(no subject)

[selainwhoami.livejournal.com]

Hi all,
Lately my wallet has been feeling the pain of the season and my dreams of buying EGL clothing are slowly diminishing. But alas, there is hope! I keep thinking that I could learn to sew, and then I could make some of the items from the patterns in the GL Bibles and such. I have access to a sewing machine but I have no clue where to start really. I realize it's a skill picked up by practice, but I have a lot of time on my hands right now and the drive to do it! Does anyone have any good pointers or know of good resources that would help start me on the way?

Comments

[memeloli.livejournal.com]

the only pointers i could ever give is probobly the most obvious. Just start. Find something you like and wing it. Have lots of paitence though because you WILL mess up from time to time. Also when it comes to the GLB's just look at the pics VERY VERY closly

[silentsecret428.livejournal.com]

a pattern from the gothic lolita bible and a great tutor to teach you in your area * HoEEeeeeeeeeeeee ~!!

[clarice.livejournal.com]

My advice would kind of be the obvious I guess. If you've never sewn at all and don't have an expirenced sewer to stand over your shoulder and help you, then I think the most important thing is to start small and avoid big frustration. Just to get a feel for the machine, make a couple pillows or pillow cases (round and square). Expirement sewing trim on (lace or otherwise.)

For your first "real" project, a skirt is a really good choice. A basic EGL style skirt is an easy project, so long as you're dilligent about following the pattern and working slowly. I haven't used any of the patterns out of the bibles, but from what I understand they're no instructions at all and the patterns themselves are meant for intermediate sewers. You'd probably be better off using a commercial pattern or buying the Homemade Gothic and Lolita book if you think you're going to stick with it. You'd definitely have to work up to most of the Homemade patterns (and the instructions are all in Japanese of course, although there are pictures) but if you're fastidious the main skirt would work quite well for you.

Materialize wise, start small. Nothing's worse than learning to sew and ruining expensive materials. (It's the biggest disapointment; I think we've all done it at some point and it's just sooo frustrating.) For your first EGL skirt, use eyelet lace (instead of venise -- too expensive; or polyester -- cheap but you won't like the final result) and a basic cotton solid or print. If you're a Wal-mart shopper, you can get pretty good looking $2 or $3/yd fabric and eyelet's only $.33 a yard. (If you're not a Walmart shopper, fabric will probably run you $3-ish a yard, eyelet lace about $.80/yd). From there, you can make several skirts, each for less than $10, and get a good feel for basic sewing technique. From here, you can start mucking around with headpieces and work up to jumpers and blouses. There's a big jump, skill-wise, from skirts to blouses, so I'd recommend a good foundation before attempting a top. Aprons are another good way to bridge over.

[selainwhoami.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestions! I was planning on starting small and I figured it would be a long time before I could use a pattern from the bibles. I'll definitely have to check out the fabrics at Wal-Mart sometime.

[mickey802.livejournal.com]

skirts are probably the easiest thing to start with...

I havent started sewing lolita skirts, as I am waiting for my petticoats to show up so I can make sure that the petticoats are what I wanted (they are my grandma's from like the 50s) and change them in anyway so that they work..

if you make a skirt with a not elastic waistband (I dont know what its called) you can practice gathering, and with anytype of skirt you can practice sewing lace and whatnot, as well as hemming (which might be harder on a skirt depending on the shape of the skirt... also... a skirt seems like the easiest peice to draft a pattern that will fit you...

also try making headpeices.. I have yet to figure them out on a sewing machine, but if you can, then yay, and if you cant, then there is practice at sewing by hand.. lol.. bags are easy, necklace chokers are easy... just try a bunch of stuff

blouses are pretty easy to find and embelish at normal stores, but some of the sewing patterns i have seen have beautiful lolita style blouses, so check that out...

oh, if your still reading this (im in a really talkative typy mood).. another easy thing to make is bloomers... I just made some and they rock, it was a short project (well, it would have been if I hadnt taken a weeklong break before I added the lace and elastic)...

[chuppie.livejournal.com]

LOL I buy most of my fabric at Wal-mart too. They have a pretty good selection of standard stuff. I suggest buying a sewing resource book, my boyfriend gave me one and it has helped me out alot. For your first project I suggest sewing a small pillow or just practice on a square piece of fabric making straight lines of stitches. I suggest buying the Handmade Gothic & Lolita sewing mook. I has some very simple accessories that you could make. Good luck! ^_^

[sakurafairy.livejournal.com]

I would suggest if your tight on money and not quite ready to jump right into sewing, thrift stores and remake are a great way to start. Find skirts and stuff with good shapes and then add lace and stuff.