Simplicity 6023
You know, where you start sewing something together and it’s just not quite right. Your fabric isn’t behaving the way you envisioned. You mess up a seam and don’t notice until it’s graded. You begin to suspect that your arbitrary alterations weren’t the right ones after all…
Erm, I’m not the only one who gets this way, right?
I have gotten the front bodice constructed for Simplicity 6023. After experimenting with knit interfacing, I decided to use an extra layer of the black linen (actually a linen-cotton-lycra blend, really quite yummy) for interfacing instead. And I decided I would make piping (from one of my scant scraps of the plaid) to edge the neckline and cuffs. Then I sewed the three layers of the front yoke piece together (one half, anyway), notched, graded, and realized that I had forgotten the piping. Rrrripit. Add in the piping. Flip around, and realize that the linen is quite a bit sturdier than the plaid fabric and really doesn’t need the extra layer for interfacing.
Use the pinking shears to remove as much of that extra layer from the middle as I can, because I’m way too half-assed to unpick again.
Manage to trim the piping too much at the corner, so it’s fraying a bit when clipped.
Fuck it.
Anyway, it looks cute. I have a sinking feeling I should’ve raised the armscye without raising the neckline, and shortened the bodice lower down. Or perhaps left it, as it’s designed to hit above the natural waist (which probably means it would hit right at my waist).
Argh.
Probably, it will all be fine. I like piping. I like plaid. I have a great excuse for not even trying to match my plaids. The black detailing looks pretty sharp. The neckline may be higher than I wanted, but that’s hardly the end of the world. At least I’m pretty sure this one will be large enough (if not a bit too large, given the stretch in both my fabrics)
After all this self-drafted stuff with seam allowances of 1cm or less, the 1.5 (5/8″) regular seam allowance seems positively excessive. Especially in nice, minimally fraying fabrics like these.
Springy coat---now with shoulder pad!
On the subject of the Springy Coat (may I just say that working on two projects at once, when you only have one sewing machine, is REALLY ANNOYING? I have spent way too much time re-threading in the last three days) I put my shoulder-pads and sleeve heads/wadding in as per the latest installment of the RTW, and am HAPPY. I love how it just ups the look that little bit. It was kinda a pain since I’ve already (contra the sewalong) stitched my lining to my facings (I did this before sewing the facing on to the main coat, as I didn’t think I’d be capable of getting the piping right while wrestling the whole coat), but I managed. I will take a moment to note my jealousy that Steph has already finished her jacket.
New Coating
Oh, and while I was at Fabricland picking up the black linen, this coating followed me home. I’ve been keeping an eye out for something with a good drape for Simplicity 8613. I was thinking either cream (I know, I’m making an off-white coat right now) or blue or coral, and this combined two out of three.
I think a fabric diet is in order. I seem to binge every few months, and then fast for a while, but I’m not getting stuff sewn at quite the rate that I’m buying. I’m not anti-stash, mind you—I especially like to have on hand various “basic” fabrics, like denim, plain-coloured knits, lining—but I also don’t want it to get out of hand.
Tanit-Isis Sews 
My favorite is when I get something together, decide it is ALL WRONG, take it apart and then end up doing the exact same thing again because either a) I misjudged the error and it was correct the first time (and done better) or 2) I just manage to screw it up in the same way again.
You are not alone.
Gee I wish nice coating would follow me home like that…it probably knows it has more chance of getting made into a garment if it stays in the shop!
When I have a major stuff-up, I know now to immediately unpick it all, usually in a huff, then start anew the next day (or week, whatever it takes) when I have recovered and my attitude is better!
PS – Our coats are nearly finished!
I always think of rethreading as such as a hassle—and then realize it takes 30 seconds. But in my mind it’s this huge roadblock, and it will stop me starting a project I want to work on. So will filling a bobbin. I have gotta get over this.
I totally understand what you mean. I’m having the same problem with my vintage sew-a-long right now. “Is it going to work?”
My stash is OUT OF CONTROL. Seriously. I need to hop to it and make more stuff! Maybe now that Mom is moved…
I used to do two projects at once too, but now I only do it if they are in the same color thread, and basically the same pattern, such as a blouse for me and my daughter in the same material.
