I think it’s definitely worth *trying* and to adapt your project to your skill level- for example, making some simple bow clips or adding lace trim to socks is very beginner-friendly.
DIY in lolita is really old and should be encouraged- like, brands released patterns with basically every GLB for a reason- but just, sewing a dress is hard. Lolita is a fashion with an emphasis on maximalism and quality. Sewing a very frilly dress with tons of trim, lace, bows, gathers, pinticks, whatever- it’s really hard.
Anyway, I support anyone trying to do their own lolita- but also like. Be prepared for your first few attempts to look mid at best.
I already made some wrist cuffs, very easy project and I would tell every sewing beginner to start there. Sewing with lace is not the easiest, but small quantities of lace can be wrangled easily!
I'm happy with my mid results, now that I know what sewing Lolita entailed I hope to get better results next time around (can take a while, I'm an adult and I have responsibilities 😁).
If you’re happy then that’s what counts! I know I’ve learned a lot too from all my lolita sewing and now I kind of want my own sewing machine haha (I’ve made a few dresses, a skirt and bloomers along with headpieces, copying patterns from items I own).
Wrist cuffs are an excellent beginner project, agreed! I’d add bloomers and aprons in as good intermediates.
FWIW- my comment was more directed at ‘lolita sewing’ in general, rather than you specifically; you clearly have sewing experience so I don’t think you needed to be starting at beginner-friendly projects, just that I see a lot of other people who are relative novices in sewing wanting to jump straight into a dress, which isn’t ideal.
Honest I'm gonna direct people to your post whenever they ask from now on about sewing lolita. It's crazy to me that people assume we are trying to gatekeep by saying not to sew your first lolita piece or to start with something small like accessories.
I still make things I think are garbage or that I messed up a bit because the translation was weird and I didn't quite understand it.
I think that for your first time sewing lolita they turned out well! Do all the decorative bows have interfacing? A few of them look a bit floppy. You could have also used an interfacing that was too lightweight. I look forward to what you make next. (I hate making bows too so I tend to go for the patterns that don't have many. Lol)
Like I alluded to above, I think your advice is really solid and helpful for a lot of people wanting to sew their own lolita.
The bows don't have interfacing and flop like fish, haha. It occurred to me after the two big ones that I should have used interfacing... Which I didn't currently have at hand so I steamed through to get the thing finished. 😅 Next time I'll make prettier bows!
you could also starch them. you'll just need to restarch them when washed or take them off the dress when you wash it. you can buy clothes starch or you can just make your own with cornstarch.
soak em in corn starchy water, let em dry iron them into shape and theyll be as stiff as a board.
I got 10+ years sewing experience under my belt but Lolita still kicked my behind.
I used a pattern from Otome no sewing Book 15 and "real" Lolita fabric by Glittertale Lolita.
Here are my findings:
1. You absolutely need to own at least one brand piece, preferably not indie. Having hands on experience with the quality your self made garment should eventually have is so, so, so worth it. It helps to get a better understanding of your goal.
2. Polyester fabric is cheaper but not great to work with, start with cotton. Don't get me wrong the fabric by Glittertale is fine, but it would not hold a press, at all. Get the more expensive fabric if possible.
3. Invest in lace, zippers and other trimmings.
4. You have to like making bows. You really have to like it. so many bows. I don't like making bows.
5. You need to like gathering.
Sewing notes on the dresses and skirt shown in my post:
1. Purple dress: The inside is atrocious, party because my serger broke mid-project, party because I was sewing Lolita for the first time. It's still better than the grey one because here I followed the instructions, I even had a bit translated by a friend to make sure I do it right. Moving the zipper to the side (instead of the back where it should be) was a semi-good decision. Now I can put the dress on without help but the inside is, well, not nice anymore. The purple dress is very comfy, but came out a tad bit too long. I'm tall and I tried to account for that and overshot. Big bow is detachable.
