Friday, January 12, 2018

Early year hiccups

Hello everyone!

I had so hoped to show you a pic of my first finished garment from my wardrobe plan, but...well, it has been a litany of mistakes in my household.  I have started a total of THREE garments! I ended up throwing (ok not literally) one to the side, leaving one unfinished never to return, and  re-starting one that I swapped out for the one that didn't work.  Whew!  I don't know if you followed all of that, so I will give you an idea of what I mean:


I started out with the Love Notions Margot Peplum in an snazzy printed knit.  I was so excited because the top was easy to construct, and I would be trying my hand at a style I have never worn--a peplum.  As you can see from the photo above, this is NOT what I had in mind, lol!  It just hits me at the wrong place on my hips, and looks like a badly shrunken maternity shirt.  So I laughed this one off, and decided I would move on from this pattern.  I had recently purchased Butterick 6526, and knew it could work out better.

So I adapted my Fall/Winter plans to include the change.  I also made sure I could access the document in case I needed to easily change other patterns in the future:


I used a beautiful French terry knit from my stash to sew Butterick together, and it only had 3 pattern pieces.  So, altogether 4 pieces once you cut the sleeves!  I definitely thought I was well on my way to wearing my first finished top of the year!

Alas, this is how it turned out:



It isn't horrible, but I got turned around on the directions, and I think there is an error in the pattern instructions. The illustrations did not match the instructions for the crossover yet I still ended up with it done correctly in the end.  Also, upon closer inspection of the pattern pieces for this design, I noticed that I had cut the back too big, even though the front is in my usual size. How did that happen?  So, I am re-starting this top with the correct sizing and instructions.  Hopefully I will finish it soon.

My third top I started was the Burda wrap top.  Now I will start by saying that I ALWAYS love Burda.  But, not that day! The construction was different than what I was used to in some places, and I decided to just take a break from that one.  Funny thing is, everyone on Patternreview said it was super easy.  Leave it to me to take a simple top and turn it into a geometric equation!

So now you know the story!

Nothing is done yet, but I do plan to recover from the Mayhem of destroying fabric left and right.

In the midst of it all, I do have good news, though.  I FINALLY started my pants sloper class with Craftsy!  It is AMAZING!  I never thought I could take my measurements and create a flat pattern for myself.


I have created two muslins to date, and I think the fit is soooooo close.  Here is a pic of my second muslin:


I was in my daughter's room when I took this photo, but really like the direction I am headed in.  I think the answer to my fitting issues may lie in combining the front of my first muslin with the back of my second muslin.  Just a guess, but I need to go by Joanns and pick up more tracing paper so that I keep my original pattern intact for future tweaks.  I DID get rid of the wrinkles I had under my butt, and that was no small feat!


I plan on doing an updated post about the class once I get closer to finishing my sloper.  I originally wanted to use the sloper to help in fitting commercial pants patterns, but I think I may go ahead with drafting one of the options Suzy Furrer offers for the class.  I mean, why not?  So, whatever I decide to do, I will keep you all in the know as soon as I can.

I hope that your sewing plans are off to a better start than mine!  If they are not, then plan to recover! There's plenty of month left to head in a better direction.

Until soon,

Stay sew filled!



5 comments:

  1. I hate mayhem, but I think it does happen in more sewing rooms than we'd like to number. Your pant sloper looks wonderful and I love your wardrobe plan.

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  2. Errr-- I share your frustration and challenges. I cut a pattern and ended up serging and sewing to back bodices that were the same!!! With the care you are taking with your pants sloper, i am sure they will turn out wonderful.

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  3. Happens to everyone at one point or another!! Your pants are coming along quite nicely.

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  4. Story of my life! I've been there more times than I'd like to have. Your sloper is coming along really well. Once you get the right fit you'll be good to go.

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  5. I didn't notice the butterick's pattern, but it's so lovely! I love the peplum top too. I will add these patterns to my wish list.

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Let me know what you think!