Wearables Sewing Project: Basics [ Round 98]

I definitely need to try to participate this month. I have three new dolls that are in need clothes, one that still needs a faceup. Delf JuHee on sdf body type 2 or 3 (I'm not sure, got her in stock at dde but she was listed as being on the type one body,so surprise!), a mnf Tika on the muscle aline body, and a myou tangtang. I'm not sure what I'll be doing just yet for them, I need to go through my fabric stash.

 

I swear this round I'm gonna do something!
I have 3 naked dolls, so I'm sure I'm gonna manage something.

 

Good morning, all. I'm still a little sore from last month's debacle...But no matter. Back in the saddle! Back to Basics, lol!

This month's victim is my Feeple60 Erda (please excuse the lack of picture - I'm having an argument with Flickr, apparently). He's getting a Romantic-Looking Shirt Of Dubious Time Period (AKA a poet/pirate/Shakespeare shirt AKA the basic shirt men wore in Western Europe from roughly the 16th century through to the 19th. Now some of you may be squinting at that and thinking, "There are some construction and technique differences here, bro. A Tudor shirt and a Regency one are, uh, Not the same." And you would be right; but my background is in stage costuming and let's be real I'm not trying to recreate an extant garment here. And besides that, the basic idea of An Working Men's Shirt stayed the same for a WHILE it is FINE) made up out of a soft cotton broadcloth.

As for the pattern, it's rectangular construction and so really more of a diagram than an actual pattern. I'd say it's impossible for me to stuff this up, but after what happened last month, I'd rather not tempt fate.

As always, I'll be doing all the stitching by hand. Thus, I only aim to complete a single article of clothing, rather than a whole outfit.

Good luck to everyone participating! May your threads never tangle!

 

Going to jump in for a change here, with some fairly simple stuff. I had intended to get a nice sweater and maxi-skirt combo ready for Dyane, my MNF Eliya, before she shipped, but FairyLand shipped her way sooner than I expected, so I guess I really need to get on those pieces!

For fabrics (pictures... eventually) I have a nice moss-green knit for the sweater, and a lovely flowy flower-print rayon for the skirt; pattern-wise, the skirt will likely just be a circle skirt to make it nice and full, and the sweater will be using Requiem Art's "Cold Shoulder Sweater" pattern (in a turtleneck/long sleeve/no "cold shoulder" arrangement).

 

Hi everyone! If I can find time, I really need to participate in this round. I have a new tiny girl, who needs everything, so I'll hopefully make a start on a wardrobe for her. Not sure what I'll be making yet. Going now to search through the fabric stash.

@Zavrinas, I got an MYou TangTang as well..

 

I need to take part in this. My dolls needs more basics like stockings and pertticoats (there are never enough petticoats to go around!), especially the SD sized gang.

Somehow I lost track of the previous round - I haven't seen any notificatuions for it in ages.

Teddy

 

@Rurimas same! They just seem to be piling up lol

@GammaVector that sounds great!

@vicemage that sounds absolutely comfortable

@Aeilia isn't she just the cutest thing?? And I was so surprised in the size difference between her head and rourou! She's more comparable to a pukifee size and rourou is more like a lati yellow/realfee

@Teddy I've been having the same issue with the previous rounds. I always subscribe to them, but notifications haven't really been working for me.

 

I think I'm going to make a basic dress to get back into the swing of sewing. I have a red blouse with white polka dots I'll cut up for the fabric.




Well good grief, first I tried to delete my first post and that didn't work. Then I tried to add a pic of my pattern to the post with Eleanor's picture, and that didn't work. I hope my sewing goes better than my posting. I'm going to try and post the pattern again.