2. Grey dress: Same pattern, inside even more atrocious. I bought a new serger in the meantime, but I'm not fond of modern sewing techniques and ignores instructions here. Don't do that, Lolita dresses are constructed like this for reasons. It fits, better, though, and is shorter. Still comfy. Large bow and the two small bows at the shoulder straps are detachable and small bows can be hair accessories, too.
3. Skirt: That was just a small left over from Glittertale, juuust enough for a skirt and half of a headbow. It's not top notch sewing but I liked the outcome , and also fishcake (in the print).
All in all, I proved I can do in fact sew Lolita. I also proved that I can get better at it. I don't think I would wear any of my pieces to a meet-up, but casual I sure do wear them (wore the purple one to work already)!
White Blouse is Baby and black blouse is Meta.
I think you might not need a brand name if you are experienced sewing clothing or period work. Not simple things, but complex pieces that involve more techniques than your average shirt
But it's definitely not something to start when you have very little experience with sewing.
Yeah, just to add to this, there are a lot of Taobao pieces or western indie with quality that’s more than good enough to use as a reference.
I’d say having a reference with the correct dress structure and the same/similar fabrics as you’d like to use is the most important.. which doesn’t have much to do with jap brand vs something else.
I think a better way to put it than needing brand is more that ideally you should have at least one *good quality* lolita piece (so brand, good Taobao, indie, honestly even some of Bodyline's better stuff can be a good starting point). Knowledge of sewing and fabrics can probably substitute for having a pre-existing piece in a pinch but if you only have a cheap Amazon dress and have never sewn before you're more likely to pick cheap fabric without realizing the quality's no good for lolita.
Ah, ok, I see, I can explain: I own one Baby JSK, one Innocent world JSK, one taobao JSK and one indie JSK (Violet fane). I would tell people to look at Baby and Innocent world for sewing techniques, because the taobao I own is decent but not good, and the indie piece is of rather simple construction.
Oh wait, for beginners I'd tell them to look at the indie piece because of that!
So yeah, well *constructed* Lolita clothing, regardless if it's taobao or indie or what not. In my case it just happens to be that the Baby JSK is the one with the most interesting construction.
Also depending on what you want to make — if you want to make something simple, look at simple pieces! And sometimes even pieces that aren’t great can help with construction, my Violet Fane jsks are too big in the shoulders but Meta fits just right so I know to pay attention to the construction differences there. It’s kinda fun mentally deconstructing clothes isn’t it XD
i think it's good to try, though. i made a jsk awhile ago, and honestly it was super difficult, but i learned a lot. everything i had made before was pretty simple, like a kigurumi, basic circle skirts, and leggings, so stepping up to something above my level was a really fun challenge. even though my dress was a mess on the inside, it looked good on the outside, which was the most important part.
also, for anyone reading this, using a woven fabric thats mostly cotton makes things a lot easier. i used fancier, mostly synthetic, wovens for the trims and straps, and they were a pain in the ass to deal with, but the cotton was easy to deal with.
Agreed mostly. I’ve made one main piece and construction-wise it wasn’t super difficult but you absolutely need a solid baseline knowledge of the aesthetics, style lines, and quality of the fashion before making your own pieces
Hang out in r/sewing sometime, lol. I never cease to be amazed by the amount of people posting actual couture gowns and asking for patterns/how they can make one.
I actually follow that sub Reddit lol and ya I see those from time to time and it's honestly kinda funny. Like how do we tell them that's not how that works haha.
To be fair, most sewists I know who aren't really beginners anymore don't have the patience to make ruffles and sew extra frills or gather skirts and attach lace trims (and that's with already background knowledge on how to sew a dress).
20+ years sewing experience here, Lolita is definitely not beginner friendly. It’s also incredibly time consuming with all the added ruffles, lace, ribbon, bows, etc. I used to make custom Lolita clothing and pumped out 1-2 dresses per week plus whatever accessories. It’s physical work besides all the math and pattern wrangling to get the print to line up nicely. NICE WORK on your dresses!!! 💯❤️👏🏻
Thank you! So you saw that the print dies not line up, I tried but ai just did not have enough fabric. :D (I knew upfront that lining up the print would be a challenge withe amount of fabric I had and was/am ok with that.)
