Starting to Sew Clothes for the first time...

[Marietta Graziella]

Fun garb pattern from JoAnn's, on sale                           .99
6 yards of bargain table fabric from Wal-Mart                $5.99
Hours and hours of sewing, ripping, and sewing again      $100  (Hey, your time is worth more!)
Showing up at fest with an outfit you made yourself       PRICELESS

For everything else at Faire, they take Lord Master Card or Lady Visa. 


The whole point that people are making is take things at your own pace.  Start with McCalls, or Margos, whichever works for you.  Buy cotton/poly blend for $3.99 because you love the color or go for the $36 a yard pure silk to be H/A.   Take a class or get books from the library and dive in on your own.   

You will get help from the wonderful people in this forum no matter which route you take.   The key is not to be afraid (something I constantly struggle with!).   I get so caught up in "what if I do it wrong?", that I forget how much fun it is to be wearing it in the first place. 

No one on this forum has ever made me feel "stupid" because I asked questions, sometimes over and over again.   This is a safe place to learn. 

*as a side note about commercial patterns:  Sometimes the instructions can be confusing.  All the lines and markings like heiroglyphics.  The triangles, circles, and squares like a geometry problem...  When I very first tried sewing I'd never done it before, had no teacher, and no books.  I bought a pattern (paid $12.00 for the damn thing since I didn't even know they went on sale )for placemats.  Yes!   Sounds silly but ultimately I knew how they were supposed to turn out, rectangle, duh!, but I followed the instructions and some of those markings started to make sense.  I got to see first hand what the terms meant and how it translated on my next project- a princess seemed bodice.    

[silverstah]

The whole point that people are making is take things at your own pace.  Start with McCalls, or Margos, whichever works for you.  Buy cotton/poly blend for $3.99 because you love the color or go for the $36 a yard pure silk to be H/A.   Take a class or get books from the library and dive in on your own.   

And remember... IT'S ONLY FABRIC.

I know that lots of folks (myself included, sometimes!) have a big fear of ruining their fabric.  Grand scheme of things - if you totally muck something up, you can likely re-use the fabric for something else - and if you can't, IT'S ONLY FABRIC.

All of the "experts" started from the very beginning at one point, and are only as good as they are now because they dove in, tried new things, and practiced.

[CountessofPhoenix]

I have a friend that gave me $50 a yard boiled wool for my daughters' jackets and the trim that went with it, $20 a yard.  Scared me to death, but I cut their jackets out. They wore them for years. Fear limits what we can achieve, just dive in and go to it. Nobody starts as an expert, we all start at sew a straight line. I have ripped out miles of thread. Probably have more miles to go.
Remember no question is stupid except the one you fail to ask.

[Charlotte Rowan]

There's nothing wrong with using a commercial pattern.  Just be aware that they are very variable as to historical accuracy, fit, and readability!  you'll get used to them!  Just be sure to buy to measurements, not what you are used to wearing in ready to wear clothing.

NO kidding! My measurements line up with a size 12-14 in pattern sizes, and I usually wear an 8 in pre-made clothing! Eek!

[Artemisia]

The theme I see right now is patterns...

Please remember that not everyone can figure out patterns from directions in a book.  I bet many of you started to learn the basics of sewing from patterns.  Some are terribly gifted in the engineering department. Most of us are not.

My suggestion is to do what you feel comfortable with and what you can get assistance with on a local basis.

{05/18/2008}  due to people being technical...  many of you starting leanring to sew by using patterns.  Not all of us got that "gem" of a teacher who taught you to sew with out a pattern.

Never used a or learned from pattern and never had a teacher.
Took one sewing class when I was a kid. My teacher said I was terrible.
The way I learned was to read dress diaries and recreating what has already been made and explained on websites. If I don't know a technique, I google it. The internet is a wonderful place. Ask and read, read, read.

Disclaimer: This is the way that works for me. Everyone is different.

[LadyStitch]

One thing I have learned is that NO ONE is perfect.  The look on the faces of my fellow costumers when asked to make a sample book of different basic techniques still stays with me.  Most of them didn't know how to do it all. 

No matter who it is I tell people to get the Singer basic Sewing guide from a books store new or used.  It is 10-15 bucks and explains the why & how of alot of the basic techniques in big bold pictures. 

I volenteered to teach the local theater's actors a basic sewing class. (just in case they needed to fix something) 
We started by making napkins (to learn how to sew in hem on a machine)  A draw string bag (to sew in a straight line)   we moved to making place mats edged with bias tape. Each project we did was made to learn a technique they would use later. 
By the end of it they were making their own cloaks.  Some of them turned out really amazing.

As for patterns VS drafted patterns.  When I first started I like the very basic patterns because they explained stuff simply.  I have had professional training and it still drives me nuts scaling up patterns from books.
I wouldnt' try drafting patterns until you understand how to use a commerical pattern.  When you get that far I have books I can recomend.  Until then...
1)  Find something simple you like
2) Start in the scrap/clearance bin.
3) Keep trying.

The best example of this is ....  I had a lady come in and wanted to start sewing.  I found her a basic pattern for a dress.  We found her the right amount of fabric in the clearnance bin (.5 for bodice of one fabric. 2 yards of another contrast)  she made several this way until she could make them in her sleep.  Her first one's she ended up donating to  Goodwill/Local theater.  Later on she graduated to some amazing velvet dresses for her daughters.  She started simple and built her skills up slowly, practicing. 

I wish you luck.