 

Alright! I've been lurking for too long, I need to jump back into action, and you guys will be my Accountabili-Buddies!!
I've been toying with the idea of making each of my dollies an all black outfit in their style, but more glamorous, to wear as they're "On Display" ensembles. And I'm going to use the monthly Sewing Projects as my way of picking an order, because frankly trying to decide where to start is mostly what's stopping me

So this month, I'll start with Tamara (photo to come!) She is a sort of mountainy woodland wilderness girl in my fantasy world. Not sure if she's all or any human, or something more like a halfling... but shes got a super bobcat vibe. So I found some awesome boots with fur trim for her, and I plan to make her some two-tone leggings, a leather vest and maybe a fur shrug and hood, if I can find a good fabric!

 

@Zavrinas I got 2 new dolls on the mail last month so I'm overwhelmed by new dolls and their needs!
My two new entries need basic stuff, so I decided I will try to do stuff for both of them, but if I can't manage I have at least to sew for one.
I started an underwear set for my new girl Ferris, a 2d doll head on heydoll body, but it didn't go very well, so I may redo everything, that is bloomers and a very historically inaccurate undercorset (no one wore corsets directly on skin )
I did the mockup of the corset already, now it's being worn by her and stays on with tape (what a sin, sorry girl).
My boy needs.... Everything other than underwear, which I already did. So I'm gonna make a blouse and pants if I manage to find a working pattern. He's a dfh Youguang.
Here the victim(s)
Ferris by Ruri Mad, su Flickr
Youguang by Ruri Mad, su Flickr

 

For me they stop if I read the notification in my email, but forget to click the link ot take me to the thread - no more notifications until I open the thread again (tooke me literally years to figure that out) so I must have missed clicking the link at some point and not noticed).

Seem's we're getting a mix with this one - several new solls needing slothes and a number of us making for existing/older dolls

Teddy

 

Wow! This is a great time to try doing a wearables round!

Week1: 5/1-5/7
* Pick a doll and post their name, sculpt and picture

I want to work on clothes for my Dollshe Bermann in the 70cm Mystic body.

* Decide what you want to make and post a description or inspiration images

He really needs some basic clothes, primarily in white: t-shirts (with iron-on patterns), pants, and vans shoes (I'm aiming for at least 2 of which)

I'll be drafting patterns for him. I'm still a beginner sewist and this round is a great way to practice.

 

Basics are something alle my dolls could use more of. As I have some free days this month too I’m going to try and get things done.

I think I’ll try some more of the obitsu patterns I have (saves me the hassle of making them) and depending on their fit they will go to either my Granado Timtim or Pukifee Mio. The last items I made were way to big to fit my actual obitsu but were really nice on Mio so who knows.

 

This will become the fabric for my dress.

 

@Ellidyr, that's a really cool idea! I hope you'll keep jumping in as you work through that project (or post a journal so I can watch your progress)

 

I'm so excited to see all the eagerness for this round! Kudos to everyone for jumping in - and I think I see quite a few "new" faces as well which is awesome!

Thanks @PoeticSoul for posting again Much appreciate having a captain on the sewing journey all the time

I'm on crunch time for my business, so I think the likelihood of me making anything more than is required for that is low, but I will be cheerleading and I'll share if I do manage to make anything small.

 

By the power of Photoshop, I have a circle skirt template! (I actually decided to just do a half-circle for this skirt after looking at some comparisons of how they drape; half-circle seemed like a little better fit for her.) And there's the nice soft jersey I'm using to make it, so it flows nicely.



As a bonus, while poking around for patterns to favorite on Etsy, I found this adorable summer dress and picked it up. Since I have plenty of that black floral jersey, I figure I can do a dress for her out of it, too. Maybe even some leggings... there's so much of that fabric for just a little skirt. But her preferred style is going to be kind of a casual-modern with a preference for large floral prints, so I may as well make her plenty of stuff from this one, before I go pick another big, bold floral to make more things!

 

Sounds like everyone's got fun projects in mind. If I can unearth my sewing machine, I think I'll do the most basic, basic of all: a modesty robe. I have five (yes, five) dolls showing up in the next few months and they're going to need something. Well, Wesley probably doesn't care, but the others will. Since they are completely different, sizewize, from anything I have, the safest option is my good old standby:



I just need to go through the fabrics downstairs and find which ones the boys (and Anevai) want.

