Sunday 26 April 2015

Ditzy dress

This is my first ever foray into dressmaking. It has been a very, very steep learning curve. I had thought that the transition from patchwork to dressmaking would be easy.  Sewing is sewing, right?
Little did I realise that there are actually two distinct skill sets involved with dressmaking: sewing (which is surprisingly different to patchwork), and fitting. The dress is McCalls m6959, and is classed as "easy". I struggled with every process in making this dress, and re-sewed several of the seams in order to get them pattern perfect. Then I tried the dress on, and it was awful! It fitted like a sack, and made me look totally tubular! Also the sleeves were far too taut, and I couldn't lift my arms away from my body without the whole dress feeling like it would rip across the middle.
So, having painstakingly sewn the whole thing so accurately, I took my dress along to class where the teacher pinned, and tucked, and adjusted until every single seam had to be re-sewn again. The mistake I had made was to cut the size corresponding to my largest measurement (waist). This meant that the bust and back darts all needed adjusting to bring the dress back in. What I should have done was to cut according to bust size, and adjust outwards at the waist. You live and learn. 
I'm not sure whether the arm problem was due to poor pattern drafting, or my physiology. It wasn't due to picking the wrong size. Although the circumference of the sleeve fitted neatly around my arms, and looked great with my arms hanging by my side, there was no movement at all. To solve this, I followed these tutorials (here and here)  and flattened the sleeve head. This would have meant that the original crescent shaped sleeve would have ended up very short. To counter this, I had to change the bottom of the sleeve from a concave to a convex curve. To give even more movement, I made this curve slightly longer than the original, thus increasing the diameter of the sleeve for more ease .
The third adjustment I made was to the length of the skirt. I added two inches to the original pattern, and this fell at mid knee. In the end I felt this was a bit frumpy, so cut an inch off again. I'm not entirely sure this was a good move, as although I prefer the shorter skirt, it now ends at just above my  knobbly knees, which is not such a great look either.


So, here is the final dress. I am very pleased that it looks like a proper dress. I am happy with my fabric choices. But, I'm pretty sure it won't turn into a favourite. Despite the arm adjustments, it is still annoyingly restrictive. The skirt is also a bit hit and miss. Because of the fullness, it has a tendency to flare up in the wind. Despite a safety pin holding the wrapover together, I had several Marilyn Monroe moments on a breezy seaside stroll. The other problem is that the fullness in the skirt has a tendency to all gather over my backside, which is not an area where anyone wants to add bulk.

I started this dress in January, and it was finished in mid April, just in time for some spring sunshine. So, one item crossed off my projects list this month, and a good dent in the fabric stash.

Monday 13 April 2015

Crochet doily project.

Not to be put off by the last post, which shows that I am hugely over optimistic when it comes to starting projects, I have hatched a new Grand Plan.
This plan is sort of secret, (mainly so I don't have to admit it if I don't acheive the goal). But I am very happy to share the progress along the way.
Inspired by Pinterest I have decided to do a great big crochet doily project. Eventually I will need something like 100 doilies (told you it was ambitious). A doily a week would take about two years, and a doily a day would whizz through in just over three months.
Having never crocheted anything small or lacy before, I thought I ought to practice before jumping in and buying all the materials. I have had this book for quite a while, and since snowflakes and doilies are kind of similar, I've practiced with a few of these.

On the advice of the lady in my local yarn shop I used 4-ply cotton, and a 2.5mm hook. Her advice was good, because I think these are a good size and weight for starching and hanging on a Christmas tree.
The next step in the plan was to try an actual doily. I followed a free pattern off pinterest. The crochet itself was quite easy, but the 4 ply was way too thick. This next photo shows the 4 ply made with a 2.5mm hook, next to the same doily made with size 8 crochet cotton and a 1.25mm hook.
The crochet cotton is much more what I wanted, this gives a light lacy feel, whereas the 4ply is more like a trawler net! The downside of the crochet cotton is that the doilies come out much smaller.

I have carried on with my pinteresting, and made two more doilies. I'm pleased that I've now learned to read charted crochet, I still haven't got the hang of predicting the finished size. I need to learn blocking next, so that they look a little tidier, then just crack on with the other ninety seven! Wish em luck!

Friday 10 April 2015

March review

Sometimes at work I go on soft-skills, corporate type workshops. Negotiation, influencing, that sort of thing. I learned that if a commitment is made publicly it is more likely to be kept. For me, declaring my sewing goals on this blog was supposed to be the public commitment needed to spur me on to action.
However, the lists show a different story.

Projects in progress
Lacy Scarf
Cross stitch train
Pink elephant
Minnie mouse bag.
Secret santa quilt
Summer dress
Party dress
Crochet doily project

New projects started
Threadcatcher pincushion
Snake

So, no finishes, and two new starts. However on the plus side, it has been lovely and sunny, and the garden is looking a lot more loved.