sticky: resources

[yhlee]

Under construction. :) Please feel free to rec other resources and/or notes thereon. I'd especially love to add non-garment sewing resources (tote bags? quilting? ???). If I'm slow to add yours, I apologize - I'm dealing with health/schedule challenges so things may not make it into the post immediately. You can always check the comments for any new resources!

NOTE: Allied ~fibercrafts: Q1 2024.

Construction/How-to
General
- Baba Yaga Costume Design and Garment Construction - aimed at belly dancers, but it looks like a bunch of the techniques and tips generalize. :)
- Megan Grace DIY [YouTube], especially the Back to Basics playlist - From nuh_s: "Basic sewing (for garments) that doesn't skip small steps. Really detailed walkthrough of sewing from commercial patterns and doing basic sewing. This was very useful when I was a beginner."
- Patternmaking for Fashion Design (flat pattern textbook): from nuh_s: "There is a learning curve to using this book and wrapping your head around flat pattern, but absolutely key to me for learning patternmaking. It uses the slash-and-spread method (you draft a set of base patterns and then make copies that get cut up to make new patterns that always fit the original measurements -- No re-drafting!)."

Bags
- DIY totebag - beginner's sewing tutorial [YouTube, not yet tested].

Darts
- How to Sew Darts (beginner/advanced) [YouTube].
- Dart manipulation explained [YouTube].

Pockets
- Thread theory welt pocket tutorial.

Shirts
- How to sew a T-shirt [YouTube, not yet tested] - also introduces sewing with knit/stretch fabrics?

Skirts
- Skirt/petticoat tutorial [YouTube] - zero-waste with adjustable waist.

Dyeing
- Paula Burch's All About Hand-Dyeing
- Bleach dye tutorial [YouTube, not yet tested, sound is iffy in parts]

Fabric
UK
- AmoThreads - deadstock, very varied, some good bargains
- Backstitch
- Cloth House - expensive but nice fabrics, many Indian or Indian-inspired
- Empress Mills
- Fabrics Galore
- J. Hanna - Irish linen, limited colour range though
- Kayes Textiles
- The New Craft House - deadstock fabric with fast turnaround.
- Sew Me Sunshine
- Simply Fabrics


See nou's comment for other possible places to buy fabric (not yet tested).

USA
- Dharma Trading Co. - fabric (especially silk, garment blanks), thread, and dyes.
- Stone Mountain Fabric - designer deadstock, including an explanation of deadstock.

Pattern drafting/making
- How to make patterns from your clothes (clone your wardrobe) [YouTube, not yet tested]

Patterns
- Folkwear - I haven't yet tested one but they have a lot of intriguing traditional/"ethnic" wear patterns. My instructor says that their patterns tend to have well-written instructions. Most are available in print and downloadable PDF.
- freesewing.org - printable free/open source patterns to your inputted measurements.
- Kelly Anorak pattern [Closet Core Patterns] - an instructor recommended this pattern to me (since I want to learn to sew jackets). Rated "Advanced," but probably less advanced than the...pattern book I have in Japanese. Will report back!
- Waves and Wild - various in downloadable PDF.

Pattern printing
UK
- SavvySewist

Sewing lessons
USA
- Fair Fit Studio in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, run and taught by Andrea Eastin: everything from "sewing machine n00b, what do?" to pattern drafting; she's worked in Hollywood professionally as well as creating runway shows in New Orleans. She's terrific, great at explaining, and super nice! She also offers online courses, although I have not attempted that; I prefer in-person and she's local to me.

Comments

[nou]

Thank you for this! My other UK-relevant fabric shop links are below.

Have bought from and would recommend:
https://www.fabricsgalore.co.uk/
https://sewmesunshine.co.uk/
https://kayestextiles.co.uk/
https://www.empressmills.co.uk/
https://www.backstitch.co.uk/
https://www.clothhouse.com/ (expensive but nice fabrics, many Indian or Indian-inspired)
https://jhannaltd.com/ (Irish linen, limited colour range though)
https://amothreads.com/ (deadstock, very varied, some good bargains)

Have only had a sample from so far, but seems good on the basis of that:
https://www.slubbedprints.co.uk/

