Confined Crafting

In this post I made some crafting resolutions for 2021, and in this post I followed up on them - as the year is now very rapidly drawing to a close I thought it would be good to check in on those resolutions!  1. A new project: making myself clothes Back in January I was determined to start making myself clothes, and I think it is safe to say I have nailed that one! My current work-in-progress: another York Pinafore dress in this gorgeous swimmers fabric I have now made myself two pinafores, two dresses, a skirt and one top, as well as adapting ill-fitting shop-bought garments. I've also made several garments for my kids and an apron for a friend. Working on my first top, the Ashton , and very pleased that I got sleeves to fit! 2. Finishing something: cross-stitch Partial success here. I did finish the embroidery for my friend's son, a little later than his 7th birthday but only by a month or so. But my original plan to finish my wedding sampler will not get done, as between...

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 id...

 I've decided to try a new thing on the blog! I'm finding that I'm not posting much as I feel like I need to do a summary post when I finish something - and that can take a while! So these will be little diaries showing what I have got up to and discussing any thoughts I've had along the way, without anything needing to be finished! Embroidery The week started with a bit of disappointment as I failed to meet one of my New Year's Resolutions (as made in this post ). As you can see from the image above, I've not managed to finish the birth sampler for my friend's son in time for his birthday. But it's much closer than it was and I might be able to get it done by the end of May! New deadline! Also in embroidery, I made one of my Jacobin Day Quilt Blocks  as an applique. I really enjoyed this method, which is completely new to me. The way I did it was like making a little collage of scraps of fabric and felt with embroidery highlights. Though I did cheat a l...

Back in January I blogged about my crafting intentions for this year - and seeing as it's April already I thought an update would be good!  1. A new project: making myself clothes I have succeeded in making myself the York Pinafore by Helen's Closet 🎊🎊 I want to write up the experience in a separate blog post so I'll just post a quick pic here: The dress is made from sales fabric that I got cheaply and was intended to be a 'wearable toile' - a test piece that you won't be heartbroken if it goes wrong, but can wear if it goes right! I still intend to make another York Pinafore in nicer fabric. I've also managed to make a top for my daughter, which was my first foray into sewing with knit fabric: It's definitely tricky not to let the stretch fabric, well, stretch during sewing, but I managed to avoid it too badly everywhere except the neckline, which as you can see if quite wobbly. Still I was pleased with it for a first try! 2. Finishing something: cr...

 Choosing to ignore the many arguments about whether Samuel Beckett's 'Fail Better' quote is less motivational and more despairing when actually read in it's original context I'm here today to blog about why I find #sewingfails a useful (if still a dispiriting) experience. And why I think making a toile or muslin is a must in dressmaking, especially when trying a new pattern for the first time! This started with an experiment (SCIENCE!) - In the Year That Shall Not Be Named I had planned to get back into sewing more than I have in recent years. I started the year with a brand new sewing machine (my trusty vintage New Home having finally died a death), a plan to take a class a month on something  craft or sewing related and a vague internal promise to actually use up some of my ridiculous sewing fabric stash. I...failed. Classes were cancelled after I only managed the first 3 (Jan-Mar), WFH did not bring bags of time & energy for sewing and from Monday to Friday ...