Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Sew Relaxing

Now that classes are over, I am decompressing by spending some time with my sewing machine. Between my desire to relax and my new-found free time, I was able to finish my dress over the weekend! I am very pleased with how it turned out.


Of course, I see all of the little faults with it. For example, I think I'm going to restitch the lining because it's pulling awkwardly on the front of the bodice. I also need to figure out how to deal with pattern sizing and ease, as the dress is a little large through the shoulders. These are all things (learning to accept faults, paying attention to details, and dealing with ease) that I expect to get better at as I sew more. Still, learning what to learn is progress!


I've already started on my next sewing project: Colette Patterns' Peony dress. This is a pattern I hope to reuse, so I transferred my size of the pattern onto something sturdier (I have no idea exactly what the woman at JoAnn's sold me, but it seems like interfacing without the iron-on part). Now that I have a good copy of the pattern, I hope to cut out the fabric sometime this week!

6 comments:

Debbi said...

You did a great job. The sleeves are wonderful!

Jenny L said...

I love it! You're right that bodice sizing is super tricky, though. That is one of the things that I always, always have trouble with in commercial patterns. Next time I sew a dress or a top I think I'll try to make a muslin to figure out the necessary pattern adjustments - it'll add some time to the process, but it was SO useful in getting the fit of my corset right that I expect it'll be worth it for other projects as well!

Kristin said...

Debbie-

Thanks! I'm glad the sleeves turned out because they were particularly tricky for this novice sewer. But it's probably a good thing for me to be challenged at this point.

Kristin

Kristin said...

Jenny-

Yeah, ease is definitely something I'm going to be paying more attention to. Luckily, I tried this dress on before I installed the zipper so I was able to pull it in a bit at the shoulders, which helped. At some point, I'll also make muslins but I just don't have the patience yet.

Kristin

Desiree said...

The dress is stunning. Way to go on finishing such a great piece of art! I would not dwell on the things that you see as faults and see all of the amazing things that worked out with the piece! I love the color as well!

What color are you thinking of doing the Peony dress in? That dress is also super cute!

Kristin said...

Desiree,

It's funny that I'm to the point in my knitting where I can look past the faults, but I guess I'm still learning how nitpicky I want to be with my sewing.

As for the Peony dress, it's going to be a dark grey color. It's the kind of color that goes with everything.