Thank you for this! I learned most of my sewing in a drapery workroom, so it's neat seeing how costume shop techniques differ. One thing I'd add is that using distilled water in your iron will extend its life and improve its performance.
Yes! Absolutely. I’ve seen steamers just die because no one used distilled water, and eventually the insides corroded. De-scaling isn’t as much of an issue if you don’t introduce scale to begin with. But nastiness does still eventually build up. I’ve got an industrial iron with the filter and external tank, and it still needs to be cleaned occasionally. In my college costume shop, the end of every semester meant opening the windows and running vinegar/water through all the industrial irons before replacing the filtration sediment.
@@jenniferschottstaedt It also definitely helps if you buy distilled water that doesn't have minerals added to it. Because they actually make distilled water that has minerals added to it. 😐 I kept wondering what all the white stuff in my steamer was, until I finished the bottle and noticed the tiny note on the label. 😑
Thanks for making these! I've been struggling with figuring out how to tell if a notion is good quality/where to get them. Also, funny story, the first time i used joanns safety pins was in a mend class at my local library and was blown away by how sturdy the felt compared to the dollar store ones I'd been using my whole life and the teacher was like "these are the crappy ones. You can find better." Mind Double Blow. You mentioning them reminded me of that.
Earned a sub the second I realized this video involved a list, right up front. Thanks for not clickbaiting, and trusting we'll stick around. Because I did. Even though there was nothing in that list I wasn't already familiar with - so if someone was going to be put off by the lack of revelatory info and click away... which is presumably why most creators drag it out? Also, the narration tone sounds very much like my brain. Close your safety pins! And ffs trim your thread!
Great summarizing video! ❤. My contributions: 1) Baste when needed. It stabilizes pieces in place for subsequent sewing. 2) Hand sewing complements machine sewing. Both are valuable. 3) Thimbles and/or needle drivers (foreceps) prevent raw fingers on tougher sewing jobs. Again, great video! ❤
this is wonderful! as a high school costume crew person/grandchild of a tailor i knew all of these, but i know that i learned them almost all from those experiences and not all cosplayers have those, of course
Thanks for making these. I'm a high-school math and science teacher, but I also teach a couple classes of sewing and am in charge of the costumes for our school shows. I learned to sew from my mom, and have learned a few things along the way, but am eager to learn from a professional!
That is awesome! I started sewing senior year and then went to college for costume design solely because of theatre classes and hanging around my community theater costume shop like a stubborn piece of obsessed Velcro. I doubt my teachers/mentor knew how much they were helping me or changing my life, but they absolutely did, and I guarantee you'll be doing that for your students as well. But, that said...I know doing high school theatre often means long, long hours & sometimes frustrating thanklessness, so please only deal with that if it also brings YOU happiness. You and your life & happiness are just as important as theirs.
Thanks for sources to buy notions! Sew helpful! What about fabric? Where do you buy quality fabrics for clothing- particularly natural fibers? Also- could you do some videos on the following- tips & tricks for all kinds of pin tucks and pleats? There has to be a faster way that what I just did for my 1850’s gown! Also- I would take a course on how to design your own pattern if you offered it. I’ve been sewing for years. Following a pattern is easy, but I need to know more about altering the patterns & drafting my own. With my wedding gown, the pattern that I picked was slightly off the shoulder & didn’t fit the modesty guidelines of where we were getting married. It was too late to start with something else and I fought with it until the morning of the ceremony. I was never happy with it. Wish I would’ve known more about pattern drafting so that I could redesign the bodice instead of trying to add pieces to it that didn’t fit the design.
I'll be happy to do a sources video, and also have noted the pattern alteration suggestion. That's a great idea; I'll just have to workshop the script a lot to make sure it's clear & concise. Thank you! Really quick answer to sources I use is: www.fabrics-store.com and Gray Line Linen for linen (120" wide lightweight linen at Gray Line!! Brilliant for sheets, duvet covers and curtains), Dharma Trading for dye, undyed silk, dyed habotai/chiffon/charmeuse, and undyed wools/velvets/yarn/roving/other specialty undyed fabrics. Silk Baron for amazing colors of silk and outstanding tricolor dupioni, shambala and matka. Etsy, eBay and AliExpress for embroidered and/or beaded lace, brocades, and other really unique stuff. Hancock's of Paducah for a billion varieties of quilting cotton. Fabric Warehouse Direct for CHEAP synthetic fabrics. Mood Fabrics if all else fails. Pin tucks: get yourself a double needle and some pintuck feet! Use a sturdy bobbin thread - what you do is pull the zigzagged bobbin thread tight after sewing, and the space between where the double needle sewed will fold up into a little perfect pleat. Pintuck foot isn't necessary, but the evenly spaced grooves on the bottom make it a LOT easier to sew perfectly spaced tucks. Hope that helps!
That's BRILLIANT! Thank you! I think I had 24 total hours just pinning and sewing the pin tucks for the gown. They weren't perfectly even, but they were gorgeous! Thank you! I would love to do them again...just with fewer hours involved. Lol. Thank you also for the sources! You're wonderful. Already shared your channel on FB & subscribed + sent the link to a few friends. Please keep the videos coming!
The number of cosplayers who don’t know that anything less than a workspace that’s outside or a shop with high ceilings AND multiple industrial fans AND PPE is…a disaster waiting to happen. Of course pros do make dumb choices - a friend of mine just told me, aghast, about a coworker who kept working around insanely toxic glue with short sleeves, short pants and zero PPE…but people like that don’t mean that it’s okay for non-professionals to act like that; it just means their pictures are gonna be on future “warning!” posters.
Thank you! I feel so warm and fuzzy seeing someone else use the word "stitcher". I know it's just a specific job description in our industry, but in my head it also seemed like the natural way to describe "a person who sews", so seeing people use "sewist" instead makes me feel like a weird little fish out of water. STITCHERS UNITE!
oh my god this is SO HELPFUL. a lot of these tips i knew but often shortcut, and some were totally new. in terms of new topics.... HOW DO I PATTERN AND MAKE GLOVES, ESPECIALLY GUSSETTED GLOVES, WITHOUT CRYING
John Koch was featured in Threads Magazine about 15 years ago, and the article is pretty good + includes a pattern you can download, print and use as a starting guide. It's what I've used for all specialty gusseted gloves I've made, and with this guide it seems like gusseted gloves are easier for me, at least, to wrap my head around, because it's easy to see if the length of each finger is correct by just putting your hand on the pattern. The online magazine article has the pattern and also a list of hand stitches for sewing gloves. www.threadsmagazine.com/membership/pdf/122668/Gloves_Koch.pdf www.threadsmagazine.com/2009/08/25/patterns-for-gorgeous-gloves www.threadsmagazine.com/2009/08/25/stitches-for-gorgeous-gloves
I don't think you are wrong about the notions being different in box stores. We **know** Singer, and possibly Janome, often have two identically branded machines, one for walmart and one for actual dealers. Different motors, different gearing and the Walmart Singer HD went through a phase of not having the holes in the body for the official extension table.
