Any dressmakers out there?

[Hawthorn]

One thing that's really got my goat of late........disposable fashion. It's cheap and nasty, not built to last, and is more often than not made overseas.

So, I bought me a vintage sewing machine, second hand. Got it serviced, works like a dream, and I'm going to make clothing and other stuff for my family

What are all of your thoughts on the 'throw away' fashion that we have nowadays?
What are your ways around it?

I used to shop at charity shops, but I'm finding that these are going downhill because clothing just isn't well made enough to make it to second hand these days

[Wotta Wally]

The Olds had their hall decorated recently - pretty hard work and they aren't spring chickens any more - so they got a decorator in. One day, he asked Mum whether she had admired his pristine, clean white T-shirts that he wore every day - not a speck on them. He said that every 4 weeks, he goes to Matalan and buys 20 £1 white t-shirts. He will put a new one on in the morning, go to his job - painting and decorating - then go straight on to the gym wearing the self-same shirt. When he gets home, he throws it away and puts a fresh one on the next morning.

You can't blame the guy. At £1 a t-shirt and as a bloke on his own, seems like a good idea but come on.....!

I agree with you wholeheartedly about fashion. Fashion seasons seem to speed up so there is a constant overhaul of "fashion". A girl in my office spends EVERY Saturday mooching round the shops purchasing the latest fashion items. What a waste of time and money! And then she looks at me as tho' I'm the daft one spending time at home making quilts, cheese, soap, home-cooked food - and even clothes.

Clothes are almost made to fall apart nowadays. They are thin, poorly made, expensive - or if you get them cheap, even more poorly made and ready to fall apart! Yet to make your own clothes, it is difficult to get dressmaking fabric!

I suppose the whole point of "fashion" is to show that you have a large disposable income that you can afford a regular turnover of your wardrobe. What a pity tho' that people feel the need to conform so much.

[red]

wardrobe refashionhas some good ideas on reworking charity shop clothes etc.

[MrFalafel]

I remember speaking to a woman at a NYE party years ago who was wearing a striking skirt made of different materials all sewn together in the most intriquing and flattering way. When asked about it, she explained that she had made the skirt herself (and the rest of her outfit as well, which was quite formal). Each of the fabrics used in her dress was from an item of clothing that was special in her life: She would point to a part of her skirt and say: 'this stripe is from blouse I was wearing when I met my husband, this piece is from a dress I wore at my sons christening, this piece is from a skirt given to me by my grandmother when I was a teenager' and so on and so forth. She was wearing the story of her life! You can't buy that kind of fashion at Matalan, thats for sure.

My fashion crazy 15 year old neice is totally caught up in the hype but she made her own dress as part of a school project. We gave her our old sewing machine and showed her around an amazing local shop for fabrics and patterns and she's starting to get the bug. So there is hope for the future after all :)

[Ellendra]

I would love to be able to make my own clothing. I've got the talent and the machine, but there are just a couple of setbacks:

1- my dad keeps "temporarily" hiding my projects and my sewing machine, I just recently found a dress I'd started 3 years ago, it was in a bag with his old shirts, ready to be sent to Goodwill.

2- fabric prices around here have gotten so high, it might be cheaper to buy the clothes and then take them apart for the material!

[Silver Ether]

I used to make my own clothes but have not done so for a long time ... black t -shirt and black cords suit me fine ... but I do make stuff for our home ... blinds were the last thing I did for the bedroom ... saved me a fortune. luckily still have a few good fabric stall to get good prices but they are dwindling like a rare creature ...

[hamster]

I'm learning. I too bought an ancient sewing machine and restored it and I'm taking a course in making clothes. I've made a skirt (photo on my blog if you're interested) and have just started a dress and jacket.

I was pleasantly surprised by how cheap it was, actually. Everybody always said to me that fabric etc are really expensive and it's cheaper just to buy them, but the fabric for my skirt only cost around £10, plus the zip (can't remember how much that cost, but not much) and interfacing - £15 for a skirt, particularly one that actually fits isn't too bad really.

[contadina]

That's where charity shops could come in - to buy your fabric. I buy old duvet covers, sheets and curtains from my local market to make all my clothes nowadays. You can pick up some wonderful retro designs that make interesting skirts, blouses and dresses. I've also bought items because I like the fabric and then remade them into something that I like.

