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I like the term ‘bespoke’. Thanks to COVID I’ve just started sewing again after years of nothing. I’m having to reteach myself techniques and work with new ones too. One extra tip I would add (well, maybe it’s two) is correct stitch length for purpose in the correct tension. Thanks for a fantastic video. I really enjoyed everything about it - so glad I found you in my search for sewists.
I like draping silk and chiffon fabric, however, I'm fighting when it's time to sew the gathered, crossed or shirred pieces. After having pinned the style I'm satisfied with, I often find it difficult to sew without deconstructing the target idea. Thanks for giving me some tricks or method to obtain professional results.
My grandmother has a favorite story about someone complaining to her that she could only make 1 dress in the time it took Sue to make 3. "Yes," my grandmother said. "But have you *seen* the inside of her dresses?"
That would have been my mom. Best compliment I ever heard out of her was ‘that’s the way it’s supposed to be’ when were looking at a quilt visiting Amish country lol…
So true, I have a friend who knocks up a new piece so quickly, I couldn’t understand how until I saw the unfinished inside and lack of detailed work on the outside.
I'm a beginning sewist (in my 50s 😊) & I just started making tops for my daughter. She came home from work beaming because a customer asked her where she got her top. She told her that her mom made it. It makes my heart happy that I can create garments that make my daughter feel beautiful. Thank you for your wonderful videos.
Whether you’re sewing a garment, drapes, or a tote bag, my motto is, the best compliment a sewer can get is when someone asks, “where did you get that?” ❤️ Happy sewing!
I'm into sewing, but my grandma is into knitting. She made me the most beautiful blouses, and I've definitely gotten a lot of compliments over the years. Seeing your comment made me realize I definitely have to wear them more often even though I'm not going out as often
Brings back memories. When my daughter was young, I sewed her a few things. She couldn't wait until I was done. One was a one piece short romper. The top had bears on it, bottom was a denim look cotton. She loved it and wore it to school.
I feel like the number one mistake I see intermediate to advanced home sewers making that's just unnecessary is trying to replicate industrial techniques at home. I'm trained in Haute Couture (in Paris, for real. Not fashion school in Montana or something) *and* industrial sewing stateside. I've also worked conserving vintage Haute Couture garments for a museum. In the 80s and 90s there was a huge push for home sewers to incorporate industrial techniques into home sewing to save time and "make more professional garments." Here's the thing, industrial techniques don't really work that well at home. In an industrial setting, one person does the same one or two garment sections day in, day out on the same purpose built machine. Flat felling the inseam on your jeans? No problem. They just put the two pieces through a machine that folds the edges together, and twin needle stitches all in one go. There's no folding by hand, pressing, trimming, whatever. It's all done in one go, by someone who does the same thing over and over and over. And it's the same whether your jeans come from Old Navy or Dior. Pressing isn't the same. They have machines that block fuse entire sections. They can blow out instead of pressing a garment like a dry cleaner does. Industrial sewing and home sewing are worlds and worlds apart. On the other hand, Haute Couture techniques translate really well to home sewing. Aside from great pressing equipment, there aren't a ton of specialty tools or gadgets you need. You don't need to know a ton of fancy folding and twisting methods to get your linings and whatnot to come out right. In general, there are a handful of easy hand stitches you can use to make practically any garment, in any fabric. If you're sewing at home, don't expect your clothes to look like the clothes at Macy's. Handmade clothes don't look like that. They should be softer. If you can see the odd hand stitch here or there, that's okay. Take the time to do things by hand. Yes, hemming a skirt can take a few hours, but does that matter if you're going to wear something for ten years? Don't sew to save money. Period. Don't. There are cheap clothes you can buy off the rack. If you're going to make something yourself, pay yourself for your time by buying the absolute best materials you can afford. (I like to factor in the amount of time I'm going to spend making something when I price out materials. If I spend $300 on materials for a jacket, and the jacket takes 100 hours, that's $3 an hour that I get to spend sewing, so that's pretty cheap enjoyment. And I get a jacket that probably retails for $3,000+ when I'm done.) If you'd spend $150 for a dress off the rack, spend that on materials, and spend eighty hours properly finishing your garment. You'll wear it for ages. It will be well worth the effort and expense. Pick up those lovely 50s sewing books, even if you're not interested in vintage sewing. (Full disclosure, I can't stand the "sew your own vintage clothes" movement. I'd rather make something exquisite that I can wear any day of the week.) The techniques are great and they work well at home. Take your time. A lot of sewers will say, "Oh, you're just a beginner. You'll get faster." If you're completing projects quicker, you're probably not challenging yourself enough, and you can be spending more time on things like seam finishes, or using traditional sew in interfacings instead of fusibles. (Fusibles have a place, even in Couture, but they're not a magic bullet for everything.) I like to say that good sewers sew because they like the results. Great sewers sew because they love the process.
Hey - I’m from Montana!😆 Okay they have no fashion design schools there - however, you can learn to make beautiful saddles!😂😂 You posted some helpful tidbits, thank you!
I LOVE your comment - its SO true. Haute Couture only requires straight stitching and OCCASIONALLY a zig zag. My sewing bibles are all vintage ones from the 1940's thru to the 1980's. I only use overlocker for stretch or edging chiffon with that tiny narrow edge for effect. True skill is construction complexity and consistency.
I agree with other comments here - what you have written is so true, and I love your last sentences particularly 'great sewers sew because they love the process'
Evelyn, I think it would be such a fun and educational project if you made the same garment twice. One with these "beginner mistakes", and then the expert handmade version. :) Just a thought. Thanks for the video!
I make an outfit out of inexpensive fabric to learn how to sew it. I like to create Historical clothes, all of which should be made from silk, wool, or some equally pricey fabric. Someday I will splurge and buy the real deal. For right now all my outfits look like daily wear from history as opposed to high status gowns worn to balls.
I remember when I was a teenager in 4-H (here in the states) I always entered my sewing project in the county review-- that's where we modeled what we made. I was always in a hurry to finish my project bc I was so eager to wear it, so I gave little thought to the inside, and I skipped steps like finishing seams. One year as we were getting ready to start the review, (that was the year we made dresses for the first time) I saw one of my classmates in her dress. Her mom was fussing around her, adjusting and making sure there were no loose threads, and it hit me in the face how much better her dress looked than mine. Her choice of fabric was better, the finishing was better, and overall it looked well made. (I always suspected her mom made it for her-- she was that kind of mom.) After that I totally changed my approach to sewing. I take my time and make sure I finish all the seams and press as I go. Speed is never a factor. Funny, isn't it, how those experiences stay with us our whole lives?
Yes, and those are the lessons you carry with you forever. I was like that too, thinking if it doesn’t show, it doesn’t matter. Oh but it does show and it does matter.
Love this! Quarantine sewing definitely helped me slow down, it's not like I'm rushing to get somewhere! I've started hand sewing final touches to get smooth seams, pressing each step instead of doing a couple steps and then pressing, and also finally figured out the tension on my serger
@@katiebeth8825 same. One time i churned out 5 skirts in a month but none of them are hemmed. The insides are not finished and they arent pressed at any point. I look back and notice how off they look.
Yes, you always remember that moment of epiphany... When I'd been sewing for a few years (and was, perhaps, adequate), my sister-in-law was having an evening formal wedding. I wanted a really chic and elegant blouse to go with a skirt I already had, ankle length, and composed of sheer black layers. I shopped for one, but I couldn't afford, or even FIND, the look and quality that I wanted. Formal blouses that I thought were ugly, poorly designed and made were $300. I bought a 2-layer blouse pattern, the most beautiful (and, I found out, difficult to work with) sheer organza for the overlayer, silk for the underlayer, and Swarovski crystal buttons. I then proceeded to cuss, hyper-focus, rip, re-cut and sew, and nit-pick my way through what turned into a grueling project and learning curve. The pressing, understitching, French seams, pressing, rolled hems, careful corners and buttonholes, and PRESSING, drove me MAD, but I was absolutely determined to Do. It. Right. The payoff was WELL WORTH the trouble and attention to detail. The resulting blouse was a well fitted and crafted dream, perfect for me and for the event. I wasn't in the least embarrassed to be wearing it, and a couple of women asked where I'd purchased it. I could never have afforded to purchase a blouse like the one that I'd made, and I learned a lesson that stuck with me and has served me well. Don't cut corners, don't skip details. I've since gone on to make some very ambitious custom clothing for myself and my daughters. I've learned a LOT from making mistakes, and I've probably ripped more seams than I've left in, but the biggest lesson learned is that if you just slap it together, you're probably wasting your time and material.
I've moved from saying "thanks, I made it myself" to "thanks! I'm really happy with how it turned out!" because then the other person usually follows up with "did you make that?" and then I can say yes. It just sounds less like I'm fishing for compliments that way. Clearly I've overthought this 😂
On my very first sewing class ever, at the local Singer Sewing Store, the instructor held up an iron and said, "This is your best friend. It doesn't matter what machine you have or how old you are, THIS is your best friend." She was a wise wise woman. I love your videos and though I've sewn for decades, I always learn something new along the way. You are a joy to watch with lots of reminders and memories of why I love to sew.
That is exactly what the teacher in my sewing school said! "Iron is the most important tool of a seamstress." ...We found it rather funny because we were two boys in the class :-)... But otherwise it so very true.
1. Something I wish I did from the start is to wash the fabric before cutting it. 2. Also, you don't have to finish everything in one sitting. It is totally ok to have a good night sleep and to return to it later! 🤭 3. It is ok to cut and alter a garment that is already something you wouldn't ever wear. Whatever to make it work 👏
Before I started ironing and pressing my creations, my mom could *always* tell if my clothes were made by me or storebought. Now she's really struggling with her guesses, and very proud of my progress (even though the only thing that changed is me finally using an iron) 😄 It really makes a huge difference!
First lesson I learned actually when I was taught to sew in High School (Grade 8). My Home Ec teacher did teach us the basics, and that was the big one, which I never forgot. When my daughter took Home Ec, I don't know if my daughter was just being difficult (at the age of 13 to 17 she was a master of being difficult) or if her Home Ec teacher didn't really explain the importance of ironing your pieces as you see them, but her projects came home pretty badly done, and honestly, I broke them down to start, pressed all the pieces, resewed them and then donated them. (Since OF COURSE she wouldn't wear them. ) But honestly just pressing as I went made the garments look so much better....she couldn't believe they were her projects, lol!
Lack of practice of course! I saw a marked improvement in my end results after using a whole weekend and an entire spool of thread doing nothing but sewing straight lines and spirals on scraps of fabric over and over again. My lines are straighter, my stitching is more consistent because I am feeding fabric better, and my speed is improving.
A very good point, I've always been terrible at straight lines with machines. Except with zippers, I'm surprisingly good at zippers despite never having heard of a zipper foot until recently :)
Yes, I sometimes struggle with being too hard on myself when I am no good at something I have never done before. Isn't that silly, nobody is born with these skills, and in reality I know I do okay for a beginner.
I was taught to sew straight lines by using paper with no thread in the machine. Our teacher judged the straightness by the little holes. Our first project was a sort of T-shirt shaped cotton blouse, and a simple skirt. I had heard that most high schools taught you how to make an apron. Well, most 15 or 16 year old girls I knew were in no need of an apron, and now my Daughter and Daughters-in-law don't like to wear them. You can even get templates on youtube for practicing different shapes and angles to sew on paper. After we made our first project we learned a few tailoring seams by making pajamas: ie; flat felled seams and French seams....That might have happened in my second year of sewing class. it was 77 years ago! Our teacher kept emphasizing that we needed to learn these basic things before working with expensive wool. I was terrifiedd to start making a wool coat, but I soon learned that wool is very forgiving. It kind of has a natural stretch and my "swing" coat came out fine.
