sewing for sissy maids

Chapter 1: How to get started

As I head upstairs, the happy chatter of the sewing machine tells me my husband is still hard at work. I don't need to pop into the spare room to know he's profitably occupied making a petticoat, transforming the pile of fabric I last saw him with into ruffles that will in due course flare out his skirt. To think that only a few months ago, he knew nothing about dressmaking, yet now he's wearing one of several maid's uniforms that he made all by himself - not just petticoat, apron and dress, but matching choker and headpiece too! He'll stay locked in the satin and lace until I decide he's done enough for the day, but secretly, I'm very pleased with his progress - no longer does my maid merely stand around, tempted by mischief as he waits for me to call, instead occupying otherwise idle moments with a productive pastime that's filling his wardrobe as well! Perhaps I'll reward him when he presents the finished petticoat, but in truth, I won't have to - he'll feel a sense of accomplishment simply from seeing the fruits of his labours, hardly needing to be told to start on the next little project I happen to have in mind for him.

Who this book is for?

The maid is a popular role among submissive crossdressers or sissies, with many men finding satisfaction in dressing up to do the cleaning - perhaps even being ordered to don a daft little outfit by the lady of the house! As you'll see in subsequent photographs, my husband is just such a man, delighting in domestic service, but that doesn't mean you have to be male to make your own maid's uniform. The process we'll be walking you through in this book works just as well for a woman, with the dress we'll be making one that'll fit your figure no matter how feminine or otherwise it may be. You merely need to be a submissive maid seeking to dress to impress, with whoever you serve sure to be delighted when they see you in a maid's dress you've made yourself!

Why you should sew your own uniforms

Do you already have a maid's uniform? If so, the chances are that you had to compromise when choosing it. Perhaps you purchased one of the skimpy little things intended for playing around in the bedroom, soon finding that the short skirts and flimsy fabric that make for sexy role-play aren't best suited for scrubbing floors. Or maybe you opted for a more substantial outfit, only to discover that it doesn't quite fit your figure. It's possible to pay to get something tailor-made, but that can cost a pretty penny - as can shopping at the specialist sites that seduce many sissies with their sumptuous dreams of satin and lace, only to disappoint when something very different arrives many days later.

If you don't have the body of the average woman, and don't want to break the bank, thoughts of dressing for domestic service might make you despair. There is, however, another option if you're prepared to spend time rather than money, one which will not only produce a maid's uniform that's sure to please your mistress, but will see you develop the most feminine of skills in the process. With appropriate devotion, you can have a whole wardrobe of maid's dresses for a fraction of the price - maid's dresses that you can be sure will fit your body, in whatever colours and fabrics take the fancy of your mistress.

There was a time when most women made their own clothes as a matter of course, using their trusty sewing machine to make garments that looked as good as any you could buy. Many still do, enjoying a rewarding hobby that offers far more than merely a better fit - not least a amazing sense of accomplishment. Imagine wearing a dress you've made yourself from no more than a length of material, a dress that not only lets you express your style but shows off your abilities at the same time! It's no wonder that sewing is such a popular pastime, yet it's sadly one that few men consider, let alone become proficient at - even men who wear the most feminine of dresses to demonstrate their domestic submission.

If you don't know where to start, it's easy to be daunted by the details of dressmaking, with the wealth of information one can find online in danger of being overwhelming. That was certainly the case for my husband, whom I tasked with making himself a maid's uniform for my amusement - there being few things more emasculating for a man than to have to immerse himself in such a womanly world. In truth, however, sewing is surprisingly straightforward, such that you need only need follow a series of simple steps to do the same - steps that my husband has tried and tested for this book, ironing out all the wrinkles so that you too can delight your mistress with the maid's dress and apron you've made.

Let's take a brief look at what sewing will do for you as a sissy maid:

The maid's uniform we'll be making

Take a moment to think about what makes a maid's uniform of the kind so beloved by sissies. There's an apron, of course - most likely a lacy affair, tied in a big bow behind the back - but that's not all. There's a dress too, invariably figure-hugging with a skirt that's flared out by frilly petticoats, perhaps with short, puffy sleeves that share the same lace trim as its suggestive neckline. One mustn't forget a matching choker, nor a ruffled headpiece, each strengthening the stereotype of the sexualised servant. Throw in stockings and some sexy lingerie underneath, and it's a intoxicating confection - enough to make a submissive man weak simply thinking about wearing it, let alone making it from scratch.

