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@ica-makes
Overlock Stitch by @clothes_reetzy
Damn, that's useful
Finally a hand sewing tutorial on a hemline that isn't just the ladder stitch! the ladder stitch disappears when you tighten it, but it's not meant for hemlines because it breaks really easily! The overlock stitch is more stable, so it holds much longer, and it won't pucker or warp the fabric!
tags by @gallusrostromegalus
OH HELL THE FUCK YES
Things I wish I had read in "beginner" sewing tutorials/people had told me before I started getting into sewing
You have to hem *everything* eventually. Hemming isn't optional. (If you don't hem your cloth, it will start to fray. There are exceptions to this, like felt, but most cloth will.)
The type of cloth you choose for your project matters very much. Your clothing won't "fall right" if it's not the kind of stretchy/heavy/stiff as the one the tutorial assumes you will use.
Some types of cloth are very chill about fraying, some are very much not. Linen doesn't really give a fuck as long as you don't, like, throw it into the washing machine unhemmed (see below), whereas brocade yearns for entropy so, so much.
On that note: if you get new cloth: 1. hem its borders (or use a ripple stitch) 2. throw it in the washing machine on the setting that you plan to wash it going forward 3. iron it. You'll regret it, if you don't do it. If you don't hem, it'll thread. If you don't wash beforehand, the finished piece might warp in the first wash. If you don't iron it, it won't be nice and flat and all of your measuring and sewing will be off.
Sewing's first virtue is diligence, followed closely by patience. Measure three times before cutting. Check the symmetry every once in a while. If you can't concentrate anymore, stop. Yes, even if you're almost done.
The order in which you sew your garment's parts matters very much. Stick to the plan, but think ahead.
You'll probably be fine if you sew something on wrong - you can undo it with a seam ripper (get a seam ripper, they're cheap!)
You can use chalk to draw and write on the cloth.
Pick something made out of rectangles for your first project.
I recommend making something out of linen as a beginner project. It's nearly indestructible, barely threads and folds very neatly.
Collars are going to suck.
The sewing machine can't hurt you (probably). There is a guard for a reason and while the needle is very scary at first, if you do it right, your hands will be away from it at least 5 cm at any given time. Also the spoils of learning machine sewing are not to be underestimated. You will be SO fast.
I believe that's all - feel free to add unto it.
I’m kinda surprised that nalbinding isn’t as popular as crochet and knitting tbh because it has an even lower barrier of entry tools wise and unlike crochet and knitting it makes fabric that you can cut.
I guess it’s because it’s slower or something.
Nalbinding aka needle binding is when you use yarn and a big sewing needle to make fabric btw
It also has a lot of different kinds of stitches you can do that make different densities of fabric.
Some people even make rugs.
I feel like part of it might be casual people are generally aware of the existence of crochet and knitting, even if they don’t know very much about either, but have never heard of nalbinding
Yeah I hadn’t heard of it until recently and I ordered a big bone needle for myself to try it out and that should be arriving soon.
I was surprised that I’d never heard of it though. It’s older than knitting and crocheting and even though it’s been done all over the world it’s super relevant to Nordic culture and my grandmother and I are both into keeping in touch with our roots a bit so I’m surprised I’ve never heard of it.
It seems like the sort of thing that would be popular even if not as popular as crocheting and knitting, considering the low barrier of entry.
You also don’t need a bunch of different sized needles for nalbinding or whatever. The size of the stitch is controlled either completely freehand or by pulling it against one of your fingers. Most people who have a lot of nalbinding needles seem to either have tried out wood, bone, and metal ones to see which kind they liked or they enjoy carving wood or bone and like making their own needles as an extra hobby.
It’s also a lot easier to freehand and adjust as you go than crochet or knitting and you mostly go by inches instead of rows and number of stitches so a large number of accessories like stitch markers or whatever isn’t really necessary.
Maybe the lack of accessories also makes it unpopular idk. People do like collecting things in their nests.
