The hand embroidery is gorgeous, ILF. I've never had the patience for hand work. Either I abandon it entirely, or I cut corners and it looks sloppy. But I do love the look (which is why I dream of getting one of the machines where you can build the pattern online ). Props to you for having the patience to turn out such nice work!

I've begun teaching sewing, and it's quite interesting so far. I've had people ask me about it before, but it has never been convenient. Recently, however, I got a second sewing machine (quite old, all metal parts, but perfect for some of my uses), so I've relented and started a friend off on quilting, since basic quilts are all straight lines. So far, she's fallen in love with fabric, and she's not half bad at running it through the machine, either. She's still working on getting her lines straight, but it is very nice to have a sewing partner, as I end up doing a good measure of sewing too while she's sewing her strips. She eventually wants to start making clothing, but until she masters straight lines, I think we'll stick with quilts.

Popping on to say that that is beautiful, fine work, IlF! And it would be lovely to see your raccoon project when it's complete.

Kudos to all you talented people!!

Cool about the raccoon piece, IlF! Could you please share a picture when you're done with all the background detail?

Ooh, brave, Wren! I hope teaching sewing continues to go well. And hurrah for getting some of your own sewing done at the same time!

Now that she's seen the LotR films, Summer has asked again about sewing cloaks so it sounds like I shall have to get out my sewing machine and see if I can figure it out (it can't be that hard, can it? ). Though I've got material for a baby blanket, so I should probably start with that since it's been ages since I've sewn (not that I got very far even then). My machine always seems to have tension problems when I take it back out... Also, I need to find a place to set it up...

I just picked up one of my knitting projects again; my goal is to finish this in the next few weeks, and then get to the point where I can start turning my socks (I think I'm almost there). We'll see how it goes.

Thanks all. with my honours project on the horizon it could be some time before they are finish. knowing me about a year.

Val I don't have much luck with sewing patterns. I tend to do hand crafts for quilts etc and only sew that. Over new years i sewed a costume but yeah it didn't go to plan. I should stop free-styling and actually follow templates. Good luck with the cloaks.

One thing I've found with patterns is they rarely fit properly, and it take a lot of study to learn how to properly adjust the patterns themselves, but once you actually do, it works quite well. It just...takes a lot of preparation and study I kind of wish I could just 3D scan myself, sketch onto the scan, and have the finished pattern print out ready for use.

So far, so good for sewing. The quilts are coming along!

Does anyone know of a good source online that can make reading sewing patterns easier? I took sewing lessons a few years ago but a lot of the knowledge has fallen out of my head.

Thanks, IlF. I prefer free-styling too; I think that if I understand how something goes together and have an approximate idea of what I want it to look like, I should be good. Unfortunately, while that works sometimes for cooking, it doesn't go so well for crafts.

Preparation and study, Wren? *squirms* Thanks; 3-D scanning and printing pattern pieces does sound attractive, though. Glad to hear your quilts are coming along!

mm1991, I found a few pages that deal with how-to-read patterns here and here (and a page specifically dealing with pattern markings); are these anything like what you're looking for? Hope they're somewhat helpful.

My knitting is stalled again, though I made it a few more rows; just need to push through.

Valia, I once charged ahead with a pattern change and nearly ruined a wool coat I was working on. Preparation and study for patterning is the ultimate measure twice, cut once.

Are you just looking for how to use a pattern, mm, or instructions on how to edit them? Because I do quite a lot of the latter.

I was an orphanage deep in the African bush just recently and was having some crocheting lessons with the older girls (8-10 yrs old). It was a lot of fun for all of us. One girl in particular kept coming to me every spare moment asking me 'please can I crochet a bit more' (to keep track of materials I kept the hooks and yarn in my room and they would come over to work). Because I was only there for a week some of the girls weren't able to finish their projects before I left, so I told them the night before I was to go that I'd finish it for them. I work till midnight, lol. My bus left at 4 am so not much rest, haha, but I got it done.

