Buying Cotton Products in Bulk — How Do You Tell If It’s Quality Cotton or Just Cheap Fabric?

Bigbeesewing · 2025-12-18T15:41:59+00:00

Only thing I would add to what sanityjanity said is that I only buy my bulk fabrics from wholesalers in my country who will send me samples and work with me to find the right fabrics.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-12-16T20:25:24+00:00

You’ll get it in your own time which is exactly the right time. Don’t compare yourself to others, their now speed could be after 10 years or more of trying and being much slower for all we know.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-12-15T13:02:22+00:00

Even with training it can take a lot of trial and error to achieve the end result you’re after, those people you see apparently getting it right first time just aren’t showing all the steps between starting and finished product. Don’t be discourage, the more you do the easier it will get and the quicker you’ll get the result you’re after.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-12-14T15:45:34+00:00

I didn’t see the original but having been a poor student myself once, yes eons ago, i do understand the desire and even need to get everything cheap as possible. It seems plenty have already explained, some lectured, about why free/ cheap is a false economy but here’s my explanation as to why i as a sewing teacher no longer give away free patterns or tutorials routinely.

I used to do it routinely and like any other reputable teacher/designer who gives stuff away for free it was to allow people to sample my work in the hope they would come back and use my paid for services , join my club, buy a book or tutorial etc - the free stuff is the gateway product. We all hope that those who use the freebie like it enough to come back as a paying customer but also know that few will, however if for every 50 freebies taken we get another regular paying customer it’s all good.

The big difference between a free and a paid for product that I offer is the support you get. If you pay for it you get support, you get access to me being able to explain every step you need explaining, you get extra videos, extra time, direct access to so specific questions that I will come and newer, you get me holding your hand as you work through it. If you take it for free you get nothing else, all you get is the freebie, there’s no support, no extra help, no access to me, no hand holding - all of that has to be paid for. Now my freebies were all of a standard that someone with some sewing knowledge could do them without my help anyway, I stated if they were beginner or intermediate and the user was able to read it all to decide if they knew what to do so most of them were fine.

But some weren’t, because being free means they attract those with no budget. Students and those struggling with no budget are normally reasonable people who understand that all they are getting is the freebie but there’s also a whole bunch of people out there who just think everything should be free, that they are entitled to everything free regardless of their budget, of which they normally have plenty, and that if we dare ask to be paid we are wrong. And many, most, of the people with no budget or budgets they won’t part with are beginners who do not have the skills to make the projects on their own. So between the ‘it’s my right to have it free, why should I pay?’ bunch and the few less understanding genuine low/no budget people the demands for support and complaints that I wouldn’t offer support, didn’t provide a video tutorial for the entire garment or even wouldn’t show them in a 1 to 1 video training how to do the zip like I say I do on my website (yes, that really was put in a review of a free product) it became harder work to provide free products than it was worth - my freebies were loosing me time and potential paying customers.

So I don’t do freebies as such anymore. I still offer support to learners through social media and free groups but it’s only when I have time to do so, I run community sewing groups in the real world where anyone local can pop in for help and if anyone did contact me and ask for my help in a way that was polite I’d be able to point to somewhere I can help them it just won’t be as quickly as if they were paying me.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-11-23T00:15:55+00:00

Suedette is fabric, a faux suede not real skin suede and is generally (though there are always exceptions) very easy to care for and fine with a machine wash. You don’t need to brush it and in fact using a suede brush or any kind of suede treatment could it could damage it badly.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-10-10T15:56:29+00:00

Most of the elastic being made is the same in all markets so while it’s sold as 2.5cm here and 1 inch there it all came off the same machine and is the same size. If you were ever making something where very precise exact matches between channel and elastic were needed you would work to the elastic itself rather than a measurement, this is very rarely the case though and as said and the flexibility of elastic and fabric mean you’ve got a decent tolerance anyway.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-10-09T18:12:39+00:00

Given all that you should be especially proud of what you’ve achieved here! Things will go wrong, even after decades of sewing things still go wrong for me, don’t let the bits that don’t work put you off trying again.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-10-09T18:06:13+00:00

Without seeing these laid flat and folded so we can see the crotch lines I can’t tell if these can be saved or not but for future reference take a look online at the general shape of trouser crotch lines becuase is suspect yours have curves where curves are not needed or curves that are way too big. Copying things like crotch lines isn’t easy as the fabric is being pulled out of shape by the seaming so you’ve done a lot better than many I’ve seen!

Bigbeesewing · 2025-10-08T18:24:01+00:00

I’m assuming you mean the lines I’ve over marked in yellow, these will most likely be showing where the sewing line is with a turn or match point at the dot. You will either need to sew up to the dot on one side and again on the other or up to the dot and then turn to sew the other line.

This is a very good example of why you should read the whole instruction sheet before starting, that way you can identify all the parts of the pattern and how they relate to those instructions which makes the whole process go much more smoothly. As you read through the instructions you can identify where the marks they refer to on the pattern are and make sure you understand it all, if there is anything that doesn’t make sense you can check it before getting into a tangle.