Thank you for your videos - it made me inventing the understitch for me. My advice for avoiding the homemade or "cheap" look is to choose the buttons wisely. The wrong button, too colorful, too big, too textured or too many buttons can ruin an otherwise perfect garment.
I recently figured out what I hated about ironing was the old wobbly cheap ironing board I was using. Switched that out and now I actually enjoy ironing
A really good iron makes a world of difference. I have both a pressure steam iron with a separate water tank AND a Singer steam press.....bothh have their VERY important roles, whether patchwork quilting or making guipure flowergirls' dresses.
The goddamn facings 😅 - they did drive me nuts for years and I didn't learn about understitching until I was studying fashion design. Re. pressing last night I made a single welt pocket and at first, when you pull the pocket from the right side to the wrong side of the garment it can look so bad. I almost cried last night because I didn't think it looked good - then I pressed... 😯 😍
I am 68 years old. I was blessed with the best sewing teacher at age 12 in 7th grade. She taught me sewing for four years. She was a hard task master at times. But she taught me the proper way to do things. I love sewing to this day due to that awesome teacher. I taught my daughter to sew and will soon be teaching my granddaughter. Sewing is relaxing and enjoyable for me. It's a great skill for anyone to have. Thank you for your teaching and inspiration.
i also learned in 7th grade (I'm now 65) although my mom let me use her machine to my Barbie clothes before that. My 7th-grade sewing teacher, Mrs. Savoy, was wonderful. It's been a lifelong learning process. The biggest problem I have is making sure the fabric texture and pattern make sense for the piece I'm making. I still get tripped up with that.
timestamps! 0:00 intro 1:52 Homemade vs. Handmade 2:51 Top stitching over under stitching 4:21 Not pressing 5:21 Machine stitching instead of hand finishing 6:26 Seam finishes 7:57 Using the wrong interfacing or no interfacing 9:31 outro Hope these help!! :)
After spending hours making up a lined midi A-line skirt, did the pressing, the beautiful wool plaid was feeling so nice, the zipper was perfect, it was amazing! Got dressed to go out and did the final swirl in the mirror, only to discover that one section of the back plaid was facing up and the other side was facing down. That was the last time that I used a plaid fabric.
Try cutting without a fold. You can cut single pieces, but you have to cut a right and a left depending on the pattern. You put pins where the notches are, so that is where you match your plaids. If you have a shirt with a dart, where the dart is, throws off matching. So you match the part below the dart. Makes more sense when you are doing it, not just reading it.
What an intelligent response. I don't really sew anymore, but I took up crocheting. After getting very frustrated with mistakes and re-doing it, I decided it was all just practise to make my work better.
I will say that “looking homemade” is still better than looking like fast fashion! I’ve found that learning historical techniques has been really helpful for me in elevating my stitching. Because a lot of the techniques that we think of as couture today, are the hand finishing techniques that come directly from historical sewing. Hand felling seams and gems, hand finishing binding (which I’m currently having an awful time with, trying to bind a pair of 18th century stays- the tabs are beyond maddening!). I also discovered that I just really like hand sewing everything, because I found I have much, much greater control of each and every stitch. And it’s very soothing to me- except when I’m trying to bind tabs, that is. And that’s something I wouldn’t have learned if I hadn’t given historical or hand sewing techniques a try.
I'm feeling really old, when you refer to "historical". Back in the 60s and 70s in NSW Schools, Yr 3to Yr 7 needlework was a compulsory subject for all girls. We had to learn to sew by hand, "run and fell seams", "french seams", double stitched, bound seams, plain seams, closed seams before we were allowed to even touch a sewing machine.
@@meganwilliams2962 to be fair, when I say “historical”, I’m not referring to the 60s or 70s. I’m referring to Victorian and earlier. You definitely weren’t alive for the garments I’m making 😂. It’s just that a lot of those hand sewing techniques haven’t changed much in the past 800 years. Why fix it if it ain’t broke?
I have been making basic sewing projects for Dark-Age re-enactment for about a year now, and it's been a journey of building my confidence from zero to feeling happy with the outside of my garments. They were basically just untailored bags though (as they are supposed to be!) and the insides looked terrible. I'm currently working on my first tailored garment and it scares the hell out of me! I'm watching your videos with a mix of anxiety and excitement - but I am TOTALLY looking forward to having something I can be proud of, and which will move me to the next phase of my sewing journey. THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH for your advice and your enthusiasm. You really are my sewing hero!
Okay... after watching it rot in a cupboard for years, i got my sewing machine out and faced my fears. The idea that I don't have to put the pedal to the metal and that i can do 1 stitch at a time was a revelation! You have officially blown my mind. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!!! 🎉
For me, it is fully lining most of the garments I make. There is a world of difference between a fully lined dress and an unlined one. I used to hate doing it because it almost doubled the cost of the project, and definitely did double the time spent on the project, but it is totally worth it!
All of us do not have the same aesthetic concerns. Although vintage garments did not usually sport top stitching In the USA many store bought garments are made with topstitching. Like Jeans and western style shirts. Many if not most shirts are top stitched. It is going for more casual look. I totally agree with you about bottom stitching. It is vital to having a nicely finished garment. My homemade, handcrafted garments fit me very well. I am a taller and rounder gal with a short waist line. I learned before starting high school that I must alter all the patterns. A few were trial and error but made out of junk cloth.
I totally agree with all of these! I just made Easter dresses for my three girls. The instructions included under stitching the lining to the dress at the sleeve cuff! That was a new one to me. It was particularly amazing and satisfying to see how beautiful the dress looked, however, when I pressed that lining under after understitiching it! I didn’t hem the garments before they wore them, because I was lacking time, but then finished the seams and hemmed it by hand before the next time they wore them, and the inside now looks almost as pretty as the outside. That hand finishing takes a long time, but especially as one gets better at it, it really makes the dress look professional. I know there were still some mistakes, but I was so proud of those little dresses!
I have made terrible fabric choices in the past as well. I think one of the excuses could be that the fabric shop would have fabric that caught my eye but it was a completely different textile than recommended for / on the pattern envelope. Since I didn't know about hand or drape, let alone fabric type, I would choose the fabric that appealed to my eye. Over the years I have learned a lot about what to expect from different fabric choices and have a scrap book of sorts with swatches and the possible names applied. I generally work with organics so the list is not that long. There are fewer and fewer fine fabric stores where I live, anyway, that cater to those who are willing to pay for a beautiful fabric and construct a couture piece. Many shops carry fabric that has "unknown fibre" on the label. How does one know if the fabric is going to melt, shrink, stretch, or dissolve? I am not in as much of a hurry now to finish one thing so I can race to the next so I plod along perfecting the pattern/sloper and then pay what ever I need to for the fabric I love and make something I love. I suppose the advantage of studying fashion design would be avoiding mistakes that a self taught sewer makes. Oh well, It has been a fun journey.
I had a similar experience the first time I understitched some facings, I believe it was. While I was not quite sure what I was doing or why, I followed the instructions in the printed pattern, and when I turned the garment right side out, I was amazed at the fine result and became a faithful understitcher to this day.
When I wear long sleeved blouses. I like to roll the sleeves up, so I always do french seams for the sleeve seams. The inside will be seen so it's equally important as the outside. Things that make a garment look homemade to me: -Plaids or stripes not matching , especially if they don't match at the center front seam. - Lengths not matching on left and right sides of a button front shirt, coat or dress. - Sleeves different lengths - thread changing color in a visible place (like topstitching). Like you ran out of thread and finished with a different color. I have totally done this just because I wanted to finish the thing and not go back to the store.:p
After many years of wanting to hurry up and finish my projects with my sewing machine, You have elevated my consciousness for slowing down and finishing by hand. The pressing - as - you go was in my repertoire years ago, but somehow, I got lazy. In fact, my first sewing machine was a Jolsen straight stitch, followed nu White sewing machine with a couple of stitch variations . Then one day my husband gifted me with a Singer electronic cartridge prototype and I let the machine do everything. I vow to return to good sewing habits. Evelyn, thank you.
The biggest thing I learnt to do was, before cutting out my fashion fabric, I make the garment out of leftover fabric and get it to fit exactly. Then I cut the seams at the stitch line and I have perfectly sized pattern pieces, which lay nicely on the fashion fabric to cut around (unlike the paper pattern pieces).. This way I don't have to rip out seams on my fashion fabric to get the fit right. It takes a bit more work, of course, because I'm basically making the garment twice, but well worth it in the end.
Such a helpful explanation of how to translate a toile into the final garment. I had never fully understood the process before. I guess you add the seam allowance back in when you cut out your final fabric using the toile pattern pieces?
I have no problem with my clothes looking homemade because I'm quite proud of the fact that I've managed to resist the urge to buy new clothes and that I'm learning a skill.
I grew up in the 1950's. My mother made everything except my church socks ( white anklets). She bought plan white socks and added lace to those. She made all of my underwear ( white cotton panties, white undershirt with lace, and gorgeous slips, petticoats, etc. I had never even seen an unfinished seam. In my teens I decided to buy some clothes like the other girls. The first dress I bought had no seam finishing ( not even pinked). When I pulled it from the wash it was a frayed mess. Needless to say, I learned to sew. I have not sewn in many years and am loving your videos Evelyn. My daughter wants to learn to sew. I sew Vintage Sewing School in our future! Refresher for me and learning these fabulous skills for my daughter! Thank you!
How I wish Evelyn and RUclips had been around when I was learning to sew! It would have saved me from lots of frustration. Evelyn, you have inspired me to create a sewing center in the corner of my bedroom and begin to sew again.
Practising on a scrap of the material you are using is a good idea too, I find it helps to make sure that the stitch tension etc is correct before diving in 🪡🧵🪡
This is the moment I realised that testing tension on scraps is something I've learned by osmosis from seeing my mum sew while I was playing by her sewing table))
Oh heaven's, YES. AND, I can't stress this enough - READ the pattermaker's instructions at least twice before setting shears to fabric. Make sure your shears are in top form too. Measure twice, cut once.....I can hear my needlework teacher from 1973 wispering in my ear.....
A vivid way to describe what you called "home-made" is "looking like a cheap Halloween costume"... and yes, it does happen. And what we probably all want, after putting hours and hours into making a garment, is for it to last a long time of wearing pleasure.. Thank you for a great series!!
Hi Evelyn, I am going through an Evelyn marathon with all these videos before I start on a simple dress for my daughter. I am retired. I used to love sewing, and I want to get back to it again.
Thank you so much! I feel as if I’m Leapfrogging my way through the beginner process with all the wisdom you share. Years ago I worked with a young professional woman that always wore the loveliest tailor made suit jackets and fitted skirts. I was certain she had them made exclusively for her. I learned that Brenda sewed everything she wore. She took off her jacket to show me and it was crafted exquisitely. The lining.. the inside pockets… everything was flawless. To this day Brenda remains my inspiration. Her garments were incredible.
Love this! I learned most of these the hard way, too. I've been sewing since the 1970s, but my favorite moment sewing my own clothes was about 10 years ago when I altered a basic tailored shirt pattern and added a gathered skirt to create a 1960s style dress in my favorite rose print cotton fabric. The first time I wore it a 19 year old rushed up and asked where I found that dress! She was very disappointed when I told her I made it. I still wear that dress regularly.
Okay so im learning how to sew professional at a school and for the interfacing we ALWAYS need to cut out at least two pieces of the fabric we're using and choose between different kinds of interfacing. We need to make these two test pieces with different interfacing and it helps a lot! So if you have more than one kind of interfacing at home def do these test piecees!!
