I think Project Runway must be rubbing off on me. I've been watching it for the last few seasons and while the show is not totally focused on sharing fashion design tips and techniques, I still find it intriguing that these designers can whip out a garment in basically 24 hours or less without a pattern. So lately I've become interested in sewing clothing and also about how well it fits. I never had an interest in sewing clothes my whole entire life....until now, that is. Now I'm wishing that I would have learned when I was younger, I'd maybe feel more knowledgeable and/or confident in sewing clothing.
I've been soaking up information from all over the Internet, pretty much like a sponge. And yes, I'm spending way too much time on the computer. More than I'd like to be. But that is what happens, I guess, when you become obsessed with a new interest. I have bought a few patterns to try (Etsy is a great resource for buying pre-owned patterns that have never been used), and I've shared a couple of tunic tops that I've sewn here within the past couple of months. About a month or more ago I bought this book:
The book is all about creating your own basic clothing patterns. Patterns that are customized with your own body measurements. I followed the guidelines on measuring my body and created a basic shirt pattern following the instructions in the book. I really liked this dress design (shown below), but I'm not really a dress person. So I decided to make a short version, like a tunic top.
Here are my results:
I didn't pose very well in the photo above, so let's try that again with a little more style:
In my research around the web on sewing and fitting clothing, I have learned so much about what to look for when determining what areas need adjustments. In the photo below, I need to work on fixing the shoulder area. I'm getting a lot of excess near the sleeve seam on the back and the top shoulder seam doesn't look like it's in the correct position. I did make a test garment out of muslin and lo and behold I didn't see this problem area when I tried the muslin on. See! I'm learning to see!
At some point I'd like to try making some pants similar to these in the book:
Oh if only I could look like that in them.....sigh!
I'll continue to share my exploration and experimentation on making clothes. I don't seem to get tons of time to do it, so I won't be posting about this subject too often.
Oh and I got a new toy in order to take pictures of myself. I bought a wireless remote for my camera. Cool!
Hope you are having a thrilling Thursday!
