Thursday, October 11, 2007

Duds

There are two reasons why I haven't been posting. First, our AC broke a month ago and our landlord hasn't replaced it yet. This wasn't really a problem until it hit 90 degrees. I don't know many people that want to do much of anything when it feels like 95 degrees inside. Second, the things that I have sewn lately are duds. I'm so used to showing garments I'm actually proud to wear on this blog that it didn't dawn on me until late this week that I should post the duds too. I've learned to sew mainly through trial and error and I'm still learning. I bring you my most recent example:


Butterick 4973. I intended to make this dress with some black matte jersey. Instead of measuring twice and cutting once, I just cut the size I normally cut for Simplicity patterns. Not such a good idea. As soon as I tried on the bodice I knew I had made a mistake. I would show you, but I don't want to show that much skin on this ol' blog. Instead, I illustrated the problem in the picture above. See that white line across her bodice? That is where my fabric ends, right at the very bottom of my bust. If I were to continue sewing even with a small seam allowance the seam would fall across my bust. I don't think that's flattering for any figure. Lesson learned, measure measure measure!

Am I bummed by the experience? Nah. If I were really excited about the pattern or the fabric, I might be a little upset. Maybe that's why I didn't measure enough. Hmmm, perhaps that's the real lesson, only sew patterns and fabric you're excited about. Something to ponder...

4 comments:

  1. oh i have so had the same problems! i am itching to sew more clothes for this summer...will remember to measure measure measure!

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  2. That is too bad. I know, you don't wanna post about the duds!

    But I was thinking... do you think the weight of the skirt will help pull the seam down a bit? Or maybe you could add a band to create some extra length. Depends on how enthusiastic you are about this dress.

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  3. I think I have this in my stash! I will make sure I measure!

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  4. That's actually my issue with empire waists. I always need to add 1/2 to 1 inch... even if it's my size. Dud teach up something everytime!

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