I've been wanting to do so, I cannot find anyone who can teach me, and any books I can find on it are Ass in the Visual Learning department. Otherwise I'd be making the hell outta some nalbinded fabric
I found this channel by a nice man who makes up close tutorials
I create videos on YouTube to learn people how to needlebind using two fingers and your thumb. Needlebinding helps people to relax, relieve
I thought this would be kind of a niche post to make but I was quickly reminded that I’m on tumblr, the website full of gay people with one billion hobbies.
"Sewing is a gateway drug to thinking through complex problems. It seems really simple; culturally, we make it women's work. Let me tell you: real sewing at any kind of level of proficiency is a bloody magic trick. Sewing, like mold making, involves mental frames that require one to think inside out and backwards. It requires one to work on an order of operations that is often taking into account the reverse. It's a really, really important skill, and if you learn how to sew, you're mostly on your way to carpentry and welding and sheet metal work. I'm not kidding: these are planar forms meeting under rules and conditions. And if you can make a sleeve work, I swear to God, you could build a house."
--Adam Savage
was plan make new tote bag 4 aac go on wheelchair. Thought 'would be cool if design like computer keyboard' because fun silly have Radio's words in. Next thought 'if be computer keyboard could use as low tech AAC. Should then probably have yes/no symbols.' Then plan got out of control and now want 2 embroidery low tech AAC board for fashion (silly) and practical use.
not will rush make, just enough have project work on.
[ID: canvas bag with low tech AAC symbols and words embroidered on. Examples include feelings, 'lift' and 'toilet'. On reverse side is embroidered computer keyboard, yes/no symbols and words 'please', 'thank you' and 'sorry.' /end ID]
3 half months to finish, very very happy with result. Bag good and sturdy. Take bit of figuring out to make. Strap piece wrap all way around bag so more support for heavy AAC. Strap long enough for wear cross body.
full list of symbols & words: - happy, sad, tired, surprised or anxious, angry or frustrated, overwhelmed. - safe, unsafe. - too loud, too bright, too many people, too many choices. - lift, toilet. - love, stop - i need, to lie down, help, space, to leave, company. - I don't understand, please explain what's happening.
these are for communicate with strangers who not know sign or when body brain too tired for effective signing and as alternative to electronic AAC.
Hi hi! I’ve decided to start a little series named “Sewing with Siren”. It’ll cover basic in garment construction and how to start basic patterning. (aka your first year of fashion school so hey if any of you are applying for school I got you covered). I hope this turns out??? Helpful??? To someone? LMFAO I know I ramble on a lot but I always thought that knowing about grainlines and stuff was important even for people who just sew for fun (cosplayers and people making their own lolita stuff) but there wasn’t really a resource for it. Next week we get to go over pattern drafting. OH BOY.
I think this series is going to be great, especially if you’re just starting out with sewing!
Sewing tips
Wax: Thread wax or thread conditioner. I use beewax or thread magic. It makes cheap thread glide like the expensive ones. I am an old punk so ive done lots of hand sewing for patches and the standby is to use waxed dental floss to sew on patches since it doesn't snag or break so easy. This is the same principal but now any thread will work. Wax makes working with thicker thread so easy. For hand sewing, just drag your thread over the wax (I've used candle wax for patch sewing). Some places say to iron your thread after, but I've never done that. For sewing machines, they make wax that attaches to the top of your machine so the thread glides over it as you sew.
Washi Tape: if you put washi tape down your traced pattern lines (on the fabric), just inside where you need to cut, it will keep the material from fraying. It also makes it easier to cut out silky or thin fabrics. Frayed fabric leaves all those little hanging-off threads at your hems and it’s a mess. If you use a good washi tape, there is no residue. You can even sew over it and not remove it until the end. It is fantastic for hems. Washi tape is going to give you a definite location for your hems and gives you a straight edge to follow. I've also used painters tape.
Seam Ripper: Flip the seam ripper over, put the ball tip in the seam and then push the tool through the stitches, quickly cutting them. *Caution – don’t use this part of the technique on delicate fabrics. It’s too easy to tear holes in them doing this. It is fine on most cottons and denims. The point is for picking out individual stitches, tight stitches, or difficult ones.
Gutermann thread: The spool opens to hold a needle. There is a myth that it comes with a needle included. None of mine has ever come with one.
Ribbon Fraying: quickly run a flame across the end of the ribbon to eliminate the fraying.