Here's a link to Morgaine and Vanye and their robes on their arrival day. It's the sort of thing where fabric is everything.

Once I'm set up, this is about an hour's work, so I might see if I can get the basics for clothing for them, which means nothing finished, but ready to be tailored once they get in. Probably Tshirts and jeans. Speaking of Tshirts...I've got a bunch of decals I've made for Wiishu shirts from his various travels. This might be the time to finally make some of those up!

Now to see if I can actually follow through on any of this. The garden and the current book are calling pretty loudly, but this is Important, yes?

Oh...the dolls are all Granado. A 74cm Vigor and 70 cm Adagio, and the tiny versions of both. Also a tiny Jane with a Ninth head. They're all characters from my first novel, Stephen and Wesley, big and small, and Anevai. They're going to need wigs and eyes so I might be sewing some fur wigs, just so they aren't bareheaded.

 

So many people joining already, this will be an active round!

I will join too. While most of my dolls do have all their basics and pretty full warderobes, I have one doll whos warderobe needs and overhaul.
The girl in question is Daisy, a Lati Cara head on a Kid Delf body that some of you may recognize from the outerwear round when I made her a coat. This girl dresses almost exclusively in sweet lolita fashion. She is very fun and pretty easy to make stuff for, since almost anything cute, sweet and pastel works for her. This has led to me making countless dresses and other fun things for her, but over time I've neglected the basics, such as a good selection of blouses and, as @Teddy pointed out, there never is enough petticoats. There are dresses and skirts in her warderobe that never gets any wear because of the lack of pieces to complete the coord.

I will probably have more to add to the list once I've gone through her stuff properly, but as of now I know i need to make:
*One short, soft and small-ish petticoat to wear with casual coords.
*One A-line petticoat.
*At least one long sleeve blouse that can be worn on it's own with a skirt. Probably white, possibly pink, depending on what fabrics I have.
*At least one more pair of bloomers.
Head pieces to go with every dress and skirt. I think she has something for most of them, but I need to make sure.

She also have a severe lack of hand bags, but I have no clear plan for that right now, so if that happens it will be a bonus.

@Rubytinker That's a great choice of fabric for that pattern. It will make a great dress!
@Vindalootoo What a cleaver construction. A good way of making a quick and basic robe.

 

So, my intended victim for this round is my pukifee Mio. I’ll be working with patterns from the books in the picture. The two pieces I made before (sweater and thights) fit her so I’m working on the assumption that other pieces will fit too. If not I have a granado Timtim that has the exact same size as the obitsu 11cm body who can inherit pieces that come out too small.

Here is my victim, some of the patterns and the books:


I think the hardest part will be picking something to start with. She already has some dresses so it makes sense to get het socks and thights to wear them with, or pants and shirts since she has none of those.

Time to dive in the fabric stash and find suitable prints...

 

Remnant of good old SCA days...

 

basics means underclothes to me... I'd like to make bloomers for many, starting with front and back bloomers for centaur...
Wanting bloomers by mare joy smith, on Flickr

 

What a great idea. Somehow I never thought to check out the project section on DOA.

I have a soulkid incoming and I was going to prepare some basic shirt/skirt combo for her. But @dailymare brought up a very very good point. None of my dolls have any underwear yet. So I guess I will take this challenge as a motivation to finally sew some underwear.
All of my dolls could use some underwear but I am going to pick Arphen my newest girl (MDF Ani) and create a nice underwear set for her.

 

I'm a little embarrassed. Am I the only resin mom who lets her kids go commando? Only undies I've done so far were these for project runway, and he was wearing a very short kilt. (BTW...he'll be getting a robe, too. Having arrived with a little outfit, he never got one, as he reminds me frequently.) Altho...none of mine wear dresses. If they did, I'd have to make them something. I'm not THAT liberal a mom!