Ufffh! you should have seen me ironing interfacing into a *finished garment*! I was using a pattern, but I realised early on it was for fancy dress or halloween and not for a well made coat. It was for a fun home made Jack Sparrow and I wanted a classy Casanova meets Mr Darcey. It's an early 1800s frock coat. It's the sort of thing I wear for work and I found some brushed denim in a bargain basket in the fabric shop and liked the possibility of the anachronistic fabric choice ...so it's pale blue denim and I used dark purple silk under the stand up collar, inside the cuffs and in the godets round the back. Nice fabric so I wanted to do a proper job. To get back to the theme of this video. I interfaced when it was finished because the fabric was looking old and tired already just with the manhandling of the making. This interfacing wasn't in the pattern and I realised too late that I had to invent and improvise. Also, regarding seam finishes: the fold back cuffs had a raw seam inside the cuff where the bottom of sleeve joined the beginning of the cuff. The cuff is lined in silk and it's wide and it's draw people's attention so I didn't want people glimpsing raw edges ... so I recut the sleeves ( I wanted them longer and slimmer anyway) and in that join at the bottom of the sleeve, in the pit of the cuff I did french seams. They're bulky because it's denim, but it looks good and actually helps the bottom of the sleeve stay firm and formal, like whale bone. The curved hem needed to be hand sewn .. it's a feature because it's endless with four panels plus three wide godets and it'll swing when it's worn. As you can imagine the cheap pattern said to machine sew it and hide the sewing with braid. It would have stood out like a crinoline! The hand finished clean edge is so simple and classy. Talking of choosing the right interfacing, I put a pocket into the front panel. A welt pocket with a flap. It's very wide and the flap is enormous and if it had sagged because of the width it'd have looked awful, so I made interfacing with vinyl glue and calico !!! .... very rigid, not easy for the machine to work through, but perfectly sculpted. and one more adaptation to make it look professional ... There was supposed to be a facing of two inches all down the front edge ...very half hearted and it would have been visible when the coat was worn ... so I cut that piece in the silk and made it as wide as the front piece so it became a lining. I kept thinking, Evelyn Wood would be proud of me, for using the pattern as a tool and not being chained to everything it said. I'd have hated to make the thing without a bought pattern even though it's a garment made of basic shapes, it has nice things like front panels that curl over the body and join the back pieces over the shoulder blades ... but by trial and error (a lot of both) I worked out where I had to do things differently.
I can tell by the way you "talk", you are not a young whiper=smapper. A godet, huh...I'm sure my talented sewing friend know what that is, but I only have a slight idea, and I've been sewing for 67 years, with a lot of time off for working and/or raising 4 kids. Love that you made changes to the pattern and made a more beautiful project!
Pressing, seam finishes, and understitching have all made my finished projects look more professional. Small changes with big results for sure. I also like your comment about the importance of interfacings, and would love to see a video where you share more of your wisdom/knowledge about them. I myself am only familiar so far with the big box craft store fusibles, and only just learned that you're supposed to pretreat fusible interfacings as well, in warm water before using. It would be great to hear your tips on using interfacings, both fusible and non-fusible (I hear the fusible can ripple or bubble sometimes if not applied correctly), as well as some recommendations for alternatives to store-bought facings. For example, is it ever a good idea to use the same fabric for a sew in facing as the fabric you're using for the garment itself? Thanks again for these detailed, informative videos! I'm always excited to see a new video from your channel pop up on my YT feed :)
I have often used an extra layer of the fashion fabric for interfacing in light to medium weight fabrics, especially underneath buttons and buttonholes. The technique is best limited to solid color fabrics for obvious reasons, and I don't recommend it for belts, which, IMO, need extra stiffening.
One thing I'd add is that when you're starting out there is no such thing as too many pins. Until you get used to feeding fabric, sewing curves, adding zips and all the rest, pins are your best friend. I learnt to sew on an old treadle machine that had a motor added. No zigzag and no reverse. I didn't even have pinking shears until recently. I quickly learnt about french seams and bound seams. I made all my daughter's clothes for years and gradually picked up the skills to make my own shirts, trousers and jackets. Over the years I gradually updated my machines and my courage. These days I seem to mostly be making waistcoats for a friend but I think it's time to go back to making shirts. For all the men out there, get so good that people stop worrying that you're a man and start asking you to make things. Worked for me.
I'm 20 and I started sewing a couple of years ago, I'm now making costumes and occasionally clothes for myself and my family. Your channel has been (and still is) a huge help! 🥰
When I sewed for competition in 4-H the judges would turn our garments inside out prior to us modeling them. It was humbling. Lessons learned at age 12, with me at 64 as I begin sewing on the most expensive fabric I’ve ever chosen.
I have completely abandoned my sewing machine and now I had sew everything. I love and sewing so much. Taking the time to do each stitch so finely it is invisible and doesn't warp of pull the fabric is so satisfying. I think the only one of your tips I haven't done is interfacing. I am almost finished a skirt, but I am still battling the plaquette before doing the waste band. I want to add interfacing to the waste band so it doesn't crumple and scrunch. Going to check out some of the sew-in ones now. I think the only ones I can get from my local area are the iron-in ones and no way am I doing that to myself again! I tried an iron-on interfacing a few years ago and it emotionally scarred me XD. It made my fabric look terrible, started falling apart after the first wear and then when I tried to fix it, it covered my sewing machine needle with sticky, gluey residue. Thank you for your video. I love how encouraging and lovely you are. I love the way you explain things and make me feel like I'm not a numpty for not doing things or knowing things. I wish I had had sewing teachers like you in school.
Tbh, I've been sewing for 20 years, and if someone told me my garments looked factory made (I hand sew, cant use a machine.) I would straight up cry. I didn't spend 100 hours on my skirt doing 18-20 SPI in backstitches and felled seams for you to insult me like that.
Making mistakes is great. It makes us sit and think things through. All those tries aren't failures at all! I love how you are so helpful and encouraging! Thanks!
In the last 8 months I lost 50 lbs on keto and IF. It no longer looks like I’m wearing clothes. It looks like I’m wearing tents. I decided not to go out and buy a new wardrobe. My plan is to alter or re-design my current wardrobe and make some new things. To those goals, I have very wisely subscribed to your channel. In addition, yesterday, I joined your Vintage Sewing School. I am so excited to get going. Thank you for so much for such great information and for your brilliant school.
I’m really thankful I got inspired to start sewing again by Bernadette Banner. My first garment was entirely hand sewn and I have no anxiety about hand finishing. Interfacing is still something that I’m trying to figure out since ideally I’d like a wholly natural fiber wardrobe someday.
I make Aloha Shirts and I agree with every one of your "tips". I also make lei. Surprisingly, many of the same rules apply (except ironing, of course). A quality lei looks as beautiful on the back as it does on the front.
Thanks! Loved this. One of the things you've talked about elsewhere is testing each step along the way! Test the interfacing on a scrap of fabric. Practice your understitching on scraps. Get your fit sorted out before you cut your final fabric.❤
Up to this point, I didn't care about something look professional, I just designed an outfit I wanted to make and how I wanted it to look (and be comfortable) then just figure out how to make it happen and not fall apart lol But I recently started wanting to make real custom clothing for myself! This has been helpful thank you!! 😊 subscribed! Looking forward to learning more ❤
What I aim for is to say: "thank you, I made it myself. And it has massive pockets!" Another question I have: I try to make my sewing more eco-friendly and am trying to stay away from the synthetic materials due to microplastics and them not lasting as long as natural fibers. (Although all fibers have their problems.) What are good ways of doing interfacing that are not the fusable kinds? I've seen canvas and tarlatan used in historical costumes, but I'm not sure they are as useful in more vintage clothes or modern with a vintage twist. Thank you so much, I've learned so much from this channel. Last project I used understitching (woolen skirt that did not want to stay folded with careful pressing) and it made such a difference!
I trained as a dress maker and served my apprenticeship. I made winter coats right through to bridle wear. I did lots of hand sewing with just a basic sewing machine with no fancy attachments. I still sew today exactly the same just a basic machine and lots of hand sewing
I took most of your tips for my latest project, and holy cow it did make all the difference. By the time I finished the project I was absolutely in love, of course still learning even after fifteen years of sewing
I am in your Vintage Sewing School, and my goal is for my clothes to look like they were made one at a time by a haute couture tailor. I plan to work through all the courses to achieve this, from the beginning courses, even though I have been sewing for over 60 years. Thank you for all you do.
Girl! You are an amazing teacher!!! I have been all over RUclips looking for someone to teach me the way I best learn! I made my first dress for my niece this past weekend! You literally taught me how with thus channel! I can't wait to see how much better I get because of you!! 😂 Oh and also you look like Snow White so I feel like I'm learning from Snow White!
Great video. I think a very common "Mistake" most beginners, and even many self proclaimed expert, is not getting the correct measurements. Taking measurements isn't as simple as putting a measuring tape on you, and read the centimetres, or inches. Most commercial patterns offers very little help, or instructions to get a better fit. So most people use factory made sizes, and end up with an ill fitting miss. We're also told to "Ask a friend to take your measurements". This is easier said than done. Many newer sewers, like myself, learned sewing on RUclips, and never got the chance to have physical lessons. It is specially harder for a man, like myself, to ask someone to take my measurements, because society, and gender expectation. (No politics, just sewing). Another one is not adhering to the seam allowance on the pattern. I don't know why people don't use a seam guide. A wavy seam can destroy what could have been a great garment...
Wow..Evelyn, you gave words to my ambition! I am a self learner, you can say, in everything...may that be sewing, crafting, painting, cooking whatever that one needs to learn in life. I got married soon after finishing my schooling , never cooked a dish on my own. But after marriage whatever I cooked and prepared, I am not boasting, but each item was appreciated by family members and my kids used to say, mom, you should start a business with your cooking expertize. In fact, coming to USA from India, I never had to work a job. But coming oven here I did not want my husbanf to go for entry level job, I took up entry level job so that he could teach Indian Classical music as he was a music pro! And one can not depend on that income to run the household! :-D Well, I started as a cashier in a grocery store, later on got a chance to work as cashier in a computer store. Back in India we had a Computer firm and I used to data entry work, did not know anything about hardware. My sons would build a computer as per needs and upgrade the same time to time. But getting opportunity to work in the UPGRADE dept. of that Computer store, I wanted to be a Computer technician. To be able to work on the computer, one has to pass the A+ certification. Well, I studied at home, never attended any technical institution for that and passed my board exam. Worked as a computer repair technician till I retired from the job! Now coming back to sewing perfection, I do make various dresses, frocks, pajaama night dress etc and strive to make my items nice with finished look. And that is why I keep watching videos of youtubers and get ideas to improve my sewing ability. Thanks for this video, it is very inspiring. I do want to learn more about interfacing, I mean, what type of interfacing go well with what type of fabric, You rightly said, certain interfacing would make the finshing look like cardboard! :-D For cotton article it is not that difficult to select an interface material but what about the rayon, silk and or sheer fabric? What type of lining material to use etc, I will search on your videos if there is any. Thanks.
The Vogue Sewing Book has been my best sewing friend since the 1980s. That’s how I learned these techniques. A book...before useful videos like this existed.
I love seeing this, even though I'm very late to it, just as I finished my first ever big project! I've been sewing just to mend for several years but took on the challenge of making my sister a dress and I wanted to make it look as good as possible so I've watched a lot of your videos, thank you for all that you do!
To be quite honest, as someone who's like a professional sewing specialist, I always think my clothes look homemade. While I agree completely to those steps you listed, I think there's a part of you that will never look at your own stuff and think "not handmade" - hence why I still clicked on your video ahah. In hopes to find something that I'm missing that can push my clothes to that next level.
I come from a long line of sewers. I can’t sew a straight line. I’m working on a quilt to work on my actual sewing a straight line skills. I hope I can learn from this!
So grateful that my mom taught us to sew some special seams like a french seam and a flat felled seam. Even pinking helps make the seams of a little cotton top feel more finished. Thanks for this great, cheerful review of the need for detail. I subscribed.
