#3 – First Sewing Project

As I think back on drafting my first garment, my first reaction is I probably should have bought a pattern. That being said this is how I dove into my favorite hobby, the world of sewing!

Currently, I’ve been sewing my own clothes for 2 years and 8 months. It’s been a wild ride of exciting transformations from fabric to form, absolute failure where I chuck the garment, and moments of great frustration that have tested my mental fortitude. Fashion is not for sissies, as Tim Gunn once said, and I wholeheartedly agree! So, how did I start the process? Kind of on a whim to be honest.

It was the end of summer and autumn was making its way into our world even though it was late August 2020. We were all coming out of the lockdown world to that long-awaited green status. It was a time of excitement. Small pieces of normalcy were taking root and calm returned to life. My husband and I had used all the endless downtime of the lockdown to get crafty! We dove in and made cards, jewelry, furniture, scarves, home decor, and a lot of bread! It was a blast and also a bit of a weird blur. I sometimes feel nostalgic for that weird time for how much resilience that impossible situation taught me. I probably wouldn’t have begun sewing without those months of training my creativity.

He asked me if I thought I could draft a woodworking apron.

I remember being nervous about trying this new artistic medium, even more so about purchasing the materials because I was laid off and financial security seemed up in the air. Every decision felt momentous because of how much change we were all reeling from. I was concerned about wasting money on a failed project. What if I fail? What if I make a mistake and I wasted this precious resource. What if was a theme phrase of 2020. I think we were all living in a state of fight or flight. I one know thing I did not feel confident! I was more excited and nervous.

Because of the low-contact world, we were living in, I believe I made a Joann’s pick-up order. There was no grand fabric shopping moment, I bought without feeling the weight of the fabric. I didn’t look to see how wide it would be or how much I would need with a project estimator. I bought brown canvas, two yards, and three yards of purple stretch velvet. Unbeknownst to me these are two of the most challenging fabrics to start with! Good choice, Magz, good choice!

The canvas was surprisingly easy to cut. I bought tailor’s chalk to trace out a design based on measurements and sketched out the entire garment in pieces on the fabric. Being a sturdy fabric the canvas held the drape, responded well to my stitches, and with the understanding of stronger sewing techniques, such as finishing my seams, this piece would have held up. Unfortunately, I did not and the first wash frayed the poor apron to bits. It was tragic.

On the other hand, my purple dress was a disaster in the context of silhouette and seam puckering. The bubbling sleeves, uneven neckline, and crinkly hem were not good. But, it stayed together remarkably well, and with a pattern to properly shape the garment, it had the potential to be a dress that became a wardrobe staple for me. The problem I ran into, was the tailor’s chalk disappeared with every stroke, but truly it was being a greenhorn. I scrapped my entire drafting plan and decided to wing it. The result shows how free-form this dress was. I half-draped-half pattern pieced this dress into life. Let’s focus on the positives though – it’s a dress. Not a blob. A real-life, genuine dress! I was so proud.

Looking back on it with a lot more experience, all of these decisions seem incredibly reckless but at the time I’m grateful I just dove in head first. I seem to make the most progress that way. That is what life is about. So if there is something you want to do, do it. Even if you make the wrong choices in hindsight, I learned about fabrics, construction, and how to pattern cut on the fly. It was pretty exciting! The projects turned out fairly well for not using a pattern too, so believe in yourself! Most importantly, remain teachable. My grandma always reminded me to keep a teachable spirit with all my endeavors, and you know what? She was right.