Thank you so much for this video! Especially the pressing part - stuff i never got told bc as you said it, i am not a professional (but i want to look like one 😉😎) - will rewatch this video surely before i start my next cosplay 🥰 And what i have to add: you are so damn charismatic and i get the feeling you have a huge passion for this topic and it is fun to watch you, so please continue this channel 🙏
Yay! Thank you so much for sharing these tips. I've been wondering where I can get professional grade tools and using grey thread is REALLY helpful for saving space/sanity!
Good info! Thank you. Listening you in my sewing room while trying to figure out what to line a garment with, and you mentioned cotton broad cloth as something you flat line items with. Perfect! That's what I'll go with and I think it will work well for my project.
If you get gunk on your iron soleplate and don't have iron cleaner, use one or more Paracetamol tablets (held in flat tweezers to make sure you walk away with your fingertips). Heat your iron and rub the tablets over the gunk. It comes off. Really. The tablets will disappear fast, but keep going with another one until your iron is clean - then wipe over with a damp cloth. You can use it on "non-stick" plates - the only kind I've used it for, but I don't know why it wouldn't work on those professional ones I've seen people using with the silver soleplates. Not sure what you call Paracetamol in the US, but it's a hysterically cheap, generic painkiller everyone has in their first aid box (usually) ... Tylenol??? PS I don't buy iron cleaner and I iron A LOT. I'm not a costumer, but I do make stuff, including costumes occasionally and I'm a massive perfectionist - or is it psychotic. Take no prisoners!
I agree the sewing notions sold in fabric chains are terrible and overpriced. People in the USA and UK/Europe have access to better sources than we do in Canada.
At 11:20, you mention water spots on polyesters (I can't afford silk 😅). I had this happen to me like a week ago! I partially dried a gorgeous jewel green polyester fabric, hung it up to dry the rest of the way, and worried about the damp patches. They still looked that way after it dried, so I threw it back in the washer on a delicate cycle. 😂 Wsterspots gone!
Oh my goodness this is excellent! Thank you! Question: What's the order of operations when you're draping a costume you're not exaaaactly sure what you're going to wind up with at the end? Another: Have you got any recommendations for notion shops in the UK and Europe?
Er. Honestly? 1. gather pins, dress form and muslin or preferred draping fabric 2. fuck around and find out I dunno; it really depends on what you're making. Padding out the dress form to roughly match the wearer's shape, outlining general design lines with draping tape, and attaching any understructures - those are the main things. Except for something bias-cut, I always start by pinning the straight of grain to the center front at neck and waist, and unless it's an asymmetrical design, I'll only drape on half of the the dress form, because why do the same thing twice. Smacking a big neodymium magnet to your dress form's armpit is helpful (on the side you're not draping fabric all over), because you can use that as a handy-dandy pincushion that's inches away from what you're working on. but really it's mainly step 2.
New subbie, new sewer started 8 months ago. I weirdly have been wanting a bunch of safety pins, but not trusting what I could get from amazon or joanne's
Thank you so much for sharing where to get good quality straight pins and safety pins. I can still use the pins I inherited from my mother, the safety pins from JoAnns are garbage. Great video.
Thank you so much for this video ! I really want to make my own costumes one day, but I don’t have the money nor the motivation to get into school anymore, especially after running away from a very uselessly expensive art school where everything seemed pulled out from a nightmare, so I was hoping I could learn by myself. It’s really intimidating, and I’ll wait until I find a job and put aside enough money to buy my own fabrics to start, but I’m already having tons of ideas. The only thing I’ve really sewn are little plushies here and there, and I’m still trying to master the ladder stitch. But I feel like I can do it, somehow. I have a question, though, about the part to avoid fraying fabric : do pinking shears work with every kind of fabric, and can I use them to have some peace of mind even though I use one of the specific stitches you mentioned ? And if I just use one of said stitches, do I have to trim the potential excess fabric, or can I leave it there (maybe flatten it) ? Also ! Is it possible to use the kind of strong thread you’re talking about at n°12 for everything, or is there a risk of some fabrics tearing because of it ? I’m thinking about long dresses, for example ; depending on the fabric used, or the amount of it, I’m guessing it might get heavy on the seams ? I’ve definitely had problems with normal thread snapping after sewing something, even if I doubled it and it was just on a little rip in my childhood plushie. Is this kind of sturdy thread more visible ? Is it not suited for some fabrics ? I hope I’m making sense ; English is not my first language and I’ve always had trouble remembering specific vocabulary. Again, thank you for this video. I hope I’ll be able to make my dream come true, one day.
