I made my first sewn garment. It's a wrap skirt in fine-wale red corduroy ($2, from a thrift shop). The pattern is from Diana Rupp's Sew Everything Workshop book.
Rupp's directions were very easy to follow, and so far, this seems like a good book for teaching myself to sew. My only quibble is that corduroy is not the best material for a wrap skirt (even though the pattern suggests it). It's just too thick, so you can't tie the ties very comfortably.
As a first project, I'm happy with it. The purpose was practice, not a garment I'll keep for the rest of my life. I've learned a valuable lesson about how wrap skirts are fundamentally kind of annoying, with all the layers and ties and whatnot. I also learned how to make a skirt shorter, which is a great life skill when you're 5 feet tall.
The skirt's a little bit big, which is frustrating because it means that when I wavered between cutting out the medium-size or the small pattern, I chose wrong. And now I can't use the small pattern because the paper's already cut. This is one area where knitting patterns are far superior to sewing patterns: if you knit something in the wrong size, there's nothing to stop you from using the same pattern to make it again in a different size. (When it comes to my spare time and money, knitting and sewing are in direct competition).
Next practice project: an a-line skirt with a bubble hem made from the Built By Wendy Sew: U book. I borrowed the book from the library and copied the pattern onto tissue paper leftover from Christmas. I'm making it from an old sheet, making it essentially a zero-cost project.
I really like that colour. And the old sheet~ strawberry shortcake or star wars? Cause I still have both.
ReplyDeleteI've made the built-by-wendy a-line a couple times and I really really like it. My version turned out super high-waisted, which I realized I love (so comfy and substantial!). On both, though, the slit ripped a little bit, so I re-sewed it with a higher slit. This may be my sewing skills coupled with riding a bike in the skirt, not wendy's fault.
ReplyDeleteYonners: Off-white sheet! Though my friend Dave offered me a Star Wars one ...
ReplyDeleteDory: You are a person I associate with high-waisted skirts and low-rise pants.
Can you trace the small version of the wrap skirt pattern on to tissue paper? I have the Sew Everything book but I haven't broken out the patterns yet. Great job finishing your first garment so quickly!
ReplyDeleteLiz, if you wouldn't mind bringing the Sew Everything pattern with you in February, I'd love to copy the smaller size.
ReplyDeleteI can totally bring the book (remind me) but I meant can't you trace it from the one you already cut? Just lay that one down flat and trace lines for the small pattern?
ReplyDeleteVery impressive! I'm thinking of taking some sewing classes at Pfaff this Spring because I can sew but I can't read/finish a pattern.
ReplyDeleteIf I could find high-waisted pants I would buy them. Coincidentally, it's my built by wendy jeans that are the highest. But they were stupid expensive. But I do like them the most, so maybe it was worth it.
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