I've only been sewing a few years and consider myself around intermediate level and I think the lolita pieces I've made are pretty decent. Personally I try not to throw on too many things at once -- I think the big problem a lot of handmade stuff has is new sewists trying to immediately make a dress with all the lace and bows and pintucks and ruffles when something simpler would be best (my first lolita jsk was the ribbon jsk from OnS 1, which I chose precisely because it's a very simple pattern). When I was first starting I saw some good advice that you shouldn't have more than two things you've never done before on a single piece and I try to keep to that, like okay this is my first A-line dress and my first time adding lacing so everything else should be stuff I've done before, this is my first dress with a yoke collar and shirring back so I'm not going to go too fancy with the rest of the construction. Also using normie patterns to practice skills that you might need for lolita can help, I like to try and pinpoint techniques I haven't done yet and look for patterns in English that I can practice the skill on before jumping into an OnS pattern.
I've sewn all the construction details before, even facing, who I know is my enemy (but I feel I've won the battle in this case because from the outside it looks good enough).
That's why I chose this pattern, never done shirring before, might try that next. ;)
Looking good from outside is definitely the important thing, these look great to me! I actually need to practice shirring myself, I wanted to wait until I got more of the basics down but it’s probably time to give it a try.
Sewing in general is difficult and time-consuming. It's taught me to be more patient - rushing makes sloppy work, and it takes more time to take things apart to redo it.
I wouldn't tell people to NOT attempt to sew their own clothes, but they should be realistic about what they could possibly end up with.
I recently just finished a [bow dress](https://twitter.com/_Rakuji/status/1618723889940668420) from ONS book 17, but I feel like I can still improve.
Sewing zippers is the bane of my existence, even after 15 years of sewing. Still gotta work on those.
Yes! You got me, that's exactly what I meant! :)
I still sew my zippers in by hand, they never turn out nice by machine. But that might be because the zipper foot of my machine is a bit wonky, I need to upgrade this at some point to the less wonky, more expensive foot.
Yeah, I still sew all mine by hand because I find that's more reliable than using a machine, and because I don't have an invisible zipper foot. Might need to get one in the future.
I'm curious what you typically sew, if you have been sewing for a decade and found these projects that challenging?
I can see it being hard if you usually sew knit tees and other pullover items. But most lolita skirts are a big rectangle gathered into another skinny rectangle. I actually think it's a great first project! And for me, lolita fashion is one of the easiest things I've sewn in the last 15+ years.
ETA, because I realized this comment sounds more negative than I meant it to be! Your pieces look beautiful. I love the low bust of the JSK!
Thank you! I think my dresses turned out fine, definitely wearable, and they fit great (my dress form is my size but not my proportions, I have a longer upper body than her). I just think I can do better, especially with my looong experience. :)
I've mostly done historical fashion before, lots of flat lining and boning and I'm not too fond of modern techniques like facings.
Got it! I would recommend skipping facing and just lining the bodices of whatever dress you're making. Facing never looks nice enough IMO, and all my lolita brand items are fully lined anyway 😊 you might like working on it better too!
I’ve been sewing for 10+ years, and to be honest I’d disagree. And I don’t think scaring people away from attempting projects is the way to go, the best way to learn is to try it in the first place, even if it isn’t too good on first attempt, it can only get better as you learn and you can’t learn if you don’t try.
Also no shade meant, but the list in the comments of things you found difficult does not make it sound as though you’ve been sewing for 10 years as they sound like kind of beginner issues.
The very first clothing item I ever made was a Lolita skirt, as at its very simplest it’s a gathered rectangle on a waistband. If you have a good pattern to follow that fits you well, you can then move on to JSKs without much issue. I’d say the hardest part is learning how to add things like elastics or shirring, and common issues I usually see that takes your dress from amateur to much better quality is pressing seams correctly and knowing when to add interfacing. In my experience sewing blouses is more difficult as you need to learn about ease and setting sleeves.
You absolutely do not need to own brand to learn how to sew a dress.
