Modern sewing (as opposed to 50 years ago) - help!

I used your sew a great deal ,
but I don't want to anymore.
I prefer to paint and draw , read or do my writing .
I hated those Burda patterns .
I'd have rather paid a bit more and not had to trace the outlines .
Last year, I sorted through all my patterns and gave most of them to a dear friend .
She's confined to a wheelchair and makes clothes for her daughter ,who is a professional singer .
The rest went to a charity shop .
I've kept my favourites .

Shelflife

I applaud your determination and skill. I was put off sewing at school after a bully of a teacher made needlework classes a nightmare She terrified me - don't think I have fully recovered! 🤣. Sewing on buttons ( a skill I learned in the Brownies!) and repairing a hem are just about the limit of my needle skills.

I think I might have had the same teacher! She used to rap my knuckles with a large pair of cutting out scissors if I was talking or the stitches weren't straight. Terrifying woman but I did learn to sew and needlework was the subject I revised the most for my GCE, so afraid to fail and have to face her!

So much has changed in the last decades in dressmaking.

However, when I first came to Germany in the 70s I had to get used to patterns that didn't include the seam allowance. This made sense to me because different fabrics need different seam allowances depending on how likely they are to fray.

The main difference was the tracing wheel. I was used to pinning and cutting. Here you would lay out a sheet of coloured paper where the colour was some substance - possibly wax or chalk -, then lay the material on that, then the pattern. You ran the wheel along the lines in the pattern which transferred a series of dots from the coloured paper onto the underside of the material.

I liked this because the pattern remained intact and was easier to fold away, but on thinking about it now, I'm not sure how you aligned it with the nap and the grain of the cloth nor how you arranged the pieces for the most economical way to cut.

The coloured dots - which were the lines you sewed along - disappeared easily with handling, or at the latest when washing. The paper came in packs of different colours to stand out on light and dark fabrics.

If you can get hold of this, it would be one way of transferring patterns which are printed on both sides.

Most of the clothes I make (mostly for my grandchildren) come on double-sided pages, so I always trace my patterns on pattern-paper. I also keep them to use and reuse them later 😊 Wouldn't want them any other way! I buy a specific magazine, Ottobre, and for the price of a magazine you have like 20 or more patterns in all sizes! So much cheaper than buying just the one pattern!
They have one for Women and one for Children, please check it out!
www.ottobredesign.com/subscription/single.php

I’ve never sewn a garment in my life! So couldn’t be bothered and it would probably look awful anyway. Just go to a shop .

As Petra says, try a charity shop. They have patterns too, and quite possibly one you might be looking for.
Also see above N4nna YouTube can tell you how!!
Good luck. Not nearly as difficult as you think

AreWeThereYet

^Sad to say I’ve still not used… just haven’t got the confidence.^

N4nna I've spent ages watching sewing channels on YouTube, there are some brilliant ones that teach you everything from what needle to use to what different stitches are for to upcycling old clothes or designing new ones. Practise on old bits and pieces until you feel more confident - an old sheet or pillowcase cut up is ideal.

I could watch them for hours. My save lists are huge 😂

NannaRose I shall give Vilene a try sometime. I like picking up sewing tips and learning alternative things to try. 👍

Sad to say I’ve still not used… just haven’t got the confidence.

N4nna I've spent ages watching sewing channels on YouTube, there are some brilliant ones that teach you everything from what needle to use to what different stitches are for to upcycling old clothes or designing new ones. Practise on old bits and pieces until you feel more confident - an old sheet or pillowcase cut up is ideal.

Trace the pattern that corresponds most nearly to your measurements and cut it out.

@Pearl30 - yes I have tried the Swedish tracing paper, it's much better than ordinary tracing paper, but I come back to the Vilene because it works so well.
Yes, making your own clothes is not always cheap. I usually say to people that, rather like home cooking, you get much better quality for the price.
Having said that, once you have the equipment, the space, and developed the skills, then you can look out for remnants, use up left-overs etc. I buy really good fabric, but rarely pay full price.
I suggest that anyone lacking confidence makes a toile from old sheets or similar. But I do know that for some (rather like me with gardening) the game isn't worth the candle.

