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[chelseagirl]

One of my goals for this year has been starting to sew, and I've not made too much progress. I cut out a dress, realized it was beyond my skill level, and decided to back down and make a few things from Diana Rupp's SEW Everything Workshop book. So I cut a pair of pajama pants out of old sheets, to practice on. And I haven't sewn them together yet.

Part of it is all the work I have and other real life busy-nesses. Part of it is my usual "I'm afraid of failing so I'll keep not doing" which is the ultimate in self-defeat. And part of it is that I've continually dialed back my expectations -- I mean, I bought these amazing 1910s patterns that I am by no means ready to make. So then I though I'd made some modern dresses and skirts first. I think the problem is that the easy practice projects just aren't exciting too me, so I'm not feeling moved to push through. Actually pajama pants would be nice, once I buy real fabric for a pair, but then I "should" make a wrap skirt before I try a regular skirt, and I'm just not caring. I don't really *want* a wrap skirt. What I want is some cute modern dresses, and then to make Sense & Sensibility's 1940s Swing Dress and then onto the 1910s. I want a Downton Abbey-ish dinner dress, you know, from the first few seasons when I didn't realize I would be punished for rooting for Sybil/Tom and etc.

I'm also not thrilled because my weight is up a little bit, and my measurements aren't quite their usual selves. Do I sew for this, or do I assume the holiday weight is still going to come off? (Because I have a wardrobe I like in my usual size, I'm rooting for the latter; I have a few skirts that are irreplaceable (the company that made them went out of business) that do fit but in super-sexy, not the way I wanted them for work, kinda way . . . )

Comments

[silme.livejournal.com]

I think that the idea to use the old sheets is a good one. You're not out any money; you owned the sheets already. It's recycling!

But, yes, I hate learning new skills nowadays. I want to master them right away and not have to take the time to learn them. Okay, I actually was like that as a teenager. I taught myself guitar easily, so when I tried piano (I'd taken flute lessons since age seven, so I could read music etc.) and I didn't pick it up as quickly, I was quite disappointed. Guitar came easy to me. For piano, I needed to take it slowly and be a real beginner, and I just didn't want to do that.

I can be stupidly stubborn.

PS I vote for the latter. The weight will come off.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

I know it's a *good* idea, but it's not an inspiring idea, unfortunately. If I haven't made it out to some of the amazing garment district fabric stores before I visit my parents, mid-March, I'll pick some fabric up at Joanne's for the early projects I have in mind and hopefully that will make me want to make things.

You know, that's why I do want to learn -- because my whole life I have blown off things that didn't come easy. Goodness, I didn't become a pretty good cook until not that long ago, mostly because when I was single I was lazy and ate pasta all the time. Guitar was impossible for me because of my small hands, btw. I've thought about buying a 3/4 size on, but I'm not motivated enough. I used to have to stretch so far to make the chords on my dad's that I never played easily.

Thanks for your vote of good faith. I keep thinking "well, I'm in my 50s, it's natural to get a little stouter." and then I think "but I could cut back on sweets and watch my portions better . . . "

[silme.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've had those thoughts myself regarding weight. I have another excuse for it, what with the thyroid. Because of the latter I know I'll never be skinny again (and I was skinny), but I don't want to gain more weight and I'd like to lose some. I have lost some and then re-gained it, but I manage to stop before I top that amount. I know that I need to continue with exercise in order to keep it off. It just gets difficult when the knee hurts so much and I'm tired.

You know what's weird, though? At work, they don't see me as overweight. I have a feeling that I think I'm fatter than I really am.

The dream guitar for you may be a special Santa Cruz model called the Janis Ian. It was made for her and is now marketed to the general public. She's what kept me going when I was younger. I figured that if she could play guitar with her tiny body (4' 10") and hands, then so could I. :)

I became a far better cook this century. I think it started with Mexican food and having to make it all from scratch to eat what I was used to eating. From there, I became far more adventurous, making all sorts of things in a similar manner and not taking short-cuts.

Btw, is M's 3am alarm any better now with the one-bedroom apartment?

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

Oh, 3am alarm was only for snow clearance -- it's 5am normally. Which we've had years to get used to . . . And no, once he's up, I'm up. Although this morning, I got up at 4 because I was awake anyway and as soon as I run through my morning email/FB/LJ, I have grading/assignments to work on.

I have the same thing happen -- I know I'm not heavy for my age/height, but when I'm around younger people (my students, some of my friends) I feel like the skinny me of the past is very much in the past. (Especially when I've been browsing vintage fashions recently and the waists are so tiny compared . . . ) But I noticed in store they keep trying to hand me Mediums and are surprised when I insist on Larges and I'm always right . . . Our perceptions are partly based on who we were when we were younger, I think.

And I don't have anything medical to blame, just bad habits combined with getting older . . .

[ibshafer.livejournal.com]

When you're excited enough, or have specific need of the dress you already have the pattern for, you may feel motivated to jump into the challenge again.

At lot of what motivates my learning is need. How badly do I want something? (Or want to do something?)

This is what spurred me on whilst I stumbled my way (eventually) to a successfully produced fanzine. (Still probably my most favorite endeavor to date...) And through all that beading. (100 pieces for my first craft's fair...) And now through the tile mosaics.

Need and want.

Which, I think, is why you're saying you haven't really gotten into the sewing projects yet - because there's a learning curve and because the training wheel projects just don't interest you enough. I wish you'd force yourself to work through those projects because I think you'd be so proud of yourself in the end.

