My parents relocated to Georgia almost 15 years ago, my son and daughter live out of state too. Mother's Day then gets a little difficult for me. And this weekend, my husband had a motorcycle training course that was from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. both days. So I decided it was perfect timing for a sew day.
On Thursday and Friday, I did some pattern prep and cut out Vogue 1250 and McCall's 8174. I got up early Saturday, really pumped, and started my pattern adjustments. I took a break around noon, went and got lunch, and took a break for awhile once my husband got back. Got back at it and finished up the McCall's dress, then cut out another version of M6744.
This morning, I was moving quite a bit slower :) I finished M6744. Here are the 3 finished dresses and a top from V1250
top left: SAS fabrics
the others are Fabric Mart
I was ready to cut out my yellow silk for a top from Burda 5/2017, and realized I didn't have enough fabric. Womp. Womp. I always forget silk is typically 45". So I traced off a top version of V1250 since I liked the cowl so much.
I have plans to make pants from this fabric
which is why I got so excited about a top from this pattern!
And I was not doing hair and makeup (or bras - sorry, not sorry) while having sew-day so I have quick and dirty shots as each garment was completed.
And I'm ECSTATIC about them all!
Can we talk about disliking finished garments? People often talk about not seeing enough posts about when things don't work out. But, often, when someone posts something and explains why it's a fail, people jump in to tell them that it isn't. I get the instinct to reassure...but can we just take the sewer's word that it truly is a fail?
My husband says I react because I am very keen on saying exactly what I mean -- words mean things. If I say, I'm not sure about it or I don't know, but something seems off...that means it might work out if I can figure it out. When I post something and I say, I do not like this. That is exactly, precisely what I mean! LOL!
I posted the New Look dress and had comments on IG and here on the blog that I was "being hard on myself" / "self-critical". Now, this is not any kind of attack on those posters, again, I get the instinct to jump in with helpful comments. But it was interesting to me that I never once said anything about ME; I said I don't like the dress. Not that I felt bad. Not that I looked bad. Again, nothing negative about myself, but for some reason, that's how it was interpreted (and this happens all the time, it isn't a one-off).
There ARE times when something goes wrong and I'm bummed about it. And, I'm pretty open about that. But I am also 100% okay with sewing projects not working out. I'm not going to force myself to keep something or to wear something that I know I dislike / am uncomfortable in just because I made it! Remember in my last post I mentioned donating those black trousers because honestly, I just don't like them. There is absolutely nothing wrong with them...they're a heavier cotton blend, they're slim and ankle length, they fit; but I don't like them. I have lots and lots and lots(!) of clothes. The occasional fail doesn't knock me down, and I don't need those fails cluttering my closet.
Do you share your fails publicly?
17 comments:
[raising hand] I share my sewing fails (First Attempt In Learning) and sewing bloopers. In matter of fact today's blog post is about correcting a mistake I made with a shirt I finished yesterday. Sometimes I forget to shorten pattern pieces to match my barely five foot frame. But I digress. I appreciate reading a honest review and know from experience that even a fabric choice can make or break a pattern's outcome and how it feels to wear a completed project. A project may look fine in photos but it photo doesn't necessarily tell the whole story.
Forgot to mention, your dresses do look great! Love the pink and yellow printed one.
It's weird, right? People want to see more fails and at the same time want to insist why it's not a fail. Pick a struggle, y'all.
When I post (hah!), I post both hits and misses. I do so to document my thoughts and share with others what went wrong. Like you said, it doesn't mean I feel bad about myself or am being too self-critical. I'm sharing what I don't like and why. That's it. I don't need to be told to "just get over it." *eyeroll*
Like Graca, I also appreciate an honest review. Not everything is rainbows and unicorns and it's helpful to know when something doesn't work out or when mistakes happen.
Related: I've been following your dress series and have been meaning to comment. I am enjoying watching you progress through the fit of different patterns on the new dress form and learning about the adjustments needed.
I think many who comment on a "fail" forget that if you had walked into Nordstrom, tried the dress on and decided it wasn't for you, for whatever reason, that is OK. But since you made it they are looking at the effort that went into it and "rationalizing" for you why it is OK.
There is an enormous difference between "I am not thrilled with this dress so I am not going to (wear/keep) it" and "This looks awful because (insert negative comment)"
Sorry I commented on your last post that the dress you didn't like looked good on you. I misunderstood because for me, when I don't like something I made, it's because it doesn't flatter me or look good on me. I haven't really had the experience of making something that is flattering and looks good on me, but I just don't like it for some reason. I'm plus size and hard to fit, so whether I like something I made usually comes down to it being flattering, in my opinion, on my body. I apologize for putting my experience onto your experience.
I think we sometimes forget a garment is a fail for no visible reason. Sometimes for no real reason at all.
Readers can't feel that seam creeping around, the fabric that feels nice in hand but turns to a sauna in a whole garment, the sleeve too tight when reaching for things. Sometimes a garment looks great standing still for photos, but in the real world moving around, needs constant tugging or tucking to keep it in place. Sometimes, bad stuff happens while making a garment, the bad stuff vibes have infested the project and can't be shaken out. Sometimes it's only a fail because we forget that 99% of the people we interact with have no idea what a shoulder or bust point is, let alone where it should be. Sometimes a garment simply doesn't match what you had in your head, and you don't need any more of those in the closet.