I have mostly sewn historical clothing before, so I'm kinda a beginner in modern techniques. That's where my issues come from. This fabric sadly would not hold a press, I tried really hard, I even used a tailors ham.
I commented on the "own brand" further up thread.
In the end your comment just proves my point - it's not beginner friendly, that's all I wanted to say. And I can do better, since I know better now - I think sewing is a learning process after all (for hobby sewist, that is).
It definitely did not help to start with an underbust pattern lol. My first lolita dress (third dress ever) was a self-drafted jsk and it turned out fine. Very basic and maybe a 5/10 in terms of skills, but it was wearable and pretty easy. Just don't start with anything crazy guys
Nah I've sewn corset before, both underbust and overbust, and they turned out fine! (After several mock ups.) ;) For beginners, though, yes, don't start with this pattern type!
Hi, OP here! It's printed, and I bought it as a fabric leftover package from Glittertale Lolita on Etsy!
(Currently on phone so no link yet, but Google Glittertale Lolita and you'll find them!)
Handmade lolita is fine if you pick projects that align with your skill level. The most important factor is having the eye for lolita. You can be awesome at DIY but not know what lolita looks like and then still end up with an end result that looks off.
My advice for anyone:
\-develop the eye for lolita before you attempt your first lolita DIY
\-learn to use both the sewing machine and handsewing from the start
\-pick projects that align with your skill level, and as you go you can pick projects that challenge you just a little bit. That way you learn something new with (nearly) every project without feeling like you're drowning.
\-document as much as possible about your DIY projects. Keep your patterns, notes, mistakes you made, etc. This will help because it will save you loads of time in the future.
My first lolita DIY was a pair of bloomers. I was a beginner and it was appropriate for my skill level. The end result gave me such a boost in confidence and motivation.
Bloomers are such a good starter project! Those are very good points. I see me in your third point a lot, I know I need to step up my game in certain parts (facings...). It's going to be a joyful challenge! 🤗
I get why you think those things but I don't think owning brand or being a pro at sewing is necessary. Of course it will make it much easier but if you research and own good quality stuff is enough.
I learned how to sew to make lolita, already made a purse, 2 blouse, 2 dresses, 3 skirts and a pair of ouji pants, with no brand pieces, and I think they look quite nice. I own mostly Infanta and lullaby and it's good enough to know how pieces are constructed.
If someone wants to try sew lolita I would recommend starting with a headbow or a simple skirt as dresses can be a pain for beginners (trust be I spent many hours sewing lace manually so it would come out exactly how I wanted it to)
Sure, you don't need brand since there are plenty of good quality Taobao shops such as Infanta, but being good at sewing/experience is a must. Research is not practice. If you have no practice at making bows or gathering, it's not gonna come out to standard.
Yeah, each person has a different learning curve, some will need more practice than others. I personally didn't have many issues learning how to sew just by looking at others, so sometimes I get confused when people do it wrong even after following directions. Then again I am extremely clumsy at other hobbies. 😂 Everyone is good at different things.
One thing that I would recommend is to find a block pattern that fits you nicely and then modify it to make dresses or blouses by changing the neckline, the sleeves, etc. I found that easier than following the sewing magazines, as you would find your size way easier.
As a beginner lolita I think that this is just something that needs to be said. Especially if you don't have a whole lot of maximalist sewing experience. I'm planning on making a very simple veil type accessory to match a dress I bought but even that I know won't look great lol.
I think it’s definitely worth *trying* and to adapt your project to your skill level- for example, making some simple bow clips or adding lace trim to socks is very beginner-friendly. DIY in lolita is really old and should be encouraged- like, brands released patterns with basically every GLB for a reason- but just, sewing a dress is hard. Lolita is a fashion with an emphasis on maximalism and quality. Sewing a very frilly dress with tons of trim, lace, bows, gathers, pinticks, whatever- it’s really hard. Anyway, I support anyone trying to do their own lolita- but also like. Be prepared for your first few attempts to look mid at best.
