Eine Kleine Nap Sewing

Yay! It's Saturday!

My husband wasn't feeling well today so I thought I'd take my toddler to JoAnn's for a quick trip to pick up some fabric for a quilt I'm going to make for her room. Unfortunately my toddler didn't want to put her clothes on so I was forced to leave her at home with my sick husband while I went off to the Place I Have Never Spent Less Than 2 Hours In.

Reader, I was there 3 hours.

In my defense, I figured my toddler -- henceforth to be referred to as Below Average Toddler... just kidding! Henceforth referred to as Above Average Toddler (AAT) (because my child is a veritable GENIUS!)

Ahem.

In my defense, I figured AAT would take a nap shortly after I left.

My husband texted me 2 hours and 45 minutes after I left.

No big deal. I would just finish up getting my 8 carefully-chosen bolts of fabric cut by someone who might have just learned how scissors work and quickly get home and be a responsible mother.

I got home, fed AAT 2 frozen Gogurts because she asked for them and I can't say no to that little face, and then lulled her to sleep by putting her to bed in a dark, quiet room.

Whew. Finally some ME time!

For my nap-time project, I selected a georgette from JoAnn called "Silky Prints Floral Black Red Blue" and Butterick pattern B6378.

I selected the A view, but when I asked myself, "Self, what about that bow thing?" I replied, "Not today, Satan."

I spent way too long on this graphic.

Nothing against bows, I just don't need anything to distract from my collarbones, such as they are.

I also chose the back that was longer than the front panel and went with the slits from the D view.

Project Cost So Far:

Pattern: $1.99 (on sale)

Fabric: $5.00 (I think I got a remnant and it was priced weird, but I think it was 40% off $9.99 *  2 yards)

Thread: Leftover from another project 

Years of sewing lessons my parents paid for: Priceless

Total: $6.99 + eternal gratitude for my parents 

Sountrack:

First: My Favorite Murder Podcast 

Second: "Mom Music" Playlist

Time to Complete:

One AAT Nap = 3 hours

Sewing Mistakes I Knew I Was Making:

Mistake #1

I cut my sleeves extra wide and long.

This was an intentional mistake that could have gone either way. I'm pleased to say it worked out for the best.

I have the arms of my people, which is to say I have the upper arms of generations of potato farmers. Sleeves tend to be tight on me and I have never quite figured out how to adjust for this when sewing from patterns. I've watched some pattern adjustment tutorials online but this blog is called Below Average Sewing for a reason.

What I did was add about an extra inch to each side of the sleeve to leave a bit of room for Potato Farm Arm and then cut the length at the shorten/lengthen line for the long sleeve version instead of the short sleeve line. 

Who could guess how this would impact the rest of the project? Not I.

I also didn't actually cut into the sleeve's length on the pattern on the off-chance that I would repeat this pattern in the long sleeve version.

Mistake #2:

I didn't read the directions carefully and when I was attaching the facing to the neckline I sewed all the way around instead of just in the v-neck.

Look pattern makers, if you want someone to understand how to do this stuff you really should include clear...

Never mind.

Mistake #3:

I didn't use interfacing on the neck facing because I'm lazy and never get around to buying it and sorry not sorry.

Mistake #4:

The fabric was sort of a mistake. It actually is sort of nice in the finished garment in that the weight and draping is appropriate, but it was very delicate and when you're undoing seams multiple times you can realllly tell on this fabric.

It's also already unravelling. I suppose I should encase them or bind them with a zig zag stitch if I want this garment to last for more than 1 wear.

Moment of Truth: The finished result

Self Q&A

What the heck is under that shirt on the mannequin?

A dress in progress, of course!

Why didn't you take it off the mannequin before taking the picture?

Why, indeed.

So how did that sleeve adjustment work out?

When I put the sleeves on I lined up the notches and just shifted the armpit area down an inch or so, starting from the notches. It seemed to work just fine to accommodate the extra width on the ends.

Ratings:

How the finished garment looks on me: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒

It fits and is pretty comfortable. I wouldn't do jumping jacks in it because I'd probably pull a Hulk, but it's pretty floaty otherwise. The fabric, side slit, and longer back combination is pretty flattering and forgiving of my "childbearing hips" and "never lost the baby weight" tummy. It doesn't exactly accentuate my waistline, but one garment can only do so much. The gathering at the shoulders does a nice job of giving the boob area some definition without darts.

Pattern: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The pattern was clearly explained and the difficulty level was easy. I appreciate such things in a pattern.

Was this project a mistake overall?

No. 

I'm still below average but I'm getting better at choosing patterns that will work for my body and choosing fabrics that are appropriate for the pattern. I am proud that I made some good modifications that worked out and only had to pull out the seam ripper twice.

Thanks for following along on this adventure! Although we made it to our destination this time, this is the Below Average Sewer so a sewing 10-car pile-up is just around the corner.