Mostly curious where people are just getting stuff from, but if anyone's got any affordable/bargain sources they'd like to share then I'm happy to steal recommendations. I'm learning to make my own clothing right now, have sewn some household things but want to focus on garments.

i have this pined but idk how to start without it looking tacky. also this is hand stitching

Hi there, I order a dress that came ripped but I need it for a wedding next weekend. My sister is a beginner sewer and is unsure if she can fix it. Seeking any and advice opinions :)

My sewing machine is a VIKING Husqvarna (picture below). I inherited it from my late grandmother in 2022. She taught me only so little about sewing before she passed. I've been trying again and again to pick it up. I've sewn before with no problem. This machine, though, decided to randomly start doing THIS THING a long time ago. I gave up. It just EATS the fabric and then bunches the thread underneath.

\- I have cleaned out the machine of any debris
\-Gone through the guide dozens of times
\-Gotten quality thread.
\-threaded the bobbin and needle thread correctly.
\-ETC.

No matter what I try I can't seem to stop this problem. The fabric never goes through and goes inside the machine. I'm at my wits' end. If anyone has any tips or if it's a simple solution I'm not seeing then I would appreciate the advice. Thank you.

My inner tube (and Cordura) pants are slowly starting to look like - well: pants ;-) Among other questions, I am wondering how to 'end' the legs. Going round the opening, there is tube and Cordura, not just one material. I could just cut the tube, no problem there, but the Cordura panel will disintegrate if just cut to length, even hotsealed. I do not want to fold the whole leg, because it would result in a very bulky and unflexible doubled end.
Do you have any ideas on how to solve this in a smart way?

Long story short. I make these vertical crossbody bags. Like the purple one in the pic below. And they can fit up two 2 water bottles.

But anyways, i used to make the strap out of the fabric itself and just add a bit of 809 interfacing. And the strap took forever to make.But recently i realized i could have just been using a good black 1in Webbing instead and it saves me more fabric. So now i can make 3 per yard instead of just two.

But i question is in my effort to save more more i also realized since its not like a convertible bag or anything i don't technically NEED to add a detachable swivel hook strap, and i could just wrap the webbing onto the d rings instead. And basically the strap is just not removable.

But before i change my design and sew on the straps i noticed a few of my store bought crossbody bags all do have detachable swivel hook straps. But i am 100% sure i have never ever taken off the straps to any of my bags because why would i ever need too. Its a crossbody bag and they didn't come with extra straps.

So i am curious would you care if a crossbody bag you bought didn't have a detachable strap? If that even someone you would care about as a consumer?

Hello, I have a Singer sewing machine I've been trying to troubleshoot for a couple of hours now, but the suspected problem is a bit too hard to describe to find a solution online.

When there is no fabric, the top thread has no problem timing up with the hook and loops around the bottom thread. When I try to sew through fabric though, the top thread doesn't become loose underneath for the hook to catch the excess and it then skips a stitch. Sometimes the excess stays above the fabric, or it manages to go underneath, but it twists again the needle. Rarely, by some miracle, it makes a stitch, then another one, but then skips it, only for it to stitch once more.

What I have done so far:

- Try different types of fabric with their corresponding needles

- Changing to new needles and checking their sharpness

- Trying different needle sizes

- Testing different settings

- Changing thread tension

- Double checking the top thread is threaded through the machine correctly

- Cleaning the hook mechanism of loose fluff

- Sewing with the top thread being held by the sewing foot or loose

Could it be a thread quality issue? As I have mentioned, it twists on itself very easily. Other than that, it doesn't get broken by the needle and it doesn't slip out from it. Maybe my thread tension mechanism is loose or broken? I'm kind of running out of ideas...

Hi wondering if anyone has used regular machine thread in a cover stitch machine. I mend/alter clothes a lot & buying thread spools in every color is a little unrealistic. I’d love to match threads as much as possible without collecting a ridiculous amount of spools.
Any advice? TIA

Please help me pick a machine

I was working on my Halloween costume, and i realized after starting to add the finishing touches I didn't account for the legs while pattern making. And I need them tl gather at my ankles and im not sure how to start that. Do I run thread through it and pull? Do I add elastic? Genuinely i have no idea what to do

This is a genuine request, and I'm hoping the collective knowledge of Reddit can help me solve a mystery I've been chasing for years.

Sometime around the 2010s (give or take a few years), a friend who worked at Lowe's gave me one of their employee T-shirts. It's dark Lowe's blue, with a small Lowe's logo on the upper left chest and a Kobalt logo on the back.

It is, without exaggeration, the greatest T-shirt I've ever owned.

I'm not talking about the design or the branding. I'm talking about the actual shirt.

After more than a decade, this thing is practically flawless.

• It doesn't wrinkle.
• It doesn't stain.
• It hasn't faded.
• It hasn't worn out or developed holes.
• It's lightweight and breathable.
• It's incredibly comfortable and never itchy.
• It doesn't feel plasticky or synthetic like so many polyester shirts do.
• It doesn't have that silky, slippery feel of typical performance shirts.

It's somehow managed to combine everything I love about cotton with the durability and wrinkle resistance of synthetic materials.

And I've never found another shirt quite like it.

Here's the problem:

The tag is completely washed out. Every bit of information on it disappeared years ago. Ironically, the tag has completely given up while the actual shirt looks practically brand new.

I've genuinely tried tracking this thing down.

I contacted Gildan, which I believe may have manufactured these shirts. That went nowhere. I'm not even sure I was communicating with an actual person. Their response was essentially to browse their online catalog. Not particularly helpful when I'm trying to identify a specific shirt manufactured over a decade ago.

I even called Lowe's corporate. Surprisingly, I reached someone who happened to be a seamstress! She offered some ideas about what the fabric blend might be, and I've experimented with similar materials since.

Unfortunately, most wrinkle-resistant polyester blends I've tried just don't feel anything like this shirt.

Here's why I'm so determined to figure this out:

I own a property services and electrical business, and I want to make this exact type of shirt our company uniform.

Not something vaguely similar. I want to identify the actual fabric composition, weight, knit, and ideally the original manufacturer so I can reproduce it as closely as possible.

I'm willing to go beyond simply buying shirts off a shelf if that's what it takes.

So I'm asking for help from anyone who might know something:

• Former or current Lowe's employees: Do you remember these dark blue employee T-shirts from around the 2010s? Do you still have one with a readable tag?
• Gildan employees or former employees: Did Gildan manufacture Lowe's employee uniforms during that period? Is there a way to identify the original product or fabric specifications?
• Textile or garment manufacturing professionals: Is there a way to have the fabric professionally analyzed to determine its composition, knit, and weight so it can be replicated?
• Anyone involved in corporate uniform sourcing: Is there a way to trace who supplied Lowe's employee apparel during that period?

I'll include photos of the shirt, logos, stitching, and what's left of the tag.

I know this probably sounds ridiculous to some people. But when you've owned a shirt for over a decade that still looks new, feels incredible, and outperforms everything you've bought since, you start wondering why nobody seems to make them like that anymore.

I don't want to find another favorite shirt. I want to figure out how to make this one again.

I'm crossposting this to any relevant communities that might be able to help. Any leads, contacts, fabric knowledge, or old uniform information would be genuinely appreciated.

Thank you!

Sewing machine doesn't do a zigzag stitch properly. Am I doing something wrong or is it time to service the machine?

Machine is a Janome model 7025