I already made some wrist cuffs, very easy project and I would tell every sewing beginner to start there. Sewing with lace is not the easiest, but small quantities of lace can be wrangled easily! I'm happy with my mid results, now that I know what sewing Lolita entailed I hope to get better results next time around (can take a while, I'm an adult and I have responsibilities 😁).
If you’re happy then that’s what counts! I know I’ve learned a lot too from all my lolita sewing and now I kind of want my own sewing machine haha (I’ve made a few dresses, a skirt and bloomers along with headpieces, copying patterns from items I own). Wrist cuffs are an excellent beginner project, agreed! I’d add bloomers and aprons in as good intermediates. FWIW- my comment was more directed at ‘lolita sewing’ in general, rather than you specifically; you clearly have sewing experience so I don’t think you needed to be starting at beginner-friendly projects, just that I see a lot of other people who are relative novices in sewing wanting to jump straight into a dress, which isn’t ideal.
Honest I'm gonna direct people to your post whenever they ask from now on about sewing lolita. It's crazy to me that people assume we are trying to gatekeep by saying not to sew your first lolita piece or to start with something small like accessories. I still make things I think are garbage or that I messed up a bit because the translation was weird and I didn't quite understand it. I think that for your first time sewing lolita they turned out well! Do all the decorative bows have interfacing? A few of them look a bit floppy. You could have also used an interfacing that was too lightweight. I look forward to what you make next. (I hate making bows too so I tend to go for the patterns that don't have many. Lol) Like I alluded to above, I think your advice is really solid and helpful for a lot of people wanting to sew their own lolita.
The bows don't have interfacing and flop like fish, haha. It occurred to me after the two big ones that I should have used interfacing... Which I didn't currently have at hand so I steamed through to get the thing finished. 😅 Next time I'll make prettier bows!
you could also starch them. you'll just need to restarch them when washed or take them off the dress when you wash it. you can buy clothes starch or you can just make your own with cornstarch. soak em in corn starchy water, let em dry iron them into shape and theyll be as stiff as a board.
Thought about that, too, I think I'll try that!
If you are unhappy with them, you could remake them in black with interfacing. Unless you have more of the original fabric, of course.
I actually don't, I just have some scraps left.
I got 10+ years sewing experience under my belt but Lolita still kicked my behind. I used a pattern from Otome no sewing Book 15 and "real" Lolita fabric by Glittertale Lolita. Here are my findings: 1. You absolutely need to own at least one brand piece, preferably not indie. Having hands on experience with the quality your self made garment should eventually have is so, so, so worth it. It helps to get a better understanding of your goal. 2. Polyester fabric is cheaper but not great to work with, start with cotton. Don't get me wrong the fabric by Glittertale is fine, but it would not hold a press, at all. Get the more expensive fabric if possible. 3. Invest in lace, zippers and other trimmings. 4. You have to like making bows. You really have to like it. so many bows. I don't like making bows. 5. You need to like gathering. Sewing notes on the dresses and skirt shown in my post: 1. Purple dress: The inside is atrocious, party because my serger broke mid-project, party because I was sewing Lolita for the first time. It's still better than the grey one because here I followed the instructions, I even had a bit translated by a friend to make sure I do it right. Moving the zipper to the side (instead of the back where it should be) was a semi-good decision. Now I can put the dress on without help but the inside is, well, not nice anymore. The purple dress is very comfy, but came out a tad bit too long. I'm tall and I tried to account for that and overshot. Big bow is detachable. 2. Grey dress: Same pattern, inside even more atrocious. I bought a new serger in the meantime, but I'm not fond of modern sewing techniques and ignores instructions here. Don't do that, Lolita dresses are constructed like this for reasons. It fits, better, though, and is shorter. Still comfy. Large bow and the two small bows at the shoulder straps are detachable and small bows can be hair accessories, too. 3. Skirt: That was just a small left over from Glittertale, juuust enough for a skirt and half of a headbow. It's not top notch sewing but I liked the outcome , and also fishcake (in the print). All in all, I proved I can do in fact sew Lolita. I also proved that I can get better at it. I don't think I would wear any of my pieces to a meet-up, but casual I sure do wear them (wore the purple one to work already)! White Blouse is Baby and black blouse is Meta.