 

Well currently all of my dolls go commando as well regardless of whether or not they wear dresses/skirts. And because skirts are like the easiest piece of clothing to sew most of them wear skirts .

 

I've been lurking for a few rounds now and am hoping to jump in and participate this time around! I'm hoping to sew some summery dresses and skirts for my girls.

 

YAYAYAYAYAY.

 

Not at all! Unless mine are in particularly short skirts or anything that might happen to fall open, they go commando, too (And whenever the mages get their outfits fully done, including "underwear" for their robes, most people would probably still consider what they've got "going commando." )

I actually have no intention of making any underwear to go with Dyane's stuff I'm making this round; she leans toward long skirts, she doesn't need any until that changes!

 

YAYAYAYAY again!

I will eventually have two female types, but If I put either of them in skirts, I think I'll have to lock them up before sleeping at night. I threatened, once, to put my ChicLine, Morgaine, into one one of those super-sexy laced up numbers...the dreams I had that night were not to be ignored! She's into lacing and leather, but only for her riding pants.

 

My mages will all insist to you that they are not wearing skirts, they're wearing robes. I do have some boxers around, but those are mainly because just about any time Ed goes somewhere, he gets pantsed so people can check out his WIP leg mod, so he can at least keep his dignity during those times.

If I do get enough done, maybe I'll join the undergarments train and make the ones that go under the mage robes after all... the skirt has even odds of getting mostly done tomorrow (or fully done if I can find my snaps or hooks). It's all cut out, I just didn't get home early enough tonight!

 

Haha! my dollies all go commando unless the want their undies seen

But for this round, I'm just going for an easy "in character" look, since Tamara, who actually belongs to my sister but lives with me, has never gotten any clothes for herself!





She is a Peakswoods Koonie S (I think) in white skin. She doesn't have a full face up yet, but I'm hoping getting her some "proper" clothing will help her character become more defined and ready for a face up!

 

(Whew) Oooo....I like the line on those pants. Nice.

 

lol the only dolls with undies are the ones that came with them (my myou crew). There are so many great ideas and I'm so excited to see what everyone does!

Ok, so I got around to taking photos and I realized that had an earlier arrival that I had kinda forgotten about and now I feel like a bad owner... oops. So, I will actually have 4 victims this time around, all in need of their own clothes. All my patterns are coming from Etsy (except for one piece that I already made) and mostly ones that I've acquired over a period of several years. And please excuse the seriously messy background in my photos... we're in the middle of rearranging the house to make room for a new family member (yup... another baby) and it's also recycling tomorrow so I'd been breaking down boxes and things for it earlier, and working on the laundry that i needed to catch up on when I was sick.

First up is Melon (who I had forgotten about, Sorry!!!) my tdf jack in fantasy pink skin. And the plan right now is some skirt style overalls or short overalls. I'm still deciding, and I'm probably just going to make her a raglan shirt. The pattern I'm going to be using is the requiem one from etsy. It's just too darn cute! Melon is also in the process of getting another wig. The yarn is all cut and brushed out for it. And she needs her extra blushing and freckles added to her faceup before she's complete.



Next is Peanut a myou 17cm tangtang. She has the same type of pear shaped body as the 30cm yosd myou dolls. my plan is do make her a dress and maybe a little hooded jacket to go along with it. The pattern I'm going to use is one from poppyw on etsy (both her and Melon are wearing clothes they took from other dolls atm...) I really don't like Peanut's wig. It just doesn't feel very nice and since it was her fullset wig that she came with (shoes too, those I do like) I plan to either get her a wig or make one. Though I don't know how far I'll get this round, I'm going to try my best.