Your English is great; your sewing vocabulary is way better than mine in German, and you're WAY better than I am at French. No apologies necessary at all! Pinking shears work with woven fabric; they are kind of pointless on knits, as knits don't unravel the same way. And I would NOT pink the fabric AND use a finishing machine stitch - the threads will have less to grip on to, so with some easily-unraveled fabrics, you might be able to just pull your whole zigzagged/stitched line of thread and a lot of those now-loosened pinked fibers away from your project. You clip the edges of your seam allowance just to neaten them, and make sure the two edges are even - otherwise, if one layer of fabric doesn't stick out as far as the other, you either won't catch the shorter edge in the zigzag at all, so it'll still be unfinished, or you'll catch the short edge but not all the long edge, so part of the long edge will remain sticking out messily/in an unfinished way...OR you'll catch the short edge and bunch up the long edge so the thread covers both layers, but you've now got a chunky, messy seam that'll create ugly headaches when you press your seams. If you're going to finish your seams on the sewing machine, just cut your seam allowance evenly and neatly so it's between 1-1.5 cm, then sew over it with a zigzag (or whatever finishing stitch you like best) that's as wide as possible, and also LONG. On my machines, 0 is the shortest stitch length and 5 is the longest; I'd do this at a 4 or 5. It doesn't need more than that, and it's a headache to remove otherwise if you ever need to undo or alter something. There are definitely reasons to not use that one specific thread. It is very slick, so it does not "lock" in place like grippier cotton/poly thread does, and you can easily pull the whole thread out of a seam if you haven't done a ton of backstitching. It is also slightly heavier and thicker than all-purpose thread, although DEFINITELY much lighter than normal heavy-duty thread, and I'm 99% positive it's a bit more expensive. The slickness also means it's a bit shiny, so it definitely doesn't disappear in seams as well as all-purpose does. Finally, because it is so slick, it likes to unwind itself a little in some situations, which is why I don't use it for bobbins. I use it on anything that needs heavy-duty strength but where I don't want the thread to be visible or add much weight. So it's not what I'd use for, like, topstitching jeans, but I do use it for loads of handstitching, beading, buttons, closures, light upholstery, leather, bags that get a lot of rough use, and corsets. Make sure the normal thread you're using has a CORE, and isn't just a few threads of spun polyester. Spun polyester is just a few very weak threads spun together, so it's usually just used for serger/overlocker thread. All-purpose thread has a polyester or cotton core, with fibers wrapped around it, and it'll be called "cotton-wrapped poly core", or similar. It's much stronger. That said, I always double regular all-purpose thread unless I'm doing an invisible hem stitch or something like that. Much stronger and much less likely to break. I hope that helps!
@@jenniferschottstaedt Thank you so much for your detailed answer ! I will definitely come back to this comment to make sure I do things properly ! (Just… How did you know I speak French ? XD)
@solo-solitaire8933 I didn't! That's just a weird happy coincidence; what I meant is that your English is waaay better than my French. (I studied French in school/uni and do French theatre, but my fluency is awful; you don't have to work as hard at the language when you're memorizing lines 😂)
@@jenniferschottstaedt Oh ! Sorry, I misunderstood ! XD To be honest, French is a nightmare to learn. Even French children struggle extremely hard when learning about grammar and verb tenses (if that’s how it’s called haha) in elementary school. For the verbs, the learning even goes until the third year of middle school because of how many tenses there are. A hellish language, even for the native speakers xD
I was wondering if you’d be willing to talk about different feet for sewing machines. My mom could use a standard foot for everything, but as a beginning sewist, an invisible zipper foot will definitely help me. Would you recommend any other types of feet? Are they quality of life upgrades or genuinely needed? This vid was super helpful and I think your experience and background are a much needed voice in the youtube realm! I’m excited for your channel to take off :)
Sure! I honestly use very few feet - mainly just the standard sewing foot, the zipper foot and an open-front foot, which I think Bernina technically classifies as an embroidery foot (it's way easier to see what you're doing when you're doing particular detail work, like sewing down lace or doing appliqué/satin stitching.). I also have a ruffler foot, for when I'm gathering a lot of things that don't need to be precise, and a walking foot, for fabrics/materials the foot likes to stick to. Everything else rarely/never gets used. I do have an invisible zipper foot, because I thought I needed it, but it never gets used. If you prep the zipper properly, you can get even closer to the teeth with a regular zipper foot, and it's more under your control. Do you press your invisible zippers flat? If not, here's how it works. Unzip the zipper. Look at one of the open halves. Do you see how it kinda curls under where the zipper teeth are? Set your iron to medium to medium-high and press that zipper flat on both halves, so it no longer folds. Now you can use your regular zipper foot easy-peasy. Other feet really depend on what type of things you like to sew! I adore Edwardian lingerie, so pintuck feet have been on my "to buy" list for awhile. I just learned to do blind hems and bias binding with a regular foot. (admittedly, in college, we had to hem all period and formal skirts by hand; so that's what I do now, too; that's way more invisible if you don't have an industrial blind-hemmer, which practically no one does.) Maybe a Teflon foot if you work with a lot of vinyl/sticky faux leather? or tbh you can just fake that effect by putting matte scotch tape on the underside of your foot (and cleaning the foot thoroughly when you take the tape off). Yeah. Aside from those, I am struggling to think of a foot I'd actually need/want to buy. Oh! If you can, try to find a zipper foot that does not flare out behind the needle. I love that my old Bernina's zipper foot doesn't do that - it means you can start sewing immediately in front of a thick bunch of fabric, which happens occasionally. The zipper foot on the one Janome at work juts out in back, and it gets inconvenient sometimes. (But it's still perfectly usable most of the time - that's just an "ideal world" wishlist.) /end novella
@@jenniferschottstaedt This is amazing!!! Thank you so much! I have a zipper to put on a skirt and will try out your tips :) Do you think you could talk about your thoughts on draping and transferring draped fabric to a paper pattern? Maybe a bigger, more general topic would be making self drafted patterns.
The HORROR that is the tissue paper some stores sell as drafting paper (might not be the right term, English isn't my native language)... it is not you, dear hobbyist, it is most certainly is the insanely flimsy "paper".
The only thing I can say in defense of that tissue paper is that if you draft a lot of patterns, tissue takes up SO much less space than butcher paper…and it’s easy to see through when you’ve got to do complicated pattern-matching. But…yes, my more frequently-used patterns are basically just tape now. 😂
@@jenniferschottstaedt it can add up a lot yes. Oh! We have a kind of pattern paper that's somewhere in-between those two: thicker than tissue paper but not waxy at all - it does have mat and a shiny side though. We can't buy butcher paper here (here being Denmark) so that's not really an option as such. We have different paper for that purpose, it's similar but thinner and a little less waxy than butcher paper. Yes...I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to my paper.
I just watched a video where someone cleaned their iron with tin foil. 😮 I’m about to put in an order to wawak and I usually have my order in 18 hours max
oh my god. just…oh my god. at some point I expect I’ll have detailed nightmares about tormented irons sobbing in the closet. But yay! Wawak is amazing. I have no idea how they’ve brokered their shipping relationships to be that fast, but it’s really mind-blowing how good & reliable they are.
