Hey all you lovely ladies and gents. So, coming back to hipforums REALLY makes me want to make my own clothes. Just I'm hitting a snag in that I don't really know anyone who sews so I'm really scared of trying to hit the patterns books by myself and learn to use a sewing machine! I had one when I was young but I struggled with it and just prefered to stitch by hand, but that was never anything intensive. My mom and grandmother never really learned how. So, my question is how hard is it to learn to read patterns? Where did you learn? Did any of you teach yourself? Also, I'm looking to ebay or craigslist a sewing machine but I have no idea of what to look for. What's a decent brand/model and what price range should I be looking for? Also, what are other things I might need to start sewing, especially skirts? Thanks you guys!
I would suggest looking for a very simple machine. If you are just learning, you really don't need to do anything other than a straight stitch and a zigzag. My opinion is that the more cmoplicated things are, the more likely they are to break. :& Maybe I'm just a spaz. As for patterns, you might want to try one of the "easy" patterns. Simplicity has It's So Easy patterns. McCall's has Easy McCalls. Anyway, they are quite easy to read. One of the best things I ever got was an old book about sewing. I found it at a yard sale. It explains how to do everything from making a narrow hem to different tailoring techniques. Once you learn how to do some things, you can make your own patterns. I have tons of old patterns of all sizes, if you are looking for something specific, I might have it. Just pm me. Good luck!
Ebay usually has some simple easy to use machines but sometimes shipping is pretty pricey. I don't know what you have for fabric/sewing stores but the ones around here that sell machines take trade ins when people upgrade to a large/more complicated model. You could buy a refurbished or used machine fairly cheap because of this. As far as patterns go I don't usually use one for my skirts. I have a little formula I came up with and i just measure and draw it out on the fabric, its pretty easy. You can PM me if your interested. Good luck!
Hey there! I just asked my local FreeCycle peeps if they had any sewing machines and I got 4 responses! And this is in a SMALL community. I'm sure if you listed a couple of times, you could find something. I may not like all the political stuff surrounding FreeCycle, but the idea is wonderful and helps so many people. Try it out, people move and don't wanna take something that heavy with them!
Well when i was younger i took a few classes but then i started learning at school when i was on costumes for a play, but i just recently got my first sewing machine, my advice would be to learn how to sew ( just the basics i mean) and then get a sewing machine because you may not like it , i sewed for a long time before i got mine so i got not a really expensive one but mine cost about 350$ and a few good brands would be baby locke and singer. Mine came with about 60 stitches so you can get cheaper simpler ones then that good luck muah!
