Tag: dress

sewing

How to Make Clothes on a Budget

Jasmine HustonLeave a comment

Hello everyone! Something that I get asked about a lot is how can you make clothing cheap or on a budget. This is hard to find when you’re first starting out because a lot of the prices for fabric are crazy and it might feel like it is easier to just buy a ready-to-wear clothing on sale. So here are a couple of my favorite places to get fabric.

1.) Thrift Stores – You might be suprised by this one but there are so many diferent ways that you can go. Of course you can find pieces that you an alter to fit you and your style but primarily when I’m going to a thrift store with sewing in mind the very first place that I go is to the tablecloths and sheets. My tinkerbell cosplay was made out of a leaf lace tablecloth that I purchased for 4 dollars. My pinafore dress I bought a round table cloth and use the circle that I cut out of the center to make the bib. I also like using sheets for dresses because there are so much fabric there.

2.) In My Own Home – This might sound like a no brainer but I also use the fabric from my own home. As mentioned above I’m looking at old curtains that might have some rips in a couple of different places but generally can be reused or even bed sheets. One of my favorite summer dresses that I have ever made is out of bedsheets and I’m about to start another dress with this same idea.  Either way it is more eco-friendly and budget-friendly if you can reprurpose items you already have to make some fun new things.

3.) Shopping Sales In Store – I’m going to be honest with you, unless it is something I must have in that moment, I NEVER pay for fabric full price. I will always wait for a coupon or a sale. One of my favorite places for sales is Hobby Lobby. The normal prices are pretty good but they have 40% off sales every other week. For the Asrid Cosplay that I am working on right now, I was able to buy a yard of faux fur fabric for $13.50 when it was identical to faux fur they had at Joann Fabrics for $50 a yard! I always shop around when it comes to fabric. I have even gotten some good quality fabric from walmart before.

4: Online – Of course you can always buy fabric online. My favorite place to buy fabric online is Fabric Wholesale Direct. The price is great for most types of fabric and for some of the major holidays they offer 10% off. Also, I love that they have flat rate shipping and after spending so much, shipping is for free. It does take about a week or a little more for it to arrive though so you have to plan way in advance. Amazon is another great place to order online, some of their fabric can be expensive though so I always like to check the local stores and Fabric Wholesale Direct to see what the going rate is for that type of fabric.

Do you have any other tips that are not listed here? Be sure to let me know in the comments section to help others. Have a great week and talk to you next time!

PS: Check out this new reel of a recent upcycling project from some old ripped sheets.

sewing

Pattern Review: Confetti Frock by Lydia Naomi

Jasmine HustonLeave a comment

Hello! I hope that everyone has had a great week! I am so excited to share with you a pattern review of the newly released Confetti Frock by Lydia Naomi. This was released in the middle of the week and I’m so excited that I was able to pattern-test it before the release. Let me tell you. This is the cutest and most comfortable dress that I probably own right now. Don’t take my word for it take a look at these pictures.

Just look how cute that is! There is a couple of details that I really love about this pattern. First of course the sleeves. Lately, I have been into big voluminous sleeves and these are no exception. They are gathered at the top and have a hidden elastic in the bottom to make them super full. Second, I love the length. The ruffle at the bottom is optional but since I’m 5’8″ I need to have long dresses and with the ruffle, it made a nice tea length for me. Something that I was not expecting to like was the zipper. If you look at the image on the left you can see the seam where the invisible zipper resides. I am wholeheartedly a back-zipper kind of person. The zipper of this dress not only goes on the side and into the sleeve but it is still perfectly comfortable.

Some of the things that I love about this particular pattern is how complete the tutorial is. Not only are there pictures and written instructions on every step but there is also a video for each style. One of the styles is as pictured above and the other style has spaghetti straps. In order to be successful you MUST read the Read First file completely before doing anything else. This tells you how much fabric you’ll need, the measurements of the finished garments, sizes, and notion lengths such as the elastic, twill tape, zipper, etc. Some other important information that is tucked into that file is how to do a full bust adjustment. The pattern is for a b/c cup but the adjustment shows you how to make it bigger or smaller as well as how to make it longer and shorter. This is absolutely essential. Please do not skip this step.

Another essential step is when you print out your pattern make sure to use Adobe Acrobat so that you can print out only the size that you need via the layers tab. There are darts and such in this pattern so it gets confusing with all of the sizes if you do not do this. There are quite a few pages, I can’t remember exactly but I want to say around 32 so just be prepared for that.

The dress itself has a very snug fit and is made with a woven fabric with no stretch. With that in mind, I actually went a size up as my weight loves to fluctuate and I wanted to make sure that I would always be able to wear it even if I was a couple pounds heavier. (Just for reference my normal dress size is 14/16. According to the chart, I was a size 20 and sized up to a 22 so be sure to check out the sizing chart.) Because I sized up, I didn’t do the bust adjustment but that might be something I try next time. In the photos above I actually sewed an extra piece of fabric where the cups tie together to keep it more modest. However with the official release she added in the Read First file how to make an adjustment to close the gap which I am incredibly thankful for.

All in all, I really recommend this pattern as it is cute and perfect for spring/summer. It’s very comfortable as well and allows you to be unique. I actually upcycled fabric from old bedsheets to make this dress so get creative with it! If you are interested in trying it out you can buy the pattern from her website: https://www.lydianaomi.com/ or her Etsy store https://www.etsy.com/shop/LYDIANAOMI. Also if you are interested in seeing her tutorials on how to make Style A and Style B check out her YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@LydiaNaomi. What I love about her YouTube channel is not only does she have video tutorials for her products but she also shows how you can alter clothes that are currently in your closet to fit you and gives great tips for sewing. So show some love to this amazing artist and support her small business. If you do try it, let me know what you think in the comments, or if there is another pattern you would like me to try, link it below! I hope you all have an amazing rest of your week!