If you don't use a thimble at all ... gulp ... you can use rubber gloves (perfect for those ones that have sprung a leak) to grip needles - it works. I may or may not ... keep some offcuts of rubber glove in my sewing box .... In my defence, I have tiny fingers and I gave up looking for one small enough. As I'm watching this video, I've stabbed myself at least twice. You can also use rubber gloves to get lids off jars - just sayin'.
Imagine you're looking at thread and your fabric through a black-and-white camera. The thread that looks ever-so-sliiightly darker than the fabric when everything is black and white is the thread that will disappear best.
Imma be real, I thought this was going to be another terrible hacks video. As a costume shop gal, I wish all of my cosplay pals could see this. We need people to know.
I've recently started teaching beginning sewing and I CRAM the superiority of Wawak products down my students throats. There isn't a single damned reason to shop at a big box store for sewing supplies if you want something that isn't a hot pile of steaming garbage.
Wax paper? I’ve never seen that used in shops (Teflon feet for irons are less than $20 and much less of a hassle; and every shop has scrap muslin press cloths), but I can definitely see that working, yeah. If there’s no danger of the wax coming off onto the fabric. But that’s just “try to think of anything that could possibly go wrong” speculation - I’ve definitely used wax paper underneath paper towels to protect my pressing table when cleaning the iron, and nothing’s come off on the table, so it may easily be a completely fine solution- just an extra step.
@@TheCraftyAutistic Yep. But for clarification, "grease proof paper" and "wax paper" aren't the same thing. I WOULD be concerned that too much heat on wax paper may cause problems - you're not supposed to put it in the oven. Grease proof paper can come in a few different types and the names vary by region and brand. Parchment paper, bakers paper - but to my knowledge, they're all heat safe. It comes in rolls, or variously sized pre-cut sheets. Personally I have quilting cotton/muslin in abundance, and little to no use for parchment but since some people also use it for patterns...
@@lynn858fwiw I have actually scorched parchment paper with the iron, but to be fair, it was not while fusing interfacing. I think I was setting hotfix rhinestones, which takes a lot of sustained heat. It gradually turns nice, cozy shades of brown 😂
Probably because I’m the type of idiot whose kneejerk first thought was “Because they’re delicious”. (And that’s why comedy should be left to the pros. 😂 But thank you!)
On number 5, don't. Instead pull long, get the top and bobbin threads on the inside of the garment. Then knot hide the tail of the knot by threading both onto a hand sewing needle and weaving it up in your seam allowance. That six inches of 'waste thread' is cheaper then having to repair a failing seam.
Interesting. This is definitely another good solution, and illustrates a difference between industries - entertainment has to work quickly, so we backstitch securely at beginning and end of seam (except for specialty needs like darts & very lightweight/sheer fabrics), then cut all dangling threads immediately. Theatre does put costumes through the wringer HARD, way harder than most clothing & cosplay costumes, and if this method wasn't secure, we wouldn't use it. I have never had a problem with a securely backstitched seam coming undone on me, and we do this all the time, since we don't have the time to bury all threads in the way you suggest. But it IS of course a valid option. If one does have the time, this would definitely avoid the small amount of bulk, slight stiffness, and occasional accidental fabric bunching/excess tension that backstitching creates. Either way, y'all, don't leave dangling threads!
Being self taught means you skip simple things. I never knew that pressing is literally press down, pick up, move, repeat. explains a lot of my mishapen peaces later
After the years of cosplaying I finally figured out that my iron has a self cleaning function and it was a life changer. I’m so glad you mentioned it because it’s what i spend half my time doing now. Also for some reason there’s some random black screens in the video? Unsure if it’s my device app acting weird or not
oh my god, do you have any idea how many swears I have just unleashed upon myself. I’m really sorry about the glitches; it’s not your device/app/software. It’s some quirk with DaVinci Resolve - if you edit any audio after editing video, it can do this, for…reasons. I’m gonna spend awhile trying to figure out if I can do something about this now that it’s uploaded; otherwise, it’s either “live with it” or “reupload”. Sorry and thanks 😂
@@jenniferschottstaedt I thought the black screens were a nifty, not sensory painful, way of cutting swearing, and such, and was entirely cool with them. But yes... if they were unintentional, I too would be so incredibly frustrated that my project didn't come out as intended. Next time, at least you'll know to use the upholstery thread right from the start. 🤷♀️
14.. don't watch this worthless video... 15... breath.. .16 go for a walk. 17.... drink more water. 18.....don't watch this video.. 19 ... de-stress... 20.
![MISSING: SLIM SHADY [Expanded Mourner’s Edition Trailer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xh8qgHrOO1g/mqdefault.jpg)
As a retired costumer I found this both concise and very amusingly presented. Every word is truth, especially about the PINS!
i think this singular video taught me more than a semester of textiles design tech at school 10/10 will watch again (and again)
I am so glad it was helpful! Thank you for saying that
Thank you for this! I learned most of my sewing in a drapery workroom, so it's neat seeing how costume shop techniques differ. One thing I'd add is that using distilled water in your iron will extend its life and improve its performance.
Yes! Absolutely. I’ve seen steamers just die because no one used distilled water, and eventually the insides corroded. De-scaling isn’t as much of an issue if you don’t introduce scale to begin with. But nastiness does still eventually build up. I’ve got an industrial iron with the filter and external tank, and it still needs to be cleaned occasionally. In my college costume shop, the end of every semester meant opening the windows and running vinegar/water through all the industrial irons before replacing the filtration sediment.
@@jenniferschottstaedt It also definitely helps if you buy distilled water that doesn't have minerals added to it. Because they actually make distilled water that has minerals added to it. 😐 I kept wondering what all the white stuff in my steamer was, until I finished the bottle and noticed the tiny note on the label. 😑
@kumada84 oh, my god, how f'ing frustrating! 😂
Thanks for making these! I've been struggling with figuring out how to tell if a notion is good quality/where to get them. Also, funny story, the first time i used joanns safety pins was in a mend class at my local library and was blown away by how sturdy the felt compared to the dollar store ones I'd been using my whole life and the teacher was like "these are the crappy ones. You can find better." Mind Double Blow. You mentioning them reminded me of that.
Yes. I bought a package of safety pins and they were worthless.
I've been sewing for 53 years. I am not easily impressed. You are fantastic! Looking forward to more great videos!!!
At the costume shop where I worked (decades ago), we called seam finishes “actor-proofing”. Same for a lock stitch every 3-5 stitches in a hand hem.
