After pouting about how I felt like I wasn’t getting any better at sewing, I looked back on my list of “completed” projects and realized I really didn’t sew all that much, for a handful of reasons. I decided that I should really try to commit more to sewing projects.
I’ve been pinning a lot on my Pinterest boards on DIY projects and sewing projects lately, and yesterday, I finally started on a dress pattern that I had since summer. I can’t just keep pinning things and adding further things to my “to sew” list if I never even begin on what I already have on it, right?
Part of the reason why I held off from doing this dress for so long is because I was afraid I would mess up. But what comforted me was the memory of meeting a wonderful lady who spent many years sewing and had worked on many more projects than I have.
She said, “It’s just fabric!”
So true. It is, indeed, just fabric. With that in mind, I set to work yesterday on a trial run of the Vogue Easy dress pattern designed by Rebecca Taylor. I already had gathered the fabric and notions… it was time to do it!
Naturally, since I had never sewn clothing before or even read a pattern, I was sure I would mess up, so I practiced on muslin to spare the that expensive Liberty of London blue-and-white floral fabric that I adore so much.
I’m glad I did the muslin first. As it turns out, there are a lot of things I forgot to do, or just sort of messed up on, because admittedly, I am TERRIBLE at following instructions.
Also, some of the instructions (when I actually tried to read them instead of just interpreting pictures, hah) were confusing and unclear. Like, why would you pin the skirt to the bodice before you install an elastic waistband, huh? WHY?! I never figured out the solution to that, so I just didn’t sew it in, causing the dress to be much looser than intended.
The result, which is still very much a work in progress, is this:
You can see I’m pulling back the excess fabric. Um, I think I at least I got the gist of the dress, right? Here’s the goal dress for comparison (I’m still mad this pattern is only $18 at this site, whereas I paid $30+ at Joann’s! REALLY?):
I’m trying to figure out the waist band situation, and I forgot to sew in a couple darts in the bodice and finish the raw edges, but I think that once I figure out the waist band, I could probably start with the pretty fabric, which is Liberty of London Tana Lawn Josephine’s Garden.
Isn’t it lovely? And it’s soft, too.
This is also the first time I’ve sewn pleats. They’re not that bad! I was freaking out a bit when I first saw the directions, but once I started to crease the fabric, it kind of just fell into place… and then I sewed it down.
Note to self: Buy flat-head pins!
I’m going to be avidly searching Google to gain a better understanding of how to install a waistband elastic now…
Sewing Compulsion 