Hi Evelyn. First time visitor here. I think that this is a wonderfully instructive post. All the tips you list are indeed important in constructing garments that look store-bought. I must emphatically whole heartedly agree with #1I PRESS-AS-YOU-SEW!!!!!! Indeed. A wonderful American sewist, Roberta (Bobbie) Carr coined the phrase: "Pressing IS sewing". As far as garment construction is concerned, it is the one thing home sewists should consider inviolate. Period. Now, onto the thing you've stated that I'm going to take exception to. That is, "homesewn vs. handmade". Well, I vehemently disagree with any notion that "homesewn = shoddy". I am a proud homesewist. I think that, ironically, what has given homesewists and the term "homesewn" a bad rap is that garment sewists DON'T press as they sew. It's absolutely imperative to do so. I think that, rather than perpetuating the idea that homesewn equals garbage, we should try and reclaim and rehabilitate it. When sewing garments, do your best work AT ALL STAGES, including those that have been listed. Above all, pressing correctly is key. Tantamount, in fact, to getting the best looking results possible. And anyway, the terms "homesewn" and "handmade" are really one in the same, aren't they? I mean, where, exactly, are handmade things made?
I am so glad you mentioned hand stitching some aspects of the garment. I love hand sewing. (Is that weird?) I hand sew the hem, the zipper, the facing and l gather by hand as well. I find it very soothing. Even finished garments need to be re-hemmed because in recent years l have lost height, so l hand hem them as well. And pressing garments that have come through the mail makes a world of difference.
Hi Evelyn, I just wanted to say a big thank you for all your helpful videos. There is sooooo much to learn! I am only a beginner, I have a long, long way to go, there is so much I have no idea about, but thanks to people like you, I can learn in my own time and start understanding things better! Thank, you, thank you, thank you !
It took me a while to learn that sewing is actually the last thing to do: being careful with measurements, making muslins, adjusting pattern, basting pieces together, etc. Hand sewing has helped me to improve my attention to detail: making invisible seam finishes, pressing in between steps, adjusting stitching speed depending on the location/shape of the seam, etc. I think it's worth it to spend the energy and time to make one hand sewn garment to learn all the tips that you mentioned.
I just came across your videos this evening. I haven’t sewn in a really long time and I needed some refreshers and to learn some two things and I’m just thrilled that you call yourself the vintage so I am so excited. I am in obsessed with vintage fashion from different eras and different times of my life to making hand created items or remaking my clothes that I love so much you have super helped me and just this one night I’ve listened to you so I’m gonna start watching your videos every day. We recently had a sale of my mother-in-law‘s items and she had hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pieces of fabric and all kinds of notion so I’m very excited. Encouraged to finish sewing projects my also in career well I never got paid but my whole time sewing lol. Though I did work in a sweatshop one at one time lol But back to the subjected hand…. I a lot of the time had the fear of finishing a garment so i was challenged to finish sometimes ….so my goal now is to finish them. take care. See you in the next video! CHEERS! ✌️💛🤗
there's a term i heard which i use rather than 'home made' : 'Becky from Home Eccy' because i think for me it perfectly sums up that 'i have no idea what i'm doing and may have used staples' look my school projects had which absolutely put me off sewing for 20 years and now as a total beginner i'm working very hard to avoid. It would be awesome if you could do a video on troubleshooting v necks and collars - i'm working on an adorable 50s pattern (butterick 6887) and it's got a standup wing collar that's set into a v neck plus a facing that for some reason comes in 2 bits - i've watched every tutorial i could get my hands on for collars and v necks but none of them really seem to cover how to get sharp clean points on a v neck with 108 layers of fabric!
In college, for a degree in Home Economics, we called "Becky Homecky" to the girls who were so driven, seeking perfection. It was not a compliment. Some probably have Pinterest and UTube channels.
All of these are spot on. I was taught to press as I go, which gave garments a very professional appearance. A friend of mine was wearing a garment that looked "bubbly" to me (that's the only way I can describe it), and when I mentioned that to my mom she said that happens when you don't press as you sew. Interfacings are huge....my mom would use old sheets for sew in interfacing (she grew up during the depression, people wasted nothing), she machine basted them on then after the facing was sewn in she'd remove the basting stitches.
Thanks Evelyn! I've always aimed to sew and make my garments look handmade and not homemade. I couldn't agree with you more. It gives me complete satisfaction and a sense of achievement and I can't help saying "I made it!" :) I must add that I started sewing since I was 15, an 'art' I picked up just watching my mother (a self-taught seamstress) sew beautiful dresses for us two sisters. She was my inspiration! I'm now in my 60's, still enjoy making my own dresses, learning new tips and tricks everyday watching people like you share your little 'secrets'. Priceless! Thanks again! God bless!
This motivated me to do better at EVERYTHING lol. I have been sewing for years, but as an adult I’m finally starting to take the time to craft things that are actually well made. Ever since I was a teen most of my garments look alright on the outside, and horrible inside. Taking that next step now and watching more of your videos :)
👍🏻100% agree with the tips you provided in this list. Skipped many of these steps when I started sewing more than 40 years ago 😅. But I would just want to add 1 more: Selecting and using the appropriate fabrics/materials for a certain garment. I have an acquaintance who is proficient at sewing... BUT she uses the "wrong" fabrics (often far too stiff cotton - maybe she has a deep dislike to anything synthetic? - but there are plenty of good mix fabrics out there) which make all her 'self-made' garments look "starched". They have no easy drape or nice natural/subtle "fall". And just sit very stiffly on her body - a real shame. And I never complimented her, because I fear I couldn't keep myself from commenting on her fabric use. 😔 A seamstress friend of mine once had a (beginner) student in her class, who would choose/buy upholstery fabrics (at least it was "thin"...but still🤨) for the garment she wanted to create: 'because she like the print'. 🤦🏼♀️ Some beginner 'seamstresses'/sewing students would benefit from a guided trip to the fabric store: to learn about all the fabrics/materials✌🏻.
@@monaanz6754, that is a really sweet & subtle idea/gesture. Sadly we aren't that "close" (she is just an acquaintance) and we haven't seen eachother for a while year, due to the ongoing Pandemic Lockdown here in the Netherlands. But I'll take your suggestion onboard and see if it lends itself to our situation. ✌🏻☺️
ooo I finally figured out my serger so the last dress I made was my first garment ever with all the inside seems finished, and I hand stitched the last waistband seam, under stitched the neckline. Honestly this entire list is is true about that dress, and it shows!
stylistic choices: i have loads of bought clothes with top stitching and i love the look of it and so i do it a lot in my sewing projects. you should actually press before finishing your seams as well so they are finished in the proper, pressed position. and omg, hand finishing is SOOO much easier than trying to do finicky little details with the machine, and it comes out much neater too.
Your comments really resonate with my own journey as a sewer. This year I experimented with felling and this hand sewing technique really increased the quality of the plaid shirts I made for my husband. Especially as he wears them unbuttoned all the time. Two techniques I would add to your list are making an all in one inner facing. I recently made a dress for my niece and was really disappointed with the finished product with the pattern recommended separate neck and sleeve facings. I researched a bit and created my own all in one facing for the second dress. The difference in quality of fit and comfort is huge. I also think doing a mock-up first for sizing adjustments makes a huge difference. And decreases m stress about making mistakes with my lovely fabric. My current personal area of needed improvement is buttonholes. I am not satisfied with the ones my current attachment makes, but my handwork looks even worse. I am currently working with the assumption that practice in handwork will improve them, but any advice will be much appreciated! PS: I am loving the design & color combinations of your dress in the background! Gorgeous
That was so informative, thank you, So, how about one on inserting zippers? all kinds. the puckers, the placement (what do I do with the lining when inserting a zip), the dreaded uneven top of the garment, and the the hole at the bottom of the zip and the fabric.
Thanyou so much for this!! Returning to sewing after many years and cutting out a dress for myself, I came across your channel and I'm so glad I did. Hand stitched a neck binding which I would have attempted to 'stitch in the ditch' and it made all the difference. Also the pressing tips - thankyou, thankyou thankyou xx
Great video!. I have learned the hard way that skipping steps can definitely ruin a garment. The steps are there for a reason. I helped my daughter make a cos play costume that had fancy cuffs and collar. She was trying to do them without interfacing and without pressing. All those steps are there for a reason.
That's what I was going to say. Choosing fabric because it looks pretty. I have ruined so many projects with inappropriate material choices, but I do have lovely cabbage.
Yes, in 1961 I fell in love with a wool plaid brown/tan/green fabric. A co-worker (man) said it looked like a horse blanket. It was too thick. It might have made a nice coat.
Which one are you going work on to take your garments to the next level?
✂️ Develop you your garment sewing skills with me at Vintage Sewing School www.vintagesewingschool.com/
I’m going to press every seam for now on
I like the term ‘bespoke’.
Thanks to COVID I’ve just started sewing again after years of nothing. I’m having to reteach myself techniques and work with new ones too.
One extra tip I would add (well, maybe it’s two) is correct stitch length for purpose in the correct tension.
Thanks for a fantastic video. I really enjoyed everything about it - so glad I found you in my search for sewists.
I like draping silk and chiffon fabric, however, I'm fighting when it's time to sew the gathered, crossed or shirred pieces. After having pinned the style I'm satisfied with, I often find it difficult to sew without deconstructing the target idea. Thanks for giving me some tricks or method to obtain professional results.
Zippers of all kind.
Yes zippers would be great. I have been sewing for years but still cant get them in neatly.
My grandmother has a favorite story about someone complaining to her that she could only make 1 dress in the time it took Sue to make 3. "Yes," my grandmother said. "But have you *seen* the inside of her dresses?"
Word!
I love that!
That would have been my mom. Best compliment I ever heard out of her was ‘that’s the way it’s supposed to be’ when were looking at a quilt visiting Amish country lol…
So true, I have a friend who knocks up a new piece so quickly, I couldn’t understand how until I saw the unfinished inside and lack of detailed work on the outside.
That is what a lining is for.... **L**
I'm a beginning sewist (in my 50s 😊) & I just started making tops for my daughter. She came home from work beaming because a customer asked her where she got her top. She told her that her mom made it. It makes my heart happy that I can create garments that make my daughter feel beautiful. Thank you for your wonderful videos.
Me too! I am obsessed and have made my husband and my father shirts. They have both gotten compliments and it just makes me want to make more
Awww ❤ It's the best sense of accomplishment right! And you should be proud!
Whether you’re sewing a garment, drapes, or a tote bag, my motto is, the best compliment a sewer can get is when someone asks, “where did you get that?” ❤️ Happy sewing!
I'm into sewing, but my grandma is into knitting. She made me the most beautiful blouses, and I've definitely gotten a lot of compliments over the years. Seeing your comment made me realize I definitely have to wear them more often even though I'm not going out as often
Brings back memories. When my daughter was young, I sewed her a few things. She couldn't wait until I was done. One was a one piece short romper. The top had bears on it, bottom was a denim look cotton. She loved it and wore it to school.
I feel like the number one mistake I see intermediate to advanced home sewers making that's just unnecessary is trying to replicate industrial techniques at home. I'm trained in Haute Couture (in Paris, for real. Not fashion school in Montana or something) *and* industrial sewing stateside. I've also worked conserving vintage Haute Couture garments for a museum. In the 80s and 90s there was a huge push for home sewers to incorporate industrial techniques into home sewing to save time and "make more professional garments." Here's the thing, industrial techniques don't really work that well at home. In an industrial setting, one person does the same one or two garment sections day in, day out on the same purpose built machine. Flat felling the inseam on your jeans? No problem. They just put the two pieces through a machine that folds the edges together, and twin needle stitches all in one go. There's no folding by hand, pressing, trimming, whatever. It's all done in one go, by someone who does the same thing over and over and over. And it's the same whether your jeans come from Old Navy or Dior. Pressing isn't the same. They have machines that block fuse entire sections. They can blow out instead of pressing a garment like a dry cleaner does. Industrial sewing and home sewing are worlds and worlds apart.