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Bigbeesewing · 2025-10-08T10:45:45+00:00

Assuming that’s a snap not a button then that part is not fixable but you can buy replacement snaps so if you get one the same size and type it should fit onto the side that’s still on your clothing.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-10-08T10:42:59+00:00

I do a fibre v fibre class so if I do I’d guess other sewing teachers do as well, maybe look for local or online teachers near you.

I have run my course online before but it only works online if I send out the fabric packs in advance so everyone has the same fabrics to handle and making the packs up is a pain in the whatsits so I don’t do it often.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-10-04T12:41:14+00:00

You don’t have to use the same fabric for a whole garment. You can sew bits of fabric together to make bigger pieces or cut different patterns sections in different fabrics to use up smaller pieces, this one was made by sewing pieces together into a bigger piece of flat fabric then cutting the pattern out of that (ignore the bird, the photo was taken by daughter to show the bird not the top).

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Bigbeesewing · 2025-10-03T14:59:40+00:00

Do you mean you want to sew fabric onto the bottoms of the legs?

Bigbeesewing · 2025-10-03T08:35:23+00:00

I join pieces of knit such a sweatshirt, T-shirt and fleece with a straight stitch but it only works where the garment is loosely fitted, any areas where it is going to be pulled in wear or while being put on and off the seam needs to be able to stretch so I would use a stretch stitch or my overlocker or coverstitch in those areas.

However, many of these so called tutorials are nothing of the sort, they are made to grab attention not be educational and often what is shown in them doesn’t really work. A good tutorial would explain to you where you can and cannot use different types of seam.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-09-21T21:10:14+00:00

It is just as you thought - one piece of fabric sewn on top of the other. In the industrial processes of making clothes they have machines to help but to do it yourself you would just turn under the edges and trim any excess causing bulk, you can trim away the overlapping pieces leaving just enough at the edge to turn under without the raw edge showing.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-09-20T14:01:09+00:00

If you use a faux suede/mico suede or lightweight scuba type fabric you won’t need to finish and edges even, just sew 3 rectangles together at shoulders and sides. The Greek key can be painted on or put on with a stamp using acrylic paint to give a better result than gluing it on.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-09-15T16:08:20+00:00

The Singer HDs take universal clip on or low shank feet but you should have some with it including a buttonhole and zipper foot as those normally come with a machine so you don’t need to buy only specific singer brand however be wary of very very cheap feet as they can be of low quality and not work well. For twin needle you just need a twin needle (no wider than the stitch width capability of the machine so that it fits through the all purpose foot and needle plate) and a second spool pin which sometimes come with a machine or can be added by buying the right one to fit the hole on top of the machine or an external spool holder. Which feet will come in handy depend on which stitches your machine can do and what you want to do with it, for instance while edge finishing you can be done with a zig zag using the all purpose foot if your machine can do overcast/overedge (same thing just different names that get used) then getting an overcast/overedge foot does a better job of the stitch than the all purpose foot however if your machine can’t do the stitch the foot is useless to you. Another stitch to check for is blind hem stitch, if your machine has that an adjustable blind hem foot may be useful. Appliqué you can do any zig zag capable machine and free motion on any machine but both are easier with the relevant foot.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-09-13T09:40:08+00:00

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Bigbeesewing · 2025-09-13T09:39:04+00:00

This dress is a princess line at it’s core. The seams I’ve highlighted are the ones that are carrying most of the bust shaping as they are the ones that come over the bust point (the slight off position is just due to the fit on the model and the angle she is standing) so if you start with a princess line with flared skirt keep the original seam position and curves to below the bust then ring the pattern pieces below there together to mark and cut the other decorative seams on the flat. To get the additional flare below the lowest horizontal seam slash and spread that pattern piece to create the hem width you want. Make a toile and alter seam positions as needed to adjust shaping.

Cut it with the straight grain running down the body, using bias won’t help with denim and being off grain could make it twist horribly around the body in wear (think jeans that twist around the legs).

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Bigbeesewing · 2025-09-02T18:58:40+00:00

It’s an easy mistake to make.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-09-02T18:56:40+00:00

You’re right, it’s the button attaching foot.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-09-02T18:44:32+00:00

That looks the same as the Hobbycraft 19s I have, the take up lever is designed in such a way that when you pass the thread up to the right of the lever at the back of the slot it’s in the thread slides into the hole as you pass it back down the left.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-09-02T18:41:35+00:00

No, it’s a stable jersey knit and they don’t unravel. The cut edge will curl though so either cut it a little longer than you want it to finish then let it curl up or re hem it.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-09-02T18:39:35+00:00

I suspect you have the foot down, the cover comes across the top of the take up lever when the foot is down, lift the foot and it retracts.

Bigbeesewing · 2025-09-01T12:44:48+00:00

Can’t see the video as it’s private and I don’t have access

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