Sunday, June 30, 2013
Go Ahead and Revoke My Sewing Privileges
Goodness gracious. Two sewing flops, or more accurately, one flop and one should have been simple but I'm *still* trying to "make it work" (H/T to Tim Gunn).
First, altering a skirt. I made several 6- and 7-gore skirts last summer, when I was losing weight. Since I have (happily) kept those pounds off, I thought I'd alter one of the skirts yesterday. Easy-peasy, right? Not here, not now. I tried the skirt on, "pinched" out the right amount of fabric, still leaving wearing and design ease. Turns out the pinched-out amount was 1 gore of a 7-gore skirt. Must be my lucky day. Except that I didn't take into account that what I pinched out was in between the seam allowances, and the first thing I did was to cut off the gore, including cutting off the seam allowances. I took a close look and decided that that was okay; I still had plenty of ease. Onward... Sewed new seams, rehemmed the skirt, and redid the waistband casing and elastic. Well, surprise surprise, when I tried it on, there was not a millimeter of ease. What? {{palm to forehead}} I neglected to take into account the fabric that would be taken up in the 2 new seam allowances. Ugh. So I finished pressing it and hung it in the closet. In case I should somehow lose enough more pounds... Or I might just donate it tomorrow.
Second up is that sundress. Yes, it is now *that* sundress. Should have taken me a couple of hours, knowing how slowly I work. Anyone else could have done it in an hour. I have now tried three different ideas for attaching straps that extend past my shoulders. I am now removing three rows of stitching of the second strap, after which I will put it away til another day.
No photos, lucky for you.
Question: If you ever have this kind of experience, how do you *not* give up? Throw in the towel? Take up a new hobby?
I would appreciate any encouragement you might have to offer.
Blessings and peace...
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We've all had those moments. I have a rack for them to hang on. I'm about to go throw away a lot of things hanging on that rack!
ReplyDeleteHi Carole, I appreciate you! It's hard to just throw out things that you've made, isn't it?
DeleteAwww... sorry Sandra. Hang onto that skirt. You'll probably be able to wear it soon. :P}}
ReplyDeleteI actually do get disgusted and generally throw it away. But I have a friend who has what she calls I think her "aging" closet. She hangs them there and lets them age a bit until she is ready to look at them again with new eyes. Sometimes miracles happen, sometimes not. But out of sight, out of mind for at least a little while!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Haha, Lynda. I think it will fit again *only* if I donate it! That gives me an idea ... If that's all it takes to lose another 10 lbs... :)
DeleteI don't think aging it will help. For me, "aging" a garment helps me to overlook techniques that I'm critical of when I complete it. I am going to leave it in the closet for now.
Oh man! What a day! Keep the skirt for a while and see if you shrink into it. Wouldn't that be fun? Put the dress in time-out for a while. Something may come to you when you least expect it. Do I have days like this? Hey, sometimes it seems like WEEKS like that. For me, things generally look better after a good night's sleep and picking up a different project for a while. May the sewing gods be with you! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, yes that would be fun (unlikely, but fun). I worked on the dress again for a little while, and I'm getting there. People make entire complicated garments in the time this has taken me! Thanks for your good wishes. :)
DeletePhew - I am feeling your pain!! I have only being sewing for about about 20 months now and have lots of experiences like that - most recently with a ponte knit jacket - kept sewing the sleeves on wrong (amongst other things. It was like the jacket from hell but it wasn't the pattern's fault at all. Put your dress aside, sew something simple and a quick win which makes you feel better and able to see things with fresh happy eyes.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing the dress finished one day.
BeaJay, it's always nice to hear from you. I am quite incapable of setting the dress aside. I absolutely LOVE to complete projects. I am at the *very* determined stage now, and I hope to complete it by tomorrow. Stay tuned! I am quite the expert at Operator Error in sewing projects!
DeleteSandra ~
ReplyDeleteJust met with a young lady and after leaving while driving home, it dawned on me. She had a gathered top that just had wide pieces of colored elastic for "straps." Could you use some of that really wide elastic they used to use to make belts and waistbands for gathered skirts for your straps? Even if you had to put two pieces adjacent to each other. The stuff I have is 2" wide, but if necessary, two sewn side by side would probably cover from your neck to your shoulder point? Or close. For me it would be wider. LOL
Lynda, What a great idea! I am definitely going to remember this. A friend recently gifted me with a piece of lovely, 2-in. wide, interestingly textured black elastic. I think that your idea would be a perfect use for it! It's long enough that I could stitch them side by side. I would probably put some kind of non-stretchy backing on it to avoid any possible wardrobe malfunction. Have you ever been sitting on the floor (with little kids), and when you're getting up, your knee holds down the front of your dress? With elastic straps, it would be an eeeeeeek moment!
ReplyDelete