When you consider such an outfit in dressmaking terms, however, it really isn't that complicated. Reduced to their component parts, a half-apron is just a bib and waistband, a maid's dress merely a fitted bodice, puffy sleeves and a gathered skirt. A choker is little more than a band of fabric with some fastenings, a headpiece simply a ruffle attached to a headband. Even a petticoat starts off as a length of material, albeit one given many folds by means of gathering and elastic. There's nothing so magical about any of it that you can't make it all yourself, so long as you know what you're doing.

Figure 1.1: My husband, my maid: he made everything you see him wearing

In Figure 1.1, my submissive husband shows off the fruits of his labours, modelling the maid's uniform that he'll be making over the course of this book. Breaking it down one bit at a time:

Everything will be made to measure (Chapter 2), with the dress based on a pattern drafted for your particular figure (Chapter 3). We'll finish the book with a look at how you can adapt this design to make a range of different uniforms (Chapter 12). There’s a lot of work involved, but the end result is well worth the trouble!

Buying a sewing machine

Although it is possible to sew a maid's uniform with nothing more than a needle, even a professional seamstress would struggle to match the neatness of stitches made by a machine - quite apart from the tedious and time-consuming nature of hand stitching even the shortest of seams. For a man learning to sew, therefore, a sewing machine is essential, but the initial investment in an unfamiliar piece of equipment can prove daunting. With so many models on the market, and an equally wide range of prices, it can be hard to know which to choose - especially when the decision must be made without prior experience.

In truth, the sewing machine is a well-established technology, with the actual mechanics of making automatic stitches having been perfected long before the digital age. Indeed, the machine my husband uses is over thirty years old, yet its basic function is very similar to one you might buy today. As such, pretty much any model you might pick will serve your purpose, with the differences between cheaper and more expensive offerings unlikely to be noticeable to begin with. The most basic of sewing machines will still allow you to make your own maid's uniform, even if it's unlikely to last the decades that my husband's has.

You'll want a machine that can do forward and reverse sewing, with the ability to adjust the stitch length and tension as well as type - at the very least, a zigzag stitch in addition to the regular straight stitch, although most models offer many more. A bobbin winder is another essential feature, as is a foot pedal for control. Don't confuse the latter with the presser foot, the part near the needle which holds the fabric down as you sew. Ideally, the latter should not only be removable, but the machine should come with several rather than merely offering them as optional extras - a separate zipper foot being the minimum. A free arm is also useful to have, allowing sleeves to be slipped around where you sew. Finally, a metal chassis is a mark of a superior product when compared to the plastic used on cheaper models, with a manufacturer's guarantee also speaking favourably about a machine.

Even eschewing the bottom of the market, prices are such that there's little saved by buying second-hand, but you may sometimes find old sewing machines at garage sales and the like. Here, there's an important distinction to be made between those that are electric, that is, powered from a wall socket, and those that are electronic, having a computer or circuit board inside them. Sadly, the latter don't stand the test of time anywhere near as well as the former, with their electronic brains generally failing long before their mechanical bodies. It's best to avoid anything with buttons and screens unless you can be sure it works, but a sturdy electric machine that's still in good condition may have more life left in it than the all-plastic contraptions you can buy new - such is the disposal nature of consumer goods these days.

Figure 1.2: Despite its age, the sturdy metal chassis of this mechanical sewing machine is more than up to the task of making a maid's uniform.

Beginner's equipment

If you've never sewn before, you'll also want to purchase the following:

Figure 1.3: All the tools of the trade: tape measure, scissors, seam ripper, pins, needles, tailor's chalk, washable pens and a regular lighter

Haberdashery

In British English, haberdashery is a wonderful word, used to describe not only to the sort of shop where one buys sewing supplies, but also the small articles sold there as well. By one of those bizarre quirks of language that writers sadly have to beware of, the same word means something surprisingly different in American English, referring to a men's outfitters - hardly the kind of place one would go to purchase notions, another word for lace, zippers and the like, albeit not a term that Englishwomen are familiar with. Perhaps it is safer to simply speak of the fabric store, but whatever you call the shops in question, there's quite a choice of them - whether you brave one in person, or simply look online.

