Making clothes for WDW??? Please help!

[I~heart~Mickey]

I have been looking at all the AWESOME threads of people that have made clothing for their children to wear to WDW. Well I need help....

I only have a basic Singer sewing machine.... do I need an embrod. machine?

What kind do you use?

How do you make those awesome appliques?

I am just on such a basic level that I don't know where to start.

I really want to try and make some of these wonderful outfits I just don't know where to start. I have tried looking at www.youcanmakethis.com but I am so lost it isn't helping.

TYIA

 

[Redbudlover]

Best sewing advice I ever got was from my non-sewing mother. She said don't try to understand the whole pattern - just read it once, and follow the steps one at a time....

 

[Tanzanite]

I do not sew but Disboutiquers awsome people who make so many beautiful outfits they know lots about all sewing

 

[Stephres]

I have a basic machine with no fancy stitches and it works fine for me.

Some links that might be helpful:

Great tutorial on how to make an appliqué: http://disboutique.blogspot.com/2008/04/bestest-applique-tutorial.html

If you get stuck, post a question here and someone will most likely know how to help: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1923786

On that thread there is a link to our photobucket account, where you can browse for ideas too. Happy sewing, but be careful, it is very addicting!

 

[TinaLala]

First of all take a breath. So I just started to sew last year and I love it. I had a basic Brother machine and it worked fine. Start with the basic clothes like a pair of shorts. There are some great patterns out there to use like Simplicity 3743. I got this pattern to strt and I make the shirts and the shorts for my girls. The pattern is pretty easy and I can make shorts in a few hours. The shorts are quick straight stitches that don't require a ton of experience. Once the shorts are made then you can work on appliqueing. It's tough and takes alot of practice. I started off with a basic pillowcase with ariel on it and practiced on that (it's cheap and you have two different faces to use) Get a wood hoop to use on your fabric to keep it tight so the fabric doesn't bunch up when you do it. Then work very slowly using the colors of the fabric. I'm trying to find you a site that shows you how to do it.

http://barbarabrandeburg.typepad.com/photos/easy_applique_tutorial/basketblocks_1.html

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20470515&postcount=11484

http://www.everythingsewing.net/appliquelessonone.htm

http://laquiltworks.bizland.com/my_tips.htm

I don't applique. I've tried it and it takes some practice, but if you start making the clothes and then apply the patterns on it, you can be successful.

Here's one of the shirts I did with a three-tiered skirt using a pillow case for a shirt.

Here's one of the shirts I did cutting out a panel from a pillowcase. This is where I learned to use the hoop.

 

[LisaZoe]

There are several of us on a small board who are always happy to answer questions about sewing and other crafts. Here's the board: http://disboutiquers.proboards106.com/index.cgi

We have some tutorials there but some might need to be updated so feel free to post any questions you have.

 

[LisaZoe]

I have been looking at all the AWESOME threads of people that have made clothing for their children to wear to WDW. Well I need help....

I only have a basic Singer sewing machine.... do I need an embrod. machine?

What kind do you use?

How do you make those awesome appliques?

I am just on such a basic level that I don't know where to start.

I really want to try and make some of these wonderful outfits I just don't know where to start. I have tried looking at www.youcanmakethis.com but I am so lost it isn't helping.

TYIA

To answer your questions...

1) No, you don't need an embroidery machine unless you have a specific need for what those machines can do that others can't. I have a basic White sewing machine, a serger and an old Kenmore that is 20+ years old (currently in need of some repairs). There are only a few things I can't do with those but nothing that keeps me from making clothes and other sewn items.

2) I do a lot of appliqué on my White machine. All you really need is a sewing machine that does a zigzag stitch and allows you to adjust the stitch length and width. On the board I linked to above, I have a short tutorial on how I do applique. I think my illustrations are missing right now but the instructions are still there. Here are just a couple examples of my appliqués:

3) I would highly recommend the CarlaC ebooks on YCMT, especially the simpler items like the easy fit pants. You can also find tutorials online for simple projects to try to get comfortable with sewing. In general, I'm not a big fan of most commercial patterns, like McCalls, Simplicity, etc. They can be great if you have experience but sometimes they are not well designed and need a little "tweaking" to get a good fit plus the instructions can be very confusing. I recently bought my first CarlaC patterns and am very impressed with how easy they are to use. I have been sewing for 30+ years so I have an advantage but I know many people who are very new to sewing who have great results with these patterns.