Lock your stitches: reverse sew at the beginning and end of each seam to lock your stitches in place to prevent them from unraveling once the threads are snipped.
Pins: Use a magnet to collect them. I use a magnetic bowl from harbor freight. It's cheaper than the sewing specific ones and you can rubber coat them or cover them in fabric if you want to protect your pin tips.
Thread Cutter: Many machines come with a thread cutter on the machine. But if your machine doesn't you can buy a stick on one. They are convenient but not a necessity.
Magnetic Seam Guides: tool that attaches to any stitch plate of a sewing machine, near the presser foot. The magnet helps the fabric that is pulled forward by your sewing machine to stay firmly in place, giving you a solid, reliable guide for setting seam allowances and sewing straight lines.
Seam Guide Ruler: a small ruler used to mark an accurate seam allowance. Place the Seam Guide under the presser foot and lower the needle through the appropriate hole in the guide. Video reference here.
Sewing Needles: I have a whole post here but the basics are
Universal – no color code
Ball point – medium blue
Jersey – orange or light brown
Stretch – Yellow
Jeans – dark blue
Microtex – purple
Leather – brown
Universal twin – red shaft
Stretch twin – blue shaft
Quilting – green
Glues: Huge time saver.
Fray check: A permanent, clear liquid seam sealant that prevents fabric from fraying and secures thread ends; Use to finish raw edges of ribbon, trim and fabric. It soaks into fabric.
Fabri-tac: won't soak into fabrics, which can cause discoloration or damage to the fabric. Instead, it creates a strong, permanent bond on the surface of the fabric. This makes it a great option for attaching embellishments like rhinestones, sequins, ribbons, or beads to fabric.
Original Gutermann HT2: designed specifically for use with fabrics and is ideal for attaching patches to clothing, bags, and other fabric items. It's a great choice for attaching patches to fabrics that will be washed or worn frequently. The glue is also resistant to heat and cold, making it suitable for use in a variety of different environments. It is a bit expensive but it is worth it imo.
Aleene's: I love Aleene's they always perform well for the affordable price. They have a wide variety of glues and adhesives. They even make fabric glue sticks.
Dritz Original Liquid Stitch: Dries clear but applies white. It takes 24 hours for it to full cure but once it does its flexible.
SpraynBond Quilt Basting Adhesive Spray: It forms a temporary bond between the batting and the fabric when quilting so that you don’t need to baste the quilt before you stitch. Unlike traditional adhesives, which can leave a residue on the fabric, spray glue dries clear and leaves no residue. I have also used this for backpatches. it washes out.
Happy Halloween Sewists!
A Lion on a Bicycle that Is Blue for William
^^^ This is how you build up an image in alternating rows of two colours with interlocking (double filet) crochet.
^^^ This shows the same process broken down stitch by stitch, and you can more clearly see the double filet mesh structure and how diagonals are made with ()tog sts. (Free Clover pattern here)
THERE IS. a website. that takes 3D models with seams and pulls it apart to make a plushie pattern and informs you where things need to be edited or darts added for the best effect. and then it lets you scale it and print off your pattern. and I want to lose my MIND because I've lost steam halfway through so many plushie patterns in the mind numbing in betweens of unwrapping, copying all of the meshes down as pieces, transferring those, testing them, then finding obvious tweaks... like... this would eradicate 99% of my trial and error workflow for 3D models to plushies & MAYBE ILL FINALLY FINISH SCREAMTAIL...
so this website let's you:
import a model
create seams in browser
tells you how accurately the seams will recreate the model when sewn
let's you designate fur direction
let's you import markings so the pattern shows exactly where they go on the piece
let's you add little measurements on the model that are also visible on the pattern
let's you paint the model to play with fabric colors
let's you name each piece so it's easy to sort the pieces later
let's you scale it beside a human
then calculates how much of each type of fabric you need, BASED ON YOUR DESIRED SEAM ALLOWANCE..
and finally gives you the finished pattern with the detailed names and instructions it's transcribed from your notes
this is. beyond. this is BEYOND. and as far as I can see it's free???
