Fashion and dressmaking is a tough business. A lot of people are interested in showcasing their skill in making clothes and interpreting fashion. With a lot of competition, how do you make your clothes stand out or worth picking?
To improve the quality of your clothes, you would have to have understanding about fashion in general. The easiest way of being acquainted with fashion and its recent trends is by reading fashion magazines and watching runway and lifestyle shows in television. By doing this, you would understand patterns and different kinds of fabrics. You would also have understanding on different kinds of clothes and colour combinations and groups.
Aside from knowing the trends, you can also ask some people in your customer target area to identify what kind of clothes best appeal to them or they need. This could help you identify what kind of clothes you are going to make and eventually sell.
When a customer comes into your door to ask for a fitting and then requests different kinds of clothes, of course, you would like them to be happy. Make sue that they are easy to wear, comfortable and at the same fits the lifestyle and activities of the customer.
Aside from being fashionably aware, you would also need to be familiar with your present equipment. Surely, you do not want to lose a lot of time, effort and money by continuously making mistakes while sewing. Practice can contribute in making your skill close to perfect. For sewing machine owners, make sure that they would get the proper maintenance that it needs regularly. Even little defective parts on your sewing machine can have an impact with your product.
Aside from taking care of your sewing machine, using the proper equipment would also help a lot in creating a great output. For example, there are different sizes of needles. These different sizes are appropriate for different kinds of fabrics and sewing jobs. Of course, thicker fabrics like denim or jeans would require thicker needle that those used in sewing blouses. This would definitely help in making you sewing job easier, whether it is by hand or through machine.
Take good care of your equipment. Exposure to dust, lint and dirt can cause your machine to malfunction. You can cover it with cloth or plastic to make sure that they are free of pollutants. Make sure your dressmaking shears and scissors are kept in their plastic containers. Working with blunt equipment can be very troublesome and even dangerous.
Also keep your dressmaking equipments in one place. This would save time when you time from looking stuff all over the place. Your sewing patterns should also be stored in a place where it would not wrinkle and crease. To avoid wrinkling and creasing you can roll your patterns and keep them cardboard rolls. This will keep them crisp and wrinkle-free. In general, keep your workspace clean and organized.
Before you proceed with any kind of project, you would need a definite plan first. Actually, planning is not just something you do in dressmaking, but also for other projects. Before you cut or sew anything, you have to be sure about it.
If you are unsure, you can put it in place first with pins and see if the changes are working to your favour. But do not be too afraid of making mistakes. This would eventually help you to learn the tricks of the trade.