Earned a sub the second I realized this video involved a list, right up front.
Thanks for not clickbaiting, and trusting we'll stick around. Because I did. Even though there was nothing in that list I wasn't already familiar with - so if someone was going to be put off by the lack of revelatory info and click away... which is presumably why most creators drag it out?
Also, the narration tone sounds very much like my brain.
Close your safety pins! And ffs trim your thread!
Thank you so much!
I f’ing hate clickbait videos, too, and it seems silly to make videos you hate.
Great summarizing video! ❤. My contributions: 1) Baste when needed. It stabilizes pieces in place for subsequent sewing. 2) Hand sewing complements machine sewing. Both are valuable. 3) Thimbles and/or needle drivers (foreceps) prevent raw fingers on tougher sewing jobs. Again, great video! ❤
YES. Absolutely. I already have an outline for a future script on when to sew by hand or by machine. The words "it depends!" need more synonyms.
this is wonderful! as a high school costume crew person/grandchild of a tailor i knew all of these, but i know that i learned them almost all from those experiences and not all cosplayers have those, of course
Thanks for making these. I'm a high-school math and science teacher, but I also teach a couple classes of sewing and am in charge of the costumes for our school shows. I learned to sew from my mom, and have learned a few things along the way, but am eager to learn from a professional!
That is awesome! I started sewing senior year and then went to college for costume design solely because of theatre classes and hanging around my community theater costume shop like a stubborn piece of obsessed Velcro. I doubt my teachers/mentor knew how much they were helping me or changing my life, but they absolutely did, and I guarantee you'll be doing that for your students as well.
But, that said...I know doing high school theatre often means long, long hours & sometimes frustrating thanklessness, so please only deal with that if it also brings YOU happiness. You and your life & happiness are just as important as theirs.
Thanks for sources to buy notions! Sew helpful! What about fabric? Where do you buy quality fabrics for clothing- particularly natural fibers? Also- could you do some videos on the following- tips & tricks for all kinds of pin tucks and pleats? There has to be a faster way that what I just did for my 1850’s gown! Also- I would take a course on how to design your own pattern if you offered it. I’ve been sewing for years. Following a pattern is easy, but I need to know more about altering the patterns & drafting my own. With my wedding gown, the pattern that I picked was slightly off the shoulder & didn’t fit the modesty guidelines of where we were getting married. It was too late to start with something else and I fought with it until the morning of the ceremony. I was never happy with it. Wish I would’ve known more about pattern drafting so that I could redesign the bodice instead of trying to add pieces to it that didn’t fit the design.
I'll be happy to do a sources video, and also have noted the pattern alteration suggestion. That's a great idea; I'll just have to workshop the script a lot to make sure it's clear & concise. Thank you!
Really quick answer to sources I use is: www.fabrics-store.com and Gray Line Linen for linen (120" wide lightweight linen at Gray Line!! Brilliant for sheets, duvet covers and curtains), Dharma Trading for dye, undyed silk, dyed habotai/chiffon/charmeuse, and undyed wools/velvets/yarn/roving/other specialty undyed fabrics. Silk Baron for amazing colors of silk and outstanding tricolor dupioni, shambala and matka. Etsy, eBay and AliExpress for embroidered and/or beaded lace, brocades, and other really unique stuff. Hancock's of Paducah for a billion varieties of quilting cotton. Fabric Warehouse Direct for CHEAP synthetic fabrics. Mood Fabrics if all else fails.
Pin tucks: get yourself a double needle and some pintuck feet! Use a sturdy bobbin thread - what you do is pull the zigzagged bobbin thread tight after sewing, and the space between where the double needle sewed will fold up into a little perfect pleat. Pintuck foot isn't necessary, but the evenly spaced grooves on the bottom make it a LOT easier to sew perfectly spaced tucks.
Hope that helps!
That's BRILLIANT! Thank you! I think I had 24 total hours just pinning and sewing the pin tucks for the gown. They weren't perfectly even, but they were gorgeous! Thank you! I would love to do them again...just with fewer hours involved. Lol. Thank you also for the sources! You're wonderful. Already shared your channel on FB & subscribed + sent the link to a few friends. Please keep the videos coming!
@@christycollins7332 Thank you so much! Really glad you found this helpful, & thank you for sharing!
Your videos are so useful. And thank you SO much for mentioning safety with dyes and resin! Those are so important and almost never mentioned.
The number of cosplayers who don’t know that anything less than a workspace that’s outside or a shop with high ceilings AND multiple industrial fans AND PPE is…a disaster waiting to happen. Of course pros do make dumb choices - a friend of mine just told me, aghast, about a coworker who kept working around insanely toxic glue with short sleeves, short pants and zero PPE…but people like that don’t mean that it’s okay for non-professionals to act like that; it just means their pictures are gonna be on future “warning!” posters.
I was a stitcher in costume shops for 10 years and still do all of this without thinking about it! Great advice.
Thank you!
I feel so warm and fuzzy seeing someone else use the word "stitcher". I know it's just a specific job description in our industry, but in my head it also seemed like the natural way to describe "a person who sews", so seeing people use "sewist" instead makes me feel like a weird little fish out of water. STITCHERS UNITE!
oh my god this is SO HELPFUL. a lot of these tips i knew but often shortcut, and some were totally new. in terms of new topics....
HOW DO I PATTERN AND MAKE GLOVES, ESPECIALLY GUSSETTED GLOVES, WITHOUT CRYING
John Koch was featured in Threads Magazine about 15 years ago, and the article is pretty good + includes a pattern you can download, print and use as a starting guide. It's what I've used for all specialty gusseted gloves I've made, and with this guide it seems like gusseted gloves are easier for me, at least, to wrap my head around, because it's easy to see if the length of each finger is correct by just putting your hand on the pattern. The online magazine article has the pattern and also a list of hand stitches for sewing gloves. www.threadsmagazine.com/membership/pdf/122668/Gloves_Koch.pdf
www.threadsmagazine.com/2009/08/25/patterns-for-gorgeous-gloves
www.threadsmagazine.com/2009/08/25/stitches-for-gorgeous-gloves
I don't think you are wrong about the notions being different in box stores. We **know** Singer, and possibly Janome, often have two identically branded machines, one for walmart and one for actual dealers. Different motors, different gearing and the Walmart Singer HD went through a phase of not having the holes in the body for the official extension table.