Progress of teaching myself engraving over time
God is dead
I’m adding this to my queue so I remember to add more recent pictures cuz I’ve improved a LOT
For reference; I finished this piece yesterday
i’m sorry op your helvetica abomination catapulted my soul out of my body
Yesss! Got another one!
By the way, if anyone’s curious, I’m now working for a very high end jeweller and engrave outrageously expensive jewellery and watches and doodle on coins when I’m bored
Some better pictures of the leafkerchief. It’s made of a plain green cotton, with facings in a much lighter weight cotton, and after I sewed and turned all the points right side out I topstitched as close to the edge as I could. The inner edge of the facing is hand sewn with a slipstitch, and the veins are painted on.
I got a lot of questions about this, so I will do a blog post about it, and will include a pattern diagram!
Alrighty, the blog post is up and I drew my pattern out on an inch grid so you can scale it up and make your own!
Finally finished making a video tutorial!
i can imagine this in all kinds of fall leaf colors too
Two of the ones I made in the video are fall colours!
There’s also a nice shot of me lying facedown on the ground tossing handfuls of dead leaves onto myself.
This just got a couple more notes and I realized I had not added Leaf Sequel to this post!
so now I have.
I cannot stress enough that all those things in sewing pattern instructions that seem pointless are actually very important
Yes, how you fold your fabric before putting down the pattern pieces and cutting matters, because it influences how the fabric drapes, and ignoring that can cause fit issues in ways you wouldn't expect
Yes, cutting an entire separate piece to sew to the edge to finish it is going to be better than turning the edge and stitching it on its own, because there are geometry issues in play that make it actually harder to just fold a curve to the inside.
Yes, cutting clips or notches into the seam allowance around curves should always be done, because those geometry issues will work on the seam allowances and keep the curve from laying flat (remember, clip when the curve goes in, notch when the curve goes out)
Yes, interfacing may seem completely superfluous and frustrating and an extra step to work with, but it adds rigidity and stability to areas that need it (especially under buttons)
Yes, using a fun quilting cotton print for lining looks nice, but the point of lining isn't to make the inside pretty as much as it is to make the inside slip smoothly over the layer under it, and quilting cotton is going to instead be prone to grabbing everything under it, so you really should use those annoyingly slippery lining fabrics
Yes, in general, you should use the kind of fabric the pattern tells you to use, because there have been centuries, if not millennia, of people throughout the entire world figuring out what fabric best suits what kind of garment, for reasons beyond aesthetics
I know that a lot of people new to sewing see these things and feel like they're things that just aren't necessary, because they skip them when they sew and the item ends up just fine. And if you don't mind the idea of your clothes looking homemade, then it is fine. But...if you're consistently skipping these things and end up unhappy with how homemade your items look, please consider that that result is at least partly because you're not following the entire directions
"Sewing" involves so much more than just the stitches
All this is true, but I will say: people will tell you not to make shirts out of quilting cotton, even though quilting cotton has BY FAR the best and most fun patterns.
Is it as good as fabrics designed for shirts? No. (My personal favs for winter are a cotton sateen with some stretch, and for summer a nice linen, if you must know, but I often use cotton double gauze for summer, too.)
Can you make a perfectly good button-down shirt out of it that will last you 5+ years of regular use? YES. I've made several. It's fine. Wash the fabric with super hot water and dry on hot first to make sure it's not going to shrink on you. The shirts last longer if you hang them to dry but that's true of most things.
If what you are looking for out of making your own shirts is The Most Fun Shirts Possible, use the quilting cotton.
Oh, yeah, quilting cotton makes fun shirts! People just need to be aware that it does not always make a soft and drapy shirt XD
A "menswear style" button-up shirt will probably work out fine in even the sturdiest quilting cottons. If the shirt's goal is to be soft and flowing, then the weight of the fabric becomes more important.
"Button up shirt made from quilting cotton = fabulous" versus "Button up shirt that, If I had made it in quilting cotton, probably would have looked--and felt--like a tent"
Of course, if "shirt that is a tent" is your goal, that's fine! It's all about being aware of all the things beyond print/color that the fabric contributes to the finished item.
And you've got to iron your seams!!
Sometimes with a press cloth, depending on the situation. You can cut a piece of silk organza to use and it works nicely because you can still see through it.