I admit, sometimes I can't see the issues pointed out, like 1/4" off on a shoulder point, but I don't comment disagreeing. I have to trust the maker's in-person assessment. And like Sewcat said, I wonder if people are taking a maker's cost (time and materials) into account when they disagree with the listed issues? Whether a garment is declared a fail or not, those costs are still there, unlike RTW that can be put back on the rack.
Are there different standards for a simple TNT tank top of poly/spandex vs a detailed never sewn before pattern made with silk charmeuse?
It's been a few years since I've sewn a garment (moved over to quilting), but yes I did point out problems in my garments. Not for others, but so that next time I make something, I have reminders of changes made or need to be made in the future. Because I know I'd never find the chicken scratch notes or make sense of them if they were left on bits of paper in the sewing room.
When I look at your "sewing fail" I think boy I am looking forward to getting something sewn that good! You sew beautifully and I have admired your work for many years.
I don't usually share my complete fails because 99% of the time it's because of something technical that I'VE done wrong, like used too stiff of an interfacing on a button placket, or forgot to measure the sleeve head the cap has yucky puckers. Honestly, if I'm working on something and I KNOW it's a fail, I don't even bother to finish it...if it's obviously past the point of salvage, I take the shears to the project in a fit of rage and fling the whole mess into the trash. (Which is cathartic as hell, I might add!)
However, I DO share things that have a minimal amount of fail but will still be kept and worn, like the skirt I just finished where the top of the invisible zipper is off on either side by just a smidgen. I didn't notice until it was too late to fix it, but I love the skirt and have already worn it to work! (Besides, the zip is in the back, out of sight, whoooooooooooo cares, LOL).
I love the acronym! :) YES! I have had garments that just would not wear well for me...even though they look nice and were well sewn. The pictures only tell part of the story!
Agreed! Just let it beeeeee!
Thanks! It is so interesting. I think it's a dual benefit too -- I am using my dressform to fit the patterns and am using the patterns to learn more about my dressform.
Totally agree!
No apologies needed! It spurred the conversation. I was meaning to post something related after reading something on Reddit and just hadn't gotten around to it. So, thank you :)
Such a thorough, well-thought out post and totally echoes my thoughts. Sometimes things just are a miss. I really do primarily blog my makes for myself. It helps especially if I'm remaking it, but I also look for similar garments/styles (how long was that dress compared to this one? What was the finished hip on that one versus this one? etc).
Thank you!! Just takes some practice! :-D
Same. If I know mid construction that it is just a no-go, I don't waste my time finishing it.
Love the zipper story. That zipper isn't bothering anybody! LOL!
I'm glad you had a happy sewing weekend - your dresses and top look awesome! I tend to post both fails and not fails as long as I've finished a garment. If I don't finish or if I try to find a plan B (or C or D or E if we are talking about button front shirts), then I might write a post but not really share anything substantial because there is not a lot of content to actually share.
I also find that a lot of times I'll change my opinion about things as I wear them. Something I didn't like while I was sewing turns out to be a favorite after I've worn it a few times, or, conversely, I might come to dislike something that might outwardly look good but is just not working out for me as a long-term garment. I feel like there are a lot of ways for a garment to fail (fit, fabric, color, style, construction, comfort level, etc.), and so it probably makes it difficult when a blog/Instagram reader sees something that looks awesome in a photo to understand that it's a fail. I think there is also a lot of positivity in the sewing community, so this probably has a lot to do with it also; people really want to appreciate and respect the work of others because we all understand what goes into making a garment. But, I think only you as the wearer can really know if a garment fails or not, because you are actually experiencing it and not just looking at it in a photo.
Aside from the fact I'm not sharing anything much of anything sew-y at the moment (hot sewing tip! Don't get a disc bulge *shudders*) I've shared fails every so often on my blog, often to my modest readership's delight that they're not alone in FAILS . Sometimes I share because if nothing else I need to cry (or laugh) onto my keyboard.
Some fails are fairly difficult to define why they're fails. But I think we still get the right to TOAD them (throw out in absolute disgust). I have many 'creatives' friends and we all appreciate that being ok with failing, and getting some constructive critisism from outside their personal creative maelstrom are both really important aspects to creating.
So although a lot of people seem hesitant to give any other view than 'It's good' or "stop being so critical' I know many people who grind their teeth at the receiving a global 'It's good'.
I have found with writing feedback, it really helps to define what I am hoping for from the reader. Eg there's no point someone handing me back a perfectly proofread manuscript if most of it is going to need to be TOAD and rewritten to clarify the plot conflict or whatever. Asking for eg feedback on the believability of character x's reaction to Y's choice to do z is usually more helpful. But it sounds like you weren't really asking for feedback tho. Just making a comment about your own creative outcome?!
Eh anyway the thing with writing, or sewing, asking someone specifically chosen for specific feedback is a different thing to casting the opinion out there to the world online! So I figure you must get a whole lot of differing reactions.
Actually I could argue myself out of even posting this comment as I feel like all I've done is make observations about things LOL! But it IS a very interesting point you've made!
But I might make a creative decision and post this because I find it easy to talk myself out of the value of my own writing *grins*
Having said all that about it being ok to dislike something, may I without offending, say I don't like the print on the blue geometric dress. Gives me a headache to look at lol! How personal to me and irrelevant to you :-D But forget that, coz really? Ooooooooooh that blue floral!!!
Mothers day is difficult for me too and I too sewed most of the day. (Disc bulge is healing well thank goodness!)
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