That's an excellent point. I was (am?) really wary of unfairly crapping on anyone, but... yeah, it's really not an unlikely conclusion to draw, is it?
WOW! I’m not a costume maker, I’m a self taught bag designer and home sewist; I found this so helpful. Thank you for sharing.
I just meet your channel but I feel I will come back to this video for reference A LOT! THANK YOU! Your explanations were super clear!
Really glad things were clear & helpful! Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for this video! Especially the pressing part - stuff i never got told bc as you said it, i am not a professional (but i want to look like one 😉😎) - will rewatch this video surely before i start my next cosplay 🥰 And what i have to add: you are so damn charismatic and i get the feeling you have a huge passion for this topic and it is fun to watch you, so please continue this channel 🙏
Thank you for the new sites for supplies. I'm sorry if shipping takes longer now because of a bigger customer base.
Golden advice here
Wawak definitely my favorite for notions/supplies.
Hi. Thank you for sharing.
I’m the 1,000 subscriber 🎉
I’m a costume design and construction student and I’m so glad I found your channel your inside industry knowledge and tips and tricks is so useful
This was really helpful!
Thank you so much for all your videos. Your production is great and the tips are so helpful. Please keep going!
Yay! Thank you so much for sharing these tips. I've been wondering where I can get professional grade tools and using grey thread is REALLY helpful for saving space/sanity!
Good info! Thank you. Listening you in my sewing room while trying to figure out what to line a garment with, and you mentioned cotton broad cloth as something you flat line items with. Perfect! That's what I'll go with and I think it will work well for my project.
If you get gunk on your iron soleplate and don't have iron cleaner, use one or more Paracetamol tablets (held in flat tweezers to make sure you walk away with your fingertips). Heat your iron and rub the tablets over the gunk. It comes off. Really. The tablets will disappear fast, but keep going with another one until your iron is clean - then wipe over with a damp cloth. You can use it on "non-stick" plates - the only kind I've used it for, but I don't know why it wouldn't work on those professional ones I've seen people using with the silver soleplates. Not sure what you call Paracetamol in the US, but it's a hysterically cheap, generic painkiller everyone has in their first aid box (usually) ... Tylenol??? PS I don't buy iron cleaner and I iron A LOT. I'm not a costumer, but I do make stuff, including costumes occasionally and I'm a massive perfectionist - or is it psychotic. Take no prisoners!
I actually almost never use the thread cutter on my machine because I feel I can't get the thread cut close ENOUGH when using it. :D
I agree the sewing notions sold in fabric chains are terrible and overpriced. People in the USA and UK/Europe have access to better sources than we do in Canada.
I love learning from you!!! Thank you so much for making these videos!!❤❤
Super-helpfil, thanks for making this video!
At 11:20, you mention water spots on polyesters (I can't afford silk 😅). I had this happen to me like a week ago! I partially dried a gorgeous jewel green polyester fabric, hung it up to dry the rest of the way, and worried about the damp patches. They still looked that way after it dried, so I threw it back in the washer on a delicate cycle. 😂 Wsterspots gone!
Loved this so much! Thank you ❤❤❤
You had me at the boiled silk ;D
Oh my goodness this is excellent! Thank you!
Question: What's the order of operations when you're draping a costume you're not exaaaactly sure what you're going to wind up with at the end?
Another: Have you got any recommendations for notion shops in the UK and Europe?
Er. Honestly?
1. gather pins, dress form and muslin or preferred draping fabric
2. fuck around and find out
I dunno; it really depends on what you're making. Padding out the dress form to roughly match the wearer's shape, outlining general design lines with draping tape, and attaching any understructures - those are the main things. Except for something bias-cut, I always start by pinning the straight of grain to the center front at neck and waist, and unless it's an asymmetrical design, I'll only drape on half of the the dress form, because why do the same thing twice.
Smacking a big neodymium magnet to your dress form's armpit is helpful (on the side you're not draping fabric all over), because you can use that as a handy-dandy pincushion that's inches away from what you're working on.
but really it's mainly step 2.
New subbie, new sewer started 8 months ago. I weirdly have been wanting a bunch of safety pins, but not trusting what I could get from amazon or joanne's
Welcome to sewing, yay! Yes, Wawak will sell you quality safety pins. Not expensive, and you get a LOT in that box.
Thank you so much for sharing where to get good quality straight pins and safety pins. I can still use the pins I inherited from my mother, the safety pins from JoAnns are garbage. Great video.
They really are so bad. Pins shouldn't bend out of shape as you're using them!
Thank you so much!
That's like a 50:50 of stuff I always do and stuff I've never heard of 😅
I’m guessing the gray/black thread is one of the weirder obscure things?
Thank you!
welp this is so good. how.
Thank you so much for this video ! I really want to make my own costumes one day, but I don’t have the money nor the motivation to get into school anymore, especially after running away from a very uselessly expensive art school where everything seemed pulled out from a nightmare, so I was hoping I could learn by myself. It’s really intimidating, and I’ll wait until I find a job and put aside enough money to buy my own fabrics to start, but I’m already having tons of ideas. The only thing I’ve really sewn are little plushies here and there, and I’m still trying to master the ladder stitch. But I feel like I can do it, somehow.
I have a question, though, about the part to avoid fraying fabric : do pinking shears work with every kind of fabric, and can I use them to have some peace of mind even though I use one of the specific stitches you mentioned ? And if I just use one of said stitches, do I have to trim the potential excess fabric, or can I leave it there (maybe flatten it) ?
Also ! Is it possible to use the kind of strong thread you’re talking about at n°12 for everything, or is there a risk of some fabrics tearing because of it ? I’m thinking about long dresses, for example ; depending on the fabric used, or the amount of it, I’m guessing it might get heavy on the seams ? I’ve definitely had problems with normal thread snapping after sewing something, even if I doubled it and it was just on a little rip in my childhood plushie. Is this kind of sturdy thread more visible ? Is it not suited for some fabrics ?
I hope I’m making sense ; English is not my first language and I’ve always had trouble remembering specific vocabulary.
Again, thank you for this video. I hope I’ll be able to make my dream come true, one day.
Your English is great; your sewing vocabulary is way better than mine in German, and you're WAY better than I am at French. No apologies necessary at all!