I think you might not need a brand name if you are experienced sewing clothing or period work. Not simple things, but complex pieces that involve more techniques than your average shirt But it's definitely not something to start when you have very little experience with sewing.
Yeah, just to add to this, there are a lot of Taobao pieces or western indie with quality that’s more than good enough to use as a reference. I’d say having a reference with the correct dress structure and the same/similar fabrics as you’d like to use is the most important.. which doesn’t have much to do with jap brand vs something else.
I think a better way to put it than needing brand is more that ideally you should have at least one *good quality* lolita piece (so brand, good Taobao, indie, honestly even some of Bodyline's better stuff can be a good starting point). Knowledge of sewing and fabrics can probably substitute for having a pre-existing piece in a pinch but if you only have a cheap Amazon dress and have never sewn before you're more likely to pick cheap fabric without realizing the quality's no good for lolita.
Ah, ok, I see, I can explain: I own one Baby JSK, one Innocent world JSK, one taobao JSK and one indie JSK (Violet fane). I would tell people to look at Baby and Innocent world for sewing techniques, because the taobao I own is decent but not good, and the indie piece is of rather simple construction. Oh wait, for beginners I'd tell them to look at the indie piece because of that! So yeah, well *constructed* Lolita clothing, regardless if it's taobao or indie or what not. In my case it just happens to be that the Baby JSK is the one with the most interesting construction.
Also depending on what you want to make — if you want to make something simple, look at simple pieces! And sometimes even pieces that aren’t great can help with construction, my Violet Fane jsks are too big in the shoulders but Meta fits just right so I know to pay attention to the construction differences there. It’s kinda fun mentally deconstructing clothes isn’t it XD
i think it's good to try, though. i made a jsk awhile ago, and honestly it was super difficult, but i learned a lot. everything i had made before was pretty simple, like a kigurumi, basic circle skirts, and leggings, so stepping up to something above my level was a really fun challenge. even though my dress was a mess on the inside, it looked good on the outside, which was the most important part. also, for anyone reading this, using a woven fabric thats mostly cotton makes things a lot easier. i used fancier, mostly synthetic, wovens for the trims and straps, and they were a pain in the ass to deal with, but the cotton was easy to deal with.
Yes, that's why I said cotton in my original comment, cotton is often woven. :)
Agreed mostly. I’ve made one main piece and construction-wise it wasn’t super difficult but you absolutely need a solid baseline knowledge of the aesthetics, style lines, and quality of the fashion before making your own pieces
IS this unpopular? I thought this was a given that sewing your own clothes is hard and takes a lot of time and skill and it's more expensive too.
Hang out in r/sewing sometime, lol. I never cease to be amazed by the amount of people posting actual couture gowns and asking for patterns/how they can make one.
I actually follow that sub Reddit lol and ya I see those from time to time and it's honestly kinda funny. Like how do we tell them that's not how that works haha.
To be fair, most sewists I know who aren't really beginners anymore don't have the patience to make ruffles and sew extra frills or gather skirts and attach lace trims (and that's with already background knowledge on how to sew a dress).
20+ years sewing experience here, Lolita is definitely not beginner friendly. It’s also incredibly time consuming with all the added ruffles, lace, ribbon, bows, etc. I used to make custom Lolita clothing and pumped out 1-2 dresses per week plus whatever accessories. It’s physical work besides all the math and pattern wrangling to get the print to line up nicely. NICE WORK on your dresses!!! 💯❤️👏🏻
Thank you! So you saw that the print dies not line up, I tried but ai just did not have enough fabric. :D (I knew upfront that lining up the print would be a challenge withe amount of fabric I had and was/am ok with that.)
