Saturday, December 14, 2013

Trial and Error... I really do hate wadders. Simplicity 2566 vs. Vogue 8935

Honestly there are no words NONE! to even explain how frustrating the last couple of projects have been.  I have no clue as to what's going on with me and my sewing abilities but it's almost disturbing.  It all started with a mock-up version of a shirt I wanted for years (Simplicity 2566).  I started the muslin fit maybe 4-5 years ago ( I assume) but never finished it.  So lo and behold I found the pattern buried in a box with all the pattern pieces cut out and the bodice portion basted together.  I figured since it's almost done, why not finish it. 
So I put it on and it fitted kind of snug (what can I say I am still growing, jut sideways).  No problem I will just have to add a few inches here and there and I will be alright. NO! When the adjustments were made I got a dress instead of a top.  Something tells me that I have a distorted image of myself because every time I decide to add inches to any of the garments I construct.  I seam to think I am making a dress for The Hulk! 
Well this was just the beginning.  Let's just list all the things that went wrong.
1) I didn't like the color of the fabric I chose to make the mock version so I decided to buy lace.
2)  It didn't work. ( I bought the lining on clearance so it wasn't all that expensive)
3)  The darts are seriously huge and hangs in the weirdest place.
4)  I am not going to even mention the collar or the front facing.  It's a massacre in there.
5)  I ran out of fabric and decided to use the next best thing an old remnant lining from a previous project.  It didn't match.
6)  And my machine hates this fabric and the thread that I used for it.  My goodness, I was one impulse away from throwing the machine across the room.
7)  The instructions on how to sew the front facing and collar onto the bodice is sooo wrong.  Which was the number one reason my front opening is slanted.  Yup the very tip hangs on one side, despite everything I had done to correct the issue it still hangs asymmetrically.  That was the part that hurt me the most.
So I stopped took a few days off and contemplated. Looked all over online to get some kind of understanding what I did wrong.  I marked the shirt and the front facing piece but somewhere in the midst of fighting the battle I lost the war.  That's when it hits me...use another pattern to help better understand how to put on the facing in a more effective manner.  And there she was Vogue 8935.  The style of the shirts are similar so I decided to give a try with another fabric.
Wow!  What a difference.  The way Vogue constructed the shirt was simple, direct, understandable and it made plain sense.  Put the facing on first!  So far its been a dream.  But this time I am so careful, I double, triple check just to ensure everything is in place.  Plus since I had to change thread the machine has been working allot better and the stitches are coming out beautifully. 
But I am not going to give up on my sloppy first trial. I am going to finish it even if it means I am going to hand stitch it together.  I think I call the first one my Hulk Frankenstein mix.  Hey if anything I can always wear it to work.  Because in my world I can't afford to have waders.

 
 
Later,
Ambitious Sewer