WIP = Work in Progress
Happy (late) Wednesday!
I did some more sewing this past week, and also a bit of thinking, but first the sewing.
I’ve been so happy with the last few knit tops I’ve made (this and this), and I’ve been wearing them so much, that I decided to whip out another one. This time I tried another Ellie and Mac pattern, the Discoverer Tee.
I had a yard of super-cute owl fabric and my usual assortment of knit scraps. I had hoped to make the top bodice out of green or pink knit, but my scrap of white knit was the only piece large enough to work (and I had to piece the back bodice). Then I decided the white was boring, so I made faux piping out of my precious scraps of that luscious kelly green and added that.
All great so far.
This is the point where our heroine’s hubris inevitably leads to her downfall.
I don’t even know what I was thinking, other than that I was so excited about those adorable owls, and I was finally getting some time to sew, and I’ll just cut out the 2X on the top and grade out to the 3X at the waist and hip and it will be great . . . .
I did not measure the pattern pieces, friends, and that is my hubris. Only the gods can choose the correct size on a new pattern without having finished measurements! I was struck down by my nemesis!
Okay, it wasn’t as dramatic as all that, but the result was clearly not what I was going for.
I’ve left vents open on the sides, but this is still too tight. My usual goal is to have clothing skim over the lumps, but this right here? This is hugging, not skimming. And the sleeves are especially tight.
So, considering the problem is all over, I think the thing to do is unpick those side seams and add a strip of fabric all the way from the ends of the sleeves to the hem. I’m not sure what fabric to use for this . . . I may have enough of the green or white to use one of those. You know how much I love me some colorblocking. And once I figure out how to get this pattern to fit me, I’ve got another fabric combination all picked out for another version.
But this experience also got me thinking about all the clothing I have–both me-made and ready-to-wear–that ALMOST fits me well. I have a lot of clothes that I just pass over every day when I’m choosing what to wear because they’re just a bit too short, or the neckline’s too low, or they’re a little bit too big or too small. Now that I have some things to wear that really do fit well, are comfortable, and just feel like ME, those other clothes never get worn. So today I went through my closet and pulled out some clothes I like that just need a little tweaking for me to love them; they went to the top of the still-massive mending pile (sigh; the struggle is real). And a bunch of things that aren’t fixable went into a bag and will be given away to someone in my Buy Nothing group.
I think it’s time to raise my standards when it comes to clothing.
[clears throat]
From now on, I’m not settling for less than clothes that feel good, are comfortable, make me look good, and that are what I like and want to wear. Because why am I sewing if I’m not getting high-quality, custom clothing out of it? Seriously, I’ve got a ton of beautiful fabric here and a zillion great patterns, so why settle for less than something I will love?
Have a wonderful week, friends, and I hope that whatever you’re making brightens up your life.
STH
Living in Color 
This is a great post, STH. I have exactly the same thoughta about sewing. I have been doing more toiles this year. It takes more fabric but in the end I get to make sure that what I get put of it is a great piece. Love the owls. The colour blocking willl be very cute.
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Sorry for typos.
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Thank you! Yes, I’m thinking I should be making more toiles, too, and the list of what I need to check/measure on a pattern before I cut should be longer. I’ve been focusing on improving the quality of my work for a couple of years now, and now I need to work on improving the fit as well. I have to head over to Joann’s tomorrow, and maybe I should see if I can find some knit fabric on sale.
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Those owls are super cute. It actually doesn’t *look* bad in the picture. Good luck making it more wearable.
I have a lot of clothes like that that just need a little tweaking but I rarely get around to it. It’s so much more fun to start from scratch and make something new.
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Yeah, it’s not terrible, but it’s not all that comfortable, either. It’s easy to get a little hooked on that boost you get from finishing a new thing (this is probably why I never manage to finish a full-sized quilt!) I think part of the problem is that I hardly ever use patterns more than once, so if I want to take care to get a great fit on each pattern, that means I have to do it every time I sew. Maybe I should focus on some TNT patterns like you do so that there’s less fitting and more sewing.
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