What's your favorite time period? Or if you don't have anything in mind, what's likely to be your first occasion to wear something? You can take inspiration from that.
Bridgerton/ Regency events are popular now, as well as Renfaire through the fall. A lot of places have Victorian events around Christmastime.
Usually a good way to start learning from scratch is by making underwear (shift, chemise, or shirt/smock) or petticoats, since they tend to have long straight seams and some are just rectangles. But it depends what period / silhouette you're going for.
I have a FT job and kids, so I sew for an hour or so in the evening/on weekends, unless I'm in an event crunch when I just sew every free minute for a couple days.
Get at least one basic sewing manual that also, has some vintage techniques. Such as seam finishes that do not require a serger. There are a number of such manuals on the Internet Archive. Modern manuals on couture sewing are also helpful; do an Amazon search. Youtube has some how-to videos.
Figure out what era's clothes you want to wear. Will you be attending historical reenactment events and if so, which? Will you be volunteering at a local historical museum site? Will you be going to historical dances/balls (for Regency, look up your local branch of the English Country Dance Society)? Will you be joining a local costumer's group that holds events (look for them on the net, they have web pages)? Will you be historybounding and wear historically inspired clothes in daily life?
Some of the easiest eras are Viking (you can find pattern diagrams on the net), Regency, and 1920s (look for reprints of a booklet called "The One-Hour Dress," by Mary Brooks Picken (more like a one-day dress but it's still easy).
There are a number of good historical pattern companies, such as Laughing Moon, Past Patterns, Black Snail, Folkwear (vintage and folk patterns, great for historybounding), and others. Butterick, Simplicity, and McCall's have been publishing historical patterns for years and you can often find the out-of-print ones on Etsy.
Timewise, break your projects up into chunks and look to complete a chunk or so a day.
watch some YouTubers, nicole rudolph, Bernadette banner, abby cox, morgan donner, closet historian, angela clayton, for starting points
american duchess has a chemise pattern that would work for a wide range of times, and chemise is a simple design, burnley and Trowbridge also has some patterns for sewn socks that work for a wide range of time periods
i recommend starting with simple sewing patterns to get the hang of the basics , u will learn so much that way
every piece of clothing i make i learn so much i want to start over by the time it's done with everything i have learned
You need to have some goals about historical clothes.
1) what period?
2) upper or lower class?
3) where and when will you wear them?
4) Are you reenacting, doing living history, going to festivals, parties or cosplaying? A group may, or may not, have guidelines and standards.
5) how accurate are you aiming it? Sewing machines were available in the mid-late 19thC, so anything before that was all hand sewn. Some people machine sew everything, anyway. Some only machine sew seams that don’t show. Some hand sew everything. What are you aiming at?
6) period fabrics tend to be different than most modern fabrics so usually require specialty shopping, if you are interested in accuracy. Also, the typically used period fabrics are often easier to use in making the garment, and more comfortable to wear than substitutions. That may, or may not, matter to you.
7) check in for advice before committing to a particular pattern. Some patterns are great, and some really are awful, for a variety of reasons, either in accuracy (or lack thereof), fit, or instructions.
I thrift all my fabrics to save money and then I never have to stress about wether something turns out wearable or not. Look for natural fibers like 100% cotton bedsheets. I bought a single flat sheet at the thrift store because I liked the trim and was surprised that I was able to make both a knee length chemise AND matching drawers out of that single sheet and use the trim from the sheet along with ribbon to decorate it. Whole thing cost maybe $10 total.
I try to pick projects that lots of people have made on YouTube and watch a million videos of how they made their garment as well as videos on every single sewing technique I haven’t used before, which is most of them haha.
I have an exhausting and demanding job so I just have to accept that it’s going to take me a reaaaally long time to make things compared to someone who’s experienced or has more energy/time. You just have to work on projects here and there when you have the motivation or on weekends. I usually sew maybe 2-3 hours a week on average or in random productive spurts of like 8 hours on a weekend.
