Lately I have been really craving to make something different other than ties, cosmetic bags, and Retro Ribbons. I think that is my biggest problem around building an actual business around something that I make. I seem to get bored of making the same thing day after day. So, I have begin to try my hand at making apparel. No, I will not be making clothing for The Maine Square customer. (Never say never though...) For now I am sewing apparel just for myself and for family members. But you never know what the future holds! I decided to try something that seemed fairly simple to make. But the truth is, no matter how simple something looks to make, it never is that simple. Sewing is a skill that requires precision and patience. Two things that I have always had in me, but never really exercised until I began sewing back in 2016. It's pretty amazing what we can do when we put our minds to it! Like with anything, sewing requires practice. And like I said, even when it looks simple, if you have never done it before, it isn't as easy as it may look. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't try it! I suggest practicing on very cheap fabric such as a muslin first. I know, muslins are so plain and boring and you are excited to begin sewing with some pretty fabric. I get it! But you will be so mad at yourself if you mess something up on your nice fabric. I've done it and it's devastating! So I suggest practicing on something boring and very cheap first. I also suggest not setting the expectation to make an entire garment in one day. Do it in baby steps. Maybe you set aside an hour a day to sew. That way, you won't get burnt out when things might not go exactly the way you had planned. Just take a break and revisit your project the next day or in a few hours! I have made a few pieces of clothing now. I have made a skirt with darts and a zipper, (I'm really proud of that one,) and a sleeveless blouse with a pretty pleat down the front, (I even tackled making my own bias trim for that one!) And this dress shown in this blog post, which I am making again in a dressier metallic linen fabric for my sister and I. It's coming out pretty nice except the metallic bias trim has been a little difficult to work with. It's so slippery, but I am getting the hang of it! I'll show that dress off in a future blog post...Hopefully with both my sister and I wearing them!
Below are a few more detailed photo of the dress I made. And If you scroll to the bottom of this blog post, I share the four materials I used to make this dress and the links to purchase them if you would like to make this!
It took me a little bit to figure out how to attach the single fold bias tape. But I finally did it after watching a few awesome YouTube videos which I will link to at the end of this blog post if you are interested in watching.
I am really proud of my French seams. They look really professional! I know I am just a beginner sewist, and most people recommend just using pinking shears to prevent your garment from unraveling, but it just didn't look professional enough to me. I will link to the YouTube video tutorial on How To Sew A French Seam at the end of this blog post for your reference.
My dress has pockets!
Materials used to make this dress:
Dress No. 1 Pattern by 100 Acts of Sewing
Garden Girl 100% cotton fabric from Hobby Lobby
White thread by Sewology
Single fold bias tape by Sewology
YouTube videos about how to apply bias tape by Lauren Guthrie:
Part 1 https://youtu.be/hn077MsVhNI
Part 2 https://youtu.be/C-Lh1TG5dys
YouTube video on how to sew French seams: https://youtu.be/YYa86gQbN6c
If you try to make this or anything else, please have fun! Make mistakes and learn from them, try again, and be so proud of yourself! And I am here for you always! Please fee free to contact me by making a comment below or you can always e mail me by using my online contact form here!
No comments:
Post a Comment