I agree.  Part of the reason I started making patterns and my own instructions is that I realised the commercial patterns weren't providing the best way to do something.  Hand sewing is for decoration not construction!  From making the instructions now though, I know that things are done because they are easier to demonstrate in a pictorial form. Some things will be able to be shown in a video but there are also some things you just need someone to show you how - I think bagging a lining falls in to the category but a bit of trial and error can also help.

A lot of the finishes that you see on commercially produced garments are a result of specially made equipment so it is very hard to replicate. Also usually we home sewers are just making the one garment - if you sewed 50 garments a day or even 50 parts of a garment a day you'd hope you'd get it right. 

There are also many little tricks for ease and finish that when you start out you think won't make a difference but do: measuring up first, putting the pins in the right way, pressing both sides of the seam before pressing it out and having the right needle for the fabric weight.

If anybody wants to learn about real commercial/industrial sewing and why it is different to home sewing buy Kathleen Fasanella's book Design Entrepreneurs. It's exxy but if you have any plans to go in to the clothes/craft business it's well worth it.

It is the Green Room & the belco mall carpark.

Be great to see how your stuff works out.

Thanks! How did you work out the Canberra part?

Fantasy Fabrics in Surry Hills is supposed to be good - although I haven't been there.

When I go, I almost always have to drop in to Home Yardage just outside the QVB in the city and Lincraft in one of those malls off Pitt Street.  None of them are very satisfying but sadly I can still find stuff to buy.

For finishing the edges, an overlocker/serger is best but you can try:

-hemming using a small zig zag stitch so it holds the hem down but is still stretchy 
-folding the edge down and small zig some lingerie elastic to the edge.  This elastic usually has a scalloped edge the if you are careful you can make poke out the other side as a decoration.   
-you could also use try using stretch ribbing or using tshirt material as a bias trim.

I will try to draw & post some pictures to explain....

I know there is a term used in the US for what Australians call 'sweatshirt' or 'tracksuit' material.  It's fleecy on one side and jersey knit on the other - can anybody help me with the name for it?  Dickies, Nike, Etnies, Volcom etc use it to make tracksuits & hoodies etc.  Also, if you know any places that sell it online please let me know.

Hi

I found this one that I thought people might be interested in.  http://www.lazygirldesigns.com/freepattern.php  It could be quite cute in different fabric but I have noticed the PDF is not printing out in any legible form.  Try it and see how you go.

BTW I decided to go with 1cm seam allowances for Fitzpatterns.  6mm is supposed to be what is used in industry but a sewing teacher told me most beginners find that really hard to control under the sewing machine. 

Hey thanks - uh, I hope its me you are talking about!

Glad you like it, Bust magazine seem to like it to and are going to do a small article on it.  I am sooo excited I'm just short of going up to strangers on the street to tell them about it.

it's the same here in Australia. there are no "standards" .  Things generally run from size 8-16 or Small/Medium/Large but we also get American sizes 6-12? and European sizes, particularly in shoes but within that range the measurements can be widely different. I went shopping over the weekend and varied in size from an '8' to a '12' to a' Large' which seemed to fit very snugly.   The bodyform varies dramatically too - a friend of mine with a tiny waist but very well -rounded set of hips & butt - finds only certain brands will fit her without gaping around the lower back.  Luckily for her that includes Target jeans.

There are some projects underway that are aiming to measure large amounts of Australians in an attempt to find standards.  Pattern-drafter Winnifred Aldrich provides a table of Standard Body Measurements. It doesn't say where she got these from.

and while Imperial sounds kind of romantic it does seem rather imprecise. it also makes the maths difficult.  pretty much everything in Australia is in metric except for McDonalds quarter-pounders etc and babies apparently.  I'm always trying to work out if a newborn baby is heavier than 3kg of potatoes or not!  just what the hell is 5 1/2 lbs?  am i supposed to go "oh my he'll be a front-row forward or oooh she's tiny"?