The What-Was-I-Thinking Dress

I've noticed that my sewing projects have gotten more and more boring. I guess it's because I'm drawn to classic styles which tend to be, well, boring. On my last pattern shopping trip I decided to break out of my mold and buy some things that were a little different, that weren't obviously "me" but that I could possibly get away with wearing.

A side note here: There are these places called Department Stores, and they have these wonderful things called Dressing Rooms, where you are free to try on different styles to your heart's content without any commitment of money or time (as in time spent sewing, not time in the dressing room). Next time I feel the need to wear something a little different from my norm I should really start in the dressing room, not in the pattern department.

There are so many errors in judgement with this dress that I hardly know where to start.

I guess Mistake #1 was the picture on the pattern envelope:

I mean, she looks so weird and uncomfortable! 

Mistake #2 started out innocently enough with the line drawing. 

Simple t-shirt top (I can wear that), fairly straight skirt (I can wear that) and big floppy pockets on the hips (what?).  Pockets are always good, but pockets that make your hips look bigger? Seriously, how did I think that was a good idea?

Mistake #3, fabric selection. I love, love, love the color! Sure it's a super thin, super stretchy polyester spandex blend, but how could I resist the color? Its not black (HUGE accomplishment for me) and  it's colorful without being too obvious. The fabric is way too thin to wear on its own, but I solved that problem with some knit lining. FYI: super-stretchy knit dress + kinda-stretchy knit lining = disaster waiting to happen.

Mistake #4, lack of experience with this kind of fabric. It stretched while I was cutting it and I couldn't find a single stitch on my sewing machine that wouldn't make the seams stretch out of shape. It sewed up beautifully on the serger, but I had to use the sewing machine to put those pockets together. Eventually I got tired of testing different seams in the search for something that would work and I just made my best guess. That worked out ok on the pockets but I ended up having to cut off the whole hem and start over.

From here on out the biggest mistake was probably plowing ahead with an obviously hopeless project. Really it was only curiosity that kept me going. I really wanted to have that dressing room moment and see how the dress would look on me.  Plus I had already started this blog post and didn't want to waste it.

I thought I solved the hem problem by serging the skirt and lining right sides together, turning the skirt right side out, and sewing it together at the waist. It was definitely better than my first hem, but the super-stretchy + kinda-stretchy issue gave it a very amateurish look. I could live with it, but I wouldn't like it.  Unfortunately, this was the only way I could think of to hem the sleeves as well.

As this point the dress had one redeeming feature that could possibly save it from the garbage can.  The neckline finish is two strips of fabric with raw edges that, when stretched, will curl into tight little rolls. In fact, I realized I could use this same finish on the sleeves and maybe even the hem. Now we're getting somewhere!  I tried out the stretch-and-curl thing on some scraps, everything looked great, and I sewed the pieces onto the neckline. Sew... Stretch... 

Where's the curl? Not on my neck, that's for sure! I think the strips were too wide for this fabric, and the fabric was just to limp to hold the curl. Now the neck looks like a worn out t-shirt.

And yet I can't give up. In one last ditch effort I cut off the neckline finish (can't pick stitches out of this fabric) and replaced it with a plain folded over strip of fabric. I used the same finish on the sleeves and hem (after cutting off hem #2).  Yay, I'm done! We're ready for the dressing room moment, although if I saw this dress hanging in a store I don't think it would make it into the dressing room with me.

Guess what, I kind of like it! After wearing it for a few hours I really like it. I don't think I'll ever love it. There are just too many imperfections. Besides, the dress and I got off to a rocky start and we may never be able to fully repair our relationship. But I think we can maintain a comfortable friendship, this dress and I.

Now its time to move on to the next project. It's very tempting to make an easy skirt to boost my confidence a little, but we'll see. Maybe I can handle another challenge.

