Friday, December 17, 2010

Learning.



As I mentioned before, I am learning to sew. What is particularly exciting for me about this is that I can now alter all those clothes I have that don't fit quite right, which is quite a fabulous thing since I buy most of my clothes at thrift stores, often without even trying them on. (Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but I have gotten quite accurate at choosing things that fit and are flattering.) The problem is...sometimes they just need minor adjustments....like that dress I have had a couple years that would have been perfect shorter, but I didn't know how to hem t-shirt material. But now I do because I learned to sew by modifying and re-purposing old t-shirts. And I have the courage now to just try sewing things. Here's what I have done so far:
  • Hemmed the aforementioned too long black jersey dress to a cute length to go with leggings
  • Re-hemmed two skirts whose hems I had ripped out this summer
  • Put darts (for the first time ever) in a full skirt that was just a little to big in the waist
  • Altered four tank tops to fit more narrowly (they were too wide and looked sloppy)
  • Hemmed a pair of sweat pants that I had gotten at camp long ago and had always been tripping over (since I am short...)
  • Made an elaborate Christmas-y project out of re-purposed t-shirts which I will later post on
  • Shortened the dress in the above photo. I still need to narrow it though because the skirt is wide/poofy enough to look rather circus-appropriate
  • Almost finished making a skirt out of re-purposed t-shirts
  • Altered a pair of shorts to have the waistband in a permanently "turned down" position, since this is how I prefer to wear this pair of old college logo shorts
  • Attempted to alter a pair of old scrub pants to fit better. This project has not yet been successful.
There are many more projects I am eager to attempt, but I have been ordering them so that I can build my skills up to the level to attack more complicated alterations. I feel I am ready to begin with slightly more challenging things, and it's pretty exciting to think about narrowing a blazer I bought, even though I knew it was a little too big, because I loved it so much. And of course, then there is always the Swiss sheep herder dress that is going to hopefully become a little edgier looking after I shorten it.

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2 comments:

  1. Have you had anyone teaching you or have you just taught yourself? I'd love to learn - buying a sewing machine and learning how to use it is on my list of things to do before my next birthday which is not just four months away... better get cracking!

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  2. fiona lynne, my husband taught me the basics (how to thread the needle, operate the machine, make stitches, and start/end a stitch). I have also been watching youtube videos. There are a lot of useful ones on there that have helped. And given me project ideas and instructions. And this past weekend, I had another friend show me how to work with a pattern. I will have to post about that soon...

    It is not that hard! A friend gave us the machine, so I bet you could find a basic used one for not very much. And I have been learning on old t-shirts I already had. Though I am told t-shirt fabric is harder to work with than normal fabric, but it was fine for me.

    Good luck! Will you post on your progress? I look forward to hearing what you make!

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