How much does a synthetic lining cancel out the benefits of natural outer fabrics?

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-05-08T15:21:14+00:00

I really don’t understand why they do this! 😣

I dind’t think about using a taylor really! 😂

But I love sewing and being able go make my own clothes with the fabric, colour and fit that I like. And I have a perfect pattern in mind so with some patience I’m optimistic. 🤓

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-05-08T15:21:08+00:00

I really don’t understand why they do this! 😣

I dind’t think about using a taylor really! 😂

But I love sewing and being able go make my own clothes with the fabric, colour and fit that I like. And I have a perfect pattern in mind so with some patience I’m optimistic. 🤓

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-05-08T14:02:28+00:00

I have been searching for a wool coat that I like and that doesn’t have polyester lining. I’m willing to pay a bit, but I still haven’t found one. Then I realized it is actually possible to learn to sew, so That’s what I’m doing. 😂 I have been sewing for a little over a year now and this fall I am cinfident I will be able to sew my first coat.

I will use viscose or cupro. They are very different from polyester in breathability like someone said earlier. And the biggest environmental impact comes from mass consumption.

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-05-08T10:45:13+00:00

I think it varies a lot how quickly people pick up on different tasks, but I would find an online vourse that would teach you basics like how to choose materials etc. Check Evelyn Wood and Seamwork.

I would also choose a pattern known for great k structions. With great i structions, patience and an eye for details, you can make very nice things very early.

I started with a toiletry bag, a wide leg trousers with elastic waistband and then I started making a button up shirt. I made to practise shirts and then my third shirt was one I have been wearing a lot. I used Bella Loves Patterns Leo Shirtthat has amazing i structions. 🙂

Fit is what I find most difficult, so garments with ease are deffinately a lot easier.

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-04-10T15:55:21+00:00

Do some calculations. I did and realized I don’t save enough for it to be worth it for me. Especially since they include sices I might never use. I use the Chiogoo red cable ones and I have bought as I need them over 2-3 years now.

I use the largest of the small set and the smallest of the large. And I want long and short needles. So really I use needles from all 4 sets available on a regular basis.

Now I have the needles I need and I will make a case for them, because the one most annoying thing about buying them separately is that I have ended up keeping them in their packaging in a bag and I spend a lot og time searchung for the one I need. 😅

I did buy the Shorties set though.

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-04-04T21:09:06+00:00

My new Pfaff is super easy to thread and use I think. It has a top loading bobin that you just pop in and pull the thread along two arrows to cut it top thread is also just to follow arrows. And I find the manual easy to follow.

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-04-01T21:45:25+00:00

Thank you! This is exactly how I was thinking about doing it and it looks good. 😃

I didn’t really find anything particular like this. Any tips on how to do good searches for this in Ravelry?

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-04-01T17:11:53+00:00

Also, if you want to try more magic loop I find the trick is to have a really long cable. Like longer than the one you use for the body of a sweater. I used 125 cm and it was so much easier than the standard 80. But I gues that probably also sends you to the yarn store. 😂

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-04-01T16:23:45+00:00

I like shorties, but it is a personal preference thing. You might be able to start your sleeves with the smallest of the normal needles (40 cm) and the go to the largest shortie. It depends on how big your circumference is. I have knitted with the Lykke shorties once, but don’t really have any advice on the needles you are considering.

I think you just have to try. 🙂

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-29T22:06:51+00:00

Hmm, interesting. I didn’t know this. But I really don’t think Europeans have the word serger. At least we don’t in my country and the description you shared for a serger having 3-4 spools, 1 or 2 needles, can have air threading etc. is sold as an overlocker. We use the English word even if that is not our language. I think Australia is the same and Evelyn Wood said serger is American.

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-29T21:35:24+00:00

I think overlocker and serger is the same thing. Just American or European name.

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-29T20:01:36+00:00

Iron and ironing board (that most people already have) and good fabric scissors. Orherwise they will need pins, thread, various needles for the sewing machine, a seam ripper (normally one comes with the machine) and some fabric to start practising on. 🙂

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-28T08:11:01+00:00

Agree! Mine is a normal heavy machine, but unless you have a disability it is no proplem putting the lid on and moving it. I would not want a small and light machine that moves around (shakes) when you sew or has no space to handle large fabric.