Haven’t yet bought from but they look interesting and their websites don’t suck:
https://www.midlandtextiles.co.uk/ (large range of paisleys, brocades, Indian wedding fabrics, etc)
https://www.thesilkroute.co.uk/ (silk fabrics in small pieces or by the metre, also sari silk yarn)
https://www.etsy.com/shop/inphyneetee/ (African fabrics)
https://www.fabricuk.com/ (large selection including silk dupion in many colours)
https://www.africanfabric.co.uk/ (artisanal African fabrics actually made in Africa)
https://www.raystitch.co.uk/ (good selection of small tools as well as fabrics)
https://lamazifabrics.com/
https://thenewcrafthouse.com/ (deadstock fabric with fast turnover)
https://www.rainbowfabrics.co.uk/

And a UK pattern-printing recommendation: https://savvysewist.co.uk/

[havocthecat]

I don't know what kind of dyeing you're planning, but I have a couple of bleach-stained shirts that I'm planning on doing some bleach dyeing to: Bleach Dye Tutorial on YouTube. The sound is a little iffy in quality, so I don't rec it if you're migraining, but I found the tutorial itself easy to follow as an instruction.

SewFastDyeYoung doesn't have a lot of subscribers or a lot of page views, but whomever they are, they do seem to have some sewing instructional videos that I haven't watched, but I do find instructional videos interesting and probably will! Especially as my sewing skills are very basic.

A few sewing videos I have watched or are unwatched and in a playlist because I want to make the thing. I basically pick up sewing and costuming skills as needed for the piece I'm making:

How to Sew Darts - Beginner & Advanced (I watched this to try and learn how to make darts for a covered bra project and some other vests, because bodies have curves and fabric does not.)

Dart Manipulation Explained // The What, Why, and How of DARTS - This is more advanced/theoretical, but I thought you'd find it interesting. It was too high-level for me, tbh, at the time and probably still is, but it could be fun?

DIY Totebag - Beginner's Sewing Tutorial - I have not watched, but I do need to make this

How to Make Patterns from Your Clothes (CLONE YOUR WARDROBE) - I have watched this and not tried it, but it generally matches what one of my SCA friends told me about when we were dancing together and discussing making new yoga pants. This is the short version and honestly might be one of those "take notes and experiment on your own in a lot more time" things.

How to sew a T-shirt - I have not watched this yet, but it's also presented as an intro to knit fabrics, which are Their Own Thing. Because a T-shape is easy, but knitted fabric is stretchy and semi-sentient.

I'm very sad that Pinterest has become so algorithmically-driven and filled with ads. It's really no longer what it used to be. I can't really recommend it for finding things any longer because the results tend to be horrifying, but it used to be great for curated craft project boards and sources like this.

[thistleingrey]

Nominating https://stonemountainfabric.com/ (US) for their designer deadstock category in particular. They also explain deadstock so that one may look for it elsewhere; the yarn equivalent, which I've used more, is mill ends.

[rugessnome]

Here's a skirt/petticoat tutorial, for a zero fabric waste project with an adjustable waist: "The Zero-Waste 18th Century Skirt That ALWAYS Fits; Beginner Sewing Tutorial (No Pattern Needed)"

[havocthecat]

Aha. I've been looking for this link for a bit to share here. Baba Yaga Dance - Costume Design and Construction has a lot of sewing resources on this page. A lot of sewing information is passed down orally in the belly dance dance world, and older, more old fashioned sites like these end up having a lot of information that people laid out just to help other people. (Depending on the style of belly dance, it might be Western or non-Western, it's hard to say.) But some of the links are universal, like "Sewing Machine Needles: An Overview," or "Pinless Mitered Corners." Or just a full-on list of instructions on preserving multi-sized patterns.

[nuh_s]

Two resources I would like to recommend -

Basic sewing (for garments) that doesn't skip small steps: Meghan Grace DIY on Youtube (Back To Basics Playlist)
- Really detailed walkthrough of sewing from commercial patterns and doing basic sewing. This was very useful when I was a beginner.

Flat Pattern Textbook: Patternmaking for Fashion Design
- There is a learning curve to using this book and wrapping your head around flat pattern, but absolutely key to me for learning patternmaking. It uses the slash-and-spread method (you draft a set of base patterns and then make copies that get cut up to make new patterns that always fit the original measurements -- No re-drafting!).