I applaud your determination and skill. I was put off sewing at school after a bully of a teacher made needlework classes a nightmare She terrified me - don't think I have fully recovered! 🤣. Sewing on buttons ( a skill I learned in the Brownies!) and repairing a hem are just about the limit of my needle skills.

I had a sewing machine for my 65th birthday July this year… A couple of patterns… couldn’t believe how expensive they were… scissors including pinking shears (the ones I had were my moms, so got to be at least 50 years old…) Sad to say I’ve still not used… just haven’t got the confidence.

This is the first time I've heard of a double sided pattern. I used to make a lot of my own clothes and made lots for my GC but haven't done any real sewing for 5/6 years. I really am behind the times! I don't think I'll bother anymore, too much faffing around.

Hi,
I use Swedish tracing paper. It’s quite strong, easy to draw and make notes on, and can be sewn to make a toile. It comes in 10m rolls and maybe works out cheaper than buying interfacing.

I always trace a pattern. I find it quite a relaxing process and gives me time to think through the sewing process. It also means I can make adjustments to style and sizing easily and I like that the original pattern is kept in tact in case I need to make another size. (Plus I find that they never fit straight out of the packet!).

Hope you find a satisfactory solution.

Another idea would be to buy a duplicate pattern and cut the opposite pieces from each pattern, not cheapest way to do it but less frustrating and time consuming than tracing pattern pieces. As others have said most other pattern manufacturers don’t sell their patterns double sided

You have more patience than me. I love homemade clothes but I’m rubbish at it.

I see that you already have the tracing paper, but I'd add a suggestion (maybe others are looking at this ) that you use a medium weight interfacing (sew-in).
More expensive than tracing paper, but it is much easier to use. It slips less, and when you come to put it on the fabric, it holds its place more easily, so you pin less. It doesn't tear.
As I always have to alter patterns, I have always traced them. I now download, get my local printer to print them in A0 format, then trace off - I bought a huge roll of Vilene for this purpose. I then store my 'originals' in rolls in an old wine box, and my Vilene pattern folds up into a large envelope.
I use 'drawing pens' in different colours to mark up the pattern, alteration and notes on the Vilene.
I then actually make a toile in calico (or an old sheet) but you may be easier to fit than I am!

thesewingplace.org.uk/ is a great place to get support and help with all sorts of sewing. Supporters pay to keep it ad-free, but you can access the main parts for free.

I use a tracing wheel with all my patterns, single or double sided so that I can keep the original intact in case I want to make a different size.

It's quite simple, put the original pattern on top of plain paper and weigh it down with weights, tins of soup or whatever, run the wheel along the lines for the size you want with a bit of pressure and then when you remove the tissue you can see the little dents along the outlines so you can cut it out.

I use a blunt wheel rather than a spiked one so it doesn't damage the original pattern, and use computer printer paper rolls that I buy from an online stationery shop (only £11.99 for a 50 metre roll 61cm wide, so big enough for nearly all pattern pieces and it's not too thick so storing the traced patterns is easy.) I use ordinary carbon paper to mark any notches, darts etc before removing the original tissue pattern, it's easy to just slip it between the tissue pattern and the plain paper while the weights are still in place.

Hope this helps! I'm sure Karmalady will also have lots of useful info for you on this subject - she's a much more experienced sewer than I am, as are several other posters here.

Good luck with your sewing - it's very addictive once you get into it!

Or, have a look around the charity shops and see if there’s something you can adapt.

OK well I have got some tracing paper so that is an option but just adds another step into the process. I assumed when I saw this pattern that all modern patterns were like this but after what Romola says, maybe not? With the tracing wheel, I assume this is just another way of getting the pattern pieces onto the tracing paper, rather than tracing it with a pencil. I will order one and have a go - thank you all for replying.

Can you not use a tracing wheel to mark out the pattern?

I couldn't be doing with that! See if you can find a,similar pattern from a company whose patterns are printed on one side only.

Your only option is to trace one side onto tissue paper and then cut out the pattern pieces on the other side.
I used to use Burda patterns and they were all like this. It's time consuming but doable.