And staystitching the curved edges is absolutely necessary if you're working with a soft drapey fabric and you don't want the neckhole to stretch out horribly.
It's worth learning to use a thimble, I promise it makes hand sewing so much easier.
And ffs, clean your sewing machine regularly, and oil it! AND clean your iron now and then when it gets gunky! You can buy these melty sticks of iron cleaner to do it with.
Some people may say that mockups and basting are for the weak, but it's the other way around. Skipping them is for reckless fools.
A recent commenter on my 18th century shirt tutorial said:
"It came out fantastic, other than all the places where I did not follow your advice."
RIP Joann, now what?
I wanted to make a post I could copy and paste and or link when I see folks asking where to buy fabrics when Joann is gone. I sew a lot, generally between 100-200 items a year and I don't do it on a big budget. Stores are not in a particular order.
Notions:
Wawak.com - start here, mostly stay here. Wawak is a supplier for professional sewing businesses and have the prices that show it. I will not pay for gutermann Mara 100 anywhere else. I buy buttons, tools, thread, and most elastic here.
Stitch Love Studio - this is where I buy lingerie supplies https://www.etsy.com/shop/StitchLoveStudio?ref=yr_purchases
Fabric:
Fabric Mart - this is one where you want to sign up for emails and never buy unless its on sale. They run different sales every day and they rotate. Mostly deadstock fabrics but I buy more from here than anywhere else. Fantastic customer service and if you watch you can get things like $6 wool suiting or $4 cotton jersey. https://fabricmartfabrics.com/
Fabrics-Store - again, buy the sales not the full price. Sign up for the emails but redirect them to a folder because it is TOO MANY. They stock linen or good but not amazing quality. https://www.fabrics-store.com/
Purple Seamstress - This is where I buy my solid cotton lycra jersey. They have other things, but the jersey is what I'm here for. Inexpensive and very good quality. If you ask she will mail you a swatch card for the solids. https://purpleseamstressfabric.com/
LA Finch - deadstock fabrics with a fantastic remnant selection https://lafinchfabrics.myshopify.com/
Califabrics - mix of deadstock and big brands, easy to navigate and always seem to have good denim in stock. https://califabrics.com/
Boho Fabrics - good variety, nice bundles. I have also gotten some really great trims from here. https://www.bohofabrics.com/
Firecracker Fabrics - garment and quilting fabrics, really nice selection and great sale section. I've bought $5 yard quilting cottons here several times. https://www.firecrackerfabrics.com/
Hancock's of Paducah - Quilting fabric and some limited garment fabric. AMAZING sale section. Do not sleep on the sale section. This is my first stop when buying quilting fabrics. Usually the last stop too. Not particularly speedy shipping. https://www.hancocks-paducah.com/
Itokri - This is something a little different. Itokri is an Indian business with incredible traditional fabrics. Shipping to the US is expensive, but the fabric is so inexpensive it evens out. I generally end up paying like $30 for shipping. Beautiful ikat and block prints. https://itokri.com/
Miss Matatabi - this is a little treat. This isn't where you go to save money, but there are so many beautiful things in this shop. Ships from Japan incredibly quickly. https://shop.missmatatabi.com/
Lucky Deluxe - Craft thrift store, always has an incredible selection and fantastic customer service. I need to close the tab fast because I never go to this website without finding something I need. https://www.luckydeluxefabrics.com/
Swanson's - the OG of online craft thrift stores, but I find their website harder to navigate. https://www.swansonsfabrics.com
Honorary Mentions: I haven't shopped at these places yet but I have had them recommended and likely will at some point.
A Thrifty Notion - https://athriftynotion.com/
Creative Closeouts - https://creativecloseoutsfabric.com/ being rebranded to sewsnip.com on March 1 - quilting deadstock
Hawthorne Supply Co. - I just got this rec and I think I need to not look too closely or I'm going to slip with my debit card. https://www.hawthornesupplyco.com/
This is not an exhaustive list of everywhere you can buy fabric, or even a full list of where I shop. There are SO many options out there in the world. You also need to think outside the fabric store box. I thrift men's shirt fabrics for quilts and sheets for backing fabric. I don't do a ton of in person thrifting and my local stores don't get a lot of craft materials but every thrift store is its own universe and reflects the community it is in. Go out and find something cool.
