Tag: clothes

Make a Cocktail Dress out of a Saree

Post author By Kalpana Singh
Post date February 8, 2022
No Comments on Make a Cocktail Dress out of a Saree

Illustration by @artby_gt

“Closet full of fabulous Sarees and not an occasion to wear!” … wondered every Indian women at least once in these last 2 years.

But I’m on a mission to give purpose to your beautiful Sarees, one Saree at a time. And you can be a hero just by doing that too, I’ll tell you how

Not all hero wear capes, some wear Sarees…

I recently had a beautiful Cutomer wanting to reinvent her Saree that she wore many times and created fond memories through it. A piece of clothing such as this is too precious to part with, you would agree.

She had a design in mind, she needed a dress that maintained the flow of this beautiful emerald green chiffon drape.

The result was pleasing not just for her but for me as I knew a gorgeous Saree has been rescued and given a new meaning and purpose.

Lets see how it was done

Tools required –

Measuring tape
Pair of scissors
Chalk
Pins
Lining fabric ( you could use the remain Saree material)
Sewing machine ( if you don’t have one, you could use back stitch

Steps

Fold your Saree pallu half way as shown in the figure below

2. A to B – mark diagonally

Shoulder length plus 1 inch.

B to C – go in by 1/2 inch

C to D – mark armhole divide by 2, and give a little curve.

D to E – March off shoulder circle divide by 2 ( refer to the pic below)

Sew from E to the hem and D to the hem

If you wish to add lining, you could use the remaining Saree fabric, cut exactly the same way as pallu and attach from the neck line and the armhole.

Your cocktail dress in just 3 stitches is ready !!

Watch this video, where I explain the drafting.

To watch the full making video

Tags clothes, Dress, Dresses, Saree

Sewing Sewing Clothes

How to Start Sewing Your Own Clothes !

Post author By Kalpana Singh
Post date February 1, 2022
2 Comments on How to Start Sewing Your Own Clothes !

If you were like me, born and brought up in a very humble middle class Indian household, then probably you have seen your mums or grand mums mending old clothes or even sewing a brand new out fits every now and then. Going to a tailor was a luxury that we could afford once or twice a year owing to Deepawali or birthdays. Those were the simple days when Indian market hadn’t know any cheap, stylish branded clothes. Tailors never had to listen to this argument – Bhaiya itne Mai to pura dress mil jaega! ( I can buy an entire dress in this amount ).

True, you can buy a dress from Zara or HnM in half the price you would spend on a meter of good quality fabric. But those who sew know what a hand made garment means…

If you are one of those who wish to sew your own clothes but you have never stitched anything till date, you are apprehensive, afraid and even skeptical then read on if you wish to change your mind.

I’m here to convince you sewing is easy and just anybody can sew with a little practice.

Lets try to find out how hard Is It To Make Your Own Clothes Well it’s not, Because –

As I mentioned earlier, Clothing industry is a labor intensive industry. Almost all the clothes are handmade by a person. Most of them do not hold any degrees. Hustle beats talent every time, so if you are willing to put in hours to practice then this skill isn’t that difficult to master.
You don’t need technical and academic excellence to make a clothes. Before we saw the influx of low priced fashion brands, our mums and grand mums did most of the sewing around the house.
Sewing is a common hobby worldwide. It is easy to find high-quality materials, patterns, and equipment at low prices.
You get good sewing courses every where, with formal degrees or hobby classes. And owing to pandemic many experienced dress makers and professionals have made their online courses for any one to enroll.
Simple Google what clothe you want to make and you will get hundreds of free DIY tutorials.. here is a list of videos that will help you get started !

Free Sewing Patterns and Resources

If you wish to learn the art of dress making in a systematic and professional manner then Click Here

For free tutorials do follow and subscribe me on YouTube

If you wish to buy my ready made PDF patterns visit my Etsy shop

And if you are feeling generous to follow me on Instagram then Click Here 🥰

Tags clothes, Dresses, Sewing, Sewing Clothes

Sewing Techniques

Seam Allowance – why not !

Post author By Kalpana Singh
Post date January 29, 2021
No Comments on Seam Allowance – why not !

What is Seam Allowance

Seam allowance (sometimes called inlays) as Wikipedia defines it is the area between the edge and the stitching line on two (or more) pieces of material being stitched together. Seam allowances can range from 1⁄4inch (6.4 mm) wide to as much as several inches.

Now it is but obvious that creating a seam allowance is a bit of a lengthy work especially when you are trying to create a uniform seam allowance i.e. Making extra effort by measuring the seam and marking accurately. We do sometime get tempted to skip this step and directly go ahead with cutting the fabric by assuming the allowance ( I myself have been guilty of doing the same! ) But if you can actually do an eye measurement and gauge the allowance just by assuming ( which obviously mean you have been sewing for quite some time and can tell the measurement by just merely looking at it ).

I would say go ahead and cut the damn fabric!! But if by any chance you are a beginner , which means either this is your first garment or you have sewn 2-3 garments already then please do take the pains of measuring the seam allowance , mark accurately and then only cut the fabric.

Here is the reason why – as a beginner your sewing on the machine becomes much easier if you have your lines drawn clearly on your fabric. But as you get experience you might not spend so much time and effort drawing your lines on each and every piece of the fabric cut hence your straight stitches can only be ensured if you align your edge of the fabric to the lines marked next to the machine foot.

Uniform Seam Allowance

If the seam allowance itself is not uniform your sewing on the machine too will not be straight. The logic I often give for spending a little extra time and effort on uniform seam allowance is – “the amount of time spent on removing your stitches is much more than the amount of time spent on marking uniform seam allowance !!” Hence do mark the seam accurately and equally.

Happy sewing !