Sewing, but make it not fashion
January 10, 2021 9:57 AM Subscribe
What are your favorite resources for sewing projects and techniques, but for making things other than clothing?
I'm re-teaching myself how to sew (I come from a sewing family and grew up sewing clothing at maybe a medium skill level), and I don't go anywhere so there are very few clothing projects that are all that interesting to me. I'm also not a huge decor-for-the-sake-of person, so I'd be more interested in functional items for storage, organization, kitchen, tools and accessories for crafting and DIY, etc.
As an example, a friend of mine who is also learning to sew just made up (but didn't document, unfortunately) an insulating jacket for his sous vide container. I purchased a mat to go under my sewing machine that has pockets for stuff you want to keep at hand, but it's garbage and I will be making myself a better one.
Who's out there blogging/vlogging/writing books or otherwise generally discussing projects and techniques for functional, structural machine sewing?
I'm re-teaching myself how to sew (I come from a sewing family and grew up sewing clothing at maybe a medium skill level), and I don't go anywhere so there are very few clothing projects that are all that interesting to me. I'm also not a huge decor-for-the-sake-of person, so I'd be more interested in functional items for storage, organization, kitchen, tools and accessories for crafting and DIY, etc.
As an example, a friend of mine who is also learning to sew just made up (but didn't document, unfortunately) an insulating jacket for his sous vide container. I purchased a mat to go under my sewing machine that has pockets for stuff you want to keep at hand, but it's garbage and I will be making myself a better one.
Who's out there blogging/vlogging/writing books or otherwise generally discussing projects and techniques for functional, structural machine sewing?
noodlehead has some functional stuff. Like this organizer looks pretty cool.
She’s also one of my favorite bag designers, so check out her for-sale patterns if you have any interest at all. (But I’ve pretty much stopped making fancy bags because, I too, don’t go anywhere anymore.)
posted by liet at 11:56 AM on January 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
She’s also one of my favorite bag designers, so check out her for-sale patterns if you have any interest at all. (But I’ve pretty much stopped making fancy bags because, I too, don’t go anywhere anymore.)
posted by liet at 11:56 AM on January 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
People who want the lightest possible backpacking gear make their own to customize away everything they don’t need, and a lot of them only start sewing because of this. Their project descriptions tend to break out measuring and techniques separately because of that. Here’s one; I think I’ve seen more general websites.
But also - once you find instructions for binding edges, and for making a box corner to custom measurements, you know enough for a lot a lot of these projects.
posted by clew at 12:11 PM on January 10, 2021
But also - once you find instructions for binding edges, and for making a box corner to custom measurements, you know enough for a lot a lot of these projects.
posted by clew at 12:11 PM on January 10, 2021
Some of the sewing material at the Spruce might be what you're looking for.
I make mockups of waste paper and use those as patterns.
posted by clew at 1:11 PM on January 10, 2021
I make mockups of waste paper and use those as patterns.
posted by clew at 1:11 PM on January 10, 2021
LearnMYOG (learn how to make your own gear) has some interesting projects, and a lot of good information about outdoorsy fabrics, threads, etc.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:14 PM on January 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:14 PM on January 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
Craftsy has lessons for sewing, some are free. I mostly browse on pinterest and youtube. Your library also probably has some good books.
posted by kjs4 at 6:55 PM on January 11, 2021
posted by kjs4 at 6:55 PM on January 11, 2021
Here are some of my favorite non-clothing/non-quilting folks:
Sew Can She - posts things like car console organizers, wallets, bags, occasional quilts, key rings, etc
By Annie - mostly bags but also has a whole section of organizing patterns, including things like stand mixer covers.
Here is the specific tutorial I used to make my sewing machine mat.
Sew Sweetness - also mostly bags but has some really cool lunch bags and organizers as well
Finally, a lot of times if I want to sew something in particular I just look on Pinterest first. When I find something I like, I grab the picture and do a reverse image search to find the original post. A lot of times Pinterest links lead to weird “compilation” sites that don’t have the original post and are ripping off the creator.
posted by itsamermaid at 8:44 PM on January 11, 2021
Sew Can She - posts things like car console organizers, wallets, bags, occasional quilts, key rings, etc
By Annie - mostly bags but also has a whole section of organizing patterns, including things like stand mixer covers.
Here is the specific tutorial I used to make my sewing machine mat.
Sew Sweetness - also mostly bags but has some really cool lunch bags and organizers as well
Finally, a lot of times if I want to sew something in particular I just look on Pinterest first. When I find something I like, I grab the picture and do a reverse image search to find the original post. A lot of times Pinterest links lead to weird “compilation” sites that don’t have the original post and are ripping off the creator.
posted by itsamermaid at 8:44 PM on January 11, 2021
Also wanted to add I, too, love Noodlehead and she’s a great source as well!
posted by itsamermaid at 8:46 PM on January 11, 2021
posted by itsamermaid at 8:46 PM on January 11, 2021
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posted by tangerine at 10:24 AM on January 10, 2021 [5 favorites]