This one is going to be pretty difficult for me, so I may or may not get to him this round... My newest mnf boy, Zagan. He's a Tika on the A-line muscular body. He doesn't like standing because of how tight he's strung, and after an incident that ended with his hand flying across the room, I haven't tried to stand him up since. Zagan is different from my other boys and he really just doesn't fit the comfy clothes persona, so my plan for him is to make a simple tailored button up shirt, vest and slacks. However, drafting those patterns for me is not really up my alley... lol so I'm going to resize an SD suit pattern that I got on my old etsy account like back in 2013 I think... the store is gone now, or I'd share it. I don't have any pictures, just the pattern so I'll leave it up to your imagination. The eyes that Zagan is wearing are just the diy kit eyes from dollmore that I got from dde. I just used a couple of highlighters to color them in and then shoved in the dome. nothing special and just a place holder. He also needs a wig, but I haven't decided what to do for it yet... Oh and a faceup... same situation... So. Much. To. Do.



And lastly, is Evie my delf JuHee on a SDF body. Unfortunately I don't know which body type she is. But either the 2 or 3 seems most likely. And I will totally add... holy bosoms... sewing for her chest size has been totally intimidating me. Moving on... I have already started on her wardrobe a bit. I made her some simple shorts and a short cuff sleeved doleman sweatshirt. But that was a couple of weeks before this round began, so it doesn't really count for me. I also made a simple cardigan sweater for her, and I really want to make a cute summery dress to go with it. So I'm going to use the Requiem aline pattern for 1/3 curvy dolls with the full expectation that I will have to tweak the pattern several times to accommodate her body type. Evie is mostly put together, but I messed up her faceup in a few places so I will have to redo it at some point. Just not right now...



That should be everyone this time around, of course all my dolls are in need of clothes, it's just this is probably even pushing my limits this round. I don't have fabric picked out yet, mostly because I only just decided on what I wanted to do. And I might have to get some because I've noticed my stash leans a certain color way... lol. I'll figure it out shortly, I'm sure. That's all for now. Maybe I can get some sleep. (was so tired earlier I fell asleep before 9 and then woke up totally awake at 11:30) Can't wait to see everyone's progress!

 

Mine go commando if the undies give them a VPL in whatever they're wearing over them, otherwise they generally have undies of some sort.

Teddy

 

I've finished the first petticoat and I have added an underskirt to my to do list.

 

Well done!

I haven't even made a start yet.

Teddy

 

So.. since I've got you lovely set of people right here in the sewing thread, I wanted to ask a quick question... Does anyone have tips or tricks for sewing tiny with stretchy fabric? I got lucky on a shirt I made a bit back, but didn't use any "method" per se... wondering if people have success putting some sort of backing behind stretchy fabrics when running it through their machine, or any other ideas?

 

The right pressure on the presser foot is important. You may need a lighter pressure than you use for woven fabric to avoid the machine pushing the material ahead of the presser foot, stretching the material and making the seam buckle.
Look at the presser feet you have available. Is there one that looks just like a regular foot, but with a bit of extra space right in the middle on the underside? That extra space can help to give room to the seam while the feed dogs still get full grip on the sides. This can help with the same problem as lightening the pressure does.
Using the correct tension of the thread as well as a needle for elastic fabrics will also help.

For seems, you can usually get away with a straight stich for anything that is not intended to be stretched out very far. Making the stich lenght very short will give the seam a slight flex. If you need something more stretchy, look in the instuction manual for your machine to see what seams you have at your disposal and what properties they have. If you find nothing, a tiny sig-zag can work too.

Make seam tests before you get started and be prepared to design around what ever limitations you come across. That's always easier than to stubbornly trying to get the machine to do something it just won't do.

 

lacking a fancy machine, I've used tissue paper between the material and the feed dogs to make it feed more smoothly. The tissue doesn't add noticeable bulk and tears right off.

I haven't even found my machine yet!

 

I tend to use wash-away embroidery stabilizer (I have a LOT of scraps of that, it gets used in a lot of my embroidery projects and you can't really re-use it there) to stabilize problematic fabrics for sewing. It usually can more or less tear away, and any leftover disappears completely with a little bit of water.

 

@Lillith @Vindalootoo @vicemage Thank you for this wonderful advice. All things I have the tools/materials to try out!! Much appreciated.

