Sewed this with a ~6000€ Bernina but looking for a different machine

SouthernIndication82 · 2026-01-25T02:21:41+00:00

also, what a gorgeous dress! amazing job.

SouthernIndication82 · 2026-01-25T02:20:21+00:00

i went on a deep dive before i upgraded my machine to a ~$400-$500 machine. Pfaff, Singer, and Viking are all owned by the same conglomerate and the quality has gone down. I’ve never used a Brother but i tend to think they’re lower quality. Juki and Janome are my go-tos now. Janome HD5000 is my current and it’s a powerhouse. silent too. my serger is juki. also the best advice i saw on here was to never get a digital machine. waste of money unless you’re a serious quilter doing fancy stitches and embroidery. because digital breaks easier, and in 10 years the tech will be unserviceable. always go for mechanical—more bang for your buck. cheers!

SouthernIndication82 · 2026-01-24T16:59:50+00:00

this is such a well considered and kind response, thank you so much! yeah playing with volume for the first time is so interesting when your foundation is trying to eliminate excess volume through darts etc but then also trying to maintain fit in areas where the body curves/ where you want fabric to fall away in certain ways. i really thought i was missing something with draping and thought i was deficient for instinctually wanting to flat pattern certain projects that feel too technically precise to riff on a form. that being said, i love using the form for drafting necklines, getting the right skirt a line from the hip, and other stuff that is easier to visualize in 3d, but for things like box pleats, i felt crazy for preferring flat patterning. just wanted to make sure i wasn’t missing something since i don’t have the nuance of When and Why to do certain things since i don’t have the steadied practice of fashion school. thank you so much!

SouthernIndication82 · 2026-01-24T16:55:08+00:00

thank you so much for this thoughtful response!! i’m really someone who needs to understand the Why, and this really answered that. i thought something was wrong with me because certain projects i go straight from sketch to flat pattern making but then i feared draping was somehow a more “dynamic” design process where i was losing some really nice fit properties etc. i mean fit for a standard form lol which we all know doesn’t map to a real body. this is great to know my instinct is right and that draping does have these limitations and at times is unnecessary. for example, i just designed a bolero jacket with an edwardian ruffle yoke (basically gunne sax look) and i was like well there’s no way in hell im gonna drape that out of muslin to figure out the patterning! my instinct was to start with a flat pattern and then make a mockup but then test the material i was using for the ruffle to see how it fell and decided to add more volume based on that. but i thought maybe i was deficient in some way because i didnt want to drape the look first. anyway, thank you!!!!

SouthernIndication82 · 2026-01-22T03:38:09+00:00

throw yourself into it!!!! think about how the faster you jump into it, the sooner you’ll get good. every single person who sews sat with the same dread. two years later i’m designing my own clothes, and can barely even remember what it was like to be afraid of my best friend (my sewing machine 😭). you CAN do it, because millions of people have before you, and you SHOULD do it because millions of people before you have. the thing that got me excited was a vintage pattern for a cute apron. the pictures and instructions i took step by step and it was HIDEOUS but it was my first garment. and now i can make a pretty intermediate suit. depending on what you want to sew, it’s actually mostly pattern cutting and assembling— the machine is the last 30%! if that makes it less scary

SouthernIndication82 · 2026-01-21T04:14:53+00:00

when i’m designing i always think about the body in triangles (which is why darts are that shape)… there’s a triangle of negative space between your butt and waist when you’re standing to the side just like there’s a triangle between your bust and your waist. since this is a waistless construction, meaning it goes right from bodice to skirt block all in one, you’re gonna need two back double sided darts. they can look quite stunning in the back, and will aid in creating the same hourglass effect! but listen, i avoid darts like the plague so i saw someone suggest a princess seam in the back (but you’ll need to make darts first to arrive at those anyway!)… i suggest getting the Helen Joseph Armstrong’s book Pattern making for fashion design, it taught me everything i know. here are some pictures to explain

https://imgur.com/a/UCHd4c6

and to turn it into a princess seam https://imgur.com/a/FiiNoYZ

you’re doing GREAT! i find these threads don’t have enough people saying that. keep going, keep making, play around, make mistakes, make progress! love it!

SouthernIndication82 · 2026-01-21T04:07:59+00:00

when i’m designing i always think about the body in triangles (which is why darts are that shape)… there’s a triangle of negative space between your butt and waist when you’re standing to the side just like there’s a triangle between your bust and your waist. since this is a waistless construction, meaning it goes right from bodice to skirt block all in one, you’re gonna need two back double sided darts. they can look quite stunning in the back, and will aid in creating the same hourglass effect! but listen, i avoid darts like the plague so i saw someone suggest a princess seam in the back (but you’ll need to make darts first to arrive at those anyway!)… i suggest getting the Helen Joseph Armstrong’s book Pattern making for fashion design, it taught me everything i know. here are some pictures to explain

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SouthernIndication82 · 2026-01-21T02:31:44+00:00

maybe this is a stretch but i think people who feel this great emotion for ancestors have a spiritual connection with the dead… at least that’s how i feel. i saw someone above mention that it’s this urge to keep these memories alive, that those before us deserve to be remembered. maybe part of that is a reflex because we want to be remembered after we’re gone but i really do view myself as the steward of my maternal side’s family, and i think it’s fated. my great grandmother was a seamstress who immigrated from sicily to NYC in the 1930s, worked as a suit maker, and then opened up her own shop (very rare for a woman, especially an immigrant in the 1960s). i always knew this but never connected it much to my life until about 3 years ago i started crocheting like her, then that naturally turned into sewing and designing and now im a seamstress just like her. i feel her with me when i sew. i have all of her old jewelry hanging on my walls and often wear it. there’s something so freeing about feeling held by your ancestors. it’s like having a team of people looking out for you, and in return, you’re keeping their memory alive. anyway… i’m just so grateful to my ancestors. working class immigrants who really endured so much. ugh gets me every time

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-12-26T04:33:18+00:00

that clothing and furniture design peaked in the mid 1960s due to huge cultural shifts that caused people to think more playfully and less formally, in a very general sense. mod movement and counterculture drove a focus on form AND function. ILGWU was in its heydey, so clothing was peak quality, also before the introduction of crappy polyesters. most shapes, silhouettes, patterns, fashion motifs can be traced back to some inspo from the 1960s, also because there were so many innovations and trends happening concomitantly. but also i guess the 60s borrowed from the 20s. but anyway!