On the other hand, Haute Couture techniques translate really well to home sewing. Aside from great pressing equipment, there aren't a ton of specialty tools or gadgets you need. You don't need to know a ton of fancy folding and twisting methods to get your linings and whatnot to come out right. In general, there are a handful of easy hand stitches you can use to make practically any garment, in any fabric. If you're sewing at home, don't expect your clothes to look like the clothes at Macy's. Handmade clothes don't look like that. They should be softer. If you can see the odd hand stitch here or there, that's okay. Take the time to do things by hand. Yes, hemming a skirt can take a few hours, but does that matter if you're going to wear something for ten years? Don't sew to save money. Period. Don't. There are cheap clothes you can buy off the rack. If you're going to make something yourself, pay yourself for your time by buying the absolute best materials you can afford. (I like to factor in the amount of time I'm going to spend making something when I price out materials. If I spend $300 on materials for a jacket, and the jacket takes 100 hours, that's $3 an hour that I get to spend sewing, so that's pretty cheap enjoyment. And I get a jacket that probably retails for $3,000+ when I'm done.) If you'd spend $150 for a dress off the rack, spend that on materials, and spend eighty hours properly finishing your garment. You'll wear it for ages. It will be well worth the effort and expense. Pick up those lovely 50s sewing books, even if you're not interested in vintage sewing. (Full disclosure, I can't stand the "sew your own vintage clothes" movement. I'd rather make something exquisite that I can wear any day of the week.) The techniques are great and they work well at home.
Take your time. A lot of sewers will say, "Oh, you're just a beginner. You'll get faster." If you're completing projects quicker, you're probably not challenging yourself enough, and you can be spending more time on things like seam finishes, or using traditional sew in interfacings instead of fusibles. (Fusibles have a place, even in Couture, but they're not a magic bullet for everything.) I like to say that good sewers sew because they like the results. Great sewers sew because they love the process.
Brilliant post, thank you.
Ms Bunny
OMG ! What a fantastic read , thank you so much for this superb information 😋. What a great input ❤️❤️❤️
Hey - I’m from Montana!😆 Okay they have no fashion design schools there - however, you can learn to make beautiful saddles!😂😂 You posted some helpful tidbits, thank you!
I LOVE your comment - its SO true. Haute Couture only requires straight stitching and OCCASIONALLY a zig zag. My sewing bibles are all vintage ones from the 1940's thru to the 1980's. I only use overlocker for stretch or edging chiffon with that tiny narrow edge for effect. True skill is construction complexity and consistency.
I agree with other comments here - what you have written is so true, and I love your last sentences particularly 'great sewers sew because they love the process'
Evelyn,
I think it would be such a fun and educational project if you made the same garment twice. One with these "beginner mistakes", and then the expert handmade version. :) Just a thought.
Thanks for the video!
I think that/s a fantastic idea!
Hmmmm will that is a very interesting idea! Thanks for the suggestion! 😀
I make an outfit out of inexpensive fabric to learn how to sew it. I like to create Historical clothes, all of which should be made from silk, wool, or some equally pricey fabric. Someday I will splurge and buy the real deal. For right now all my outfits look like daily wear from history as opposed to high status gowns worn to balls.
@@jennipherlewis3221 That's awesome! I just saw your Foundations Revealed video and the dress is excellent!
This!
oh, i just love this woman. She's so kind and sweet and positive.
Thankyou! That's so sweet 😀
Indeed, she is.💕
She reminds me like if snow white grew up and because a seamstress. I hope that's a nice thing to say
@@micearenice8963 : I think it is a very nice thing to say. 😘
Me too!!
I remember when I was a teenager in 4-H (here in the states) I always entered my sewing project in the county review-- that's where we modeled what we made. I was always in a hurry to finish my project bc I was so eager to wear it, so I gave little thought to the inside, and I skipped steps like finishing seams. One year as we were getting ready to start the review, (that was the year we made dresses for the first time) I saw one of my classmates in her dress. Her mom was fussing around her, adjusting and making sure there were no loose threads, and it hit me in the face how much better her dress looked than mine. Her choice of fabric was better, the finishing was better, and overall it looked well made. (I always suspected her mom made it for her-- she was that kind of mom.) After that I totally changed my approach to sewing. I take my time and make sure I finish all the seams and press as I go. Speed is never a factor. Funny, isn't it, how those experiences stay with us our whole lives?
I love this story, thankyou for sharing! Yes it is funny that we have these pivotal moments that we always remember 🙂
Yes, and those are the lessons you carry with you forever. I was like that too, thinking if it doesn’t show, it doesn’t matter. Oh but it does show and it does matter.
Love this! Quarantine sewing definitely helped me slow down, it's not like I'm rushing to get somewhere! I've started hand sewing final touches to get smooth seams, pressing each step instead of doing a couple steps and then pressing, and also finally figured out the tension on my serger
@@katiebeth8825 same. One time i churned out 5 skirts in a month but none of them are hemmed. The insides are not finished and they arent pressed at any point. I look back and notice how off they look.
Yes, you always remember that moment of epiphany...
When I'd been sewing for a few years (and was, perhaps, adequate), my sister-in-law was having an evening formal wedding. I wanted a really chic and elegant blouse to go with a skirt I already had, ankle length, and composed of sheer black layers. I shopped for one, but I couldn't afford, or even FIND, the look and quality that I wanted. Formal blouses that I thought were ugly, poorly designed and made were $300.
I bought a 2-layer blouse pattern, the most beautiful (and, I found out, difficult to work with) sheer organza for the overlayer, silk for the underlayer, and Swarovski crystal buttons.
I then proceeded to cuss, hyper-focus, rip, re-cut and sew, and nit-pick my way through what turned into a grueling project and learning curve.
The pressing, understitching, French seams, pressing, rolled hems, careful corners and buttonholes, and PRESSING, drove me MAD, but I was absolutely determined to Do. It. Right.
The payoff was WELL WORTH the trouble and attention to detail. The resulting blouse was a well fitted and crafted dream, perfect for me and for the event. I wasn't in the least embarrassed to be wearing it, and a couple of women asked where I'd purchased it. I could never have afforded to purchase a blouse like the one that I'd made, and I learned a lesson that stuck with me and has served me well. Don't cut corners, don't skip details.
I've since gone on to make some very ambitious custom clothing for myself and my daughters. I've learned a LOT from making mistakes, and I've probably ripped more seams than I've left in, but the biggest lesson learned is that if you just slap it together, you're probably wasting your time and material.
I've moved from saying "thanks, I made it myself" to "thanks! I'm really happy with how it turned out!" because then the other person usually follows up with "did you make that?" and then I can say yes. It just sounds less like I'm fishing for compliments that way. Clearly I've overthought this 😂
That is brilliant! Thank you for the conversation tip!
Thanks for this. I stopped telling people "Thanks. I made this myself." Now I only say it when they ask where I got it from.
On my very first sewing class ever, at the local Singer Sewing Store, the instructor held up an iron and said, "This is your best friend. It doesn't matter what machine you have or how old you are, THIS is your best friend." She was a wise wise woman. I love your videos and though I've sewn for decades, I always learn something new along the way. You are a joy to watch with lots of reminders and memories of why I love to sew.
Awww thankyou! I agree about the iron being the seamstresses best friend!!
That is exactly what the teacher in my sewing school said! "Iron is the most important tool of a seamstress." ...We found it rather funny because we were two boys in the class :-)... But otherwise it so very true.
Exactly what my Mom
said to me when I had to work on my Junior High Home Ec project home to finish.
How long ago was that? My Mum worked as a teacher/demonstrator for Singers in the South West of England and South Wales.
@@carolempluckrose4188 I was 13 and it was 1964, but I'm in the states so I didn't know your mom. I bet your mom was great to all who wanted to learn.
1. Something I wish I did from the start is to wash the fabric before cutting it.
2. Also, you don't have to finish everything in one sitting. It is totally ok to have a good night sleep and to return to it later! 🤭
3. It is ok to cut and alter a garment that is already something you wouldn't ever wear. Whatever to make it work 👏
Very wise words! ❤
I do all of these! Can confirm!
I need to do that.
I wish my brain would understand #2 lmao
I never prewash! The sizing in fabric makes sewing so much easier. I spray water and iron my garments as I sew and it usually takes care of shrinkage.
Before I started ironing and pressing my creations, my mom could *always* tell if my clothes were made by me or storebought. Now she's really struggling with her guesses, and very proud of my progress (even though the only thing that changed is me finally using an iron) 😄 It really makes a huge difference!
😆❤ Yes!!! I'm so happy to hear this! Well done, you should be proud of your progress too!
The joke at our house has always been that the iron only comes out when I am sewing. It makes all the difference in the finished product.
First lesson I learned actually when I was taught to sew in High School (Grade 8). My Home Ec teacher did teach us the basics, and that was the big one, which I never forgot. When my daughter took Home Ec, I don't know if my daughter was just being difficult (at the age of 13 to 17 she was a master of being difficult) or if her Home Ec teacher didn't really explain the importance of ironing your pieces as you see them, but her projects came home pretty badly done, and honestly, I broke them down to start, pressed all the pieces, resewed them and then donated them. (Since OF COURSE she wouldn't wear them. ) But honestly just pressing as I went made the garments look so much better....she couldn't believe they were her projects, lol!
Lack of practice of course! I saw a marked improvement in my end results after using a whole weekend and an entire spool of thread doing nothing but sewing straight lines and spirals on scraps of fabric over and over again. My lines are straighter, my stitching is more consistent because I am feeding fabric better, and my speed is improving.
A very good point, I've always been terrible at straight lines with machines. Except with zippers, I'm surprisingly good at zippers despite never having heard of a zipper foot until recently :)
Yes. it takes 10,000 hours to become good at something. More time means better results!
Yes, I sometimes struggle with being too hard on myself when I am no good at something I have never done before. Isn't that silly, nobody is born with these skills, and in reality I know I do okay for a beginner.
I was taught to sew straight lines by using paper with no thread in the machine. Our teacher judged the straightness by the little holes. Our first project was a sort of T-shirt shaped cotton blouse, and a simple skirt. I had heard that most high schools taught you how to make an apron. Well, most 15 or 16 year old girls I knew were in no need of an apron, and now my Daughter and Daughters-in-law don't like to wear them. You can even get templates on youtube for practicing different shapes and angles to sew on paper. After we made our first project we learned a few tailoring seams by making pajamas: ie; flat felled seams and French seams....That might have happened in my second year of sewing class.
it was 77 years ago! Our teacher kept emphasizing that we needed to learn these basic things before working with expensive wool. I was terrifiedd to start making a wool coat, but I soon learned that wool is very forgiving. It kind of has a natural stretch and my "swing" coat came out fine.
Thank you for your videos - it made me inventing the understitch for me.
My advice for avoiding the homemade or "cheap" look is to choose the buttons wisely. The wrong button, too colorful, too big, too textured or too many buttons can ruin an otherwise perfect garment.
I recently figured out what I hated about ironing was the old wobbly cheap ironing board I was using. Switched that out and now I actually enjoy ironing
Oh I can so relate! I have a wobbly board, too .. one of those bottom foot things broke off and I just haven't chucked the old thing out yet, lol
A really good iron makes a world of difference. I have both a pressure steam iron with a separate water tank AND a Singer steam press.....bothh have their VERY important roles, whether patchwork quilting or making guipure flowergirls' dresses.
My mom taught herself to sew, but taught me to understitch. A beautiful handstitched hem, too. Thanks, mom!
I love full lining.
The goddamn facings 😅 - they did drive me nuts for years and I didn't learn about understitching until I was studying fashion design. Re. pressing last night I made a single welt pocket and at first, when you pull the pocket from the right side to the wrong side of the garment it can look so bad. I almost cried last night because I didn't think it looked good - then I pressed... 😯 😍
I get you, pressing can fix thing so much.. I made a scalloped edge today, looked atrocious before pressing, but now I'm really proud of it :D
@@pulashtar I really can imagine that! 🥰
You're right. I admit to loving it when someone say, "you MADE that?", and it confirms that I've done my best.
