Something else I rarely do

Posted on February 24, 2008 by knittingpatterns4you | 0 Comments

Yep. Sewing.

I don't know what's gotten into me lately but I seem to have gotten more and more interested in sewing. I learned basic home machine sewing from my mom and grandma when I was a kid, but I only ever got as far as making square projects and one dress as a teenager . . . I don't know if maybe watching so much Project Runway has finally gotten to me, but last week I found myself in the garment district buying fabric for no good reason. Then I came home and immediately started draping (how fancy that sounds when in reality I have no idea what I'm doing) a strapless baby-doll top in some blue and white printed cotton.

What you see above was the very beginning of the process, which was basically me holding the fabric up to Beatrice and pinning it in place. It turns out Beatrice is really not true-to-life in her proportions, as when I measured the area were this top hits her and compared it with the corresponding area on MY body, she's a good 5 inches bigger! I realize she's not a dressform, she's for display, but I didn't think there would be such a large discrepancy. Anyway, this discovery (and believe me, I'm glad I measured at the way beginning!) led to a lot of trying-to-drape-on-myself action, which I'm sure would have been hysterical to watch to anyone professionally trained in this.

Anyway. I got through a few fit challenges, including making something up for a closure in the back, adding a triangular-shaped insert to give more ease in the hips, and stretching the top band to keep it from flopping over . . . frankly, I have no idea what the terms are for any of the things I did, I just kept trying it on and adjusting. I finished everything and then it came time to hem the bottom and I got intimidated (don't ask me why that part intimidated me when all the previous I-have-no-idea-what-I'm-doing-moments didn't), stuck it back onto Beatrice, and haven't touched it since.

Hopefully I'll finish it this week and show you a picture of it on me. I think I'll get a lot of wear out of it this summer, especially after this weekend's trip for new strapless undergarments! I know, TMI, but you gotta rave when you find an excellent strapless bra! (which, wouldn't you know it, has been discontinued)

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