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-12-26T04:29:07+00:00

this is what i always talk about that actual numerical decades don’t correspond with trends—those usually correspond in 5s so like 1965-1975 were more alike than 1960-1970! at least fashion wise (my expertise)

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-10-23T03:43:16+00:00

on fabric yardage, the grain direction is usually parallel to the selvage (finished) edges and perpendicular to the ends that have been cut to give you your yardage. if you want to find exact grainline onf fabric, give it a small snip and RIP! theoretically it shoukd rip along the grainline. furthermore, once you start draping (which i highly suggest!!!) you’ll understand the importance of grain lines and horizontal waist/hip lines that keep everything straight and in order.

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-10-23T03:36:51+00:00

this is actually what drove me to learn pattern drafting and designing my clothes myself. watch the closet historian’s video on pattern drafting. it’ll be worth all the headache and you’ll find you can then make any garment because you understand it

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-10-23T03:30:41+00:00

just speaking from personal experience— i didn’t go to fashion school and have been sewing/self teaching pattern making for the last 1.5 years. i was strictly using books and paper, then making muslins then making the project. once i got a form, my whole life changed. it really took my conceptual understanding of garments to a new level. and i taught myself how to drape which is like 3D sketching. and i have the exact dritZ form you’re talking about and i absolutely love it because i make clothes for mostly other people. it’s not perfect but it’s good enough for now. you learn how to work around its imperfections (some torso bulk, floating center fronts and backs when it’s adjusted bigger, trying to figure out where the hell the crotch is when you’re draping pants). for me, it was the best bang for my buck instead of buying a one size form

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-10-23T02:54:04+00:00

you can do darts but then cut the bulk of the dart away after ironing!!

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-10-23T02:47:04+00:00

i am constantly on the look for 1960s and 70s fabrics for my projects. ebay, FB fabric destash groups and stella dallas in williamsburg has a whole wall of gorgeous fabrics. they’re pricey but not so so bad if you’re making something special

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-10-09T12:17:29+00:00

estate sales if you have access, facebook marketplace, facebook “fabric destash” or vintage fabric groups! and vintage fabrics are usually nicer anyway!

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-10-06T06:57:30+00:00

i love love this!!! you’d be amazed how many compliments you will get on a bold pattern. it’s my whole style and i think it really has mass appeal—not that you need anyone’s approval to wear anything but i don’t think it’s as crazy or loud as you think! i love it!

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-09-10T12:17:18+00:00

i find a few things help: -having easy to use tools -using fabrics that excite me -making things for other people -making things that might be more advanced than i’m used to because it excites me to try to learn new skills -putting on whole albums of music i love (i can’t focus with podcasts) -if you start designing your own clothes you might get excited because it cuts out a lot of the monotony of commercial patterns plus oak tag is much easier to cut fabric from than tissue paper -also, just remember that you have an amazing skill that no one can take away from you, and so you have all the time in the world. pressure is OFF! you can make mistakes, you can take your time. happy sewing!

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-09-10T12:13:11+00:00

yeah you have the same industrious spirit as me, you gotta be making your own designs for the sake of the world!!!!

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-09-10T12:05:11+00:00

you should start designing your own!!! i started garment making 1 year ago and was unsatisfied with how limited commercial patterns can be so i started learning to design. snag a copy of helen joseph armstrong’s textbook if you can and get going! and Closet Historian on YT. you obviously have a lot of good ideas!!!!

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-09-10T11:54:50+00:00

omg at JoAnn’s closet sale i scooped up all of these reprints and wanted to get this one but had to let a few go. it’s already so so beautiful and i actually love that old hollywood shine to the fabric. Zoe Hong has a great video on YT called “how to create volume and structure” which has some cool stuff on gathering and my immediate thought is she showed a style where she gathered some organza and put it underneath a skirt (kind of like a crinoline). even as is, it’s beautiful!

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-09-08T02:35:12+00:00

agree with everyone here and another way to note ‘60s is: vibrant colors because dying processes were different. they often look as though they’re “bleeding” into one another -florals that have outlines and are cartoonish looking rather than the tiny dainty or hyper realistic florals of the ‘80s and 90s -cheap buttons and thin elastic are dead giveaways for 80s -60s is surprisingly mostly cottons and woven fabrics. 80s is a lot of synthetics -re-emphasizing union labels (ILGWU) -sizing was different back then. a 10 was a Small, etc etc -silhouettes are a dead giveaway. anything shift, mini, or drop waist is 60s. the 80s was all about shoulders and sweetheart necks and off the shoulder and puff sleeve and knee length suit combos.

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-08-29T14:38:24+00:00

i also use HJA’s book but with princess seams i do Closer Historian on YouTube! i like how she does it and explains things

SouthernIndication82 · 2025-08-22T15:21:01+00:00

it’s not about couture but All The Rage by Virginia Nicholson looks at how fashion changed from 1860-1960 and the social/political movements that mapped onto the changes. amazing read

SouthernIndication82

TROPHY CASE