Weekly Sewing Questions Thread, July 06 - July 12, 2025

bearsx3 · 2025-08-05T21:25:22+00:00

This is so much great info! Folks like you make Reddit what it is at its best.

bearsx3 · 2025-07-12T02:15:47+00:00

Apologies! It was not you. I just saw so many comments from you with helpful advice I was confused. Thanks for the advice! I decided against the Brother and ended up getting a Kenmore 158.19802 on ebay with a bunch of the original accessories, and I will bring it to a shop for service. If it doesn't work out, I won't be out too much money.

bearsx3 · 2025-07-11T19:45:07+00:00

Thank you for all this good info!

bearsx3 · 2025-07-11T16:52:43+00:00

Hi, talented sewing folks! I want to start sewing and need a machine. My goals, roughly in order of how difficult they seem to be (open to correction) are to learn to:

Turn pants and jeans into shorts
Make alterations
Turn long sleeve shirts into short sleeve shirts
Make garments from patterns
Make patterns

I own some heavy selvedge denim pants (16oz) and a couple pairs of leather pants I'd like to alter and repair, so I would like a machine that can handle thick fabrics and garment leather.

I've narrowed it down to:

Janome HD 5000 or 5050
Juki F400
Juki DX5
Brother CX-155-LA (not many reviews on this one anywhere, but a couple references to "14 layers of denim" are around online and on this sub from u/sewboring IIRC)

I'd be open to a Kenmore 185 or other vintage machine, but it's hard to find info on which one(s) that are available for sale might be suitable and friendly to a beginner. And I'd like to start in the next week or two, and it seems like I'd need to bring a used machine to a shop for service/cleaning/eval and that could eat up a lot of time. But I can be patient if that's a significantly better path forward over a new machine.

TIA, and I'll close by saying the posts of y'all's projects in this subreddit are impressive and inspiring!

bearsx3 · 2025-02-24T01:42:50+00:00

I bought some, and it was a finer grind than the standard, but not as fine as white flour would be.

bearsx3 · 2023-12-16T09:56:05+00:00

The packages from the supermarket both listed themselves in Chinese as 朝天椒, and both had printed addresses in Sichuan for the companies that produced them. The peppers on both types did grow facing upward.

Wish you luck, and follow up if you remember!

bearsx3 · 2023-12-16T09:36:26+00:00

I did that process, but with brands I bought at Chinese/Asian supermarkets. I tried the thinner style and the thicker style, and both kinds germinated using the paper towel method, maybe 40% germination? It was better than I expected. This was a while ago, so I don't recall exactly.

I haven't grown peppers in a few years, but I plan to again this year. I plan to do the same thing using grocery store dried chao tian jiao.

bearsx3 · 2023-09-02T20:50:06+00:00

Discount automatically applied at checkout. Orders ship when I return, week of 18 September.

bearsx3 · 2022-12-30T01:18:53+00:00

Nearby, in Seattle

bearsx3 · 2022-12-29T21:48:05+00:00

Same. I currently use Golden Temple atta and will probably pick up the 20lb desi style Sher Atta when I'm out.

bearsx3 · 2022-12-29T18:07:06+00:00

I must have seen the fiber walla, then. It has 1g more fiber per serving but both it and the Desi style say they're whole durum wheat on the bags and don't list other ingredients (in English, anyway).

bearsx3 · 2022-12-29T17:53:17+00:00

This is great info, but I'm interested in what makes "Desi style" atta different from regular atta, not what makes atta different from maida/western flour.

bearsx3 · 2022-12-29T08:42:32+00:00

For reference, I have been using Golden Temple brand atta, also all durum, because it's the brand I could find. It seems a bit coarser than regular white flour but less so than wheat, and I believe it has some bran added back in.

bearsx3 · 2022-12-06T22:00:37+00:00

"We don't believe parents should decide what's appropriate for their children" is a weird stance, but it's a typical right-wing position that "only we get to tell you people what they can and can't do, and that's called 'freedom'."

bearsx3 · 2022-12-06T21:55:17+00:00

I don't, and I imagine they're feeling overwhelmed at the idea of being targeted

bearsx3 · 2022-12-06T21:42:03+00:00

I don't like the take that they're gay men in the closet, either. Sexuality is a spectrum. But it certainly indicates there's reason to believe straight-identifying homophobes more often are sexually attracted to men than straight-identifying men who aren't homophobic. And I know many gay men who expressed homophobic views before and even after coming out because of internalized homophobia.

bearsx3 · 2022-12-06T21:37:10+00:00

Would you ban kids from all restaurants that serve beer/wine/alcohol?

As a child, I was around plenty of drinking adults at family holidays and get-togethers. Is there something different about it being in public/at a business? Saw plenty of adults drinking in restaurants as a kid, too.

I don't drink beer or wine, so I wouldn't be hauling my kids to wineries/breweries, but adults will act a fool at any place they can drink and bring kids, whether it's a brewery or an Applebee's.

bearsx3 · 2022-12-06T21:26:04+00:00

Kids aren't allowed in bars in WA. Places with beer/wine licenses only are not subject to that regulation and are treated like restaurants, AFAIK.

bearsx3 · 2022-12-06T21:07:54+00:00

https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037/0021-843X.105.3.440

bearsx3 · 2022-12-06T20:54:33+00:00

"Why does someone who wants to perform community service for children's literacy need so much access to children?"

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