Here some of the stuff we did.

click here

My latest obsession is doll clothes, but again, the only yarn here is acrylic and for small dolls like barbies, thin cotton is better. But I learn to make do I have a friend coming in June to visit her parents who live here and I'm going to ask her to bring me some nice cotton yarn (it's light and easy to stuff into a suitcase )

Hey everyone! I'm taking a leaf from Rachael Henley and I want to start learning to hand-knit. I'm thinking about starting my own small freelance photography+knitwear business sometime in the not-so-distant future (already thinking about this and I haven't even begun to learn to knit! Perhaps I'm a bit too ambitious? ). Hopefully this doesn't seem like a dumb question, but does anyone have any pointers for beginners? I've looked around on YouTube and there seems to be a good amount of great knitting tutorials and knitting basics for beginners. Is there anything in particular I should know before getting started? Bad yarn brands vs. good yarn brands, best knitting needles (if any of them are even all that different from each other), etc.? Thanks so much in advance, I'm really excited to give this a try!

So, long story short, I'm in a wedding, and the dress I'm to wear (which was supposed to be custom made) does *not* fit how it should...and it is designed in such a way that I need a strapless bra which, well, pretty much doesn't exist in my size (my band and cup are an unusual combination). I've done structured bustier-style pieces for dresses before, but this one has a relatively low back. Has anyone built something like that before? If you have, I'd be quite interested in hearing what you did.

I'm currently considering doing a warbla piece (padded) for the front, and then attaching it to a bandage wrap sort of back with either hook and eyes or snaps along the side. I'm a bit scared to modify the actual dress, as I would need to open up the cup and add extra stays, and I'm concerned about opening the cup--since it isn't my sewing, I've no extra fabric if I screw it over.

Sewing and quilting are my passion. In theory I know how to knit and crochet, but I never quite mastered either. Which is too bad, since they seem like very portable projects for while you're in the doctor's waiting room or possibly on a car trip. Quilting projects tend to be a big large to carry around.
I used to make most of my own clothes, back when fabric was cheap and I didn't have to alter the pattern much. Now, I only sew clothes for grandchildren (much easier to fit than myself) and clothes for American Girl dolls.
My grandmother (the same one who introduced me to LWW), used to make doll clothes for my sisters and I on her treadle sewing machine. I still have some of them and I love sewing doll clothes myself. When my daughters were younger, I had a lot of fun making doll clothes for them. A couple of years ago, I convinced myself it wasn't ridiculous to have my own dolls to sew for and I now have three AG dolls. I like to make seasonal outfits for them. I've also made a traditional Dutch costume for the blond one since my heritage is Dutch. Eventually I hope to make a Slovenian costume since that's my husband's heritage.
Once I get started about sewing and quilting, I have a hard time stopping!
Here's a photo of the Dutch costume

That dress is quite gorgeous! I've never been much for sewing doll clothing (it's the only time in sewing where I feel my fingers and machine are much too large) but yours are awesome.

I may be teaching a few daughters of friends to sew soon. They've been getting into costuming, which I do (just in case any of y'all missed that), and I've found that old sheets make great bases for quick costumes that can be easily sewn (and just as easily ripped ).

I've found that old sheets make great bases for quick costumes that can be easily sewn (and just as easily ripped ).

Good idea with the sheets. I've also used them to practice with patterns to make sure they fit before cutting into the "real" fabric.

That dress is quite gorgeous! I've never been much for sewing doll clothing (it's the only time in sewing where I feel my fingers and machine are much too large) but yours are awesome.

When my girls were younger, I used to sew Barbie doll clothes. However, I no longer have the desire, the patience or the good eyesight for that!
I understand the "machine being too large" for doll clothes. Set-in sleeves, for instance, need to be done by hand.
I'm looking forward to getting back to sewing doll clothes, but at present, there are too many other projects demanding my attention.

Now that the garden is done with for the year, my thoughts turn to sewing, quilting and embroidery! After having the summer break from sewing, I kind of went nuts last week and now have one baby quilt top pieced, a lap quilt top half pieced and another lap quilt about 3/4 pieced.

I was hoping to make a Quiet Book for my grandson for Christmas, but right now it's difficult to get to the needed supplies in my sewing room as it is currently Ryadian's bedroom.