Sewing lessons
It's occured to me that sewing is not like knitting for me. While this seems terribly obvious, let me go into detail first: when I was little, my grandmother taught me the basic knit/purl stockinette and garter stitches, so coming back to it several years later was a lot easier and quicker for me. I can teach myself knitting. However, sewing? I'
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Okay, questions:
What would you like to start on? Easiest thing I can think to start is a skirt. Only need to worry about the waistband and how long it is. I have some patterns (boy, do I ever!) which we can modify to your tastes. If you're more advance, we can start with a vest, as it is a good item to go with any wardrobe.
Do you have any material already at hand? I am a snob for natural fibers myself (cotton, linen, wool, silk) but I will go with some man-made material if they have a good hand. In addition, you will want whatever buttons, clasps, what have you to complete the item.
I understand you are a student, are you currently taking classes for the summer semester? Bear in mind, you will want to devote at least one full day to this project, and possibly two. If you have a big term paper coming up, plan accordingly.
As for my household, I have one child (you've met) and two cats. The former can be handed off to my husband while we work, the latter will probably just sit and stare, but if you are allergic, we may want to arrange for a different location, just to save your health.
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I am not allergic to either children or cats, so I think all is good.
Perhaps a skirt is the best idea, it's a good start in general... and natural fibers in the summer is a must. I'll have to pick up my own fabric, but that shouldn't be too difficult.
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I shall message you directly to further the conversation.
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Well, I have the rather unique advantage that I worked in a fabric store for three years. The added advantage that I lived at home (yes, I could stand my parents that much) and one of the benefits was we got to walk off with discontinued patterns for free. I admit, my tastes went to patterns that I could use for bases for medieval variety clothes, but I did pick up some shirt, vest and skirt patterns as well (not as many pants patters as I would like, but thems the breaks.)
As for purchasing new patterns, I think that if you plan to modify a modern pattern, go with a multi-size with the basic shape. Burda and New Look are excellent as they multi-size all their patterns and they can go up to size 20 or larger.
Note: dress maker sizes are different per company, and European sizes are different that US sizes. Also, a pattern size will be different than a pre-made, off the rack garment. Read the sizing instructions and check to see if it has 'finished measurements' on the pattern pieces (most good ones will.)
For fancier patterns, such as Victorian, I am very fond of Laughing Moon Mercantile and Truly Victorian. In fact, I drug out some of those patterns and plan to use them in the near future. The TV patterns are really good, because they are on more sturdy paper, rather than the onion skin variety that will fall apart at a moment's whim. They are more expensive, but they can be copied much more easily.
Hope this helps!
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