What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Show and Tell Day 4: Peasant Shirt

This is the last of the yellow~ but you KNEW I had to go there. I mean, I am a matchy matchy kind of gal. And I am a gal. SO I needed to match the girlies TOO right?!

Well, it was a nice thought.



Made from a thrifted sheet, and enhanced with the same polkadot ribbon as Adele's pillowcase dress, the pattern came together beautifully and was simple to follow and to sew. I was super excited because, FINALLY, I was going to succeed at making something for myself.

Every attempt to make myself something to wear up until this point has failed miserably. Crashed and burned. I guess my body is too....lumpy and odd shaped. And truth be told, I am not so great a seamstress that I can alter patterns to fit my bodies' creepyness. (Oh, how I wish it weren't so!) Do you realize how DEPRESSING it is to spend hours on a project just to have your time and energy thrown to the wind (or the garbage can?) If not, I hope you never find out.

When the last stitching was in place, the little details finished, and care had been taken for quality---I was SUPER excited to try it on.

Corynn, too, thrilled at the prospect of Mama matching the girls.

So, I tried it on and....

it looked........

positively..............

Grotesque.

Hideous.

UGLY.

and Unflattering.

Turns out, my long torso was too long and my bust was too big for this particular shirt. It looked like a shapeless tarp hanging from...well. It just looked bad.

It wasn't the shirts fault. The shirt really did turn out beautifully and I was thankful to recognize that my sewing skills are improving with each new bit I sew.

But alas, I will not match the girls after all.

AND~I feel like the last possible thing on earth that I would want to do is to begin another project for myself because surely I will fail at that too. Miserably.

Every time I fail at sewing WEARABLE clothing for myself, I don't attempt it again for about a year.

So, that pretty much stinks.

Here's to next year....

Posted by Picasa

8 comments:

Tracy said...

And it was so cute, too!

Grandma Bibby said...

Will it fit your mom? You could give it to her for Mother's Day. It looks beautiful, and I know what you mean about sewing and then it not fitting. That is one reason I gave up sewing and went to knitting and cards. I love the yellow around the neck. You did do a wonderful job!!

Peggy said...

Oh, what a beautiful blouse! I love that style! Please do not give up! You will finally find that one certain thing that looks lovely on you. And you are such a talented seamstress. Do you wear skirts? They are usually easy to make. Okay, I say that yet have only had two come out nice but then I am notorious for not following patterns which is why I don't sew often. (How about that run-on sentence???)

Bonnie said...

I oh-so feel your pain. The top is BEAUTIFUL! I LOVE it- but I am built much like you from the torso up, and no, this style doesn't look good. Stinks, doesn't it?
A few thoughts on making clothes for yourself- I go from my bust measurement when making a blouse, and sometimes, printed on the blouse front pattern piece, they have " total ease of finished garment" measurements for example
the back of the envelope may say:
Size 18 bust measurement- 42
the pattern piece will say total bust ease for size 18- 47.
Does that make sense?
I ALWAYS go by the finished ease measurement to decide what size to make. It rarely fails me.
Also, I have a normal torso, but because I have watermelons, that tends to "lift" tops and make them shorter, so I also almost always
add 1-1/2 to 2 inches to the length of a blouse.
It is much easier to take in than let out.
Tootles!
Boonie

Terri said...

Oh that's too bad. They all turned out beautiful!

Stefanie said...

Remember, I made lots of hideous things learning to sew well. These failures are why I have the skills I have today. Do not be afraid to fail and even if you have to throw something in the rag bag or even trash if you are that disgusted- take what you learned, research about why you failed if you have to, and move on to the next project. Chalk it all up to part of making art, because that is what sewing is.
Your top is delightful, I was looking at it thinking how did she do that yellow on the neck until I looked closer.
Part of becoming a GREAT seamstress is being willing to throw something away and move on to the next creation. Don't give up, you have a eye for neat detail and the next garment may just turn out to be one you really love. I know that I have some pieces I have sewn that are just my favorites.
The dress I finished last night, my husband called an Austin Powers dress, but you know what, I like it! Hang in there.

Barbara said...

Dear Friend,
I have to say that I so understand. Fitting has been such a plague for me. But it is becoming necessary, because I want cute clothes that fit. I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about this and talked to some women who know what their doing and come up with a solution. Do you mind if I share? Go to www.palmerpletsch.com Find their book: Fit for Read People. And their DVD: Full Busted? I have gone through both now, and I'm excited to say I can adjust a pattern so that it really fits me now. It is really exciting! I know you can do it. Your sewing skill is clear. You have made beautiful garments. You just need a little more instruction that most of us didn't get in home ec class. It is really helping me.

Courage,
Barbara

Nanci said...

Rebecca,

I can't help thinking how your sewing skills have developed since we first met. The girl's outfits and this top are beautiful.

If Mrs. Bibby's idea (which by the way I think is a terrific one!!) doesn't work out, bring the shirt with you when you come and maybe I can figure out a "fix".

It is so great to see your projects again, I have been missing that!!!

Don't get discouraged! BTW some patterns have pieces for A, B, C, D cup. My M**** just made a blouse from one using the larger cup size and it is very becoming.

Also, I concur with Miss Bonnie about a larger bust causing the torso to ride up and appear to short. I often lengthen my pattern's torso for the same reason.