Happy New Years! And other things...

Dress: Made by me

Leggings: Sock Dreams

Boots: Vintage

Sweater: Columbia Sportswear

So, I've been meaning to get back into blogging for oh, I don't know, forever?? Yes, probably forever. At least approximately forever. This is mainly due to the fact that I have recently gotten into sewing in a BIG WAY. Like, probably a kind of embarrassing way. I've been pouring over sewing blogs enviously for years now, but I was totally intimidated by all the things it seemed like I would need to know and all of the things that could go terribly, horribly wrong. I was envisioning myself sobbing into a pile of wadded up fabric in front of my sewing machine. It was all very dramatic (in my mind), trust me. 

However, a few factors (the lack of place to shop in the entire STATE of New Mexico, a need for a creative outlet, the total frustration of being unable to find the type of clothing that I want for a price that I can afford, the ethical and environmental issues associated with our clothing industry, a few very enviable patterns becoming available, I COULD GO ON AND ON...) culminated a couple of months ago and I attacked my sewing problem with reckless abandon. I've since cranked out a quite a bit of lovely clothing that I've worn repeatedly and quit a bit of embarrassing and unwearable shit. However, its all been fun and there hasn't been any crying, so I hope to continue with my new obsession in the New Year. 

Quite frankly, I'm sure that was already too many words for anyone to process after the holiday vacation, so I will just say that I hope to be blogging more about sewing here. The online sewing community seems to be an awesome, supportive, and informative place and I so hope that I can be a productive part of it. I've learned SO MUCH from reading blogs and tutorials, found amazing patterns, and most importantly learned a bit about how to alter patterns to better fit my body (which is the point of sewing, after all!). I'm still at the bottom of a major learning curve here, but I hope to share my projects so that I can look back for reference, perhaps (one day) be able to help out other, and maybe get some advice and feedback on my projects. Constructive criticism is certainly welcome by this beginner!

So, without further ado, here is my most recent project with the sewing details:

I drafted this pattern based very loosely on the One Shoulder Knit Dress free download from Dixie DIY. I spent a fair bit of time grading up the size and drafting the bodice, only to royally screw up the fabric cutting! Whoops. 

 

So, all my dreams of the little rows on leaves meeting up in the center front and center back were lost! I shed a single tear then made it work. Also, I learned my lesson about taking sewing projects to my parents house, cutting fabric after one too many glasses of wine, and trying to use my mother's (too fancy for me to understand) sewing machine which kept eating my fabric. Oh well. 

I ended up having to take  good bit out of the center front seam to make things look less crazy pants with the pattern, so the dress is a bit narrow across the front, pulling in at the armholes and setting the straps a little to close together (in my opinion). That said, I almost never wear dresses without cardigans because it is frigid in this state, so I'm in not too worried about it. I really love how it looks with a cardigan. 

I am quite please with the fact that the bodice is lined. But no, I don't have a fancy pants serger, there are my silly little zig zag seams. Finished with clear elastic at the waist and shoulder seams. 

So, despite some flaws, I'm counting the wins thusly: drafting a basic v-neck dress pattern perfect for jersey fabric  (I hope to correct the fit problems in the next version) and making a dress that I think will get a lot of wear. In fact, I wore it last night for the New Years party that I hosted!