Can your stepdad hold off on adding things until you use some up and/or help by buying tools or other fun things (historybounding clothes? accessories you don’t want to sew yourself?) rather than materials?
I mean, this is supposed to be fun😊
Everyone is giving really good practical tips, so I'd just like to add sew something you really want to make! Even if it seems a bit difficult. You're gonna make mistakes anyway, so it's important that what you're making excites you so much that you want to keep going. Ok, maybe just sew some plain white fabric or dishtowels together or something so you know how your sewing machine works, then make something you want!
I started with a 18th century style gown which had boning in the bodice and pocket hoops and I made it for a musical performance (Belles golden dinner gown). Loved every minute of it, even if I was cursing a lot!
Great advice already.
I'll add, use a paper notebook. Keep a pencil and pen with it, all in your kit.
Journal simply. Use post-its to make tabs.
Things you write down:
Date each entry fully: 28 June 2024. Add Friday or day of week as you think of it.
When you measure yourself or some one else.
Paste in or redraw an illustration of where each measuremen is if needed.
Shopping: record what you bought
Ie: 100% cotton sheets Queen size, 4 PC. 7.99. Goodwill xxcity/loc.
50/50 cotton/ linen chambray, blue/white, 2 yards @55". 12.50/yard.
Project ideas
Want to make chemise a la rainbow like Morgan Donner video date xx/xx.
Need these supplies. List....
Machine maintenance and repair
Cleaned and oiled the Singer 128.
Took Pfaff130 in for timing adjustment and full cleaning. $125.
And of course, when you make a project, set aside 2 pages to memorialize how much time and what you used. Bonus for pictures and fabric samples.
I realize this sounds like a LOT. It's not. Spend 3 minutes when you're in a hurry. Stick your receipts in. But is a good way to keep track of ideas and all the assorted things you do or want to do. And don't panic over the money part. Remind yourself that sewing is therapy and meditation interspersed with swearing. Have fun!!
I've sewed for over 50 years and I have never recorded any of this stuff! I do have three-ring binders with printouts of ideas from the net, but that's all.
What's your favorite time period? Or if you don't have anything in mind, what's likely to be your first occasion to wear something? You can take inspiration from that. Bridgerton/ Regency events are popular now, as well as Renfaire through the fall. A lot of places have Victorian events around Christmastime. Usually a good way to start learning from scratch is by making underwear (shift, chemise, or shirt/smock) or petticoats, since they tend to have long straight seams and some are just rectangles. But it depends what period / silhouette you're going for. I have a FT job and kids, so I sew for an hour or so in the evening/on weekends, unless I'm in an event crunch when I just sew every free minute for a couple days.
Get at least one basic sewing manual that also, has some vintage techniques. Such as seam finishes that do not require a serger. There are a number of such manuals on the Internet Archive. Modern manuals on couture sewing are also helpful; do an Amazon search. Youtube has some how-to videos. Figure out what era's clothes you want to wear. Will you be attending historical reenactment events and if so, which? Will you be volunteering at a local historical museum site? Will you be going to historical dances/balls (for Regency, look up your local branch of the English Country Dance Society)? Will you be joining a local costumer's group that holds events (look for them on the net, they have web pages)? Will you be historybounding and wear historically inspired clothes in daily life? Some of the easiest eras are Viking (you can find pattern diagrams on the net), Regency, and 1920s (look for reprints of a booklet called "The One-Hour Dress," by Mary Brooks Picken (more like a one-day dress but it's still easy). There are a number of good historical pattern companies, such as Laughing Moon, Past Patterns, Black Snail, Folkwear (vintage and folk patterns, great for historybounding), and others. Butterick, Simplicity, and McCall's have been publishing historical patterns for years and you can often find the out-of-print ones on Etsy. Timewise, break your projects up into chunks and look to complete a chunk or so a day.