Pinking shears work with woven fabric; they are kind of pointless on knits, as knits don't unravel the same way. And I would NOT pink the fabric AND use a finishing machine stitch - the threads will have less to grip on to, so with some easily-unraveled fabrics, you might be able to just pull your whole zigzagged/stitched line of thread and a lot of those now-loosened pinked fibers away from your project.
You clip the edges of your seam allowance just to neaten them, and make sure the two edges are even - otherwise, if one layer of fabric doesn't stick out as far as the other, you either won't catch the shorter edge in the zigzag at all, so it'll still be unfinished, or you'll catch the short edge but not all the long edge, so part of the long edge will remain sticking out messily/in an unfinished way...OR you'll catch the short edge and bunch up the long edge so the thread covers both layers, but you've now got a chunky, messy seam that'll create ugly headaches when you press your seams.
If you're going to finish your seams on the sewing machine, just cut your seam allowance evenly and neatly so it's between 1-1.5 cm, then sew over it with a zigzag (or whatever finishing stitch you like best) that's as wide as possible, and also LONG. On my machines, 0 is the shortest stitch length and 5 is the longest; I'd do this at a 4 or 5. It doesn't need more than that, and it's a headache to remove otherwise if you ever need to undo or alter something.
There are definitely reasons to not use that one specific thread. It is very slick, so it does not "lock" in place like grippier cotton/poly thread does, and you can easily pull the whole thread out of a seam if you haven't done a ton of backstitching. It is also slightly heavier and thicker than all-purpose thread, although DEFINITELY much lighter than normal heavy-duty thread, and I'm 99% positive it's a bit more expensive. The slickness also means it's a bit shiny, so it definitely doesn't disappear in seams as well as all-purpose does. Finally, because it is so slick, it likes to unwind itself a little in some situations, which is why I don't use it for bobbins.
I use it on anything that needs heavy-duty strength but where I don't want the thread to be visible or add much weight. So it's not what I'd use for, like, topstitching jeans, but I do use it for loads of handstitching, beading, buttons, closures, light upholstery, leather, bags that get a lot of rough use, and corsets.
Make sure the normal thread you're using has a CORE, and isn't just a few threads of spun polyester. Spun polyester is just a few very weak threads spun together, so it's usually just used for serger/overlocker thread. All-purpose thread has a polyester or cotton core, with fibers wrapped around it, and it'll be called "cotton-wrapped poly core", or similar. It's much stronger.
That said, I always double regular all-purpose thread unless I'm doing an invisible hem stitch or something like that. Much stronger and much less likely to break.
I hope that helps!
@@jenniferschottstaedt Thank you so much for your detailed answer ! I will definitely come back to this comment to make sure I do things properly !
(Just… How did you know I speak French ? XD)
@solo-solitaire8933 I didn't! That's just a weird happy coincidence; what I meant is that your English is waaay better than my French. (I studied French in school/uni and do French theatre, but my fluency is awful; you don't have to work as hard at the language when you're memorizing lines 😂)
@@jenniferschottstaedt Oh ! Sorry, I misunderstood ! XD To be honest, French is a nightmare to learn. Even French children struggle extremely hard when learning about grammar and verb tenses (if that’s how it’s called haha) in elementary school. For the verbs, the learning even goes until the third year of middle school because of how many tenses there are. A hellish language, even for the native speakers xD
I was wondering if you’d be willing to talk about different feet for sewing machines. My mom could use a standard foot for everything, but as a beginning sewist, an invisible zipper foot will definitely help me. Would you recommend any other types of feet? Are they quality of life upgrades or genuinely needed?
This vid was super helpful and I think your experience and background are a much needed voice in the youtube realm! I’m excited for your channel to take off :)
Sure! I honestly use very few feet - mainly just the standard sewing foot, the zipper foot and an open-front foot, which I think Bernina technically classifies as an embroidery foot (it's way easier to see what you're doing when you're doing particular detail work, like sewing down lace or doing appliqué/satin stitching.). I also have a ruffler foot, for when I'm gathering a lot of things that don't need to be precise, and a walking foot, for fabrics/materials the foot likes to stick to. Everything else rarely/never gets used.
I do have an invisible zipper foot, because I thought I needed it, but it never gets used. If you prep the zipper properly, you can get even closer to the teeth with a regular zipper foot, and it's more under your control.
Do you press your invisible zippers flat? If not, here's how it works. Unzip the zipper. Look at one of the open halves. Do you see how it kinda curls under where the zipper teeth are? Set your iron to medium to medium-high and press that zipper flat on both halves, so it no longer folds. Now you can use your regular zipper foot easy-peasy.
Other feet really depend on what type of things you like to sew! I adore Edwardian lingerie, so pintuck feet have been on my "to buy" list for awhile. I just learned to do blind hems and bias binding with a regular foot. (admittedly, in college, we had to hem all period and formal skirts by hand; so that's what I do now, too; that's way more invisible if you don't have an industrial blind-hemmer, which practically no one does.) Maybe a Teflon foot if you work with a lot of vinyl/sticky faux leather? or tbh you can just fake that effect by putting matte scotch tape on the underside of your foot (and cleaning the foot thoroughly when you take the tape off).
Yeah. Aside from those, I am struggling to think of a foot I'd actually need/want to buy.
Oh! If you can, try to find a zipper foot that does not flare out behind the needle. I love that my old Bernina's zipper foot doesn't do that - it means you can start sewing immediately in front of a thick bunch of fabric, which happens occasionally. The zipper foot on the one Janome at work juts out in back, and it gets inconvenient sometimes. (But it's still perfectly usable most of the time - that's just an "ideal world" wishlist.)
/end novella
@@jenniferschottstaedt This is amazing!!! Thank you so much! I have a zipper to put on a skirt and will try out your tips :)
Do you think you could talk about your thoughts on draping and transferring draped fabric to a paper pattern? Maybe a bigger, more general topic would be making self drafted patterns.
Do you have any suggestions for proper shops in the EU?
The HORROR that is the tissue paper some stores sell as drafting paper (might not be the right term, English isn't my native language)... it is not you, dear hobbyist, it is most certainly is the insanely flimsy "paper".