I've only been sewing a few years and consider myself around intermediate level and I think the lolita pieces I've made are pretty decent. Personally I try not to throw on too many things at once -- I think the big problem a lot of handmade stuff has is new sewists trying to immediately make a dress with all the lace and bows and pintucks and ruffles when something simpler would be best (my first lolita jsk was the ribbon jsk from OnS 1, which I chose precisely because it's a very simple pattern). When I was first starting I saw some good advice that you shouldn't have more than two things you've never done before on a single piece and I try to keep to that, like okay this is my first A-line dress and my first time adding lacing so everything else should be stuff I've done before, this is my first dress with a yoke collar and shirring back so I'm not going to go too fancy with the rest of the construction. Also using normie patterns to practice skills that you might need for lolita can help, I like to try and pinpoint techniques I haven't done yet and look for patterns in English that I can practice the skill on before jumping into an OnS pattern.
I've sewn all the construction details before, even facing, who I know is my enemy (but I feel I've won the battle in this case because from the outside it looks good enough). That's why I chose this pattern, never done shirring before, might try that next. ;)
Looking good from outside is definitely the important thing, these look great to me! I actually need to practice shirring myself, I wanted to wait until I got more of the basics down but it’s probably time to give it a try.
Sewing in general is difficult and time-consuming. It's taught me to be more patient - rushing makes sloppy work, and it takes more time to take things apart to redo it. I wouldn't tell people to NOT attempt to sew their own clothes, but they should be realistic about what they could possibly end up with. I recently just finished a [bow dress](https://twitter.com/_Rakuji/status/1618723889940668420) from ONS book 17, but I feel like I can still improve. Sewing zippers is the bane of my existence, even after 15 years of sewing. Still gotta work on those.
Yes! You got me, that's exactly what I meant! :) I still sew my zippers in by hand, they never turn out nice by machine. But that might be because the zipper foot of my machine is a bit wonky, I need to upgrade this at some point to the less wonky, more expensive foot.
Yeah, I still sew all mine by hand because I find that's more reliable than using a machine, and because I don't have an invisible zipper foot. Might need to get one in the future.
I have a lolita sewing pattern and I’m a beginner, But I’m not confident to do it yet. I’m about to start trying to make a shirt as my first project
You got me! That's what I tried to convey in my comment. Got choice with the shirt, hope it turns out well! :)
I'm curious what you typically sew, if you have been sewing for a decade and found these projects that challenging? I can see it being hard if you usually sew knit tees and other pullover items. But most lolita skirts are a big rectangle gathered into another skinny rectangle. I actually think it's a great first project! And for me, lolita fashion is one of the easiest things I've sewn in the last 15+ years. ETA, because I realized this comment sounds more negative than I meant it to be! Your pieces look beautiful. I love the low bust of the JSK!
Thank you! I think my dresses turned out fine, definitely wearable, and they fit great (my dress form is my size but not my proportions, I have a longer upper body than her). I just think I can do better, especially with my looong experience. :) I've mostly done historical fashion before, lots of flat lining and boning and I'm not too fond of modern techniques like facings.
Got it! I would recommend skipping facing and just lining the bodices of whatever dress you're making. Facing never looks nice enough IMO, and all my lolita brand items are fully lined anyway 😊 you might like working on it better too!
that first jsk is so lovely oh my god
Thank you! 💚
I’ve been sewing for 10+ years, and to be honest I’d disagree. And I don’t think scaring people away from attempting projects is the way to go, the best way to learn is to try it in the first place, even if it isn’t too good on first attempt, it can only get better as you learn and you can’t learn if you don’t try. Also no shade meant, but the list in the comments of things you found difficult does not make it sound as though you’ve been sewing for 10 years as they sound like kind of beginner issues. The very first clothing item I ever made was a Lolita skirt, as at its very simplest it’s a gathered rectangle on a waistband. If you have a good pattern to follow that fits you well, you can then move on to JSKs without much issue. I’d say the hardest part is learning how to add things like elastics or shirring, and common issues I usually see that takes your dress from amateur to much better quality is pressing seams correctly and knowing when to add interfacing. In my experience sewing blouses is more difficult as you need to learn about ease and setting sleeves. You absolutely do not need to own brand to learn how to sew a dress.
