Six sewing tips for custom-made dresses

Custom made clothing are dresses made by tailors for a specific individual. With the rise in different fashion trends, there’s an increasing demand for such made-to-measure clothing.

These few tips will help your clothe stand out.

Sewing stretchy fabrics

Whether using a black head machine or an industrial machine, never pull stretchy fabrics when sewing them. Pulling causes the fabric to have a length or width more than estimated and also reduces the elasticity of the fabric.

Take accurate measurements

While marking out measurement on a fabric, ensure they are followed strictly and take note of every allowance made while marking on the fabric. For custom made dresses, ensure proper measurement of every part of the dress and avoid assumptions.

Understand crosswise and lengthwise grains concept

On every fabric, there’s a side that stretches more than the other; the stretchier side is called the crosswise grain or cross grain, while the less stretchy side is called the lengthwise grain or straight grain.

When cutting fabrics, the crosswise grain should be cut parallel to the floor; for example, in female dresses, the hips and bust should be cut along the crosswise grain while the length along the lengthwise grain.

Eliminating puffs at zips

Puffs at zips are very common in female dresses (especially tops and gowns). They tend to disfigure the dress at the location of the zipper. They occur mostly in stretchy fabrics but are also found in some other fabrics.

To deal with this, ensure that correct measurement is obtained and when drawing the outline for a dress to be cut, instead of having the zipper drawn straight, go in one inch at the waistline and then out again to the hips.

Use appropriate sewing tools

As in every profession, sewing tools are required to obtain perfect dresses.

Some tools needed by every tailor are: measuring tape, tailor’s chalk, sharp pair of scissors, pinking shears, well pointed machine needles, a good sewing machine, good source of light, pins and pin cushion, French curve, seam ripper, iron and ironing board, for hand sewing (thimble and hand needles), screwdriver, bobbin, Machine oil etc.

Dealing with a blunt pair of scissors

Working with a blunt pair of scissors can be very discouraging and can slow one down. To quickly sharpen a pair of scissors,  cut through a sandpaper about 10-15 times. The more you cut through, the sharper the scissors gets. Alternatively, a foil paper can be folded after which you cut strips of the foil paper multiple times.