I am 68 years old. I was blessed with the best sewing teacher at age 12 in 7th grade. She taught me sewing for four years. She was a hard task master at times. But she taught me the proper way to do things. I love sewing to this day due to that awesome teacher. I taught my daughter to sew and will soon be teaching my granddaughter. Sewing is relaxing and enjoyable for me. It's a great skill for anyone to have. Thank you for your teaching and inspiration.
i also learned in 7th grade (I'm now 65) although my mom let me use her machine to my Barbie clothes before that. My 7th-grade sewing teacher, Mrs. Savoy, was wonderful. It's been a lifelong learning process. The biggest problem I have is making sure the fabric texture and pattern make sense for the piece I'm making. I still get tripped up with that.
timestamps!
0:00 intro
1:52 Homemade vs. Handmade
2:51 Top stitching over under stitching
4:21 Not pressing
5:21 Machine stitching instead of hand finishing
6:26 Seam finishes
7:57 Using the wrong interfacing or no interfacing
9:31 outro
Hope these help!! :)
Thank you.
Been sewing for years but these tips are very helpful as I start garment sewing again. Thank you!
I love it when someone does timestamps! 😉
Thankyou Petu! 😀
Thanks. 😊
After spending hours making up a lined midi A-line skirt, did the pressing, the beautiful wool plaid was feeling so nice, the zipper was perfect, it was amazing! Got dressed to go out and did the final swirl in the mirror, only to discover that one section of the back plaid was facing up and the other side was facing down. That was the last time that I used a plaid fabric.
Try cutting without a fold. You can cut single pieces, but you have to cut a right and a left depending on the pattern. You put pins where the notches are, so that is where you match your plaids. If you have a shirt with a dart, where the dart is, throws off matching. So you match the part below the dart. Makes more sense when you are doing it, not just reading it.
I call my “mistakes” learning curves. Once I straighten them out, they feel like second nature!
Yes!!! 100% agree!
I love this attitude! I feel the same way, every mistake is a learning opportunity.
What an intelligent response. I don't really sew anymore, but I took up crocheting. After getting very frustrated with mistakes and re-doing it, I decided it was all just practise to make my work better.
🙄🙄
That is the attitude I need to adopt. I am pretty hard on myself.
I will say that “looking homemade” is still better than looking like fast fashion!
I’ve found that learning historical techniques has been really helpful for me in elevating my stitching. Because a lot of the techniques that we think of as couture today, are the hand finishing techniques that come directly from historical sewing. Hand felling seams and gems, hand finishing binding (which I’m currently having an awful time with, trying to bind a pair of 18th century stays- the tabs are beyond maddening!).
I also discovered that I just really like hand sewing everything, because I found I have much, much greater control of each and every stitch. And it’s very soothing to me- except when I’m trying to bind tabs, that is. And that’s something I wouldn’t have learned if I hadn’t given historical or hand sewing techniques a try.
I'm feeling really old, when you refer to "historical". Back in the 60s and 70s in NSW Schools, Yr 3to Yr 7 needlework was a compulsory subject for all girls. We had to learn to sew by hand, "run and fell seams", "french seams", double stitched, bound seams, plain seams, closed seams before we were allowed to even touch a sewing machine.
@@meganwilliams2962 to be fair, when I say “historical”, I’m not referring to the 60s or 70s. I’m referring to Victorian and earlier. You definitely weren’t alive for the garments I’m making 😂.
It’s just that a lot of those hand sewing techniques haven’t changed much in the past 800 years. Why fix it if it ain’t broke?
@@katherinemorelle7115 Because grumpy little girls who HATED sewing (like me - how times have changed) used to sulk about it (I sure did) LOL.
I have been making basic sewing projects for Dark-Age re-enactment for about a year now, and it's been a journey of building my confidence from zero to feeling happy with the outside of my garments. They were basically just untailored bags though (as they are supposed to be!) and the insides looked terrible. I'm currently working on my first tailored garment and it scares the hell out of me! I'm watching your videos with a mix of anxiety and excitement - but I am TOTALLY looking forward to having something I can be proud of, and which will move me to the next phase of my sewing journey. THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH for your advice and your enthusiasm. You really are my sewing hero!
Yes, I had one of those card board collars. Mistake on the interfacing, yep, I did that too.
Okay... after watching it rot in a cupboard for years, i got my sewing machine out and faced my fears. The idea that I don't have to put the pedal to the metal and that i can do 1 stitch at a time was a revelation! You have officially blown my mind. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!!! 🎉
For me, it is fully lining most of the garments I make. There is a world of difference between a fully lined dress and an unlined one. I used to hate doing it because it almost doubled the cost of the project, and definitely did double the time spent on the project, but it is totally worth it!
All of us do not have the same aesthetic concerns. Although vintage garments did not usually sport top stitching In the USA many store bought garments are made with topstitching. Like Jeans and western style shirts. Many if not most shirts are top stitched. It is going for more casual look.
I totally agree with you about bottom stitching. It is vital to having a nicely finished garment. My homemade, handcrafted garments fit me very well. I am a taller and rounder gal with a short waist line. I learned before starting high school that I must alter all the patterns. A few were trial and error but made out of junk cloth.
I totally agree with all of these! I just made Easter dresses for my three girls. The instructions included under stitching the lining to the dress at the sleeve cuff! That was a new one to me. It was particularly amazing and satisfying to see how beautiful the dress looked, however, when I pressed that lining under after understitiching it! I didn’t hem the garments before they wore them, because I was lacking time, but then finished the seams and hemmed it by hand before the next time they wore them, and the inside now looks almost as pretty as the outside. That hand finishing takes a long time, but especially as one gets better at it, it really makes the dress look professional. I know there were still some mistakes, but I was so proud of those little dresses!
I have made terrible fabric choices in the past as well. I think one of the excuses could be that the fabric shop would have fabric that caught my eye but it was a completely different textile than recommended for / on the pattern envelope. Since I didn't know about hand or drape, let alone fabric type, I would choose the fabric that appealed to my eye. Over the years I have learned a lot about what to expect from different fabric choices and have a scrap book of sorts with swatches and the possible names applied. I generally work with organics so the list is not that long. There are fewer and fewer fine fabric stores where I live, anyway, that cater to those who are willing to pay for a beautiful fabric and construct a couture piece. Many shops carry fabric that has "unknown fibre" on the label. How does one know if the fabric is going to melt, shrink, stretch, or dissolve? I am not in as much of a hurry now to finish one thing so I can race to the next so I plod along perfecting the pattern/sloper and then pay what ever I need to for the fabric I love and make something I love. I suppose the advantage of studying fashion design would be avoiding mistakes that a self taught sewer makes. Oh well, It has been a fun journey.
I had a similar experience the first time I understitched some facings, I believe it was. While I was not quite sure what I was doing or why, I followed the instructions in the printed pattern, and when I turned the garment right side out, I was amazed at the fine result and became a faithful understitcher to this day.
When I wear long sleeved blouses. I like to roll the sleeves up, so I always do french seams for the sleeve seams. The inside will be seen so it's equally important as the outside.
Things that make a garment look homemade to me:
-Plaids or stripes not matching , especially if they don't match at the center front seam.
- Lengths not matching on left and right sides of a button front shirt, coat or dress.
- Sleeves different lengths
- thread changing color in a visible place (like topstitching). Like you ran out of thread and finished with a different color. I have totally done this just because I wanted to finish the thing and not go back to the store.:p
After many years of wanting to hurry up and finish my projects with my sewing machine, You have elevated my consciousness for slowing down and finishing by hand. The pressing - as - you go was in my repertoire years ago, but somehow, I got lazy. In fact, my first sewing machine was a Jolsen straight stitch, followed nu White sewing machine with a couple of stitch variations . Then one day my husband gifted me with a Singer electronic cartridge prototype and I let the machine do everything. I vow to return to good sewing habits. Evelyn, thank you.
The biggest thing I learnt to do was, before cutting out my fashion fabric, I make the garment out of leftover fabric and get it to fit exactly. Then I cut the seams at the stitch line and I have perfectly sized pattern pieces, which lay nicely on the fashion fabric to cut around (unlike the paper pattern pieces).. This way I don't have to rip out seams on my fashion fabric to get the fit right. It takes a bit more work, of course, because I'm basically making the garment twice, but well worth it in the end.
Such a helpful explanation of how to translate a toile into the final garment. I had never fully understood the process before. I guess you add the seam allowance back in when you cut out your final fabric using the toile pattern pieces?
Yes, you'll add a seam allowance to the cut out edge of the pattern pieces.
I have no problem with my clothes looking homemade because I'm quite proud of the fact that I've managed to resist the urge to buy new clothes and that I'm learning a skill.
I grew up in the 1950's. My mother made everything except my church socks ( white anklets). She bought plan white socks and added lace to those. She made all of my underwear ( white cotton panties, white undershirt with lace, and gorgeous slips, petticoats, etc. I had never even seen an unfinished seam. In my teens I decided to buy some clothes like the other girls. The first dress I bought had no seam finishing ( not even pinked). When I pulled it from the wash it was a frayed mess. Needless to say, I learned to sew. I have not sewn in many years and am loving your videos Evelyn. My daughter wants to learn to sew. I sew Vintage Sewing School in our future! Refresher for me and learning these fabulous skills for my daughter! Thank you!
How I wish Evelyn and RUclips had been around when I was learning to sew! It would have saved me from lots of frustration. Evelyn, you have inspired me to create a sewing center in the corner of my bedroom and begin to sew again.
Practising on a scrap of the material you are using is a good idea too, I find it helps to make sure that the stitch tension etc is correct before diving in 🪡🧵🪡
This is the moment I realised that testing tension on scraps is something I've learned by osmosis from seeing my mum sew while I was playing by her sewing table))
Vital, when you have a crabby old machine!
@@MsDeepAndDark me too 😊
Oh heaven's, YES. AND, I can't stress this enough - READ the pattermaker's instructions at least twice before setting shears to fabric. Make sure your shears are in top form too. Measure twice, cut once.....I can hear my needlework teacher from 1973 wispering in my ear.....
A vivid way to describe what you called "home-made" is "looking like a cheap Halloween costume"... and yes, it does happen. And what we probably all want, after putting hours and hours into making a garment, is for it to last a long time of wearing pleasure.. Thank you for a great series!!
Hi Evelyn, I am going through an Evelyn marathon with all these videos before I start on a simple dress for my daughter. I am retired. I used to love sewing, and I want to get back to it again.
Thank you so much! I feel as if I’m
Leapfrogging my way through the beginner process with all the wisdom you share. Years ago I worked with a young professional woman that always wore the loveliest tailor made suit jackets and fitted skirts. I was certain she had them made exclusively for her. I learned that Brenda sewed everything she wore. She took off her jacket to show me and it was crafted exquisitely. The lining.. the inside pockets… everything was flawless. To this day Brenda remains my inspiration. Her garments were incredible.
I can totally remember which project I learned each lesson. The other big one for me was grainline.
RIGHT!!! Like does it matter anyways( trust, it does) and it uses up SO MUCH MORE material. End result. Oops totallt homemade.
Yes! I would completely ignore it when I first started, and everything would turn out terribly 😂
😂 I remember when I learnt that one too! And it went exactly the same in my head too!
My ex actively discouraged me from following grainlines because it was a waste of fabric. That's one of his more 'endearing' qualities...
I'm a beginner and still don't fully understand the grainline, etc 😬😂
The Golden Rule of Pressung🤯 i will be exercising the 3 Rules from now on!