While the question was directly a need of another project.. maybe I'll end up being able to also create some underwear for my personal dolls for this project if I can get this figured out!

 

@maxxxamillion I'm coming from a point of view of handsewing instead of machine sewing, but even so, I would recommend you BASTE the stretchy materials together instead of pinning them. Also, that embroidery stabilizer stuff really is a godsend.

 

I have a skirt!



Mostly, anyway; I can't, for the life of me, find my hooks to add the closure on the back, and I still need to wash away the stabilizer and marker, but other than needing me to go buy some more hook and eye sets, it's basically done. I think I'll do the dress next, then the sweater, just so I can be lazy about switching out the thread in my sewing machine.

 

@PoeticSoul Woah!! That girl is gorgeous! I'm really looking forward to her pretty pink springy dress!
@vicemage That skirt drapes perfectly! And yes, big floral print for the win!

I, too, have made some progress for the first time since............Last October.................

Tamara has leggings and a bandeau! I haven't decided yet if the vest will be long enough or not to need a finished waistband on the leggings, so I guess I'd better dig out some black elastic.....

 

I have finished cutting parts and gathering materials. I have stuff prepared to sew: 5 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of leggings, 1 pair of tights and 1 sweater.

And whatever else happens, I already finished one pair of socks so I've successfully created something this round. Yay!



@Ellidyr I really like those leggings! How did you get those curved seams to look so nice?

 

@PoeticSoul Oh, I look forward to seeing what you do for this doll! I think the colour combination bteween the green and the pink and white fabric is going to be stunning. And it's always fun to see how people deal with unusual body configurations.

@vicemage That's a great skirt. Good choice of fabric, it drapes beautifully.

@Ellidyr I agree with Enitnerolf, those curved seams look great. If it was me I would finish the edge, even if it turns out it won't show when worn, simply to make it more durable.

@Enitnerolf A pair of socks is a great start, We are only a few days in, after all. And those socks are very cute!

For my own preogress I have an underskisrt cut, but no other progress to report right now.

 

Okay, so. Up until the tail end of the 19th century, men's shirts were basically cloth boxes with a slit cut for neck hole and a couple of sleeves sewn on. Depending on exactly what time period you're in, sleeves could range from tapered affairs that sat pretty close to the arm all the way over to the voluminous poofs we see in pirate movies. Likewise, exactly what was going on with the collars and cuffs and gussets tended to vary a bit. But the basic idea - a big ol' rectangle with drop sleeves - stayed pretty much the same. (A list of extant garments from the 18th century, demonstrating the style of shirt I'm talking about, in case anyone wants it: http://www.larsdatter.com/18c/shirts.html)

Now, I'm going for a fantasy style, which means I'm not exactly playing by all the rules. To start off with, I've cut my body pieces in four panels instead of two. The reason why is because I like the way the seam line looks. I've also cut a little bit of a scoop into the front pieces, so that I won't have to fight the neckline every time I pose the doll.

Also for ease of posing, I'll be using square gussets under the arms, and wee little triangular gussets at the shoulder seams. (Both of these are period, btw, especially as you get further down the line into the 18th and 19th centuries.)

So far, I've got the two front panels and two back panels sewn together. I changed my mind on fabric choice and went with a "linen weave" cotton instead of the broadcloth. I'm hoping it drapes a little better. But man, does it ever want to FRAY. As a countermeasure, I'm going around and whip stitching the edges of everything. ^^;

Picture for posterity, though not a very good one:
(Lol, peep how I only started whip stitching after getting the first neck gusset sewn on, RIP)

You may notice that the turned under seam edges on the front panels are Very Wide. This is intentional - I'm gonna run some embroidery up them and I might end up putting some eyelets for lacing in the neck slit section. Not sure yet.

 

I was just thinking about this last night. I sew by hand and was wondering if a herringbone stitch might work like a zigzag machine stitch in stretchy fabrics. Haven't tried it yet.

