Well, at that time, I got so far as to cut out the fabric (Michael Miller's Gypsy Bandana fabric which I LOVE) and I even got to about step 3 in sewing together my new top. That's when I realized that I had made a mistake in step 1 and needed to rip out most of the seams and start over. So, instead, I let the fabric pieces sit on my sewing table in a big pile so that it would remind me every day that I needed to work on it and essentially, make me feel really bad about myself.
Then, about the end of March, we were on a family walk (which we do every day) and my DH says to me, "whatever happened to that top you were working on? Did you finish it?".
Well, that was the incentive that I needed to get my butt in gear. I did the ripping of the seams and started over. I worked on it for the better part of 2 weeks and had to rip out more seams than I would like to admit. I learned some new skills and used new things that I didn't even know existed.
Like elastic thread. Have you ever used that? It is so cool. You sew the seam with the elastic thread and it makes a perfect little gathered sleeve. You can pull the thread tighter or make it looser.
Also, I put in a zipper for the 2nd time ever. The seams around it aren't perfect but hey, the clothes made in Thailand aren't sewn perfectly either.
I finally finished last Tuesday (April 5). I had made an oops on the front and was hoping that no one would notice. So I tried it on and showed my DH and he immediately saw the oops. He said it stuck out like a sore thumb. I spent the ENTIRE rest of the day ripping out seams and redoing to get rid of the oops. And now, it's practically perfect.
I wore it to my son's Science fair at his school and wanted to get my DH to take picks of it on me so that I could post them here but that didn't happen.
So? What do you think about my new shirt? I'd love to hear - feel free to leave me a comment about it.
Great looking top! It's nice to hear that I'm not the only one to put a project aside when I make an error. Sometimes you just need to ponder awhile before getting back to it.
ReplyDeleteAs a note, IMO, basting is the best tool in a sewers' toolbox. I always baste my zippers before I go to the machine. Sometimes, I try a courturier's trick and handsew the zipper entirely; it's called hand-picking, which I did on this pillow: http://www.etsy.com/listing/28411003/flower-shower-vintage-tea-towel-pillow?utm_source=CraftCult&utm_medium=api&utm_campaign=api
You can do it with regular stitches, as I did on the referenced pillow, or french knots, as I usually do, or even beading or other embroidery stitches. Threads has a great tutorial for hand-picked zippers here: http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/5135/a-hand-picked-zipper-is-worth-the-effort
Try it; you'll like it!