degree for what I do. Because I'm ambitious, I am studying to become a custom dressmaker. We study the Rundschau method and I go to class one evening per week. My exam for drafting patterns and taking measurements is in April, and it took us a year and a half to work up to it. You could say I'm a little experienced at drafting, but we're mostly drafting gowns and coats (click for an example). Blouses, skirts, and especially pants are all pretty much glossed over, although we did do several blouses. I am getting pretty good at the dresses and have started drafting full-size patterns for myself. Of course the basic gown block can be used to create pretty much any garment from (although the ease differs whether you're making a blouse, a dress, or a coat) and I've made myself a dress, a coat and a blouse from patterns I drew for myself from measurements that were taken in class. Now comes the tricky bit. I've asked my teacher, but she hasn't given me a definitive answer, so I'm turning to you fancy folks for help. I want to sew myself several shirts, made from a rayon-blend jersey knit fabric. I wear these often underneath jackets and vests, and it would be nice if they actually have long enough sleeves for a change (I am freakishly tall). The last time I made a shirt for myself from a knit fabric, I took at least 5 cm (2 inches) out of the side seam to make it fit better. I am confident that there should be an adjustment for it in your drafting, but we're not taught that at school. How do I adjust for knit fabrics in my pattern drafting? The answer I came up with myself is to take a piece of the material and determine the stretch factor and account for that in the pattern. So if the pattern has a 10% stretch, I should draft my pattern 10% smaller if I want it to fit really tightly. But this doesn't really fit the bill, because I don't want to look like a sausage and it's not a swimsuit or lingerie. The answer my teacher gave me is to use a basic block without a shoulder dart (dart-less setup is the best translation I can muster -- in Dutch it's called a "suçonloze opstelling") and to eliminate any horizontal ease. However, I know that the dart-less setup doesn't have much shape at all and I doubt this will work as well if you take my figure into account: I have a large bust and small waist, with big hips. If I use the dart-less setup the only shaping is done in the side seams, and I am afraid I'll just get a fancy bag that will stretch far too much on the boobs and have no waistline. I sure hope there's a better option! On an internet forum, I read that the best way to go about it is to fold the pattern pieces down in the center and reduce the size that way. Because each knit is different, it's mostly a matter of modeling on the person who is going to be wearing it. Although I set great store by the patterns we make, I realise that every garment needs to be fitted on the person, no matter how well you draft your patterns. It would be very nice to narrow the pattern pieces down in advance, so it will be easier to do, and I won't be wasting much time. In the end, I want to be able to create a pattern for myself to make draping like this and and this. It could be glorious in a knit fabric, but draping fabric like that from a basic block can only be done right when the block is already fitting well! (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 20th, 2012
9:16 am [janestarz]	New maintainer Hi everyone! Just a little heads-up that the advanced_sewing community has recently been assigned a new maintainer: janestarz. I will be watching the moderation queue and approve entries as they come in, and I'll be monitoring comment threads to see if there are any spam messages coming through. Expect some older entries to show up after this one as I clear the moderation queue. Thank you, and I hope to see many posts rolling in. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011
8:16 pm [helenatroy]	Where can I see some bustles in New England Hello, I was hoping this community might be able to help me with this. I often see photographs of people wearing their Victorian clothing at what look like events, and I was thinking if there are events open to the public where people dress up and show off their creations I could go to one and see what these dresses are like before I try to tackle making one for myself. If such things exist, if someone on this community knows about any in the New England area for 2012 and would consider sharing, I would be very grateful. HT (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
2:31 pm [eggies_red_dres]	Cross posting: This is process shots of a first try at hemming chiffon using a prepared buckram as a stabilizer. THIS WORKS. The only attempts I'd made sewing with this technique previously were on straight seams in organza. So what you see are before I'd tried it on the chiffon. Also captured a few mistakes to avoid. Anyone like sheer fabrics in their finished state but hate working on their wrinkly wormy mess they become when cut? This method is for you. Here's a picture of the finished hem, so you know I'm not joking around. ( In process shots, and a couple mistakes!Collapse ) Unbelievable. I love this technique, and it opens design doors that were previously closed because of my equipment limitations. I think that a rolled hem foot is a good tool for stable fabrics, but for lightweight materials, it will stretch and distort the hem edge despite gentle handling and finish pressing. How did I get by without it before? (30 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
10:17 pm [the_sybil]	I finally have something to post here! I've been following this community for ages, but have never posted before, because I've never before made anything I could really consider "advanced". This has now changed! From halloween I've been steadily working on this outfit for my husband for--ooh, several years now, finally culminating in the tailcoat, finished only a couple of weeks ago. I would definitely consider the tailcoat "advanced sewing!" My mum gave me a great deal of help with the tailoring--I'd never done anything like it before. In fact she helped me with most of it! I was particularly pleased with the fabirc--a lovely quality wool worsted which we picked up for not very much money at all in the Los Angeles Fabric District. Ok, it's not perfect, and a real expert in historical costume could pick many, many holes. But I'm damn pleased with it, and you've got to admit it looks good on him, haven't you? (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, October 23rd, 2011
11:22 am [shalie]	Pleats Hello, I am researching 1880s bustle gowns. Many of them have rows of tight pleats. Pleats that are still crisp and defined 120 years later. I saw one today a velvet bustle skirt that had long pleats the length of the skirt. I know the trick of using vinegar to hold pleats. That wouldn't work on velvet or hold the pleats for years. Does anyone know how the Victorians created these pleats? Sincerely, Shalie (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, October 14th, 2011
9:32 am [shalie]	Seamstress in Auburn or NYC needed Hello, I have been working with a lady that wants a reproduction of the dress below. She splits her time between Auburn, AL and New Jersey, near NYC. I'm in Atlanta and don't feel she would be available for the fittings required to make this dress. She is willing to pay $1,300 for labor and supplies. I told her $600 labor and she would be responsible for finding the materials (except small stuff that I would bill her for, providing a receipt.) She needs the dress by Labor Day of 2012. She has another dress she would also like done. It isn't as elaborate as this one but would still be complex. Is there anyone on this list that would be interest? I want someone near Auburn or NYC. I would also like to see photos of your prior work before I give her your name. I will pass along all the information I have on the dress and correspondences. Thank you, Shalie (2 Comments |Comment on this)