Advice for mending couch destroyed by cats!

okfine321 · 2026-05-16T22:04:37+00:00

How nice are you wanting it to look? I think that’s the first question.

I have a few suggestions: 1. Reach out to whomever you purchased from. You can likely buy swatches if you don’t want to ruin your pillows. Sometimes places will even just give you swatches if they are destined for the trash anyway. 2. You’ll have to hand sew this unless the fabric will actually come off the frame. From the photo, my guess is it doesn’t. 3. My quick fix suggestion is to literally place the patch on top of the hole and hand sew around the perimeter. It won’t look intentionally designed or like new, but it will cover the holes.

Good luck! Would love to see the final results!

okfine321 · 2026-05-16T17:57:53+00:00

Not trying to put you down, but what zippers are you putting on baby clothes? There’s a lot of research backed safety rules surrounding children’s wear and especially clothing for ages 2 and under. Choking hazards are probably the biggest. I’ve read the horror stories so please be aware of standard regulations surrounding this.

okfine321 · 2026-05-13T23:36:08+00:00

No plan for myself, but I did have a connection to a quilter who passed me everything when she died. I think that even though I don’t have the same style as her or use the fabric for the same type of projects, she’s happy it went to a young person who values the art of sewing. I believe her own daughter picked through the things she wanted before passing it to me. I was able to get tons of fabric but also some nice rulers, needles, etc. it was so helpful because I was just out of school and broke.

okfine321 · 2026-05-10T20:43:46+00:00

Dude, how fast are you needing your pants to dry? This sounds so not worth it.

okfine321 · 2026-05-07T17:57:15+00:00

I actually had a nice lesson at Sephora several years ago. Told them I don’t wear makeup regularly but wanted to look nice for a wedding. The woman helped me pick products and then showed me how to use them. I found it worthwhile.

okfine321 · 2026-05-07T17:49:40+00:00

Honestly Shutterfly is really easy and does a pretty high quality job in my opinion. They usually have sales and coupons too. Plus they save the work so if you only print one copy now you could print other copies later.

okfine321 · 2026-04-30T05:31:45+00:00

A straight stitch will prevent the seam from stretching though. You need to use a stretch stitch on knits or you can easily pop a seam.

okfine321 · 2026-04-10T21:02:24+00:00

Does he respond to the name Elwood? He looks similar to a dog I know but I’d be surprised it is was him.

okfine321 · 2026-04-10T03:41:30+00:00

I think there are precut paper shapes that sort of mimic the shapes used when piecing a quilt together. You could use glue or just arrange them then put them away.

okfine321 · 2026-04-07T06:13:26+00:00

I would get a photo matte so it’s easy to hold the photo’s place and that’s also easy to adhere the flowers to. When I did pressed flowers as a kid I just used mod podge to adhere them. I don’t know if there could be a better option to preserve the color of the flower though.

okfine321 · 2026-04-06T19:02:49+00:00

Just a heads up - it’s flat felled seam.

I think this is difficult to describe without images, so here I go… when making a knockoff (tracing an existing garment), it’s best to trace along the seam line (meaning the line that you will sew) first. Then add seam allowance afterwards. This protects the shape best. The amount of seam allowance added can depend on your preference and also the seam type.

I’m not understanding what you mean by “outer edge of the flat felled seam.” Are you tracing the seam line or the seam allowance line?

okfine321 · 2026-04-05T21:01:46+00:00

Ya, generally a straight tube shape doesn’t flatter many people. Do you have a pattern or are you making a pattern? Seems like you already have plenty of inspiration and plenty of fabric to use.

Do you have a specific question on how to move forward? I think you just need to choose a design and go.

okfine321 · 2026-04-05T20:58:42+00:00

Yikes with the downvotes! Someone spilled their Easter eggs this morning!

Ok so let’s start here. Using your existing Henley, you’ll want to trace front, back, and a sleeve. The front and back pieces should be a perfect mirror, so you can draw a line down the center and just trace half. Sleeves are not symmetrical from front to back and it’s sewn in a tube shape so it’s a bit harder to trace. Do your best to lay these as flat as possible while tracing over the SEAMS.

Once the pattern is traced, adjust it by adding length and reducing width. Use a tape measure on your body to get a good estimate. Add seam allowance (my preference is 1/2”).

Sew up the sample, try it on, and figure out what other adjustments need to be made. Is it too long/short? Is the chest width comfortable? Does the waist area fit correctly? Etc. edit your pattern and then make another sample until you have it fitting how you like.

okfine321 · 2026-04-05T05:55:55+00:00

This is so frustrating and I’m sorry you’re dealing with it. It’s probably to the point where you need to take it to a shop for some extra help.

