I know, I know, late up again. I really am falling into some appalling habits aren't I? It's just that the posts that I originally planned to write on these days have really un-enthusiasticated me and now I'm having to think of new ones, which is really quite difficult!
However, I am here now and ready and raring
to talk to you about my latest sewing project. I say latest, but in the interest of full honesty and full disclosure, it has taken me two years! In my defence, it was started as a Christmas holiday project so that it would be ready for the summer, but then it turned into an Easter holiday project and then a summer holiday project and then a Christmas holiday project again and then an Easter holiday project again and then a summer holiday project again before finally being completed in the Christmas holidays! So, technically still a Christmas project.
This is the first dress that I have ever made from a shop-bought pattern. Normally when I sew, I like to throw things together and see how they turn out, cutting and stitching wherever I deem necessary. Shop-bought patterns are pretty much the complete opposite of this. They tell you exactly what to cut out and how to cut it out and what order to sew it in and how to put it together. It's all very regimented and structured and exact. However, they must clearly know their stuff, because it's turned out pretty well!
I don't think that I'm very good at following instructions normally, I like to embellish too much. However, my mum was helping me (that does not mean doing it for me, it means translating the instructions from sewing language to English - who even knows what 'baste' means anyway?), and that meant that I stuck to them a lot closer than I probably would have on my own.
I think that for a first time project, this was just about right. It wasn't overly challenging so that I ended my day wanting to stick pins in my eyes, but it did have several new techniques in it that I had to learn how to do (including a hemming stitch, gathering, and inserting a zip!)I only finished it about an hour ago because I was hemming it by hand which can (and did) take absolutely ages. It didn't matter however, because I had good old Bridget Jones to help me through (I'm a tad obsessed at the current moment!)
I am actually really surprised that this dress still fits me because obviously, I started it two years ago, and a lot of things can change in two years. It fits me nicely and I cant wait to wear it in the summer, because as much as I try to say that it's a Christmas project, it really isn't designed for the snow and rain.
You may be wondering about the pockets, I'm not sure about them. I chose to put them on for the experience, and they don't look as bad as I feared but not as good as I hoped. Although, I think that it does link the pink ruffles together!My favourite part of this dress is probably actually the hem, which is really boring and sad. I have only very recently learnt how to do the hemming stitch, but I really like it because it makes everything look nice and neat, and it can barely be seen on the outside of the dress!
My least favourite part of it is probably the zip. I am very inexperienced with zips, and I think that this is only the fourth one I've ever sewn (and the only one I've ever sewn on a real garment and not a tester). It's ok, it's just that the ruffles don't line up at the top, and also that it isn't a concealed or invisible zip - though I don't have a clue how to even start learning them!So that's my very Christmassy sewing project that has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas!
See you tomorrow!
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