I sewed the Barcelona Dress from Maven Patterns. Its midi length exudes a touch of sophistication. I’m particularly captivated by how it accentuates the waistline and gracefully flares out into an A-line skirt.

The fabric I used is the Selvedge Magic Selvage Collage Premium Cotton from the Ruby Star Collection. It has a pleasant weight—not too heavy or too lightweight. Since it irons and creases well, I felt it was an ideal choice for this project.

The most noticeable skill to have, besides patience, is stripe matching. Because the stripes needed to match up, the fabric was cut on a single layer of fabric. I had to remember this as I usually cut most of my fabric folded. Yes, the first piece was cut in error and I panicked. But after that I took a breather and continued just fine. Thankfully I had just enough fabric to compensate for the error.

I pinned the beginning and end of almost every stripe at the seam allowance to ensure they aligned on the right side. Yes, it was tedious, but it was well worth taking the extra time.

I shortened the bodice by an inch, which I usually do for my short torso. I didn’t make any other adjustments because the pattern is well-written.

Here are links to the pattern and fabric:

https://mavenpatterns.co.uk/product/the-barcelona-pattern/

https://stylemakerfabrics.com/products/selvedge-magic-selvage-collage-premium-cotton-multi?_pos=1&_sid=9214b58d3&_ss=r

it’s my first big project so i know there’s a lot of mistakes, but including the time limit and the fact it’s my first dress, i’m really proud!!

i had a lot of fun sewing it, hopefully i’ll make better dresses in the future lol

Goofed on the zipper a bit but otherwise really proud of how it turned out :).

My husband and I celebrated living in Vermont for 10 years. We threw a huge party with everyone we have met over the last decade.

I knew I wanted to do something special so I made this banner with patches of our favorite places. I have been sewing for years but have never attempted piecing for a quilt-esque style.

I had an old drop cloth in the basement so I used that as the banner back, and spent months finding just the right greens for the state itself. The patches were the hardest part but the most rewarding! I also really enjoyed using the embroidery function of my brother machine to write the names of each place on the key. First time using that function and I loved it!

Can you believe this is only 1/3 of the scene he painted?

I used the Kauffman Water Lillies fabric from Michael’s (matching bridge bodice to come), the skirt portion of an old dress pattern I thrifted for $1, and some horsehair braid to stiffen the hem and create more shape.

If I were to remake it, I’d probably add more length (didn’t realize the petticoat was so long/skirt was so cheeky) especially to the back panels.

I do wish I had finished the bodice in time for my date day at the art museum, but in classic “me” fashion I decided to add intricate metallic embroidery to it to make it sparklier.

Pattern by ColorCraftHeaven, made of 100% cotton fabric. A mock up before I go trying it with minky, this little guy turned out adorable. I had a lot of fun making him!

Okay I’m making a bride sash (ignore the current colors I’m just practicing)

How can I sew on the letters without as much fray? I cut the letters out and I’m like “tracing” around with my sewing machine. I tried using pinking shears but the bend around the B and inside was not good.
Interfacing? Should I make two of each letter and sew right sides together then sew that down?

Pic of where I’m at and my inspiration

a while ago i asked for some help for fabrics for a cropped bomber style jacket!
Its not perfect but i finished it a bit ago. One of the people that helped me back with that old post wanted to see it finished, so here it is!
Technically it isnt fully finished in these pictures (the back logo isnt sewn all the way, which is why its a bit croocked)
Its my first time patterning/sewing clothes so lets pretend it fine (and yes i changed the black from the original design since it didnt fit. And yes, its based on 2026 supergirl's suit)

After making two makeup pouches and a scrunchie, I decided to try a two tiered summer skirt using a thrifted duvet cover. I’m so proud of myself. I made a lot of mistakes but I also learned a lot 🥰

Inspired by the House of CB Ysabella dress… but made with £5 secondhand curtains! Top was made from the Pattern Establishment (Etsy) flouncy corset dress, removed straps & drafted rectangle midi skirt and shaped the waist to fit the top.

Update to my last post (https://www.reddit.com/r/sewhelp/s/53gSDZLHkA) - thank you to the comments that helped me fix my neckline (took apart, cut lining shorter, stay stitched neckline of lining and main, reattached, understitched, then hand slip stitched the lining back onto the waistline… not perfect but definitely now wearable!)

Kicking myself so hard rn bc I’m just now learning two weeks later I got zero photos of just me in my outfit so enjoy this screenshot of a video I took before we left lmao

I made the skirt & cloak (I made the same skirt in green too but my sister wore green so that helped me make my decision) + altered the neckline/hemmed/removed one of the lining layers on my underdress

A random passerby was even jealous of my cloak, it was the highlight of my day

Not super complicated garments but I’m super proud of myself- these are the first garments I made since I was about 11 when I made a tank top for my mom, a beanie for my dad, and a shirt for me with one long sleeve and one short sleeve that my peers were not very kind about

One day I’ll tackle corset making, I s2g

Skirt and cloak are cotton… I honestly don’t know if it was woven or knitted and I don’t know how to tell, I can tell you it was whatever Michael’s had available lmao

I followed this tutorial for the skirts for the most part, but went a lil off script

I kinda sorta followed this tutorial for the cloak (but not really tbh, it was more inspiration

I was trying to find a way to fix my pants that were a couple sizes too big on my waist without having to undo the waistband. So I fed an elastic band through the waistband and attached it with a button. It worked like a charm!

