I was having a lot of trouble getting myself motivated to get back in the sewing room actually making something. Then, over the weekend I got a comment on my knitting blog asking me if I preferred knitting or sewing. My initial reaction was "sewing" but of course there are times when I prefer knitting.
But the question made me think. If my answer was sewing, why wasn't I sewing something? And it struck me that there are a lot of reasons, but that if I really wanted to be sewing I should just start.
And so I did.
I knew that I had much unfinished business in the sewing room and I was in the middle of a muslin but I really just wanted something new, something I could wear right now, and I thought I would just whip up a simple knit dress. I prepped the fabric over the weekend and pulled out the pattern and thought I would get right to work. But then I realized that yes, I could just do an FBA and lengthen the pattern, and add a little at the hips too, but that what I really wanted to do was make it fit me well, and my idea of fitting well has changed since I took that sit and sew class with Susan Khalje and Kenneth King.
I am no longer happy with things that "were good enough" a few short months ago because now I have seen how they can be better. I don't quite fully have my had wrapped around the "how" part of making them better, but I now know I can do it. I don't mind messing up. I don't mind making a "wadder" but apparently I do mind just whipping up something that is "good enough" when I know I can do better.
But I don't really know how to do better because I am still working through the alterations on my princess seamed blouse. I intended to use the blouse, once it was fitted, to be the base from which I could work altering other patterns. But I haven't finished the blouse and as a result I don't really understand how the things I have done completely relate to the whole. I don't have a base yet. I realized I needed to go back to my muslin, and that once I have done the necessary work to get the fit right, and translated that to other patterns, then I can whip up a quick little dress when the mood strikes, a quick little dress that actually fits,
So I finished the shirt muslin I was working on before Christmas. I was not as far along as I had thought. I had cut out a new front and sewn it up, but although I had made a new pattern for the back, I hadn't cut it out of fabric yet. Today I cut the back and sewed up the third muslin and tried it on. It is pretty good, but still not perfect. I need a little more room at the bust, I need to shift a couple of seams to get them to line up in a balanced and attractive way. I think there are some changes to be made to the back as well. G tells me there are wrinkles. After I fix the front I shall move on to the back, and then to the sleeves, which will hopefully not throw everything else completely out of whack.
And you know something? Just cutting out the muslin and sewing it up was gratifying and fun, as much fun as making a new dress. And I am thrilled that even though I haven't done much sewing yet, it is coming back to me, stitching and marking and cutting and even sewing neatly are becoming simple and natural again, which is major, because when I started up again in November I thought that I was pathetically bad, as bad as when I was just starting. I embarrassed myself. I am glad to have gotten past that.
Next up shirt muslin #4.
At one point (and for several years) I became so consumed by perfecting fit that sewing stopped being fun. Don't get me wrong. I'm not settling for good enough but I am looking for balance so the entertainment and joy of sewing is maintained. I've settled on a question that works for me - would I buy this? It works in part because the quality I can afford I wouldn't buy and the quality I would buy I can't afford so it's still a high to me standard and one that is less pressure filled and far more enjoyable. An - only if it works for you - word of caution.
- Myrna
Posted by: Myrna | January 26, 2010 at 02:08 PM