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Congratulations! You’ve chosen a wonderful and practical hobby! I took sewing classes in my early teens and did nothing until years later, when I wanted to make a Halloween costume. Thank goodness for the internet! I’ve found YouTube to be an invaluable tool. If you’re old school, your local library has books on sewing.

If you’re serious about sewing, you’ll need a machine. I love my Brother cs6000i! It is priced well and comes with a lot of accessories (including a walking foot!), is very user friendly, and has great reviews! You don’t need a new machine, you can purchase a used one and be just fine. Try yard sales or thrift shops. Most companies have downloadable manuals for their machines if your used one does not come with one.

Other supplies you’ll need:

1. Thread
   
2. Needles, both machine and hand sewing
   
3. Scissors; purchase two pairs. A nice pair that you only use to cut fabric, and a cheap pair for cutting out patterns, stabilizers, interfacing, zippers, etc.
   
4. A seam ripper, although you might hear it called a stitch picker
   
5. Chalk or washable fabric marker
   
6. Measuring tape
   
7. Pins, a pin cushion to hold them
   
8. Seam gauge
   
9. Iron and ironing board
   
   Except for the actual machine, most of the items you’ll actually need are relatively inexpensive. Things just add up when you get to the fabric store/ sewing center and want to buy everything!
   
   
   Depending on what you sew, the following items are helpful:
   
10. Thimble
    
11. Needle threader
    
12. Thread snips
    
13. Tracing paper and wheel
    
14. Pinking shears
    
15. Cutting mat and rotary cutter
    
16. Fabric glue
    
17. Fray check or similar
    
    
    Don’t go out and purchase a bunch of notions right away. Buy your buttons, zippers, ribbons, etc. as you need them for each project.
    
    You might try some simple craft projects like this pouch to accustom yourself to sewing and your machine before you tackle clothes. You can search YouTube for project ideas and tutorials. Some of my favorite sewing channels on YouTube are:
    
    
    
18. Made to sew
    
19. So sew easy
    
20. The Crafty Gemini
    
    
    Hope these help and happy sewing!

Pattern drafting and clothing sketches are two entirely different things. I didn’t get much out of school in terms of sketching but some books that helped me were Illustration Techniques - Takamura Fashion Illustrator - Morris and this one which was a textbook of ours Fashion Drawing - Bryant. When it comes to flat pattern making, “art” and “drawing” have little to do with it, it’s measurements, rulers, curves, tracing paper (medical doctors office paper is my favourite), cardstock “oaktag” paper, mechanical pencils and the foggy kind of cello tape you can draw on. Basically you learn to make a bland sheath to fit the body first (“block”) then you can learn to manipulate the block into different pieces and designs and there you go, you’re drafting. It’s the whole reason I’m in school right now and if they had it on YouTube I would never have bothered enrolling.
The best books for that are first and foremost Patternmaking for Fashion Design - Joseph-Armstrong, Patterncutting/Patternmaking - Chunman-Lo and I’m looking forward to getting The Costume Technician's Handbook (3rd Edition) - Ingham/Covey which a classmate said is great for blockmaking, and Metric Pattern Cutting for Women's Wear - Aldrich which I’ve been told is a staple.
As far as editions, the later ones of Patternmaking for Fashion Design are better for basic block making and they have way more than the earlier ones, and the girl who put me on to the Technician’s book said the 3rd is essential. The rest I wouldn’t really know because I haven’t used them extensively. Afaik Chunman-Lo’s book has only one edition.
There’s also Fitting and Pattern Alteration- Liechty/Rasbrand/Pottberg-Steineckert. We haven’t used it yet but it’s on the curriculum.
With these resources either bought or borrowed from the library you’ll learn everything a fashion student learns. As far as sketching goes, YouTubers are out there and can help, and practice makes perfect.
I hope this helps. Post progress photos so we can see how well you’re doing! Good luck.

>As a spoiled daughter

>now that I'm older (18)

I dont know if you just dont realize how you sound, or if you're doing that on purpose. Thanks for the giggles.

Your machine should straight stitch, zigzag stitch. When i started i didnt do anything other than that really. Even today, most of what i do involves that.

Im assuming you know how to use Google and Youtube's search bar. Type in the kind of seam or technique you want.

>4) I have no clue what I'm doing. I only have visions of what I want to make. Anyone have tips?

Hire someone? Start much smaller.. like pillows?

The first thing i assisted sewing with was a Marie antoinette style gown. The second thing i made, I drafted the pattern and sewn myself - It was a playboy bunny suit, drafted by wrapping press and seal around my body. I used google and youtube, just typing what i needed to know as it happened. HOWEVER. Thats a god-awful way to start (press and seal is uncomfortable.)

Get a machine with the basics. Other people can probably tell you better machines, but i got myself this one. I like it, think its fine, i know some people have different opinions.

After that, sew a couple pillows. Thats boring and sucks but whatever do it. Do a couple more projects like that, like aprons or something. Things you can do with cheap fabric that you wont be sad about fucking up.

