Persevering through sewing challenges
In a recent post, I mentioned how my sister inspires me and supports my creative endeavors.http://seamslikeastory.com/the-shirt-off-her-back/
A clothing boutique she frequents in Chicago was having a sale on their designer fabric remnants. Knowing I was blogging about sewing and creativity, she bought a few items and made a surprise package for me. When the box arrived, I found 3 yards of navy blue window-pane checked rayon, a yard of interesting upholstery fabric, and two packs of vintage buttons.
I decided to make a summer dress with the rayon and had just enough for this NEW LOOK pattern(N6651). It looked simple enough, but it wasn’t long before my challenges with the project began.
Challenge #1: Cut it out.
I’ll admit, I don’t always take time to measure myself to see which size to use. I often go with my usual dress size, afraid of what the bust, waist, and hip measurements would reveal. Because I wanted to make the most of this beautiful fabric, I pulled out the measuring tape and braced myself for a reality check. When looking at the pattern guidelines, I was 2 sizes larger than I’d expected. Now, I know there was some pandemic weight… but seriously? Two sizes? There must have been some mistake. Reluctantly, I cut out the dress in the recommended size.
Then I opened the pattern envelope. Though the dress is a simple style, there are many pieces to this pattern. It was confusing and there is NO WAY I will ever fold this all up to fit back into the envelope. (I have the same problem with maps.)
To make matters worse, I had to be careful with the layout in order to match the checks. Stripes would have been easier, at least you only have to match horizontally. But this fabric had to match up horizontally and vertically. Sheesh! I’m glad I had plenty of fabric to work with.
Challenge #2 Slip-sliding away…
During construction, my challenges continued. The rayon fabric had a beautiful drape, but was tricky to work with. I made sure I was using the correct needle size for sheer fabrics and I adjusted my tension.
Despite my preparation, the side seams puckered when I finished the seam allowances in a zig-zag stitch. I took all the zig-zags out, but the seam edges had to be finished. They were happy to be freely fraying and were out of control. The fold-under method wasn’t pretty, but it would have to do.
Challenge #3: Having a fit
Eventually the dress came together, and I tried it on for THE BIG REVEAL.
It wasn’t love at first sight. In the interest of comfort, I’d added an inch or two to the elastic in the waistband for a looser fit. This resulted in a dowdy look. “Dowdy” was not the look I was going for. I think I should nip the waist in a little and I plan to open a side seam to adjust the elastic. I wish my actual waist was nipped in a little too. Adjusting that will be much more difficult 🙂
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In the end, the dress is comfortable, the fabric is beautiful, and once I take in the waist, I think I’ll be happy with it. The denim-blue vintage buttons give the dress personality. It will be cool in the summer and I can style it with a jacket and boots for a fall/winter look.
Challenging? Yes. But one joy of retired life is having the time to start a project and see it through to completion, challenges and all.
Threads of Thought
What challenges have you faced in your creative endeavors and how did you overcome them?
What would you suggest I do with the yard of upholstery fabric my sister sent?
Here’s a great gift idea!
Find it at:http://amazon.com/author/debravandeventer
The dress is beautiful on you. Love your confidence to dive right in. The pattern lines up. That must have taken much thought.
Thanks Devi. It’s been awhile since I’ve worked with this type of pattern. I had to think about it as I was cutting out the pieces and as I was matching up seams. Good thing I wasn’t in a hurry.
Deb, what a great job matching horizontal lines. The dress looks great on you.
Thanks.