Oh and final note: Don't shop at Hobby Lobby.
Oh I just had this conversation with my friends group yesterday. Btw while you can, buy brother machines at the going-out-of-business sale! I just got a serger for $270 which is insane! There's EMBROIDERY MACHINES!!! Anyway, here's some more places--my stash of websites is very orientated toward natural fabrics, and historical ones in particular--I'm a rennie.
https://dharmatrading.com - silks
https://renaissancefabrics.com - linen, cotton, wool, silk, notions.
https://periodfabric.com - more historical fabrics
https://bigduckcanvas.com - duck and canvas like it says. tent fabric.
https://fabrics-store.com - linen and cotton. They sell kits for kitchen towels too.
https://woolsome.shop - wool
https://www.papercityfabrics.com/ - everything is $4/yd
https://metrotextilesnyc.com - has a lot of quilting fabric
https://fabricdepot.com - general fabric store
https://onlinefabricstore.com - general fabric store
https://burnleyandtrowbridge.com - SYNTHETIC PLASTIC WHALEBONE FROM GERMANY. BEHAVES LIKE WHALEBONE!!! they also carry clothing, fabric etc but the whalebone is the exciting thing bc I do not know many places in the states to get this stuff.
https://farthingalecorsetmakingsupplies.com - Corset supplies, another place to get synthetic whalebone.
https://firemountaingems.com - bead store!
https://beadtin.com - bead store, emphasis on pony beads.
https://jetpens.com - pens, inks, anything you want for calligraphy etc.
https://tiedtohistory.com - goldwork supplies and other notions, patterns, some fabric too. Mostly sparklyshinies. This is my source for actual real genuine Thread-of-Gold and Thread-of-silver!
https://angelusdirect.com - Angelus paint, which is a paint used by cosplayers the world over to paint leather and fabric and shoes. It dries flexible and comes in a zillion colours.
https://shop.smooth-on.com - Silicone and moulding supplies.
https://dickblick.com - ART supplies, but I'm putting this here bc Joann's did sell art supplies.
https://sculpey.com - Sculpey clay, buy it directly from the company.
https://hollanders.com - Bookbinding supplies!
https://leatherhidestore.com - Leather, mostly the sizes for garments or upholstering.
https://tandyleather.com - Another leather crafting store, focus more on crafting. They sell tools and machines as well as leather and notions for leather.
https://patterns.bootstrapfashion.com - DIY dress forms! Plus sizes and men included!
https://herrschners.com - string things! Embroidery, latchook, macrame, etc! I hesitate to say a general craft store, but it does have a LOT of stuff. The prices for their DMC embroidery floss are particularly attractive though.
https://trimsbytheyard.com - TRIMS! They got fringe, they got tassels, they got ruffles and beads you want it they got it!
https://sonomawoolcompany.com - wool but more specifically, wool batting for quilts!
https://furlscrochet.com - ERGONOMIC crochet hooks!
If you have supplies and like them, see if the brand has a website you can buy from direct.
If you need a sewing or serging machine, Bernina is the best, followed by Viking. Brother is best for embroidery machines. Get an older Bernina if you can.
If you live near a fashion city (LA, NYC, Paris, London) then GO TO THE GARMENT DISTRICT. LA has a place you can buy fabric BY THE POUND. It's not got a website it's just a little hole in the wall on like the second floor of a building and a tiny old man is at the counter and has probably been there like a hundred years. NYC has fabric stores that are over a century old. Even my tiny little village has a quilting shop.
Also, join your local historical re-enactors or SCA chapter, that is chock full of crafters looking for new blood. The SCA is a great way to learn crafts you've never heard of, too, like Nalbinding. If you're not careful you'll wake up with an inkle loom and a spindle in your house and like five bags of roving from someone's pet alpaca.
Joann's itself was a corporate takeover of a bunch of smaller local fabric stores, and was sterile and devoid of the REAL kind of community that crafting has. Go look for NON-chain stores, go local! That is where you will find resources--crafters know crafters, because everyone tends to have at least 2+ crafts they do.
