I'm really hard on my clothes. I work outside a lot and am just not really particularly careful at all with them. What kind of fabrics should I look at making things like pants out of that will be durable, but not feel like I'm wearing a burlap sack? How difficult/economical is lining a stiff fabric with a softer one and still making the clothing breathable enough for summer? Maybe there are just ways I can re-enforce clothes that I already own, like with patches or something? Anyway, I have a sewing machine and have done basic sewing before, but never something like making clothes. Whatcha think?
i learned how to make clothes from "the illustrated hassle free make your own clothes book" and ive never looked back. patches would work for specific wear points (knees, elbows, wallet pocket), or odd holes (caught thigh on nail, attack cat injury). first reinforce the edges of a hole with stitching, then patch over it, because sometimes the material will continue to unravel under the patch. you can line pants in a couple of ways. you can make them from scratch and 'create' a double sided fabric ( whether careful layering/ pinning, or fusible interfacing or something) and then make your pants out of said fabric. you can also make a "lining" pair of pants and insert them into the existing pants. you could stitch those in, but personally id make the lining pairs separate, so that you can use them in any pair of pants and switch them out. drawstring would be best for that. jean material is good, if you pick a thicker type, but i find it hard to sew (i did just get a new machine, maybe this will change my perspective) and canvas might be durable, but its a little stiff for clothing. http://www.hipforums.com/newforums/showthread.php?t=257871&page=2 i ms painted some basic clothes patterns for that thread
i agree with mothers love. jeans are the best for rough use. they wont get ripped easily and are pretty comfortable too
HEMP CANVAS!!!! It may be scratchy at first, but washed a few times it becomes very soft. It is SO durable.
Linen is a durable cloth as you can wash it frequently with almost no harm to the fabric. There are some fabrics that are mixed with cotton and can be used to make graceful clothing.
to get durability from clothes, than I think we need to choose that kind a fabric for it to last, I think Jeans and anythging linen and cotton works best:sunny:
Jenko Jeans Company has served me well. Those pants all came to me second hand and still took more of a beating than other jeans that felt like the same weight of denim. Though for summer, consider silk. Seriously. It breaths, and if you are selective on your weave, it's tough enough for marshal arts guys to grab and use to throw their opponents. One skinny cenimeter wide accessory belt used by geisha is strong enough to drag a six foot woman accost a stage, even when its old. There is a reason Asia still loves silk best. And don't let the "dry clean only" labels scare you. Centuries of samurai had never even heard of dry cleaning and still managed to wash the blood out of their clothing between battles. Just use gentle wash for hand stitched garments, and never leave it in a wet heap, skip bleach. Low dryer temp is fine if you don't care about wrinkles and will keep mildew away. Line dry works if wrinkles bother you. There is also sashiko embroidery. Though embroidery is the wrong word maybe? Its a running stitch pattern that's a lot like sketching with a needle that was used back in the day to strengthen cotton kimonos. See, the cotton just didn't hold up like the local silk and hemp the working class was used to, but foreign cotton was a status symbol, so they made it work despite it's failings. If you are good with colored pencils, you could probably free hand it, or you can trace out a stencil pattern. Focus on the points you rip the most often. Linen can be good, but depending on what country you buy it from, can also add up in cost fast. It also tends to start rough, but soften with more washings. If you want soft now, maybe you pass on this one. I have never sewn linen hand have only gotten it second hand, though I remain happy with that shirt. It is also wrinkle prone, but irons to a glossy finish. Hemp can also be tough, but if your country doesn't grow it, cost goes sky high on that too. You may be better with plainer silks by the time you add up yardage totals. So far, I have only ever had one pair of shoes made from hemp due to cost and lack of thrift store finds. I learns that road salt makes hemp break down fast, and that it's been used for clothing forever, but not much more. However, the lack od second hand hemp means it either breaks down fast, or it's love at first grope, and net reviews suggest the latter.
Oh, and lining can be a headache. Try making a small lined pouch or pillow case to test you skill before getting yardage for bigger projects, and shun all silky fabric till you have some practice at sewing. I have experience, and I still hate lining. For denim, especialy the thick stuff, non-electric tredles with the foot pedal are AWESOME!!! It's what I learned to sew on, and still what I use for heavy fabric despite my relatively new Brother machine having zig zag features. Those old beasts can sew through leather if your legs are strong enough, but reset the tension and you can sew lace just as well.
