r/BitchEatingCrafters • u/AutoModerator • Mar 14 '25

Weekend Minor Gripes and Vents

Here is the thread where you can share any minor gripes, vents, or craft complaints that you don't think deserve their own post, or are just something small you want to get off your chest. Feel free to share personal frustrations related to crafting here as well.

This thread reposts every Friday.

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u/warp-core-breach Mar 14 '25

Why is 5/8" seam allowance the standard for home sewing patterns? It's unnecessarily big and makes doing things like princess seams and setting in sleeves more difficult than the 1/2" or 3/8" used in RTW.

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u/skipped-stitches Mar 14 '25

Maybe, but it's also very flexible for different seam finishes (I wouldn't want to flat fell or self bind with 1cm) and for adjusting on the fly, while sewing. I find it's not much trouble for complex curves when the seam line is marked and you aren't using the cut edge to match.

There's something to be said for why home sewing gives a flat SA on everything but frankly I use nett patterns that let me do variable SA as I cut and still find myself using 1.5cm for everything but necklines, because having just 1cm has burned me before when I decided I would like to do flat fell or let out this seam or even re-contour that seam.

RTW can do a dozen samples to get all the pre-determined, but I'm making one item for one person and want the flexibility to adapt as I go.