Yoinking this because while most of my materials are secondhand; I will always need some new stuff.
And this thread has it all
A leaf shawl for fall
At last, I finally have finished a project in the season I intend to wear it! This lovely shawl was certainly a journey, but one that I enjoyed thoroughly. It was a little scary to attempt hand dyeing this shawl, but I am glad that the final results perfectly capture the color of the leaves at the very peak of fall. As the days get colder and the leaves begin to fade, I'm glad I have one to hold onto that will stay vibrant well into winter!
Inspired by the beautiful maple tree leaves so prevalent in the fall, this shawl will be a stunning addition to your autumn wardrobe.
So my sister wants to start sewing more, because
a. She’s 5′ 11″ and can never find pants long enough for her legs or shirts long enough for her arms.
b. She hates synthetic fibers as much as I do and it’s difficult to find natural fiber clothes that aren’t made of cotton
c. She’s a biologist and would physically fistfight microplastics if given half a chance
So her gift from mom and dad for her birthday was a sewing machine. Not a super expensive one but a good solid serviceable one.
And recently she asked “So where do I GET wool or linen and thread that isn’t polyester” and mom was like ‘go ask your sister’
And I, of course, crashed into the group text like “GET A PEN I HAVE WEBSITES FOR U” and honestly I’m thrilled about this
“Where did u get all this”
“Bets, u know I’m a 15th degree blackbelt of buying shit on the internet”
“oh yeah tru”
Op can may we inquire about the website list
Linen; https://www.graylinelinen.com/
cotton and Silk thread; https://redrockthreads.com/
Linen thread and wool fabric; https://burnleyandtrowbridge.com/ (they’ve got wool stuffs and worsted wool fabric for $15 a yard! I just got three yards of navy worsted wool I’m making a constellation winter skirt from)
More linen thread and wool; https://wmboothdraper.com/ (just ordered wool broadcloth to make a coat)
Silk fabric (THE best place to get silk lining fabrics and raw silk fabric):https://www.dharmatrading.com/
A varying assortment of wool and silk and cotton and even some leather, use coupon code spring2020 for 50% off your full order, worked yesterday when I bought some stuff there; https://metrotextilesnyc.com/
Wool. You want wool coating for under $20 a yard? Sure you do. It’s here. Not a huge variety of colors, most are black or brown, but hey https://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/Catalog?refinementIds=4096748&Keyword=wool&pageSize=16
I don’t know a lot about sewing, but I want to make or have my mom make some linen pants & shirts for when I’m watering, because it gets to 105 here and we have mosquitos so I need to be covered. What type of linen do I buy? Also, linen pajama shorts, yes/no?
(I’ve been wearing my renfaire pants which are a linen mix, I think. But the frikking mosquitos that hide in the tomatoes get my arms)
Medium weight is what I’d go with.
And linen pajama shorts is a HARD yes.
Renaissance Fabrics is good for all sorts of things
Mood doesn’t specialize in natural fabrics but they do have basically every fabric ever made so
For wools, I cannot recommend Woolsome enough! They’re a bit more expensive then the above links, but they have a spectacular range of colours and weights, as well as diamond pattern and herringbone weaves. They also have a range of linens, though not as extensive.
Historical fabrics for re-enactors
Tiedtohistory.com has sheer voile linen
The Linen Lab has a variety of weaves, weights, and colors available
Period Fabric has a variety of wools, but switch to the full website if you’re on mobile
Hello Internet!
I’ve been working on a project that involves compiling a bunch of information on sewing and mending, so I’m putting it out to the world so that more people can see and benefit from it!
The best way I could figure to do this was to attach PDF links of my guides that I made, so sorry if there are technical issues with accessing them, I’m still trying to figure out how to attach them properly
This one goes over basic handsewing stitches and mending techniques
Basic Handsewing and Mending - Google Docs.pdf
And if you know a bit about sewing and how to use a sewing machine, but are still figuring out different techniques and things, I’ve compiled a list of a variety of beginner friendly sewing projects, with instructions and pictures!
Simple Beginner Sewing Projects and Instructions - Google Docs.pdf
Hope this is helpful for someone!
