Well, Deana has stepped firmly into the world of fashion sewing. After some failed attempts in high school (the scariest muslin in the whole wide world), I stuck with formals only through college until I began working for Kim Love. She made (well, I made) these ingenious little bracelets that were beads, suspended between two pockets of fabric that clasped around the wrist by means of hidden magnets inside the fabric. I'll come back later and post a pic. If I remember. Which I might not for a few months.
As hard as it was working for Kim on a personal level (narcissistic personality disorder = not fun) I learned an amazing amount about detail sewing. AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PINKING! I gained confidence in my abilities as a sewer. Unfortunately, I didn't want to even look at my sewing machine for almost a year. By then, I'd moved onto my current job as a graphic designer and craved a win in the company Halloween costume contest. I decided to undertake a historically accurate 1520's Florentine gown. Why that time period? Because they had yet to begin setting in sleeves or using darts or (obviously) zippers among many many other things. All the things that struck fear in my heart at their mere mention....
But pattern drafting -- that I'll do without hesitation. I love you Miss Lucy! Your calculus and trig lessons come in real handy some times. It's odd that I barely passed geometry considering how great I am at drafting flat patterns. Well, I still have a ways to go before I would call myself an expert but I was at the point where I'd rather draft my own than alter a commercial pattern. And with all the resources I found online, it was a breeze!
Isn't it marvy? But no, I didn't win. It's a long story but basically I think not being someONE was an issue. That and people simply don't recognize that I spent almost 80 hours on this outfit and I not only made everything from scratch, including the corset, but I DRAFTED everything from scratch. I had a true realization of what it must have been like for women to get a Godey's Ladies Book and then replicate it from a few line drawings. And I crave more projects like that.
But in the next few months after Halloween, I was limited to baby floor quilts. I'll upload a pattern at some point but they're very simple. I will say that the down (or is that up)side of drafting a pattern is the need to perfect it. From now on, I'm not giving anything as a gift unless I've got it right a couple times. I feel so bad about giving a not perfect production.
I don't remember what got the machine out for fashion sewing last month. Probably a trip with Anjea to the fabric store. We're so bad. She's a novice and is doing just what I did at that point -- buying fabric and patterns with the idea that they'll be easy. The issue is momentum, I think. It's hard to sew and work and have a life. I've got to work a little more on that balance. And, I think I'm going to end up cutting out other crafts as a result of my discovery of fashion sewing. I hate making things that have no purpose. And with fashion sewing, I can at least wear it! And if I don't like it.... GOODWILL, baby!
So, keep reading. I'm going to keep a diary of every project I complete. I've gotten two skirts done so far and a pair of pants waiting to be cut out. The next post will be my list of upcoming projects. A large majority of these are just waiting. I have fabric and/or pattern ready to go. Fun times, y'all...
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