The only thing I can say in defense of that tissue paper is that if you draft a lot of patterns, tissue takes up SO much less space than butcher paper…and it’s easy to see through when you’ve got to do complicated pattern-matching. But…yes, my more frequently-used patterns are basically just tape now. 😂
@@jenniferschottstaedt it can add up a lot yes. Oh! We have a kind of pattern paper that's somewhere in-between those two: thicker than tissue paper but not waxy at all - it does have mat and a shiny side though. We can't buy butcher paper here (here being Denmark) so that's not really an option as such. We have different paper for that purpose, it's similar but thinner and a little less waxy than butcher paper. Yes...I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to my paper.
I just watched a video where someone cleaned their iron with tin foil. 😮 I’m about to put in an order to wawak and I usually have my order in 18 hours max
oh my god.
just…oh my god.
at some point I expect I’ll have detailed nightmares about tormented irons sobbing in the closet.
But yay! Wawak is amazing. I have no idea how they’ve brokered their shipping relationships to be that fast, but it’s really mind-blowing how good & reliable they are.
If you don't use a thimble at all ... gulp ... you can use rubber gloves (perfect for those ones that have sprung a leak) to grip needles - it works. I may or may not ... keep some offcuts of rubber glove in my sewing box .... In my defence, I have tiny fingers and I gave up looking for one small enough. As I'm watching this video, I've stabbed myself at least twice. You can also use rubber gloves to get lids off jars - just sayin'.
Something tells me you're a bad bitch.
Thank you for sharing, from a complete rookie, this is extremely appreciated. No bullshit is so refreshing.
well, I'm an opinionated woman, so...potato/potato ;)
@@jenniferschottstaedt Potatos and potatos are so versatile.
I don’t understand 4: if the thread is one shade darker than the fabric I can use gray thread? What does that mean?
Imagine you're looking at thread and your fabric through a black-and-white camera. The thread that looks ever-so-sliiightly darker than the fabric when everything is black and white is the thread that will disappear best.
@@jenniferschottstaedtthanks!
Imma be real, I thought this was going to be another terrible hacks video. As a costume shop gal, I wish all of my cosplay pals could see this. We need people to know.
Oh, those bad hacks are the freaking worst. 🙄 If I see one more “tip” telling me to put glue on my fabric…
I've recently started teaching beginning sewing and I CRAM the superiority of Wawak products down my students throats. There isn't a single damned reason to shop at a big box store for sewing supplies if you want something that isn't a hot pile of steaming garbage.
We just use grease proof paper when ironing on interfacing. Is that not a common thing?
Wax paper? I’ve never seen that used in shops (Teflon feet for irons are less than $20 and much less of a hassle; and every shop has scrap muslin press cloths), but I can definitely see that working, yeah. If there’s no danger of the wax coming off onto the fabric.
But that’s just “try to think of anything that could possibly go wrong” speculation - I’ve definitely used wax paper underneath paper towels to protect my pressing table when cleaning the iron, and nothing’s come off on the table, so it may easily be a completely fine solution- just an extra step.
@@jenniferschottstaedt I guess it's mostly a question of how often you're doing it and are you just working with what you already have around. 🙂
@@TheCraftyAutistic Yep. But for clarification, "grease proof paper" and "wax paper" aren't the same thing.
I WOULD be concerned that too much heat on wax paper may cause problems - you're not supposed to put it in the oven.
Grease proof paper can come in a few different types and the names vary by region and brand. Parchment paper, bakers paper - but to my knowledge, they're all heat safe.
It comes in rolls, or variously sized pre-cut sheets.
Personally I have quilting cotton/muslin in abundance, and little to no use for parchment but since some people also use it for patterns...
@@lynn858fwiw I have actually scorched parchment paper with the iron, but to be fair, it was not while fusing interfacing. I think I was setting hotfix rhinestones, which takes a lot of sustained heat.
It gradually turns nice, cozy shades of brown 😂
Fair. It will scorch in the oven too.
This is like watching a one woman play.
Why do you have so few subscribers???
Probably because I’m the type of idiot whose kneejerk first thought was “Because they’re delicious”.
(And that’s why comedy should be left to the pros. 😂 But thank you!)
@@jenniferschottstaedtwell, you now have a new one ☺️
On number 5, don't. Instead pull long, get the top and bobbin threads on the inside of the garment. Then knot hide the tail of the knot by threading both onto a hand sewing needle and weaving it up in your seam allowance. That six inches of 'waste thread' is cheaper then having to repair a failing seam.
Interesting. This is definitely another good solution, and illustrates a difference between industries - entertainment has to work quickly, so we backstitch securely at beginning and end of seam (except for specialty needs like darts & very lightweight/sheer fabrics), then cut all dangling threads immediately. Theatre does put costumes through the wringer HARD, way harder than most clothing & cosplay costumes, and if this method wasn't secure, we wouldn't use it. I have never had a problem with a securely backstitched seam coming undone on me, and we do this all the time, since we don't have the time to bury all threads in the way you suggest.
But it IS of course a valid option. If one does have the time, this would definitely avoid the small amount of bulk, slight stiffness, and occasional accidental fabric bunching/excess tension that backstitching creates.
Either way, y'all, don't leave dangling threads!
Being self taught means you skip simple things. I never knew that pressing is literally press down, pick up, move, repeat. explains a lot of my mishapen peaces later
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤🪡🧵🪡🧵🪡🧵🪡🧵🧵
Very unrelated but you look a lot like a mix between emma stone and kristen stewart
After the years of cosplaying I finally figured out that my iron has a self cleaning function and it was a life changer. I’m so glad you mentioned it because it’s what i spend half my time doing now.
Also for some reason there’s some random black screens in the video? Unsure if it’s my device app acting weird or not
oh my god, do you have any idea how many swears I have just unleashed upon myself. I’m really sorry about the glitches; it’s not your device/app/software. It’s some quirk with DaVinci Resolve - if you edit any audio after editing video, it can do this, for…reasons. I’m gonna spend awhile trying to figure out if I can do something about this now that it’s uploaded; otherwise, it’s either “live with it” or “reupload”.
Sorry and thanks 😂
@@jenniferschottstaedt
I thought the black screens were a nifty, not sensory painful, way of cutting swearing, and such, and was entirely cool with them.
But yes... if they were unintentional, I too would be so incredibly frustrated that my project didn't come out as intended.
Next time, at least you'll know to use the upholstery thread right from the start. 🤷♀️
14.. don't watch this worthless video... 15... breath.. .16 go for a walk. 17.... drink more water. 18.....don't watch this video.. 19 ... de-stress... 20.