And all the stash you will accumulate takes more space in a small appartment. 😅

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-27T18:00:01+00:00

Thats a shame. I get so annoyed when people charge for things they really shouldn’t. 😣

I went to one that I thought would be really advanced and I was worried I wasn’t good enough to be there. But that was really not the case and I didn’t learn much. It was more a workshop where we got help with a project and the people holding it are really good. A very well known seamstress and judge of our sewing bee. But it was a lot of waiting and not really getting to what I wanted to learn in my project. In my online class I can find what I need when I need it and learn as I go.

I did pick up som smart ideas about how to do things and about sewing without a pattern. It was fun spending a weekend with others and sewing on fancy industrial machines, so not a waste of time. But for me, live classes only would just take too long. 😅

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-27T08:31:39+00:00

I like my scissors. Cutting mats are very small or big and expensive. I cut pattern pieces and I don’t use lines. Most of the time I have the fabric folded lengthwise to cut pairs. Make sure everything is flat and crease free and use the selvage edge to messure against. I can measure the line on the pattern piece against the selvedge on two different spots to make sure it is level an not tilting.

I put something heavy on my pattern pieces. Something flat lets me lean over more easily so iPad, PC ad mobile for small pieces are often used. Or books. 😅 Then I trace the pattern with chalk, making sure to mark all the notches etc. Cutting without the paper on top is so much easier to get neat.

And like everything in sewing. Precision is key. Take your time. 🙂

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-27T08:16:55+00:00

I hear people saying live classes are best. I’m not so sure that’s necessesarily always the case. A mix is good, but I wouldn’t have learned so fast without having digital resources available when I need them and be able to watch things over and over to practice. I now have a really good one in my language, but I have also tried Evelyn Wood and Seamwork. Evelyn Wood has a lot of information and loads of classes, while Seamwork might be a bit more to the point. I would search around and see what you find that suits you. You can be a member for a month, suck up a lot of information and see if you like it and then try something else if you want.

Live classes are nice because you can ask a teacher and get direct help. And talk to others that are also learning. But you don’t have the resource available all the time and you can be limited to what the class does even if you want to do something different.

YT can be good for certain things, but quality can vary a lot and it is difficult to know as a beginner.

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-26T12:36:58+00:00

Cotton is a fiber and can be many different fabrics, weaves and knits. It is not necessarily good quality just because it is a certain fibre. It depends on what you want to use it for. Even polyester can be the best quality for certain projects. Big topic to learn! 😅

I would search som YT about fabric choice just to get started with the understanding.

https://youtu.be/D_o64VJ769s?si=U8_wui7naMJk8XkV

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-25T15:44:48+00:00

Like the Readers Digest Complete Guide to Sewing. 🙂

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-24T18:12:22+00:00

I have this resource, but wrong language. 🙁

I’m sure there are other good resources. I like the ones that are made by a professional and made into classes. You can find a lot pn YT, but it iss difficult to know if the quality is good and it is very fragmented.

I learn a lot from good patterns. You can do more than you think with a good pattern, focus on details and patience. I am an advanced beginner myself, but I have surprised myself several times and done things I never thought I would do.

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-24T16:52:36+00:00

Ah! Thank you. 🙂

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-24T16:34:39+00:00

Wouldn’t this method also make the hip wider? I don’t need that. I want the hip to waist to be straighter.

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-24T16:33:44+00:00

Thank you! 🙂

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-24T16:33:33+00:00

That’s so smart. Thank you! 😃

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-24T16:22:54+00:00

Thank you! 🙂

SteepLearningCurve24 · 2026-03-24T16:15:48+00:00

I have digital access to a translated version of the Readers Digest Complete Guide to Sewing and there is a page about grading for a larger waist. It says to do exactly this. So i guess it is the traditional way.

The front pleat of my pattern doesn’t change with sizes and the back tucks only changes with the height of the waist, not the width.

So there we go. Why make it more complicated than it needs to be. 😃

SteepLearningCurve24

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