See, I really did accomplish something...

See, I really did complete a project ... Technically, I still have some work to do. I've decided it's too low cut, so I'm going to hand stitch it a little farther closed, and I want to add a small frog closure just below the neck (that's one of those Japanese looking braided coil buttons for those of you picturing jumping green animals).

It is my goal this year to focus more on sewing clothing for myself and learning new techniques. This is a start in the right direction. This is the first time I have sewn such a stretchy material, and it did not go smoothly. In fact, overall, I was a lot less productive over this weekend than I expected to be. First of all, I expected to have much more time to sew, but it turned out that I ended up with a little less than a full day (when you account for going out for dinner and everything). Also, I dearly missed my boys. I realized that even though I don't get as much time at home in one sitting as I did over the weekend, I do accomplish more because I know I only have a few minutes at a time, so I focus more. Plus, I don't have to wonder where I packed this or that.

Now, as for the challenges ... The fabric is something I found for $2/yard at Walmart. They didn't have anything else like it and I forgot to read the pattern to see what it was called. It stretches as much or more than swimsuit material, and sort of feels like a swimsuit except it is not nearly as thick. It is VERY thin in fact. I didn't think about the fact that sewing it would require anything different. The pattern suggested a roller foot, which I tried, but found that to be a total failure. So I went back to my regular foot, loosened the pressure, and switched to the zigzag stitch they recommended. That went fairly well, but there were a few skipped stitches here and there. Not sure why, but if anyone knows how to cure that, please let me know. I used Simplicity pattern 3697, view a from the Khaliah Ali collection. I love her patterns but I think a lot of them look very similar. I also have pattern 2634 which I didn't realize at the time is almost identical to 3697. I had planned to make three different shirts from these two patterns, then realized that they will all three be very similar, so I had to re-think how I wanted to use them. I am very thankful though that they are producing stylish clothing patterns in plus sizes now. This is stuff I really want to wear, not something that makes me feel like I'm 80 years old.


(You didn't think I could get away with taking pictures without someone else jumping in too, did you? In fact, when we got the camera out, the baby made a beeline for it and started posing too.)

I thought this pattern would be really interesting around the bottom. Not sure what it is supposed to be, but it is interesting. You can't really tell it from the pictures, but the fabric is bright, true red, leaning toward maroon. I will also say that I hate pictures of myself and I am not at all happy with my size. It was frustrating to spend all that time sewing and not look like what I pictured in my head - (i.e. slimmer.) Ugh.