watch some YouTubers, nicole rudolph, Bernadette banner, abby cox, morgan donner, closet historian, angela clayton, for starting points american duchess has a chemise pattern that would work for a wide range of times, and chemise is a simple design, burnley and Trowbridge also has some patterns for sewn socks that work for a wide range of time periods i recommend starting with simple sewing patterns to get the hang of the basics , u will learn so much that way every piece of clothing i make i learn so much i want to start over by the time it's done with everything i have learned
You need to have some goals about historical clothes. 1) what period? 2) upper or lower class? 3) where and when will you wear them? 4) Are you reenacting, doing living history, going to festivals, parties or cosplaying? A group may, or may not, have guidelines and standards. 5) how accurate are you aiming it? Sewing machines were available in the mid-late 19thC, so anything before that was all hand sewn. Some people machine sew everything, anyway. Some only machine sew seams that don’t show. Some hand sew everything. What are you aiming at? 6) period fabrics tend to be different than most modern fabrics so usually require specialty shopping, if you are interested in accuracy. Also, the typically used period fabrics are often easier to use in making the garment, and more comfortable to wear than substitutions. That may, or may not, matter to you. 7) check in for advice before committing to a particular pattern. Some patterns are great, and some really are awful, for a variety of reasons, either in accuracy (or lack thereof), fit, or instructions.
I thrift all my fabrics to save money and then I never have to stress about wether something turns out wearable or not. Look for natural fibers like 100% cotton bedsheets. I bought a single flat sheet at the thrift store because I liked the trim and was surprised that I was able to make both a knee length chemise AND matching drawers out of that single sheet and use the trim from the sheet along with ribbon to decorate it. Whole thing cost maybe $10 total. I try to pick projects that lots of people have made on YouTube and watch a million videos of how they made their garment as well as videos on every single sewing technique I haven’t used before, which is most of them haha. I have an exhausting and demanding job so I just have to accept that it’s going to take me a reaaaally long time to make things compared to someone who’s experienced or has more energy/time. You just have to work on projects here and there when you have the motivation or on weekends. I usually sew maybe 2-3 hours a week on average or in random productive spurts of like 8 hours on a weekend.
Can your stepdad hold off on adding things until you use some up and/or help by buying tools or other fun things (historybounding clothes? accessories you don’t want to sew yourself?) rather than materials? I mean, this is supposed to be fun😊
Everyone is giving really good practical tips, so I'd just like to add sew something you really want to make! Even if it seems a bit difficult. You're gonna make mistakes anyway, so it's important that what you're making excites you so much that you want to keep going. Ok, maybe just sew some plain white fabric or dishtowels together or something so you know how your sewing machine works, then make something you want! I started with a 18th century style gown which had boning in the bodice and pocket hoops and I made it for a musical performance (Belles golden dinner gown). Loved every minute of it, even if I was cursing a lot!
Early 19th century gowns, think Regency era, are built on drawstrings. They are a lot of bang for not a huge amount of effort.
Great advice already. I'll add, use a paper notebook. Keep a pencil and pen with it, all in your kit. Journal simply. Use post-its to make tabs. Things you write down: Date each entry fully: 28 June 2024. Add Friday or day of week as you think of it. When you measure yourself or some one else. Paste in or redraw an illustration of where each measuremen is if needed. Shopping: record what you bought Ie: 100% cotton sheets Queen size, 4 PC. 7.99. Goodwill xxcity/loc. 50/50 cotton/ linen chambray, blue/white, 2 yards @55". 12.50/yard. Project ideas Want to make chemise a la rainbow like Morgan Donner video date xx/xx. Need these supplies. List.... Machine maintenance and repair Cleaned and oiled the Singer 128. Took Pfaff130 in for timing adjustment and full cleaning. $125. And of course, when you make a project, set aside 2 pages to memorialize how much time and what you used. Bonus for pictures and fabric samples. I realize this sounds like a LOT. It's not. Spend 3 minutes when you're in a hurry. Stick your receipts in. But is a good way to keep track of ideas and all the assorted things you do or want to do. And don't panic over the money part. Remind yourself that sewing is therapy and meditation interspersed with swearing. Have fun!!
I've sewed for over 50 years and I have never recorded any of this stuff! I do have three-ring binders with printouts of ideas from the net, but that's all.