Sewing in 2012

Yeah I know, 2012 is already in the distant past, but what can I say except I'm always running a little behind schedule. At least when it comes to things I know I can procrastinate without any major repercussions. My 2012 sewing goal: make a button-up shirt that fits my freakishly broad shoulders so I can wear something besides t-shirts. I actually worked on it but never got around to finishing that project. Let's just move that goal to 2013, ok?

Now for what I actually did accomplish in 2012:

Project #1: Pink skirt.  I was trying to go out on a limb here and make something kind of trendy with the bright color and high waist.  I ordered the fabric from an online fabric store.  The color description said "coral". It's actually closer to the color of chewed bubble gum.  The sad part is that I saw a swatch before I ordered.  That chewed bubble gum color looked much better in a 1" swatch.  It actually looks better in the picture than in real life.  Maybe I'll try wearing it again in the spring.

Project #2: Another skirt.  Think I have enough skirts in my closet yet?  TOO BAD I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO MATCH ANY OF THEM!!!  Yep, I'm a little frustrated with myself.  This one is really cute (see the fabric and seam detail below) but I only have one shirt that comes close to matching it and I don't really love the shirt.

Project #3: Not a skirt!  The t-shirt is made from some knit I bought at a little hole-in-the-wall place in New York.  Too bad it doesn't match any of my skirts.  I wanted to make a few t-shirts and get the pattern perfect.  This was my only attempt this year but I'm pretty happy with it. It would have been even better if both armholes were the same shape.  I had a little patternmaking mishap and didn't even realize it until I pulled the pattern out to use it again. Oh well, you can't really tell when I'm wearing the shirt. I actually bought the pants a few years ago (yeah, those are navy linen pants in the picture) but they never fit very well so I had never worn them.  I took off the waistband, remodeled them a little, and put everything back together.  Now they're totally wearable, and miracle of miracles I have a top to match! I guess I should call the pants Project #3 1/2.

Project #4: Mondo skirt for Ashley.  Yes it's another skirt, but no it's not for me so it's ok!  Ashley negotiated a killer deal on these silk prints while we were in New York.  She already has several versions of this skirt pattern but it's so cute on her that we both just keep making them.  I volunteered to make this one because I thought the slippery silk might be a little challenging for Ashley.  I was probably right.  I think it hated me and I'm so glad it's hanging in someone else's closet because I really don't want to see it again!  Oh, and Mondo is our favorite Project Runway designer who always used a lot of black and white and mixed prints.  These fabrics reminded us of him as soon as we saw it so that's why the skirt is named after him.

Project #5:  Kilt? No, I guess I'm going to have to call it a skirt.  At least I went out and bought a black turtleneck to go with it so I actually wear it.  The fabric was labeled as a sweater knit.  I looked at it then walked away, but I kept going back and touching it.  It was calling my name and I answered.  It's a mock-wrap skirt (thus not going to fall open) and it's super comfy.  The whole time I was making it I felt like there was something sort of familiar about the fabric.  I finally figured it out.  It's terrycloth, like the really soft infant washcloths.  It's mostly polyester and lycra so it wouldn't really make a good washcloth, but yeah, I made a wrap skirt out of terrycloth.  I'm wearing a towel.  I don't care - I like it anyway.  But I have given up on the matching jacket I was going to make: a soft blazer-type jacket with a tie belt.  I'm not going to wear a towel AND a robe in public!

Project #6 (Hey, that's one every other month!): Super Cute Dress for Ashley!  Sorry about the wonky pictures.  They're from my phone and I guess they didn't quite upload all the way.  Just ignore those funny lines on the bottom.  This was inspired by a dress that Ashley tried on and loved, but it just didn't fit right.  This was so fun to sew!  The cotton/poly/lycra ponte knit from  Mood was really easy to sew, the pattern went together well, there were no major problems during the project, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that exposed zipper.  

Well, that's it for 2012.  Better late than never.  I'll try to do a better job in 2013.  I already have one project well underway: the What Was I Thinking dress.