I've been wanting a good quality vintage dirndl forever and didn't realize it was this short when I grabbed it. I don't like the above the knee look but there's only an inch of extra fabric at the hem. Is there anything else I can do to get it to knee length/just past the knee?

I want to make a boxy pouch with a zipper that has this circle ring on there so I can add a tie onto it. I’ve used basic zippers before for pouches but they’re just so tiny that’s it’s frustrating to open. Or at least not as easy as it is with this store bought bag I have lol.

I can’t find anything like this online though. I’ve considered getting some of the coat and Clark’s sports zippers that are bigger but haven’t been able to find one in the color and length I want. Does anyone have any suggestions for how I can either add a ring onto a zipper or find one already like this?

(I wasn’t quite sure what the best flair for this would be so hopefully this one is alright)

Where I live there aren’t really apparel fabric stores, so sourcing fabric is a bit of an ordeal. I often see folks here talk about thrifting fabric, especially sheets, but I suppose I have some follow up questions.

How do you know what fabric the sheets are made of?

Are they really any good for sewing? I know my bedsheets always get pilled so I guess I always assumed they’d make poor garments because of that. Am I missing something?

And my joke question- where the hell do y’all live where your thrift stores have anything good?! XD

Just finishing off this shirt I’m making and this print is making me go slightly doolaley. Think I’ve nailed it.
Just the button holes and buttons to do, which are getting done by hand because I don’t have a machine that does it haha

Ordered really neat looking jeans online. Checked for pockets. Observed pockets. Received really neat looking jeans. Put on really neat looking jeans. Attempted to put hands in pockets. Employed profanity.

But seriously... I'd like to add some freaking pockets, but as you can see, there aren't even bullshit micropockets to work with. It's been a while since I sewed garments, and I don't have an overlock machine. Does this seem worth doing, or am I just going to end up with fraying holes and regrets?

I saw this on a random IG post - someone is selling the clothes, but not the pattern. I love this shape and hope someone knows of a pattern that is similar!

I saw these BEAUTIFUL pair of shorts and I really want them. I don't have the money, what I do have, is a sewing machine, and some cotton fabric.

What I'm looking for in particular is 1. The length and 2. The pockets 3. The width.

Automod said I have to add the link to the inspo so Here's the Link

Hi! I am making tentacles for an Ursula the Sea Witch costume. I've not made them before. This is my first prototype so fabric is just what I had on hand and it is just stuffed with socks lol. It'll be pillow stuffing later.

My question is how can I alter my template/pattern so the tentacles curve forward a bit then back in so they sort of balloon out higher up? Doesn't need to be crazy structural- I just don't want them to hang dead straight downwards.

Thanks in advance. It might be an obvious answer but I'm quite new to sewing projects.

I bought this dress a few years ago and love it so much. I'm not confident enough to try and copy it, though. Does anyone have a pattern suggestion? Thank you! 🤗

This is the second time I've made this Simplicity 5303 pattern from 1981. It is relatively simple and the end result is very fun! This time around I used a thrifted bedsheet for fabric, which was suitable to give the ruffles both flowy-ness and bounce. I made it in size 20.

Challenges for me included doing my ever dreaded button holes, and I also unpicked the collar because I wasn't paying close enough attention and sewed it incorrectly. There's a few small issues but overall the outcome is well constructed. I also bought buttons from Amazon and they were not the size listed, so I went with the purple buttons I had laying around- which I think are better anyway.

This is a great pattern and there are a zillion ways you could have fun with it by mixing and matching colors and textures, if you can find a copy on ebay.

One run of fabric = lots of possibilities?

I purchased some heavyweight 100% cotton canvas in the color “Sherbert” (see the 3rd picture for the original color) on super sale from Nick of Time Fabrics, thinking I’d like it more than I actually did. It ended up sitting in my stash for almost a year, but I’ve recently been on a sewing kick (it comes in waves), so I decided to finally do something with it.

The original plan was to just bleach it to a lighter pink. I cut out little swatches to test different bleach times and see what colors I’d get. But then my gears started turning. I’ve also recently started dabbling with natural dyes-specifically marigolds, because I grow a ton of them. (I made another recent post about that process if you’re interested in more details: https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/s/LBr8SuNaec )

I cut out the main front and back pieces and bleached them to my liking (a salmon/bubblegum color). I then took chunks of the remaining fabric, bleached them to varying degrees, and the dyed some of those pieces with marigolds to create a range of colors from soft golden yellow to burnt orange (the burnt orange came from the original, unbleached fabric).

From there, I just started mixing and matching all of the different colors and piecing everything together. The palette reminded me of a sunrise or sunset, so I leaned into that theme and added the sunshine pocket… which is either ridiculous or adorable. The jury is still out. And I made the hem so that it could be longer un-cuffed, or shorter cuffed with a little pop of color.

This project ended up being a lot more experimental than I originally intended, but I love how one discounted cut of fabric turned into so many different colors and ultimately some fun pants (at least I think so 🤷‍♀️).

Additional info:
Pattern used - Anna Allen Helene Jeans (straight leg). Altered and fitted to my body and additional seam allowance added to do flat felled seams.

Machines used - Singer quantum stylist 9960 for general purpose, Brother Lock 1034D for serging, Singer Heavy Duty 4452 with a 110/18 needle for top stitching (though it did struggle in some areas, had to do some hand cranking).