Learning to make clothes

Sewing and Clothes Making
I consider them two different skills. I can sew by hand quite competently and sometimes prettily as you can see from my embroidery. I can even make a quilt without too much fuss and hats work for me.

But fitting, constructing and completing an outfit I find extremely difficult. Altering patterns to fit my shape (I don't seem to be anywhere near pattern makers model) take me ages to do and a lot of it has been a bit trial and error. Once everything is cut and pinned I'm fine and can happily sew away (if I'm impatient using machine...if not I prefer to sew by hand).

Now I have issues with come items of clothing as I can't fit them on my own (and until I get the space I can't get a dressform either shop bought or homemade). So in the meantime I have decided to try and work on some skills and have chosen 2 projects to help with this (see previous post about my 40's/50's style spring plans).

- The 40's skirt which involves learning to do a zip. Which to get round fit problems I'm doing a test version and fitting it on mum (she gets to keep it of course).
- A simple blouse which involves buttonholes. I'll be able to adjust the front and hope the back is ok. lol!
I'm doing both things by hand as my sewing machine is only basic.

Now to get back to what I was gonna say. Recently I found on the BBC site and archive with some old programs about sewing from the 60's. I found the instruction very clear. I now know how to sew a collar...well in theory anyway, I won't know till I actually do it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/whatwewore/5601.shtml
Its such a shame they don't do programs like that anymore.

I also have just got through the post The dressmakers technique bible. After a skim read it looks like it has all the info I need.

Now all I have to do is go fabric shopping....of course that's the bit I like the most.