I have always had trouble with patters of any kind. Thats why I like scrap quilts.
Judy in Ohio

jojo47 and Tx_CUTIE; There aretutorials on zippers. I always had a problem with them and sleeves. Just enter zipper tutorials and you should find one. Also there are many FREE pin cushion patterns. Just do the same, as with zippers.

ALSO WHO HAD THE QUILT FROM LAST NEWSLETTER THAT WAS PRETTY SQS. BOARDERED IN WHITE AND WHITE BACKGROUND? i WAS GOING TO LET YOU KNOW WHERE ISAW THIS QUILT FOR SALE ON eBAY. iS IS CALLED KUAI, and you will find it on there. May not have spelled it correctly. Seller is wildorchid, and it in on a bed in the picture. Yours is just as nice.

Helen
SNOW ANYONE? Beautiful outside my picture windows.

Auntiehenno: My experience with the zipper was years ago, and I had spent probably 1/2 hour or more ripping out and putting in (my mom had alway put them in for me before that, but this was the day I decided I'd better learn to do it myself). After about 1/2 hour (or more) of listening to me cuss and swear at this stupid zipper, Mom came and watched me, then told me "Oh, blow it out your a** and come have a cup of coffee!" She accomplished two things...she made me laugh and I took a much-needed break. After that, the zipper went in like a charm. Like I said, it ended up on the right side of the garment instead of the left, but it was in, it stayed in, and after that experience, yes, I could put zippers in with the best of them. Thanks for the info on the tute, though. I always enjoy seeing them, and maybe learning something new. BTW, I still laugh at myself over that zipper, and I wore that pair of shorts for a long time!

Enjoyed reading about your zipper and your mother. No one will know the difference anyway! :D

I had to laugh at some of the comments about sewing patterns here on this thead. I feel you pain girls ... really! I have been sewing garments many years and some of these patterns are very confusing as to just exactly they are saying to do and how to do it. I often just read the pattern and change it up to how I like it. LOL!

The best thing I ever bought for my fashion sewing was a dress form. There are no surprises after it is made. You make any changes to the pattern before you begin and know if will fit afterwords.

I totally agree with you about simplicity patterns. They are not my favorite company at ALL! And often times they look so homemade, why bother? I did read that they had up-dated thier patterns because they were in trouble with sales.

McCall's is my favorite with butterick coming in a close second. Vogue is very nice, but gee how come they are so expensive?

Vogue's pricing is the main reason why I have so few of them.

Interesting discussion!

I sew clothes, still. Learned when I was in third grade, in self-defense :lol: By then there were five kids, and Mom could not keep making clothes for all of us!

I have found lately that I get the pattern, check measurements on the pattern piece itself to make changes before I cut. Then, if I do not understand the directions, I think back to past experiences for some other way to do it. :? Usually works better than being frustrated.

Glad the apron turned out better than the pincushion :D

Don't dispair about the pattern instructions...I have a BS in Apparel Design and have trouble understand most of the pattern instructions. If you need help, post your questions and one of us can help you.

I was SO dumb when I was younger -

I thought if I kept buying different patterns, I would find one that would fit me as is -

HA!

Once in a rare while I did find something store-bought that worked -

That is why I so like making non-clothing items - they end up the size they are and are usually useful.

http://www.nancysnotions.com/product...fidence+dvd.do

This video will show you how to adapt any pattern to your measurements. I saw this episode on her tv series and it facinated me. I definitely will get the video now that I know where I can.

I'm sure it will help anyone struggling with patterns.