Resurfacing

Saturday 12 June 2010
Well that bout of tonsillitis knocked me down for longer than expected. Even after my throat stopped hurting I still felt unbelievably tired, achy and nauseous. I was scared witless that I was either preggers or had the flu, both of which would be terrible options for me at this point in time, but thankfully it's all passed now and I'm back to normal. I think a year or two of greatly disturbed sleep just caught up with me in a big way, and I'd like to say I caught up on some sleep but with hurricane Anna still in the house that's just not gonna happen. Anna's teeth seem to have settled down as well, because she's back to waking only three times a night and sleeping only half the night in our bed (this is good for her, trust me!).

Anyway, I ventured back into my sewing room the other night and was hoping to do a big ta da! reveal of a new skirt in a colour other than grey but sadly it has turned out to be a big fat wadder. I did take a photo though to prove to you all that I did actually sew with fabric other than grey:



It's the Kasia skirt from Burda Style, one of their free download patterns. I was a bit dubious about it, being high waisted (which is totally not my style) and gathered at the hips (which is my widest part), but having seen so many great versions out there in bloggyland, and wanting to try something different for a change I ignored my inner voice. Well sadly, it's bad and I should have stuck with what I know. Even with doing an adjustment for a sway back, I found the skirt to overall be to large and badly fitted to my body, and I think red corduroy was probably a bad choice too. If I had enough fabric I would have cut out the back hip panels without the gathering to see if that improved it, but sadly I didn't have enough fabric to try. And then I noticed that I had cut some panels on a different nap to the others, so that the front looked matte whilst the back looked shiny. So it was beyond salvage.

I originally bought this fine wale corduroy with a slight amount of stretch to make Anna a pinafore so I had only bought a single metre, but I liked it too much so I decided to use if for me. Oh well, I'll rip it apart and could probably still eek out a dress or skirt for Anna from it so no great loss at the end of the day.

For anyone else contemplating this skirt, it has a bajillion pages that you need to sticky tape together, and there seem to be hundreds of pieces that need to cut, interfaced and sewn together (16 pieces for the waistband alone!). It's a fiddly but not difficult project and like I said, other people have achieved all sorts of awesomeness out of this. Just not me.

So now I'm in a strange place in terms of sewing. All the fabric I pull out and the patterns I'm drawn to are formal, work wear pieces which I definitely don't need since I only work three days a week and have a huge work wardrobe already. I really need smart casual pieces for my second job moonlighting as a yummy mummy half the week, but I'm crap at sewing with knits or making pants and pencil skirts don't really make sense at playgroup. Hmmmmm, maybe some more inspirational blog trawling is required.

But I am on with another task that I've left far too long: finishing sewing the curtains for my living and dining rooms. I meant to sew them before last summer, but now that winter has arrived and it's cold I need some heavy curtains to cover the expanse of glass. But they are so boring...........

18 comments:

  1. I hope you feel better soon! Too bad about the skirt - I liked the red corduroy :)))

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  2. I'm glad you are feeling better...and I'm glad to know that it's not just me with the sewing woes. Let's hope it gets better!

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  3. Curtains are boring - can you get a sewing friend to come in and make it a "sewing bee"? That might make the task go faster, seem more pleasant, and be less onerous. Just a thought.

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  4. The fabric is yummy, and the body of the skirt — the front at least — looks quite pretty. I am glad you will be able to salvage the fabric for a dress for your little one.

    I don't get the downloading of patterns. Am I right in thinking that you have to tape all those little 8 x 10 sheets together? How tedious. I just don't have the patience or the time for that. Yikes.

    I look forward to seeing your next outfit. You are such an inspiration.

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  5. Glad to hear you are feeling better . I think you were right to take a risk on that skirt because I can really see how in a gorgeous coloured pin wale cord it could have been stunning. I really think it's great to take risks with sewing and maybe try silhouettes you'd never thought of before.

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  6. I think coming up with "playgroup" clothes is much harder than work clothes, perhaps because our fashion inspiration sources are not geared towards those activities?? What about pretty cotton blouses that you can wear with jeans? Or funky skirts that you could wear with a purchased t-shirt? I'm sorry that you skirt didn't work out because it is such a fabulous colour.

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  7. I have downloaded and printed that pattern too, but cannot bring myself to progress any further as that is an area I avoid drawing the eye too also. Sorry it did not turn out, but thanks for sharing and reinforcing my hesitation is founded!
    Hope you are feeling 100% again soon.

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  8. Thats a shame and sorry to hear that you've been sick. Could you unpick the hip panels and recut to remove the gathering. Alternatively, why not use a contrast for the waistband, hip panel and hem. Lincraft have some printed cord at the moment. See my recent skirt post for the look I'm suggesting.

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  9. I've got curtains that have been started sitting for the last year. Need to get on that. Today I made 3 versions of the Lil Boo recycled dress. It's fun and I be you'd like it for Anna. Go take a peek at my blog.

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  10. I love the Kasia skirt and it would have been gorgeous in that colour! Sorry yours didn't turn out, but at least you have a little one to put it to good use!

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  11. Well I'm glad you are feeling better. Sometimes motherhood sux. As for that wadder, I've had many a disaster especially when I havent listened to my inner voice. Turn it into one of those wheat bag warmer thingies then chuck the rest out so you dont have that sucker hiding in your stash reminding you of a bad time.

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  12. Sorry it didn't work out for you! I think my Kasia skirt was a "success," but I don't wear it much, too tummy poochy and I can't figure out what tops work. I think a high waisted skirt would work on you, though.

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  13. I love that color! Sorry the skirt didn't work out for you, but glad you're feeling beter!

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  14. It is lovely fabric, I hope you can make something work out of it for Anna.

    I have that one printed, haven't tried it yet myself. I'm a little anxious about the hip gathers too, and the high waist. Perhaps it will encourage me to tuck things in... :D

    ~Sarah

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  15. Glad you are feeling better. I think it's also the cold weather which dampens our sewing spirits. I keep seeing lovely spring tops, shorts and dresses in blogland. It's good that Anna sleeps with you for a while. I do that with the baby. More sleep for you and baby! I did that with my first girl through winter. Now she sleeps in her own bed, woo hoo! They grow up really fast so cherish those extra snuggles.

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  16. Except for the gathers and all... what would happen if you just took them out? Maybe make it a smooth look instead of the gathers? Plus maybe some simple darts in the back? I haven't looked that closely at the back of the pattern... so it's just a thought!
    I'm sure Anna will look cute with a dress of some sort of the red!

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  17. Glad to hear that you are feeling better. I love the color of your skirt.. It is a shame it is a wadder..

    Kelly

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  18. How very frustrating for you. Trousers and knit tops are quite easy once you have them cracked, its almost all I sew. With you in the boringness of curtains.

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