To make a maid's uniform, you'll need the following:

Figure 1.4: Six shades of pink: costume satin, Duchess satin, silky polyester, cotton gingham, polyester chiffon and bi-stretch polyester
Figure 1.5: A sheet of fusible interfacing. If you look carefully, you can see the tiny beads of heat-activated adhesive.
Figure 1.6: A 1000 metre spool and a 5000 yard cone of white thread
Figure 1.7: 25mm white gathered and flat lace, the former on a 25m roll

If you'll be making your maid's uniform out of gingham, you may wish to consider using broderie anglaise in place of lace - a more substantial trim whose embroidered embellishments nevertheless conveys an undeniable femininity. Again, this comes in both gathered and flat varieties, being sold in a similar range of colours and widths, by the metre or yard and by the roll. The same considerations apply as for lace - be sure to buy the white, gathered kind, which is also a great choice for a more formal or heavier winter's uniform too.

Figure 1.8: Broderie anglaise, in 50mm gathered and 25mm flat varieties
Figure 1.9: Satin ribbon in several colours
Figure 1.10: A regular and concealed zipper
Figure 1.11: The cords of this elastic are clearly visible
Figure 1.12: Hook and loop tape
Figure 1.13: An Alice band

A sissy maid's shopping list

Having to make so many decisions when you don't really know what you're doing can be daunting, but don't let your unfamiliarity with fabrics and notions stop you before you've even started. To make matters simpler, here's a shopping list of everything you'll need for your first maid's uniform:

Although metres and yards are different measurements, they're close enough that we can use them interchangeably here, especially since haberdasheries always give you a little more than you ordered (perhaps 10cm / 4”) so as avoid being accused of short-changing their customers.

The hook and loop tape, thread and interfacing will be enough for many uniforms. You can buy multiples of everything else if you wish to make more, remembering to buy extra colours of thread to match your fabric if necessary. Placing an order is as straightforward as purchasing anything else online, with most haberdasheries delivering in a few days, generally in anonymous plastic bags.

Getting the hang of things

If you haven't used a sewing machine before, it's worth taking some time to explore its features, reading the manual and familiarising yourself with its controls. You'll need to learn how to wind a bobbin, which means transferring thread from a regular spool onto a special one that sits inside the machine, as well as threading the machine - guiding the thread along what may initially seem like a complicated path to bring it to the needle. The precise details of doing so will depend on your particular model, such that we'll defer to your instruction manual here, but you'll soon come to know it by heart.

It's then time to actually start sewing. You can practice on scraps of fabric, of which you'll have plenty once you've cut the pieces for your maid's dress, sewing them together along lines and curves with different kinds of stitches until you have a feel for how your machine handles. If the thread tangles, its mostly likely that you've not routed it through the machine properly, so simply take it out and start again, paying particular attention to the take-up lever - a mistake that my husband frequently found himself making, especially after forgetting to keep hold of the ends of the thread when starting to stitch!

Speaking of starting to stitch, it's worth getting into the habit of securing the starts and ends of a seam. Also known as locking, this involves sewing forward a few stitches, then running your sewing machine in reverse in order to stitch back over them before sewing forward again. Although that may sound complicated, there should be a control on your machine that makes it a cinch, merely requiring a button to be pressed to take care of business. Doing so stops the ends of the thread becoming loose after they've been trimmed, and is sufficiently important that a picky mistress might insist on inspecting all of her maid's seams to start with to ensure that he gets into good habits from the very beginning!

Figure 1.14: A selection of stitches: basting, regular, two zigzags, overlock

Figure 1.14 illustrates many of the stitches we'll be using throughout this book. From the top, we start with a basting stitch - a straight stitch with a long stitch length that's used to temporarily hold two pieces of fabric together. Beneath that, there's a regular stitch - still straight, but having a shorter stitch length for greater strength. The difference that stitch length makes can be seen more clearly with the two zigzag stitches, whereas at the bottom, an overlocking stitch is used to stop the edge of the fabric from fraying - its slight irregularity hinting at the age of the machine. Don't worry too much about the latter ones for now - we'll be explaining them all in more detail in due course. Incidentally, if you're wondering why a hint of red shows through in places, that's because my husband threaded his bobbin with a different colour to the spool, illustrating how the machine brings the two almost magically together in the middle of the material. On the other side of this sampler, the visible thread is red with a hint of black.

We'll come back to sewing in a couple of chapters, but first we'll take a detour via measuring your body, going on to use the resulting figures to draft a pattern for your maid's dress.