[kiery]

I was so fed up with the dispoable fashion in the shop and the poor quality of clothes, I have made my own, on and off since school. I make quite a bit for my children now and really enjoy it.

I started off with quite simple patterns but with designs that are not too of the moment; so that they have lasted and become a good investment. I don't use many patterns now though and just look at design and try to figure out each piece of the pattern and how to fit them together.

Sourcing good funky fabric, I find, can be problematic but when I find a good one its great. I have made dresses for my girls out of sheets and curtains and they love them!

[QuakerBear]

As a student I didn't have any money to buy clothes and all I had eventually got VERY worn, ripped, fadded and eventually unservicable. Since then I've been able to buy clothes and I really value them so I try and look after them, but even so I seem to wear them out quite quickly.

I'm a beginner seamstress, I'm working on a waistcoat for Mr. QB at the moment. I'd recomend the 'Simplicity' patterns you can buy in fabric shops. They're easy to read and don't have many parts. Maybe when I'm better I'll make my own.

But yes, fabric prices do seem to be very high.

At school my mum made all my ball dresses and it was great, they fitted perfectly as she could adjust the patern for my small shoulders, big bottom, short body etc..

[LSP]

A co-worker in Helsinki told me her mum bought her a sewing machine. Because her mum's mum bought her mum a sewing machine. So her mum thought it was the duty of the mother to buy each of her daughters a sewing machine when they were old enough to sew and/or time to leave home.

A lovely story, I think.

I used to sew my own clothes as a poor post-graduate student. The tatty hand-me-downs I wore as an undergraduate didn't do when I was the one teaching. Can't say I was exactly a fashion icon amongst my students.

BTW I have some leftover organic cotton fabric (blue check, pink check, blue tartan, multi-stripe) I'm willing to part with at cost plus postage if anyone is interested. (I hope it's OK to say it like this.) PM me.

[Roxy1973]

I tend to "change" my clothes when I get fed up with them - rip them apart and make something new.....only problem is I don't have a sewing machine so everything I make is sewn by hand....


and I also darn my darling partners socks!!!!

[Hawthorn]

I was pleasantly surprised by how cheap it was, actually. Everybody always said to me that fabric etc are really expensive and it's cheaper just to buy them, but the fabric for my skirt only cost around £10, plus the zip (can't remember how much that cost, but not much) and interfacing - £15 for a skirt, particularly one that actually fits isn't too bad really.

I love the skirt! It looks really well made :)

[Hawthorn]

Items I would like to get hold of. Patterns for 'hippy' skirts. I love these - they're so comfortable. Warm in the winter, cool in the summer, plus, you can afford to gain/lose a little weight and they still fit well due to the elasticated waistline.

I'm not very hot on fashion, it has to be said. I much prefer looking different to everyone else. That's another reason why off the peg supermarket clothing gets my goat. I like to be individual.

Can I eckers find the type of clothing in patterns I like though! I found a few tops, but the skirts are proving difficult. I may have to bite the bullet and try to make my own anyway. I'm quite tall so getting a pattern of the right length for me isn't likely.

[circlecross]

as an ex-tailor for the ENO, I quickly tired of sewing when it was my job. UI used to make my own stuff but then the novelty wore off when I was churning stuff out on a production line basis.
I had great plans to make my kids clothes, but I was a different person then, and didn't have the knowledge about cheap clothes. Consequently I am loathe to put ds2 into a lot of the things i put ds1 in, because they point to a consumer past (that is crazy I know but it is an unavoidable feeling). The kids get 2nd hand now, except ds2 will have to have either "new" 2nd hand jeans, or remodelled jeans, as my kids get clothes and wear them till the knees fall out!
I made some clothes for a puppet company before Christmas, and felt the desire stirring again, so who knows, as the kids get older and a re in their clothes for longer I may feel the inclination to make them some items.
I made my own wedding dress, wasitcoats for the men and cravats, and a pair of tartan trews for my dad, as he wouldn't wear a kilt.
It's the time now - my kids are worse than cats for walking over patterns and stuff!