Sadly, I seem to have hit a wall in my sewing, already. I will
put the blouse pattern away considering the fit is all off and also because it is of poor quality. I can tell without the sleeves set in or buttons sewn on that in no way could this blouse be salvaged. At first I was going to finish sewing the blouse to gain experience sewing the pleats on the sleeves, setting the sleeves in to the shirt, and hand sewing the button holes and buttons. I am just
discouraged because I put so many hours into learning the basic ideas behind sewing techniques, planning the project and then sewing the pieces together;
I want something of value to be proud of. I know I should just get over this, but my wardrobe is lacking in necessities and I would like to fill the gap, soon. I guess I could put the blouse project away and pick it up after a successful shirt is sewn.
The second set back, and one that sent me back to the planning room in terms of current projects, is the handbag. I ended up studying the pictures of the bag on the website and attempting to make a pattern that would have the same appearance in the fabric I would choose. I decided to choose sturdy- enough fabric and interface it so that it would at least be as thick and resistant as leather. But the pattern I came up with, done and redone many times on tissue paper, did not measure up. I realize I have to get to the point where I am confident I will be able to trouble shoot my way out of a pattern problem. Right now though I have yet to make a quality piece using commercial patterns!
I will post pictures once we get our new camera
Sum up of sewn clothing so far (I have sewn curtains, pillows, tote bags, but all simple straight lines with no real challenge):
-knit knee length dress with short sleeves- one sleeve is sewn in the wrong direction (not particularly noticeable because they are super short sleeves)
-knit swim suit cover up- I would have had to rip out basting done on the neck facing due to the facing showing on the right side of the garment, and, frankly, because I was ready to start on a new wardrobe from the Burda catalog.
-Current Burda blouse with alterations and off cross grain cutting- I trimmed about 2 inches off the hem of the front of the blouse, thinking I made a drafting mistake when in actuality it was necessary. Another mistake I made was not transferring all the pattern markings onto the fabric- time consuming to check.
Perhaps I will bring the summer cover-up out of the closet and finish it properly, at least for next years summer season. Just to feel like I am back on track.
As it stands, I have some wool shrinking in the other room to make a Burda skirt- a one and half circle, "beginner" skirt. It is supposed to be lined and has a zipper, but I am determined to make progress: improve my skills as well as my self-esteem as a sewer.
Here is my list of near future sewing projects:
-finish Vogue knit dress
-make pattern of fall gloves and sew using interfacing as muslin (hand sewing this, I have a bit more confidence that this will turn out because I have tried this two other times, without researching patterns or fabric, and came real close to having a wearable pair).
-Burda 09/09 #126 wool skirt
Last night I decided to finally join Pattern Review, so perhaps I could review these. I figure these will take me a while, and although I won't have a much needed fall casual shirt to wear, I will feel more able to sew one soon.