Says the woman who still hand sews her alterations whilst the brand new sewing machine gathers dust in the corner... :(

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

the problem is that the stuff I really want is 2 years away, skillwise. And the stuff I also really want is at least 6 months of steady application away. So I do have to motivate to make practice stuff that I'm not wild about. I really need some fabric on hand, because I do think I'll be more motivated to make those pajama pants when they're in a fabric I'll wear, not in old sheets . . .

[cissa.livejournal.com]

Well, I'd wear old-sheet pajama pants around the house... but I'm not you. :)

I am also pretty non-risk-averse when sewing- or i was, when i did it more regularly, and if anything that's changed to make me more risk-taking. Thus, I probably would not make up a "muslin"; I'd just head to the Real Thing, unless the fabric cost the earth.

I'll note that a nice wrap skirt is VERY practical for weight-changes! And- it's really not that much easier than a non-wrap skirt; basically, add an extra panel and ties. What makes it easier is pretty much no zipper, in my experience.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

I've owned wrap skirts; I have several now but one is made of old sari silk and one is this nifty Thai silk one, so they're special. Generally, however, I DO NOT enjoy wearing them -- a strong breeze and you're clutching the skirt, and sometimes sitting down in front of a classroom is a risk, if it opens the wrong way.

[cissa.livejournal.com]

I admit that I prefer a lot of overlap- say a skirt that's 1.5 times my girth.

One can also pin and/or tack to keep things closed. Through a lot of history, women who could afford it got sewn into their gowns. I figure a temporary tack or 2 works OK.

But then- I mostly wear t-shorts in the summer, and sweatshirts in the winter, and denim skirts (mid-calf). Easy, practical, cheap, comfortable. NOT stylish! Tim Gunn would weep. :)

I do have some arguably Viking garb that I wear sometimes, and will wear more once I make a fancy row of beads for it.

And for Xmas J gave me a book on Viking clothing, which I want to use to make things. I like the Viking stuff because it's very geometric, so can be cut without a pattern and is easy to sew.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

Safety pinning my skirt together when I can just wear a different style skirt where there's no problem? Not likely. ;-)

[anicca-anicca2.livejournal.com]

I agree with ibshafer about the learning curve and the wanting or needing to do something.
I remember my own Downton Abbey dress envy, (in my case when watching "Zauberberg" http://youtu.be/M_0HsynZoBc
Later on, in theatre workshops, I would contribute to dresses like that, but I never sewed on on my own, from scratch. Even professional dressmakers, or costume tailors, take days (or weeks, depending on the dress) to make these. And the patterns are bespoke, too...
So I definitely know about the huge gap between the inspiration and the need to lower expectations to near zero.

My main reasons for first starting out teaching myself to sew as a teenager were endless seas of time with little distraction (i.e. boredom) and the lack of nice (my special taste) and affordable clothes at the time. My parents would always pay for crafting materials, so I set off and just experimented with the easy sewing patterns in magazines. I wasn't as perfectionist as I am now because the fashion was different, I was young and could get away with wearing rags, and anyway I hadn't developped an acute eye yet. I just kept coming up with ideas for things to do. I made bed linens, cushion covers, totes and bags... which was handy because there are just right angles involved and you get a result quickly (I used the cheapest cotton material and dyed and painted it, too...)

What I'm still doing a lot of is altering. If I have an idea for a thing, I first look if there's something of the kind available that I can alter into what I want. There are so many time-consuming steps, and pretty much incalculable variables (will I find exactly the fabric, will it behave the way I want it...) when something from scratch, I very often can't be bothered.
Also, a wrap skirt is a kind of test skirt, right? I never did those, the way the fabric behaves is so essential to how the garment will turn out, I never bother to do it with test material. Ah, no, now I see, of course, a wrap skirt... nah, why would you have to do a type of skirt you don't want...

So, lots of anecdotes.. I guess what I'm trying to say is "it's fun, really but do pick the right projects". I think if you want to sew clothes that are better than the ones you can buy, you're in for frustration. Or cheaper? Forget it, think about the time you put in. If you like the process of sewing, making stuff with your hands, and enjoy learning while you make little crafty things for the time being and slowly extend the projects, go ahead have fun.

If it's no fun right now, kick it. And maybe take it up again another time. The skills you learn with each session don't go to waste.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

That's exactly it, I've never been much of a maker of things, and I would like to create clothes. Just because. I think I really need to get some fabric for some of the patterns I have and just . . . try,instead of staring at my cut up sheets. I keep forgetting that if I mess up the first one, it really doesn't matter. After all, almost all hobbies cost something, right?

[cissa.livejournal.com]

I think it's pretty much impossible to NOT sew clothes better than one can buy- or buy at a reasonable price. The clothes one sews will be far more sturdy and have a longer lifespan, in my experience- better materials and construction.

And cheaper? arguable. It's probably not cheaper to make rather than buy a basic A-line skirt... except the one you buy falls apart in maybe a couple of years, and the one you make lasts for 5-10 years of heavy wear (in my experience). So, on a cost-per-wear basis, the handmade one is a LOT cheaper. Plus less hassle.

And there's the issue of time. If I need a plain black skirt, say, I would rather just make it myself than spend the hours it'd take shopping for it. I could make it in maybe 4 hours. I'd be lucky to find one to buy that was right in that time. But then, I don't enjoy shopping.