Everyone has their own “perfect” stash amount. Just enough so you can move on a creative impulse, but not so much that you begin to feel overwhelmed and backlogged. Maybe one good month of sewing and you could get your stash to your perfect level, and feel like you can start buying fabric again.
Ah, completely understand. My stash is getting a tad out of control. I can shop much faster than I can sew and anniversary sales did not help matters. I have come to realize I need more boxes. My sewing room looked much better when there were 8 pieces of fabric in my bedroom rather than strewn about because the boxes were full.
I have tried tried tried to do two projects at once but my sewing table gets so chaotic and I inevitably lose something (like my seam ripper, and then I go into a frenzy turning things even more inside out). I go on stash binges, too, then fasts. 😉 It’s so fun seeing all the insides of the coats, like little teasers – can’t wait to see them on!
Hmm, both of my seam rippers are MIA right now. I am the queen of putting something down and losing it instantly…
I don’t usually double-project, but it’s hard to keep pace with a sewalong without doing so (at least when I’m as excited as I am about the coat…)
I definitely have projects like this… My green knit dress still isn’t finished, because I’ve changed the yoke three times and it still isn’t right… *pout*
My HUGE stash is my security blanket! LOL!!
I’d say you’re just about normal, (with the unpicking, the getting it wrong, re-doing). That’s the definition of a seamstress/tailor/designer!
It’s says so in MY dictionary at least.
I’d say the two things YOU need to ask for for Mother’s Day are a dressfrom & a good used 2nd sewing machine!!
Good luck with everything!
FYI:
I live just outside Portland, Oregon & yesterday I was viewing some tall clipper ships that came into Vancouver WA, and none other than Seth Aaron Henderson came off one of the ships! From Season 7 of Project Runway! It made my day, to say the least! A fashion designer & two tall ships!! Yippee!!
I have been hoping a second machine would fall into my lap, but no joy yet (maybe soon…) I’m more hesitant about dress forms, mostly because I want a custom one and that seems like a lot of work (and I really haven’t got anyone to help with the fitting). I came close with the duct-tape version, but the shoulders didn’t come out quite right, sigh…
What a fun celebrity sighting! A boy I went to school with won the Canadian version of Project Runway a few years ago, which was pretty darn exciting, even though I haven’t seen him since grade-school. 🙂
whenever i stumble upon a problem as with your linen, i like to say: good enough for shits and giggles. i actually say it out loud. john lennon’s “it is what it is” also works nicely, and is more PG.
funny, i was just thinking i love it when i’m working on several things at once and have to rethread… i don’t know why though.
Hmm. I conclude that you are weird. Possibly an alien. 😉
Although, re-threading on my machine is considerably less arduous than on my mom’s, so you’d think I would know not to complain.
I like both your phrases 🙂
with you, i hate that dread “this is what i imagined” feeling! i also dislike rethreading my machine (and thus have been known to get creative or uncaring about how something looks!). i’m new to the 2 projects at once thing though. it seems good until i realize now BOTH are in UFO status and i’m too lazy to work on them!
You are most definitely not alone.
Actually I think that sinking feeling is the no1 cause of UFOs – you know something is dreadfully wrong and you either don’t know how to fix it, or resent the extra work so much you can’t get yourself down to it.
As to re-threading, that’s the main reason why I never do several projects at once. I shouldn’t say that, as I have 3 t-shirts going right now, but all of them in the same color thread, re-threading the serger is NOT something I could face. I even group projects by thread color for that reason.
Anyway, hopefully it’ll all work out, I’m sure the result will be better than you’d dare hope right now :-).
A large chunk of my projects use one of only three colours of thread (white, black, or red) so I am often able to coordinate by colour… just not this time. /sigh.
I must admit I haven’t progressed on the dress since I posted this… after I put cream thread back in the machine for the Springy Coat, I just couldn’t bring myself to switch back…
I hate winding bobbins, which is really not such a big deal, but can derail my progress when I am feeling really lazy. I have to admit to even going so far as buying pre-wound bobbins. (I got a gross of them in red and white at an industrial supply.) And having two machines can actually be a problem because when I leave my seam ripper, scissors etc. at one machine, then it seems like a hassle to gather it all up and move to another. Crap, I sound incurably slothful.
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