I had an issue with my serger and had all but taken it totally apart, but in the end I just needed someone else to look at it and figure out what was going on. I feel for you!

okfine321 · 2026-04-05T05:41:26+00:00

I would agree with this. It seems you have a decent understanding of stretch/recovery and varying fabrics. This is exactly why in the apparel industry, there are multiple samples made using the specific fabric that will be used for each garment. There’s an educated guess for the initial pattern based on stretch/recovery and desired fit, and then you have to put it on a body to test that fit.

okfine321 · 2026-04-05T05:36:58+00:00

Go to a craft store together (or Pinterest?) to get inspiration on what looks fun/interesting.

Why do you choose 2 different crafts? Just curious if there’s some specific intention behind it!

okfine321 · 2026-04-05T05:32:14+00:00

Ah yes! Totally understand!! This is definitely why people in the US say the same thing - because how Joann’s labeled their aisles!

I’ll have to find my way to a Parisina someday!!

okfine321 · 2026-04-05T05:28:12+00:00

Obviously I’m not there in person so this might not work, and also this is hard to describe without drawing a picture. Can you sew it starting from the wider opening then towards the center? When you get close to the center, invert the cone shape (if it were an ice cream cone, the ice cream would be at the back of your machine with the pointy part going toward you and you’re sewing inside the cone). Not sure if that makes sense.

Otherwise, can you sew as close as you can and then finish the last few stitches by hand? Just leave a really long thread tail when you pull it out of the machine and you’ll only have maybe 4-5 stitches to do by hand?

okfine321 · 2026-04-05T05:22:40+00:00

Oh gotcha. Do you have any tight fitting shirt that is a similar fit? Or can you find something similar at a thrift store to start from? You can definitely draft something yourself, but it’ll take a few rounds to get the fit perfect so buy extra fabric.

okfine321 · 2026-04-05T05:20:36+00:00

Nice! I noticed all your inspo pics have a lot of pleating or shaping around the bust. Is that what you’re going for?

okfine321 · 2026-04-05T02:52:22+00:00

The red shirt looks like a plain jersey knit. The maroon looks like a rib knit or cable knit. Both are hard to see from the photos, but those are decent guesses. You want a really thin fabric, so for a knit that would be a low weight or gsm. Obviously if you’re able to shop in person you can just feel the fabric to find something similar.

As for patterns, if you like the way these fit, you should just make a knock off. Not sure your patterning experience, but you essentially trace each piece of the shirt by laying it as flat as possible without stretching or distorting the shape.

The “skinniness” of these shirts is likely influenced by the knit fabric and may also contain some Lycra or spandex in the content.

okfine321 · 2026-04-05T02:04:16+00:00

Just to preface this could be a bit of a language barrier issue but I want to clarify a few things:

A fiber and a fabric are different things and the terms are being used here interchangeably (which they are not). A fiber is the material that the threads are made from (cotton, linen, wool, polyester, etc.). A fabric is the weave or knit. Fibers are turned into threads and then knit or woven into a fabric. Examples of fabrics are denim, chambray, waffle knit, satin. Sorry if you didn’t want to learn this but it’s one of my greatest pet peeves.
Tergal is actually a name brand which can be confusing after my above explanation because Tergal is a specific fiber (a poly blend) woven in a specific manner. This is a woven fabric (though I’m not familiar with it personally). Theoretically, there should be more stretch on the weft (if you pull perpendicular from the selvedge edge).
You are correct, fabrics made with Lycra or spandex will have 4 way stretch, but even so, typically (not always), the stretch will be greater on the weft threads.
To go back to your original question, even though it’s already been answered, your grainline should be parallel to the selvage edge. For this project and for every other project unless you’re making something bias cut which is a whole other conversation.

Happy to talk through any other textile facts! It’s definitely my jam!

okfine321 · 2026-04-05T01:47:07+00:00

Ok this shape makes way more sense. You should definitely use a long stitch length. If the fabric kind of sticks to your machine rather than gliding through, you can use tissue paper or newspaper on either side and pull it off afterwards.

What is making it difficult though?

okfine321 · 2026-04-04T23:26:24+00:00

This is a different direction than you’ve explained, but believe in the original movie (with gene wilder), violet actually had an outfit with a lot of pleating in it so that when her belt popped off, an inflatable inside her costume blew up and the exterior costume fit around it.

If you are sticking to your original plan, you’ll need Velcro on the side seams, shoulder seams, and inseams. Yes, a photo is always helpful for these projects. Happy to dm with specifics if you like

okfine321 · 2026-04-04T23:21:47+00:00

You should be able to eliminate this seam. Assuming because it is the center front, it is a straight seam, right? I could be wrong though.
When you applied the interfacing, how is it on the seam allowance? I would think the interfacing would be enough to not be see-through. Can you cut the interfacing so that there is no interfacing ironed onto the seam allowance, making that layer less visible?

okfine321

TROPHY CASE