Dressmaking Mishaps

Today I thought I would share some of the very basic mistakes I've realised I'm making when I sew clothes...

I'm entirely self-taught and working things out as I go along, so there are lots of 'oops' moments. That's fine - learning to sew is helping me to confront my perfectionism and understand how valuable errors can be.

Mishap Number 1:

This is so obvious that I'm cringing to think about it!! I'm not the most 3D thinker which means sometimes it's hard to visualise how patterns go together. I understand that sewing patterns are all about getting a flat cut out piece of fabric to shape and mould around a lumpy curvy human figure, but that theoretical understanding doesn't always translate to understanding why a pattern is doing something specific. 

So I was making an Assembly Line Cuff Dress and trying to sew up the bodice and I was struggling to get the pattern pieces to match up in a way that felt 'right' to me, that is, I had the idea that the pieces should be the same size and shape and neatly align, and if you look at the pictures of my toile above you'll see that this wasn't happening and I was getting in a muddle. But of course a front panel and a back panel might have different shapes depending on how they're going to be fitted around the curve of the breast etc. So the key thing is that the seam you are sewing at that moment matches up. Really basic, huh? But a revelation to me!

I did eventually finish the Cuff Dress though it was a stressful sew and the end product isn't great. It's a wearable garment though and I know what not to do when I make it again!

Mishap Number 2:

Choosing the sizing of patterns is proving to be tricky. When I started out making clothes I didn't realise that the sizes given on a pattern did not correspond to the standard dress sizes used in shops which led to some disappointment. So I then started using the charts on the patterns to work out what size I should cut out.

Using the Cuff Dress as an example, the body measurements chart has me between a 2XL and 3XL:

Because years of struggling with clothes because of my size has made me paranoid about fit (hello internalised fatphobia!), I naturally went with the 3XL to ensure that the pattern would fit me. In the end it was too big, and I ended up having to add darts and take in seams and so on.

However, looking at the finished garment measurement chart would have saved me some of this bother because according to that chart, I fit in-between the Small and Medium!!

This has affected another dress I have been working on (the By Hand London Loren), where I went by the body measurements chart and have made something so baggy that it's not wearable! In this case the dress is a smock style that's designed for a lot of ease which has exacerbated the problem.

I do love this cat print though...!

I am currently working on a top and I have paid more attention to the finished garment measurements. The result from the toile is a top that fits well. Learning how to fit to my body is challenging and I have a long way to go (and would love to have a mannequin in my size to practice on) but working on this toile has given me more confidence in making alterations to patterns and I think I am on the way to getting better fitting!

The toile in question, for a simple sleeveless top - I decided to go 'back to basics' and work on something easier! I do need to learn how to fix the extra fabric at the back waist which was added when I graded out for my hips.

Mishap Number 3:

This one isn't too bad, just an example of how watching YouTube videos and seeing how other people sew can give you a lightbulb moment. I was watching an Evelyn Wood's Vintage Sewing School video about seam finishes and I realised after sewing two pieces together I was zigzagging both bits of fabric together rather than doing them separately, which is why the pattern instruction to 'press the seam open' wasn't always making sense! D'oh!