Gave it another go and, not so much.

I bought the fabric, took more time in the contruction, altered it down to fix better, and have decided that it is just not the shirt for me. It looks... okay, but I will not be wasting a lot more time to try to get this perfect when I have better shirts to work on. Oh well. No big lose, the pattern cost $1 and the fabric was only about $7. I will add it to my "out" wall (or closet). For those of you that don't watch project runway, the "out" wall is where they display all the losing garments for any particular challange. I would definetly be eliminated for this. They would say, the contruction was good, but the fabric and the designed "just didn't wow us". That Hiedi with her know it all attitude (j/k, so does know a lot).

Went to the Houston International Quilting Show

I went to the Houston International Quilting Show last Friday with my mother. And, yes, while I am blogging about garment making, I also love to quilt. I saw so many cool things that I would have loved to buy (and things very useful for all types of sewing) but I had the toughest time making any decisions because of the sheer size of the show and ended up with only the ironing board cover (which has measurements on it for hems and such) and these fabrics. I also bought my dear friend Amanda some fabric. I still had a lot of fun and learned a few things too. I would have liked to do it for more than one day because there is so much to see, but next year I will schedule more time. Oh, I also learned about this quilting software that was sold out at the show so I ordered it online when I got home. It will make my quilt designing a lot easier that doing it in excel. Once I get the software, I will start with the fabric I got. Can't wait!

I did it but I hate it!

So I started and finished the shirt that I talked about. I am happy with the over all constructions but I decided that I hate this material. I am just not big into the super shiny stuff. Looked good on the bolt not so much on me. Oh well, it was only 1 1/2 yards at $1.50 a yard. No big loss. I will try it again in another material that is a little more wear friendly.

So this pattern is got these instructions for altering for different body types (i.e. full bust, wide hips, general heavyness (okay, I made that one up)) and after reading what needs to be done I just said, "no thanks". I am going to just make the pattern as is. If it does not fit perfectly then I might try later to alter it, but not from the instructions. I find that a lot of the things are the supposed to be helpful are just plain confusing. I mean, have you ever read the "instructions" that are given for something as simple as understiching. I remember the first pattern that I had with understiching and I thought I would die rather than ever having the ability to do something so complex. I went on YouTube and presto!, a video with the simply instructions. No fuse. Granted, a pattern is a piece of paper and a video is, well, a video, but come on... sometimes I just think that they hired the wrong person to write a particular pattern instruction.

So, anyway... I cut out the pattern for shirt D (bottom right) and will start it tomorrow with the fabric from a few post down. I will post the results when I am finished. We will then see how much alterations are required from the original size.

Finished my second skirt

Okay, I started and finished my second skirt today. It is more like the original because it has the band and is made of 100% cotton. I like it a lot but not as much as the first reproduction. I like the heavy material the best. Looks more expensive.

Catching up since my last post

So I am so excited about this new phase in my life. I am rocking the sewing machine and can see in the distance an awesome road ahead.

1. I finished my Halloween Costume. I am pretty happy with it. The only thing I would change is the fabric. Pink is, as you can tell, not my best color. Oh well, another time. I will surely be the most fancy at our Fall Fun Party.
2. I am obsessed with the commercial pattern technique I learned at sewing school. Basically, you put your pattern on poster board type paper and transfer all necessary markings on to it. It makes a very sturdy pattern plus you don't have to cut out the tissue pattern to your size so if later you want to make a different size, you just make another commercial grade pattern. I bought these pattern hooks at my sewing school. I feel like a professional already.


3. Now this is so cool. So I have this great skirt that I got at a resale shop. It fits perfect and is a great looking skirt. I decided that I wanted to recreate the skirt so I could make it over and over again with a pattern. I took a lot of time to measure and analyze the skirt (without taking it apart, which made it all the more difficult). I finally came to making the actual pattern (commercial grade, of course) and the skirt came out perfect. I did decide on the skirt I made to not add the bottom band because I could not find a suitable fabric. But as you can see they are the same and it fits perfectly. I am going to make it again the last fabric sometime this week. Will post the results later.

4. If I learn nothing else beside the following at my sewing school, it is well worth the nearly $300 tuition. Hancock's, and JoAnn's stores regularly sell there patterns for $1 a pattern, Simplicity, McCalls, and Butterick, and $4 for Vogue. I went yesterday and got the 8 below. I love it!

5. I also found the below fabric in the $1.50 a yard bin at Hancock's and got it to make the shirt in the bottom right hand corner. It buttons in the back which I think is so hot. Will post the results.

Finished with the Dress

I finished the dress tonight, and am happyish with the results. The idea general dress is fine but the best area is just a tad high. I may try to make modification to it later. The blue sash is just representitive of the sash I will make to go with the dress and the white shoestrings will also be replaced.