Get some patterns from McCall that you like. They have basic ones and stuff. Do them. Follow the directions. google questions, if you dont find the answer its probably here. use the search feature first...

Then, after a while of doing patterns, getting used to how patterns work and come together, try and make patterns on your own. Google it.

If you read all that and thought "well sewing pillows sounds boring and im probably good enough to skip that (even though i dont have a machine nor have i stitched a thing before) and McCalls patterns look ugly" then congratulations you're just like how i was and i have no advice for you, because we dont deserve advice or hand-holding. good luck.

I have this Brother CS6000i

I really love it and when I took a sewing class the instructor used this same model as her "traveling machine".

It looks like it also won some Women's choice award for most recommended machine.

Good luck!

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000JQM1DE?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Both Vogue and Readers Digest have pretty good books that cover a majority of techniques. That will cover the basics, but if you think she would like something a little more fun and less textbook-y, you could try this and this. The authors both have blogs that I follow, and I really like them!

If you don't want it to hang like a rag, it should have some interfacing. It will make the wool kind of hard and flat and for real clothing is considered a cheap look, but this is a costume. This book is a quick introduction to hand tailoring, machine tailoring, and a hybrid method and has good photos. Follow the instructions for machine tailoring. The article by Kathleen Fasanella that another Redditor suggested is a good one.

Do find your local sewing shop and get the serger in to be looked at. Once it does what you want it will do it FAST and it's perfect for knit clothing.

Tracing existing garments to make clothing is hard! That's why so many flat patterns sell. If you don't want to work with a commercial pattern to start with, consider picking up a good reference book for making knock-off garments (like https://www.amazon.com/Patterns-Finished-Clothes-Re-Creating-Love/dp/0806948752).

(And get yourself a nice french curve for making your seam lines nice and pretty.)

There are professional ways and means to copy garments. Claire Sheaffer's book "High Fashion Sewing Secrets From the World's Best Designers" has a chapter on how this is done. It's an oldie (and a goodie!) and should be available on Amazon. Yes , it is! https://www.amazon.ca/Fashion-Sewing-Secrets-Worlds-Designers/dp/1579544150/ref=pd_sbs_14_10?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1579544150&pd_rd_r=35a7ff71-7152-11e9-88ae-891106fe0638&pd_rd_w=5ZWsG&pd_rd_wg=DvgdJ&pf_rd_p=5dcda75b-8643-4da3-9bb1-5c0233790500&pf_rd_r=3XCBGDYGENZN5DBSWS7G&psc=1&refRID=3XCBGDYGENZN5DBSWS7G

You're welcome. I have several pairs of the Lightspeed Leggings, and she runs in all her own self-made kit.

She worked on the Great British Sewing Bee, and she wrote the book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sew-Your-Own-Activewear-sportswear/dp/1446306704/

Any books on this topic?
Would love to have something like this.

I have this book

https://www.amazon.com/Sewing-Book-Encyclopedic-Step-Step/dp/0756642809

It's full of sewing techniques for making clothing and it's helped me out a lot. But I don't think you need a book to do what you want to do. Adding waist darts to a dress is pretty easy and bust darts aren't too difficult either.

Heres a video on how to do bust darts https://youtu.be/d9FoVBffroo

You will want some version of a crinoline hoop slip.

Search this on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/MISSVEIL-Crinoline-Petticoat-Underskirt-Wedding/dp/B07MN9XFRK/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?keywords=hoop+slip&qid=1566493123&s=gateway&sr=8-3-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExWlFRVjdDRzI1UVVIJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODMwNTE3MUhOQVZEV0pNMUc2RSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTQwMzMwMVFRUU5GSkxLUlVMTiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Sorry for the long link. If you get a slip with the horsehair hoop or hoops closer to the bottom you will get a look similar to the picture you have. If you get hoops closer to your waist, it will poof out from up there. Hope that helps

I don't know if you need a pattern but I have found this lady to be inspirational. I raise rabbits and someday I'm going to have a rabbit hat!
http://www.amazon.com/How-Sew-Rabbit-Trapper-Crafting/dp/150287184X
She addresses more than just rabbit fur.

I also suggest this book, https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0325004773/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_f181Bb4P31STW.
I used it all through college and now. Its pretty straight forward to making simple body blocks and other cool stuff.
The only thing is that you'll need a master list of your measurements to refer to. There is math involved.

That was my budget for my first (and current) sewing machine and I chose this one from brothers . So far it has been working very well and is easy to figure out quickly. I’ve use it mostly to make doll beds/clothes and pillowcases. I had some issues making button holes though that I haven’t gone back to.

Is that a honeycomb pattern? The readers digest guide to needlework covers mocking pretty well. Honeycomb is a basic/easy type https://katafalk.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/honeycomb-smocking-tutorial/

Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework https://www.amazon.com/dp/0888500858/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_xVCyzbS44SD08

Dritz makes it- Dritz Glue Thread End . I assume it’s similar to like fray check products, super glue could work in a pinch but may oxidize and look weird over time.

Here ya go!

Dritz Glue Thread End 2oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002AG0PJI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_pwhTDb8EE1325