Sewing Guides

Make it yourself

If you'd like to make your dress, or fix one that almost fits, start here. No "ultimate" lists of fifty machines: just what to look for, what to skip, and where people usually go wrong.

• Your first dress, start to finish

  The order to do things in, and how long each part really takes.

• Picking a sewing machine

  What a beginner needs, and the features you can ignore.

• Patterns and measuring

  Easy shapes to start with, and how to choose a size that fits.

• Fabric for dresses

  What's easy to sew, what drapes, and what to avoid on day one.

• The small kit that matters

  Scissors, pins, chalk and the few extras worth having.

• Altering a dress you already own

  Hems, straps and taking it in, without a tailor.

Where to start

If you've never sewn, start with your first dress. It walks through the whole thing in order. If you have a dress that almost fits, altering is the quickest win: most fixes take an evening.