Love this! I learned most of these the hard way, too. I've been sewing since the 1970s, but my favorite moment sewing my own clothes was about 10 years ago when I altered a basic tailored shirt pattern and added a gathered skirt to create a 1960s style dress in my favorite rose print cotton fabric. The first time I wore it a 19 year old rushed up and asked where I found that dress! She was very disappointed when I told her I made it. I still wear that dress regularly.
Nice -video-! I learned that it also looks better if you use a smaller stitches rather than longer :)
Okay so im learning how to sew professional at a school and for the interfacing we ALWAYS need to cut out at least two pieces of the fabric we're using and choose between different kinds of interfacing. We need to make these two test pieces with different interfacing and it helps a lot! So if you have more than one kind of interfacing at home def do these test piecees!!
Ufffh! you should have seen me ironing interfacing into a *finished garment*!
I was using a pattern, but I realised early on it was for fancy dress or halloween and not for a well made coat.
It was for a fun home made Jack Sparrow and I wanted a classy Casanova meets Mr Darcey. It's an early 1800s frock coat.
It's the sort of thing I wear for work and I found some brushed denim in a bargain basket in the fabric shop and liked the possibility of the anachronistic fabric choice ...so it's pale blue denim and I used dark purple silk under the stand up collar, inside the cuffs and in the godets round the back. Nice fabric so I wanted to do a proper job.
To get back to the theme of this video.
I interfaced when it was finished because the fabric was looking old and tired already just with the manhandling of the making.
This interfacing wasn't in the pattern and I realised too late that I had to invent and improvise.
Also, regarding seam finishes: the fold back cuffs had a raw seam inside the cuff where the bottom of sleeve joined the beginning of the cuff. The cuff is lined in silk and it's wide and it's draw people's attention so I didn't want people glimpsing raw edges ... so I recut the sleeves ( I wanted them longer and slimmer anyway) and in that join at the bottom of the sleeve, in the pit of the cuff I did french seams. They're bulky because it's denim, but it looks good and actually helps the bottom of the sleeve stay firm and formal, like whale bone.
The curved hem needed to be hand sewn .. it's a feature because it's endless with four panels plus three wide godets and it'll swing when it's worn. As you can imagine the cheap pattern said to machine sew it and hide the sewing with braid. It would have stood out like a crinoline! The hand finished clean edge is so simple and classy.
Talking of choosing the right interfacing, I put a pocket into the front panel. A welt pocket with a flap. It's very wide and the flap is enormous and if it had sagged because of the width it'd have looked awful, so I made interfacing with vinyl glue and calico !!! .... very rigid, not easy for the machine to work through, but perfectly sculpted.
and one more adaptation to make it look professional ... There was supposed to be a facing of two inches all down the front edge ...very half hearted and it would have been visible when the coat was worn ... so I cut that piece in the silk and made it as wide as the front piece so it became a lining.
I kept thinking, Evelyn Wood would be proud of me, for using the pattern as a tool and not being chained to everything it said. I'd have hated to make the thing without a bought pattern even though it's a garment made of basic shapes, it has nice things like front panels that curl over the body and join the back pieces over the shoulder blades ... but by trial and error (a lot of both) I worked out where I had to do things differently.
😍 Very proud! As you should be too!
I can tell by the way you "talk", you are not a young whiper=smapper. A godet, huh...I'm sure my talented sewing friend know what that is, but I only have a slight idea, and I've been sewing for 67 years, with a lot of time off for working and/or
raising 4 kids. Love that you made changes to the pattern and made a more beautiful project!
Pressing, seam finishes, and understitching have all made my finished projects look more professional. Small changes with big results for sure. I also like your comment about the importance of interfacings, and would love to see a video where you share more of your wisdom/knowledge about them. I myself am only familiar so far with the big box craft store fusibles, and only just learned that you're supposed to pretreat fusible interfacings as well, in warm water before using. It would be great to hear your tips on using interfacings, both fusible and non-fusible (I hear the fusible can ripple or bubble sometimes if not applied correctly), as well as some recommendations for alternatives to store-bought facings. For example, is it ever a good idea to use the same fabric for a sew in facing as the fabric you're using for the garment itself? Thanks again for these detailed, informative videos! I'm always excited to see a new video from your channel pop up on my YT feed :)
I have often used an extra layer of the fashion fabric for interfacing in light to medium weight fabrics, especially underneath buttons and buttonholes. The technique is best limited to solid color fabrics for obvious reasons, and I don't recommend it for belts, which, IMO, need extra stiffening.
Evelyn is so nice. I love the videos...honest and practical help for people like me just trying to.learn.
Awww thankyou Helen, I'm glad you find them helpful!
One thing I'd add is that when you're starting out there is no such thing as too many pins. Until you get used to feeding fabric, sewing curves, adding zips and all the rest, pins are your best friend. I learnt to sew on an old treadle machine that had a motor added. No zigzag and no reverse. I didn't even have pinking shears until recently. I quickly learnt about french seams and bound seams. I made all my daughter's clothes for years and gradually picked up the skills to make my own shirts, trousers and jackets. Over the years I gradually updated my machines and my courage. These days I seem to mostly be making waistcoats for a friend but I think it's time to go back to making shirts. For all the men out there, get so good that people stop worrying that you're a man and start asking you to make things. Worked for me.
Oh, yes, about the men. Again, way back when....Men were the tailors, no women allowed!
I'm 20 and I started sewing a couple of years ago, I'm now making costumes and occasionally clothes for myself and my family. Your channel has been (and still is) a huge help! 🥰
When I sewed for competition in 4-H the judges would turn our garments inside out prior to us modeling them. It was humbling. Lessons learned at age 12, with me at 64 as I begin sewing on the most expensive fabric I’ve ever chosen.
I have completely abandoned my sewing machine and now I had sew everything. I love and sewing so much. Taking the time to do each stitch so finely it is invisible and doesn't warp of pull the fabric is so satisfying. I think the only one of your tips I haven't done is interfacing. I am almost finished a skirt, but I am still battling the plaquette before doing the waste band. I want to add interfacing to the waste band so it doesn't crumple and scrunch. Going to check out some of the sew-in ones now. I think the only ones I can get from my local area are the iron-in ones and no way am I doing that to myself again! I tried an iron-on interfacing a few years ago and it emotionally scarred me XD. It made my fabric look terrible, started falling apart after the first wear and then when I tried to fix it, it covered my sewing machine needle with sticky, gluey residue. Thank you for your video. I love how encouraging and lovely you are. I love the way you explain things and make me feel like I'm not a numpty for not doing things or knowing things. I wish I had had sewing teachers like you in school.
Tbh, I've been sewing for 20 years, and if someone told me my garments looked factory made (I hand sew, cant use a machine.) I would straight up cry. I didn't spend 100 hours on my skirt doing 18-20 SPI in backstitches and felled seams for you to insult me like that.
Making mistakes is great. It makes us sit and think things through. All those tries aren't failures at all! I love how you are so helpful and encouraging! Thanks!
In the last 8 months I lost 50 lbs on keto and IF. It no longer looks like I’m wearing clothes. It looks like I’m wearing tents. I decided not to go out and buy a new wardrobe. My plan is to alter or re-design my current wardrobe and make some new things. To those goals, I have very wisely subscribed to your channel. In addition, yesterday, I joined your Vintage Sewing School. I am so excited to get going. Thank you for so much for such great information and for your brilliant school.
I’m really thankful I got inspired to start sewing again by Bernadette Banner. My first garment was entirely hand sewn and I have no anxiety about hand finishing. Interfacing is still something that I’m trying to figure out since ideally I’d like a wholly natural fiber wardrobe someday.
You can add a layer of canvass into collars and cuffs to stiffen the fabric. It works for me
I make Aloha Shirts and I agree with every one of your "tips". I also make lei. Surprisingly, many of the same rules apply (except ironing, of course). A quality lei looks as beautiful on the back as it does on the front.
You got my thumbs up when you said "not pressing, you know what I mean"
Thanks! Loved this. One of the things you've talked about elsewhere is testing each step along the way! Test the interfacing on a scrap of fabric. Practice your understitching on scraps. Get your fit sorted out before you cut your final fabric.❤
Up to this point, I didn't care about something look professional, I just designed an outfit I wanted to make and how I wanted it to look (and be comfortable) then just figure out how to make it happen and not fall apart lol
But I recently started wanting to make real custom clothing for myself! This has been helpful thank you!! 😊 subscribed! Looking forward to learning more ❤
What I aim for is to say: "thank you, I made it myself. And it has massive pockets!"
Another question I have: I try to make my sewing more eco-friendly and am trying to stay away from the synthetic materials due to microplastics and them not lasting as long as natural fibers. (Although all fibers have their problems.) What are good ways of doing interfacing that are not the fusable kinds? I've seen canvas and tarlatan used in historical costumes, but I'm not sure they are as useful in more vintage clothes or modern with a vintage twist.
Thank you so much, I've learned so much from this channel. Last project I used understitching (woolen skirt that did not want to stay folded with careful pressing) and it made such a difference!
I trained as a dress maker and served my apprenticeship. I made winter coats right through to bridle wear. I did lots of hand sewing with just a basic sewing machine with no fancy attachments. I still sew today exactly the same just a basic machine and lots of hand sewing
I've heard that for bridal wear seamstresses make a bodice in muslin first. They usually have poufy skirts so they don't need a muslin for that.
I took most of your tips for my latest project, and holy cow it did make all the difference. By the time I finished the project I was absolutely in love, of course still learning even after fifteen years of sewing
I'm so glad to hear your projects so much improved! 😀 And I don't think we ever stop learning!
I am in your Vintage Sewing School, and my goal is for my clothes to look like they were made one at a time by a haute couture tailor. I plan to work through all the courses to achieve this, from the beginning courses, even though I have been sewing for over 60 years. Thank you for all you do.
Girl! You are an amazing teacher!!! I have been all over RUclips looking for someone to teach me the way I best learn! I made my first dress for my niece this past weekend! You literally taught me how with thus channel! I can't wait to see how much better I get because of you!! 😂 Oh and also you look like Snow White so I feel like I'm learning from Snow White!
Meeennnn, that handmade versus homemade made a buzz in my head! The way you explain handmade makes it sound so royal...ish. that's my new thing 😄😄😄
Great video. I think a very common "Mistake" most beginners, and even many self proclaimed expert, is not getting the correct measurements. Taking measurements isn't as simple as putting a measuring tape on you, and read the centimetres, or inches. Most commercial patterns offers very little help, or instructions to get a better fit. So most people use factory made sizes, and end up with an ill fitting miss. We're also told to "Ask a friend to take your measurements". This is easier said than done. Many newer sewers, like myself, learned sewing on RUclips, and never got the chance to have physical lessons. It is specially harder for a man, like myself, to ask someone to take my measurements, because society, and gender expectation. (No politics, just sewing).
Another one is not adhering to the seam allowance on the pattern. I don't know why people don't use a seam guide. A wavy seam can destroy what could have been a great garment...
Oh! I thought I am a beginner but I know all that things. What a nice surprise ☺️
Wow..Evelyn, you gave words to my ambition! I am a self learner, you can say, in everything...may that be sewing, crafting, painting, cooking whatever that one needs to learn in life. I got married soon after finishing my schooling , never cooked a dish on my own. But after marriage whatever I cooked and prepared, I am not boasting, but each item was appreciated by family members and my kids used to say, mom, you should start a business with your cooking expertize. In fact, coming to USA from India, I never had to work a job. But coming oven here I did not want my husbanf to go for entry level job, I took up entry level job so that he could teach Indian Classical music as he was a music pro! And one can not depend on that income to run the household! :-D Well, I started as a cashier in a grocery store, later on got a chance to work as cashier in a computer store. Back in India we had a Computer firm and I used to data entry work, did not know anything about hardware. My sons would build a computer as per needs and upgrade the same time to time. But getting opportunity to work in the UPGRADE dept. of that Computer store, I wanted to be a Computer technician. To be able to work on the computer, one has to pass the A+ certification. Well, I studied at home, never attended any technical institution for that and passed my board exam. Worked as a computer repair technician till I retired from the job! Now coming back to sewing perfection, I do make various dresses, frocks, pajaama night dress etc and strive to make my items nice with finished look. And that is why I keep watching videos of youtubers and get ideas to improve my sewing ability. Thanks for this video, it is very inspiring. I do want to learn more about interfacing, I mean, what type of interfacing go well with what type of fabric, You rightly said, certain interfacing would make the finshing look like cardboard! :-D For cotton article it is not that difficult to select an interface material but what about the rayon, silk and or sheer fabric? What type of lining material to use etc, I will search on your videos if there is any. Thanks.