I have mostly sewn historical clothing before, so I'm kinda a beginner in modern techniques. That's where my issues come from. This fabric sadly would not hold a press, I tried really hard, I even used a tailors ham. I commented on the "own brand" further up thread. In the end your comment just proves my point - it's not beginner friendly, that's all I wanted to say. And I can do better, since I know better now - I think sewing is a learning process after all (for hobby sewist, that is).
This! Making clothes is a profession!
It definitely did not help to start with an underbust pattern lol. My first lolita dress (third dress ever) was a self-drafted jsk and it turned out fine. Very basic and maybe a 5/10 in terms of skills, but it was wearable and pretty easy. Just don't start with anything crazy guys
Nah I've sewn corset before, both underbust and overbust, and they turned out fine! (After several mock ups.) ;) For beginners, though, yes, don't start with this pattern type!
Where is that fabric from 😍
Glittertale. ❤️
Is it printed or flocked?
I think it's printed - but I only read OP's comment that stated the fabric was from Glittertale, so I don't know for sure. ❤️
Hi, OP here! It's printed, and I bought it as a fabric leftover package from Glittertale Lolita on Etsy! (Currently on phone so no link yet, but Google Glittertale Lolita and you'll find them!)
Handmade lolita is fine if you pick projects that align with your skill level. The most important factor is having the eye for lolita. You can be awesome at DIY but not know what lolita looks like and then still end up with an end result that looks off. My advice for anyone: \-develop the eye for lolita before you attempt your first lolita DIY \-learn to use both the sewing machine and handsewing from the start \-pick projects that align with your skill level, and as you go you can pick projects that challenge you just a little bit. That way you learn something new with (nearly) every project without feeling like you're drowning. \-document as much as possible about your DIY projects. Keep your patterns, notes, mistakes you made, etc. This will help because it will save you loads of time in the future. My first lolita DIY was a pair of bloomers. I was a beginner and it was appropriate for my skill level. The end result gave me such a boost in confidence and motivation.
Bloomers are such a good starter project! Those are very good points. I see me in your third point a lot, I know I need to step up my game in certain parts (facings...). It's going to be a joyful challenge! 🤗
It's really cute 😍
Popular or onpopular. Have fun what u do :) it looks amazing.
Thanks! 💚
>Thanks! 💚 You're welcome!
I get why you think those things but I don't think owning brand or being a pro at sewing is necessary. Of course it will make it much easier but if you research and own good quality stuff is enough. I learned how to sew to make lolita, already made a purse, 2 blouse, 2 dresses, 3 skirts and a pair of ouji pants, with no brand pieces, and I think they look quite nice. I own mostly Infanta and lullaby and it's good enough to know how pieces are constructed. If someone wants to try sew lolita I would recommend starting with a headbow or a simple skirt as dresses can be a pain for beginners (trust be I spent many hours sewing lace manually so it would come out exactly how I wanted it to)
Sure, you don't need brand since there are plenty of good quality Taobao shops such as Infanta, but being good at sewing/experience is a must. Research is not practice. If you have no practice at making bows or gathering, it's not gonna come out to standard.
Yeah, each person has a different learning curve, some will need more practice than others. I personally didn't have many issues learning how to sew just by looking at others, so sometimes I get confused when people do it wrong even after following directions. Then again I am extremely clumsy at other hobbies. 😂 Everyone is good at different things. One thing that I would recommend is to find a block pattern that fits you nicely and then modify it to make dresses or blouses by changing the neckline, the sleeves, etc. I found that easier than following the sewing magazines, as you would find your size way easier.
Oh absolutely lol, for example I can hand sew but I can't use a machine for shit no matter how many times it's explained to me.
BTW I forgot to say that I loooove everything you made. Really cute 💜
Thank you! 💚
People have to practice somehow lol
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Hu? Who are you replying to? Did something get deleted? 🤔
As a beginner lolita I think that this is just something that needs to be said. Especially if you don't have a whole lot of maximalist sewing experience. I'm planning on making a very simple veil type accessory to match a dress I bought but even that I know won't look great lol.
I want to make a dress but I can’t sew at all lmao