Sewing Fails - picking up and moving on
As sewists we are all designers. Regardless of whether you self-draft or use a commercial pattern, we are still making design decisions regarding style, colour, texture, cohesiveness, shape etc. So when a style doesn’t work out, not only can it be disappointing but it can also make us question our design capabilities, our style choices and consequently impact upon our self-esteem.
A case in point is this blouse which I made to accompany the tulle skirt featured in my last blog post. I loved the skirt but wanted the option to wear it as a dress. I only had a little of the embroidered tulle left but hoped to come up with a design that would work. I also wanted to tie it in to a sustainable sewing challenge running on Instagram so, rather than buying more fabric, I opted to use fabrics I already had; silk organza for the body of the blouse, lined with silk habotai on the front and back to make it less sheer.
Vintage 1950s pattern - Butterick 6191
I found a vintage pattern from the 1950s – Butterick 6191 - that I felt fairly confident would work. I didn’t do a toile but I did copy the pattern on to Swedish Tracing Paper so that I could pin it on to my mannequin and with a few adjustments, it seemed to fit ok.
The pattern was not designed for sheer fabrics so it took some time to work out how to sew it together, particularly around the collar which, on the instructions, was faced at the front and bias bound along the neck edge. For a neater finish on the sheer sleeves I ran the facing up to the front sleeve seam only and then attached the right side of the collar to the wrong side of the neck edge, machine stitched it, then trimmed the seams, flipped the collar over and hand sewed the undercollar to the neck edge. I also used French seams for a neat finish.
There are two main problems with this blouse; the sleeves and the volume. It sits quite nicely on Miss Mannequin, who pretty much shares my shape and measurements, but unlike me, Miss Mannequin stays static; the fabric does not move and shift like it does when it’s being worn in ‘real life’. When I wear it the shoulder darts do not sit nicely in the silk organza; they curve in and out and readjust themselves as I move, and the shoulders are huge on me – the sleeves sit way out and make me look like an American footballer. Then there’s the volume of the blouse; it’s darted at the waist so I thought it would appear quite fitted above the volume of the skirt but this is not the case – as I move the blouse rides up, increasing the volume above waist level to the extent that when I wear the skirt and blouse together I feel totally swamped.
Can this project be saved? To be honest at the moment, I really don’t know and I don’t feel like attempting it. I did consider cutting out the silk organza sleeves so that it looks more like a halter-type top but I’m not convinced that the armhole will fit closely enough not to gape. Maybe I should just finish the blouse before I pass judgment but I cannot see me wearing these two pieces together, no matter what I decide to change.
It’s funny isn’t it? The impact a sewing fail can have on one’s confidence to produce well-made, well-designed garments. I’ve just been binge-watching episodes of Project Runway and it’s noticeable how criticism from the judges can impact upon the design choices of the contestants; some of those who start off strongly seem to completely lose their way as criticism begins to undermine their faith in their designs.
So far this blouse has only been subjected to personal scrutiny, and we are our own harshest critic, but it has definitely made me question my ability to design successful clothing and my style aesthetic. Yet, despite my disappointment this project has taught me some valuable lessons, particularly about proportion. There’s a reason why the full skirts of the 1950s were paired with close-fitting tops – those designers got it right. I thought my semi-fitted blouse would achieve a similar effect but I’ve learned that I’m slightly short-waisted so the fitted portion is lost on me and all you see is the volume across the upper section of the blouse – particularly those enormous sleeves!!
Self doubt is part of the design process. At the end of the day you need to go with your gut feeling and learn to edit, edit, edit. So what to do now to regain my confidence and my sew-jo? Maybe take a short break from sewing in order to take stock, or alternatively, run up a quick tried and tested pattern, make a note of what I’ve learned – particularly about proportion, revisit pictures I’ve kept of styles I like to try and figure out what works for me, and then brush myself off and start again!
How do sewing fails impact you? Do you just accept them as part of the journey or do they lead you to question your style decisions? I’d be really interested to hear so please let me know in the comments below.