WOW! Good for you.
The Vogue Sewing Book has been my best sewing friend since the 1980s. That’s how I learned these techniques. A book...before useful videos like this existed.
I know right! I wish I had all these useful videos to learn with too!
I love seeing this, even though I'm very late to it, just as I finished my first ever big project! I've been sewing just to mend for several years but took on the challenge of making my sister a dress and I wanted to make it look as good as possible so I've watched a lot of your videos, thank you for all that you do!
To be quite honest, as someone who's like a professional sewing specialist, I always think my clothes look homemade. While I agree completely to those steps you listed, I think there's a part of you that will never look at your own stuff and think "not handmade" - hence why I still clicked on your video ahah. In hopes to find something that I'm missing that can push my clothes to that next level.
I come from a long line of sewers. I can’t sew a straight line. I’m working on a quilt to work on my actual sewing a straight line skills. I hope I can learn from this!
My advice? Just slow down.
My grandma was a couture sewer.... her hand stitching was mind blowing. But she always used to say.... "sew it, press it...as you go..."
So grateful that my mom taught us to sew some special seams like a french seam and a flat felled seam. Even pinking helps make the seams of a little cotton top feel more finished. Thanks for this great, cheerful review of the need for detail. I subscribed.
Super! Another thing, I find, is choosing the appropriate fabric for my project.
I agree, I find top stitching makes a garment look casual. Great tutorial as always. Thank you.
Hi Evelyn. First time visitor here. I think that this is a wonderfully instructive post. All the tips you list are indeed important in constructing garments that look store-bought. I must emphatically whole heartedly agree with #1I
PRESS-AS-YOU-SEW!!!!!!
Indeed. A wonderful American sewist, Roberta (Bobbie) Carr coined the phrase: "Pressing IS sewing". As far as garment construction is concerned, it is the one thing home sewists should consider inviolate. Period.
Now, onto the thing you've stated that I'm going to take exception to. That is, "homesewn vs. handmade". Well, I vehemently disagree with any notion that "homesewn = shoddy". I am a proud homesewist. I think that, ironically, what has given homesewists and the term "homesewn" a bad rap is that garment sewists DON'T press as they sew. It's absolutely imperative to do so.
I think that, rather than perpetuating the idea that homesewn equals garbage, we should try and reclaim and rehabilitate it. When sewing garments, do your best work AT ALL STAGES, including those that have been listed. Above all, pressing correctly is key. Tantamount, in fact, to getting the best looking results possible.
And anyway, the terms "homesewn" and "handmade" are really one in the same, aren't they? I mean, where, exactly, are handmade things made?
I've found the construction is easier when I press as I go too! Neater edges, feeds into the machine better and as you said better looking results.
I am so glad you mentioned hand stitching some aspects of the garment. I love hand sewing. (Is that weird?) I hand sew the hem, the zipper, the facing and l gather by hand as well. I find it very soothing. Even finished garments need to be re-hemmed because in recent years l have lost height, so l hand hem them as well. And pressing garments that have come through the mail makes a world of difference.
Hi Evelyn, I just wanted to say a big thank you for all your helpful videos. There is sooooo much to learn! I am only a beginner, I have a long, long way to go, there is so much I have no idea about, but thanks to people like you, I can learn in my own time and start understanding things better! Thank, you, thank you, thank you !
It took me a while to learn that sewing is actually the last thing to do: being careful with measurements, making muslins, adjusting pattern, basting pieces together, etc.
Hand sewing has helped me to improve my attention to detail: making invisible seam finishes, pressing in between steps, adjusting stitching speed depending on the location/shape of the seam, etc. I think it's worth it to spend the energy and time to make one hand sewn garment to learn all the tips that you mentioned.
it always takes me twice as long to prep a piece and press it as it does to sew the thing :)
Pressing is soooo important!!
thank god to my recommended page. you are my saviour.
I just came across your videos this evening. I haven’t sewn in a really long time and I needed some refreshers and to learn some two things and I’m just thrilled that you call yourself the vintage so I am so excited. I am in obsessed with vintage fashion from different eras and different times of my life to making hand created items or remaking my clothes that I love so much you have super helped me and just this one night I’ve listened to you so I’m gonna start watching your videos every day. We recently had a sale of my mother-in-law‘s items and she had hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pieces of fabric and all kinds of notion so I’m very excited. Encouraged to finish sewing projects my also in career well I never got paid but my whole time sewing lol. Though I did work in a sweatshop one at one time lol
But back to the subjected hand…. I a lot of the time had the fear of finishing a garment so i was challenged to finish sometimes ….so my goal now is to finish them. take care.
See you in the next video! CHEERS! ✌️💛🤗
there's a term i heard which i use rather than 'home made' : 'Becky from Home Eccy' because i think for me it perfectly sums up that 'i have no idea what i'm doing and may have used staples' look my school projects had which absolutely put me off sewing for 20 years and now as a total beginner i'm working very hard to avoid. It would be awesome if you could do a video on troubleshooting v necks and collars - i'm working on an adorable 50s pattern (butterick 6887) and it's got a standup wing collar that's set into a v neck plus a facing that for some reason comes in 2 bits - i've watched every tutorial i could get my hands on for collars and v necks but none of them really seem to cover how to get sharp clean points on a v neck with 108 layers of fabric!
Also “happy hands at home”.
My grandmother's favorite was "helping hands at home"
In college, for a degree in Home Economics, we called "Becky Homecky" to the girls who were so driven, seeking perfection. It was not a compliment. Some probably have Pinterest and UTube channels.
I'm in my 50s just Learning thank you! Never thought I'd be able so happy for you
I have to say...you kept me smiling gladly all throughout the video. 😄 and it's true, the "thanks, I made it myself" part is really rewarding.
I am making my clothes so much more beautifully thanks to these precious details!!!!! Thank you Evelyn.
All of these are spot on. I was taught to press as I go, which gave garments a very professional appearance. A friend of mine was wearing a garment that looked "bubbly" to me (that's the only way I can describe it), and when I mentioned that to my mom she said that happens when you don't press as you sew.
Interfacings are huge....my mom would use old sheets for sew in interfacing (she grew up during the depression, people wasted nothing), she machine basted them on then after the facing was sewn in she'd remove the basting stitches.
Thanks Evelyn! I've always aimed to sew and make my garments look handmade and not homemade. I couldn't agree with you more. It gives me complete satisfaction and a sense of achievement and I can't help saying "I made it!" :) I must add that I started sewing since I was 15, an 'art' I picked up just watching my mother (a self-taught seamstress) sew beautiful dresses for us two sisters. She was my inspiration! I'm now in my 60's, still enjoy making my own dresses, learning new tips and tricks everyday watching people like you share your little 'secrets'. Priceless! Thanks again! God bless!
This motivated me to do better at EVERYTHING lol. I have been sewing for years, but as an adult I’m finally starting to take the time to craft things that are actually well made.
Ever since I was a teen most of my garments look alright on the outside, and horrible inside.
Taking that next step now and watching more of your videos :)
That's wonderful! I bet you'll be even prouder of your garments with the extra attention to the insides!
👍🏻100% agree with the tips you provided in this list. Skipped many of these steps when I started sewing more than 40 years ago 😅.
But I would just want to add 1 more: Selecting and using the appropriate fabrics/materials for a certain garment.
I have an acquaintance who is proficient at sewing...
BUT she uses the "wrong" fabrics (often far too stiff cotton - maybe she has a deep dislike to anything synthetic? - but there are plenty of good mix fabrics out there) which make all her 'self-made' garments look "starched". They have no easy drape or nice natural/subtle "fall". And just sit very stiffly on her body - a real shame.
And I never complimented her, because I fear I couldn't keep myself from commenting on her fabric use. 😔
A seamstress friend of mine once had a (beginner) student in her class, who would choose/buy upholstery fabrics (at least it was "thin"...but still🤨) for the garment she wanted to create: 'because she like the print'. 🤦🏼♀️
Some beginner 'seamstresses'/sewing students would benefit from a guided trip to the fabric store: to learn about all the fabrics/materials✌🏻.
How about gifting your friend an appropriate piece of fabric for a garment?
@@monaanz6754, that is a really sweet & subtle idea/gesture. Sadly we aren't that "close" (she is just an acquaintance) and we haven't seen eachother for a while year, due to the ongoing Pandemic Lockdown here in the Netherlands. But I'll take your suggestion onboard and see if it lends itself to our situation. ✌🏻☺️
ooo I finally figured out my serger so the last dress I made was my first garment ever with all the inside seems finished, and I hand stitched the last waistband seam, under stitched the neckline. Honestly this entire list is is true about that dress, and it shows!
stylistic choices: i have loads of bought clothes with top stitching and i love the look of it and so i do it a lot in my sewing projects.
you should actually press before finishing your seams as well so they are finished in the proper, pressed position.
and omg, hand finishing is SOOO much easier than trying to do finicky little details with the machine, and it comes out much neater too.
Using interfacing was a game changer! Can't believe that I wouldn't use it before 😂
Your comments really resonate with my own journey as a sewer. This year I experimented with felling and this hand sewing technique really increased the quality of the plaid shirts I made for my husband. Especially as he wears them unbuttoned all the time. Two techniques I would add to your list are making an all in one inner facing. I recently made a dress for my niece and was really disappointed with the finished product with the pattern recommended separate neck and sleeve facings. I researched a bit and created my own all in one facing for the second dress. The difference in quality of fit and comfort is huge. I also think doing a mock-up first for sizing adjustments makes a huge difference. And decreases m stress about making mistakes with my lovely fabric. My current personal area of needed improvement is buttonholes. I am not satisfied with the ones my current attachment makes, but my handwork looks even worse. I am currently working with the assumption that practice in handwork will improve them, but any advice will be much appreciated!
PS: I am loving the design & color combinations of your dress in the background! Gorgeous
That was so informative, thank you,
So, how about one on inserting zippers? all kinds. the puckers, the placement (what do I do with the lining when inserting a zip), the dreaded uneven top of the garment, and the the hole at the bottom of the zip and the fabric.
I hate zippers worse that Sleevils, I would take any help I can get on this one
I’d like to start playing with interfacing! Thank you for the very helpful tips!
Thanyou so much for this!! Returning to sewing after many years and cutting out a dress for myself, I came across your channel and I'm so glad I did. Hand stitched a neck binding which I would have attempted to 'stitch in the ditch' and it made all the difference. Also the pressing tips - thankyou, thankyou thankyou xx
Great video!. I have learned the hard way that skipping steps can definitely ruin a garment. The steps are there for a reason. I helped my daughter make a cos play costume that had fancy cuffs and collar. She was trying to do them without interfacing and without pressing. All those steps are there for a reason.
Some of my most disappointing projects were because of poor fabric choice. Too much stretch, not enough stretch; too stiff, not stiff enough.
That's what I was going to say. Choosing fabric because it looks pretty. I have ruined so many projects with inappropriate material choices, but I do have lovely cabbage.
Yes, in 1961 I fell in love with a wool plaid brown/tan/green fabric. A co-worker (man) said it looked like a horse blanket.
It was too thick. It might have made a nice coat.