What do I need to know to begin making clothes?

[Sugar Love]

Since I was young I loved modifying my own clothing. But really know very little about it. I see a lot of independant designers on etsy and Instagram making lovely clothes. I would like to get into this but not sure where to start. What type of things do I need? What type of sewing machine is best? Are there any books out there with illustrations as well so I can learn the process? Thanks!

[Konstance]

inspiration and imagination we did a dress making course a long time ago all you really need is a patient mind, a plain good old foresight about what you want to make and how it could look we used to draw up on a sketch book to see what the render or printing of the clothes we wanted to make would look like, then comes the choice of material, finishes, and any special finishes, but above all, clothes only have a place in anyone's wardrobe provide you have used that critical ingredient of imagination

[Kay]

The best thing would be to get some beginning sewing lessons to get you over the initial learning curve, which is fairly stiff. If you can't find some lessons locally, then I'd suggest Connie Crawford's Studio Sewing Skills DVD, which is basically first term design school sewing in a can. However, a real live teacher will keep you from making common mistakes, like poor quality cutting, or bad fabric handling that can ruin a garment before you even start to sew it.

As to machines: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...301AAowAnQ

[Mike O]

you can sell on instagram? idk about making cloths but I know that its good to list on multiple websites to get your ideas and products out there.. make sure you sell on etsy as I do but also list on more like ebay and yorbin to increase traffic to your clothing line

[thejanith]

I started by working with purchased patterns. Of course, you can't sell what you make from someone else's pattern; I was making clothes for myself mainly.

Once I got familiar with what pieces did what, and what was needed to make something lay nicely, I ditched the patterns and simply drew my own clothing. I've been doing that for years now.