Several weeks ago I volunteered (read petitioned, pleaded, and downright begged) to be a contributor on The Sew Weekly. I felt that the sewing challenge would dovetail nicely with my quest for daily creative action, AND I had the unique perspective of being a beginning seamstress. As in, I had almost no sewing knowledge but possessed a burning desire to sew, sew, sew! Quite a compelling combination, right?
Alas, I wasn't picked, but I really couldn't complain because Mena chose seamstresses from all over the world to sew her weekly challenges. Their different viewpoints and inventive sewing/pattern ideas were fun to read and made me almost happy that I wasn't chosen. Nevertheless, there's a way that I can participate.
Every week I hope to meet the sewing challenge and produce a garment relating to the theme Mena has chosen. Heck, if you'd like to sew along too, the challenge is open to anyone. I'll blog about the details of my sewing travails (I assure you they will be amusing.) and post pictures to The Sew Weekly flickr group. Being a beginner, as you well know, has its pitfalls and brings me to this week's challenge.
Coco Chanel familiarized everyone with the Little Black Dress, and after I was finished swooning over her dresses on display at the Met, I realized that I didn't have a LBD for the current stage in my life. (The stage is called: Between Babies. In my particular case this means lots of fluffiness everywhere.) I had LBDs from my pre-Little Bear days that I hoped to return to in a couple years, and I had several LBDs for when I was preggers. (Right this minute, though, there ain't nothin' black in my closet except yoga pants that will fit.) How had my wardrobe fallen into such disrepair?
Rather desperately, I dug through my pattern collection and found this:
I thought it fit the Chanel bill perfectly, a black dress that I could fancy-up or down and wear all over town. But the size was pre-LB. Gah!
Luckily for me, I found this helpful fitting tutorial at Sense & Sensibility and I learned a thing or two about patterns old and new. Mainly, don't be afraid! Jennie also convinced me to use tracing paper with all my patterns. That way the original stays intact no matter how you change in size (or if you're sewing for someone else). This will be invaluable when sewing for LB as she grows.
The tracing paper has been ordered, and I'm waiting for its delivery before proceeding with my re-sizing of the LBD pattern. Ironically, my first sewing post had very little to do with actual sewing. Hopefully there will be more action with the next challenge.
Recent Comments