Update From The Trenches

Well here I am in the trenches - that is where you do the dirty work or rather the work no one wants to do. If this is your first time to my blog you can find out what came before the trenches work by reading here . Oh sure I had heaps of fun buying the fabrics and the book, Sew Serendipity . I felt like I was in the midst of a romantic whirlwind, yes, me and my newly purchased fabrics. I trimmed them up ... 

 

In the wash they went ...

 
And now I am in full combat mode. Let me explain. In my last post, in the comment section, I actually was lucky to get many lovely comments, one comment was from Kay Whitt. Yes siree Bob, Kay Whitt, the author of the book I am following here. In reference to my skipping the skirt, Kay, said "... you better be making a muslin!" For those of you who are not familiar with sewing clothing, a muslin is a mock up of the final outfit made with inexpensive fabric. It is also the one step many impatient people skip, including, in the past, yours truly. There was an exclamation point at the end of her comment. With Kay watching me I wasn't about to take any chances. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks.  I may be old, but I am always willing to learn any new tricks out there - so I bought muslin and pattern tracing cloth, lots of both.

I set out to do it right.  You know all the sayings ... "don't put the cart before the horse ... measure twice, cut once ... if you are going to do it at all do it right ..." well that is what I wanted to do. I didn't want someone looking at my blog saying "tsk tsk ..advice most needed is least headed." So I dove in to do it right. I started by copying the patterns so I could leave the tissue patterns intact for future projects ( I have full intentions of loosing all my "baby" fat and using the other sizes that were included).

 

It wasn't long before I was feeling a little like this lady, below

 

I was beginning to feel like it would be forever before I got back to my glorious colors. I was in a sea of off-white fabric veiled in ochre tissue. I just stared off into the sea with the same look on my face as she has on hers - a look of "I can't believe I still have to do all this - BLAH "

I kept going, I could feel Kay's presence in the room. The muslin got cut.

 
And then it all got stitched up, but not without a hiccup or two. The sleeves went on the dress inside out. It wasn't all bad, I had moments of discovery - I finally know what a seam ripper looks like and what it is used for - and believe me, I now know it well. Mental note to self - next time remember to pin a note to muslin fabric saying which is side is the "wrong" side of the fabric. Since I am working on the final dress with batiks I will need to figure out a way to tell which side is which on the final dress as well. I thought of Post-it notes but with all the turning of the fabric this way and that, I can just imagine all the little Post-it notes I would later find on the floor under my desk.I need a better solution. I had quiet, pensive moments as well. Like when I stopped the whole process and went into the kitchen. There is nothing like homemade waffles to quell the doubts that enter my brain in moments of procrastination. I wondered how Alicia, from Possibilities was doing. Maybe there was the "possibility" she had gotten to make a personal connection with the seam ripper as well. I quickly typed her a note on Facebook

Honestly, Alicia, what WAS I thinking?
I am on the sleeves - need I say more?
There are some very talented people in this world- I am not one of them.
I just ate a waffle- in my deranged world I thought it would make me feel better about the sleeves.
I'll keep at it. Carolina

I gulped the last of my fresh-from-the-Mennonite-farm milk down, sighed and returned to the trenches. The word for the day was perseverance.

Comments

[Kay Whitt]

Hi Carolina! Just checking in....glad you are persevering! Sorry to hear that you had to be acquainted with the seam ripper...I hate it when that happens around here (and it has lately, as I am working on new designs)! I do have a tip for you on how to mark your batiks so that you know which side is the "right side". Once your pieces are cut out and you are in the process of removing the tissue, place a small safety pin on each in the center so it won't be in the way of seams. These can be easily removed as you go along. Hope that helps!

[THe Muse of The Day]

Now that is a tip, no Post-it note messing around going on there!

[Alicia Armstrong]

I love seeing the jumble of colors with all your beautiful fabrics together. The prototype looks great and now you probably won't need the seam ripper for the "real" dress. Best wishes!

[Heather]

It is not seam ripping, it is unsewing!

I have been guilty of often skipping the muslin too. I never have enough free time to sew, so the muslin always feels like it is taking up what little time I have. So far I've been lucky...but I know my luck will run out.

Like Kay, I love your fabric choices. I got my copy of Sew Serendipity a few weeks ago and am excited to play. I have a ginormus fabric stash that I need to use up. As a result, I am not buying any new clothing items all summer. Anything I need, I must sew. Many of my new garments will be coming from Kay's book and patterns.

Oh, to mark right sides of fabric, I use coloured tape Green painter's tape). A small piece of tape on each pattern piece usually does the trick.

[Gayle]

Hey I may be the pro of the bunch. I have made a skirt and a dress from Kays new book. Love them both! I think I finally have them posted to Sew Serendipity FB site. I have never gotten "home made" clothes to fit me. After reading Kays first chapter on how to adjust patterns, guess what THEY FIT. So if something is pulling here, or too big over there, make sure you make the adjustments to the patterns. Truth me, you will get that feeling, "OH this is how clothes are suppose to fit!", after you finish the dress. It's a nice feeling!

[Amanda]

Haha - nothing like having the designer of the pattern you're using watching over you to make sure you do it right ;) What a joy, though, to have the designer there to help you with tips and advice along the way xx

[Thimbleanna]

You're so funny! It looks like you're making good progress. And I think you took the best course of action -- is there ANYthing that a good, fat waffle won't cure???

[Heather]

Carolina, I just posted pics of my stash to illustrate why I am confident I will be successful at my challenge.

[Amy]

Love to see you are making progress! The picture of the lady on the pamphlet made me laugh out loud - you are too funny. Keep up the good work.

[Maryanne]

Ha, you sound like me, always tearing (ripping?!) ahead, going, yeah, yeah, that bit's easy ... Love your monochrome prototype, good luck with the colour version! I agree with Heather's sentiments, it's not seam ripping, it's seam freeing! Thank you for your visit and comment - Dad doing much better, still away but home before too long we hope! I so enjoy your posts Carolina, you always make me laugh!

[cynde]

The dress will be gorgeous, can't wait to see it!
It isn't seem ripping...it's the Frog Stitch...ripit..ripit!
I too have the book and it is great! I am waiting on my fabric to come in the mail for the mod jacket...oh can't wait.
Have a great weekend.

[Brandy]

Can't wait for finaly project!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaay excited!

[andi]

hiya! my first time to your site! its lovely. i use masking tape on my fabric to show the right and wrong sides. i have also used litte circle stickers, like the kind you use for a garage sale? they peel off without leaving any sticky behind!

[Elizabeth Mackey]

I have been sewing since I was 15, and have never made a muslin. I made a muslin for the first time, because the fabric I was cutting was Liberty of London prettiness, and I didn't want to make a mistake on that stuff.
I think it helped a lot, but my oldest daughter, who just graduated with a fashion degree, said you can alter patterns by measurements, but you really don't need to do a muslin. She knows how to make complicated patterns and designs, so now I'm confused if she is correct, or all the people saying make a muslin first.
Maybe doing a combination? I think I may try another muslin if it is a fabric that I don't want to ruin, but I may continue just adjusting the pattern by the measurements given.