 

If you sew by hand a regular backstich usually does the job just fine. It's very strong, very stretchy and gives a tight, neat line so there is no gaping in the seams. For hems a regular hem stich is also stretchy.

 

I love your posts. I was a living history reenactor in Texas for the early 1800s and I especially loved sewing my costumes. It's so great to find someone who understands the piecing and sewing of the period clothing. I also spun the thread and wove my own cloth sometimes.

Now my thought is to recreate this period clothing for my doll, but can't find any authentic cut patterns, and my skill is not yet up to drafting my own. I did find a book of pattern pieces from the later 1800s on a free library sort of site where seamstresses would take measurements of their clients and then scale the examples from the book to their measurements. I hope to figure out how to do that doll sized, but really have no clue yet how to start. More internet research

I wouldn't have thought a backstitch had any stretch so would have never tried it. Thank you! Backstitch will be much more stable.

 

@GammaVector Those very wide seam edges on the front are super cool! Your idea of putting embroidery sounds beautiful. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

 

I've made a start. This is the first time I've sewn since my arthritis has gotten bad and I can see the difference, but in spite of some obvious errors and shaky stitches I'm not displeased. I just hope I improve with each new project.

 

So, uhm, guys... I've painted myself into a corner and I need some advice.

My trusted and beloved old sewing machine is going away for a much needed service tomorrow and I don't know how long it will take before I get it back. Worst case scenario I'm looking at something like three weeks.
I have another, newer machine but several of the things I planned to make for this round just can't be made on that one, it simply does not have the precision needed for making tiny blouse collars and narrow hems.

Should I put the projects allready cut away and focus on the pieces that can't be made on the newer machine? From the original list that is pretty much only the petticoats, though and one of them I have allready finished.
Or should I rethink the entire project and try to design something new from scratch with the newer machine and it's limitations in mind?
Or should I just wait and hope that the older machine will be finished quickly and I can continue as if nothing happend?

I knew that the machine would be going away, but somehow I failed to take it into consideration when planning this project.

 

I love the material you chose for that skirt! It drapes so nicely.

Like everyone else, I'm loving the curved seams on those leggings. Also her bandeau is super cute!

The socks came out super cute! Can't wait to see how the rest of it goes!

Commercial sewing patterns started becoming a thing in roughly the middle of 19th century, but they didn't really catch on properly until the late 19th century. Most of the info for how garments were cut and sewn that I've come across has been in things like tailor's manuals or magazines aimed at young, newly married women. I'd be happy to share resources and tips, if you'd like! Any ideas about what kinds of things you want to make?

The start on that bodice looks great, btw! And I sympathize with the arthritis problem. I've got it in my hands as well, and some days are better for sewing than others...

Thank you! I'm currently debating on what color I want to use. I know I want something monochromatic, probably kinda 16 century blackwork inspired...But maybe in red or blue instead of black?

Or, alternatively, I might actually want to go the complete opposite direction and do whitework instead.

Whatever I choose, I'm going to carry the idea through onto the collar and cuffs as well.

I'm not sure if I'm understanding you correctly, but it sounds like most of your planned projects can NOT be made on your newer machine? Only your petticoats can, and one of them is already finished?

Honestly, if I were you, I'd try to rejig the plans into things that CAN be made on the new machine. The stuff that's already cut will keep until another round. Better to redesign now than to wind up in a time crunch at the end of the month with a bunch of things half-started but nothing able to be finished due to not having access to the right machine, at least in my opinion. It's still a pain, but changing gears now means you don't have to deal with the stress of hoping the old machine gets back sooner rather than later, or the disappointment of not being able to get the things you wanted done.

 

Yes, you understood me right. I don't think I would be able to make the stuff I had originally planned on the newer machine in a way I'd be happy with.
And thanks for the advice! You are probably right about redesigning.

 

If there's one thing this hobby has taught me, it's that if you have a gut feeling you won't be happy with something, trust it. Trying to half-ass or settle for second best only leads to frustration in the end.

 

Very true!