A little lesson learned the hard way...

*Sigh* I was all pumped and ready to begin my next sewing project this past Friday, Christmas Eve. I cut out my pattern the evening before, got up relatively early Friday morning (c'mon, we're on Christmas break!), washed and dried my fabric, and shook it out only to find that there was NO WAY that piece of fabric could have shrunk from 4 yards to maybe 2 yards! Still, a scant 2 yards was all it seemed to be.

Okay, let me elucidate. The pattern was Kwik Sew 3472. The fabric: lovely, soft, black cotton interlock which I ordered from Marie-Madeline Studios when they seemed to be having a most excellent sale. Those of you who have studied M-M Studios might just be snickering at me and guessing where this is going. That's where I made my mistake. I didn't study the site. We were in the process of moving (y'all know how crazy that can be, and how crazy it can make a person.), and I just quickly found what I wanted and ordered 4 units. Uh-huh. Now the rest of y'all know my mistake. I thought I'd gotten a pretty good buy! Getting 4 yards of black cotton knit for just over $13. But no. I got 4 units, which is 1/2 yards, for just over $13. Ever since I realized that, I've been kicking myself and repeating the phrase "I bought 2 yards of fabric for almost $14?!?!!!!!" Not a good feeling.

I thought that if I shared my not-so-good-experience with y'all, I might save some of you from making the same mistake. Trust me, it's really disappointing when you've had your heart set on that certain project made out of that certain fabric only to find out that you don't have enough of that certain fabric or they no longer make that certain pattern. (Can I make that sound more confusing?) Anyway, there's another story in the life of a Tennessee seamstress (who probably ought to start working on curtains...).

I got to SEW again!

We got the sewing room usable yesterday! I was so excited; I couldn't wait to try it out! (Not to mention, I had/have TONS of projects in mind.) Mama, Claire, and I went on our annual Sir's pilgrimage a week or two ago, and, though we mainly went for (and got) fabric for new curtains throughout the house, I found some magnificent pieces for myself that I really just couldn't pass up. One of those pieces was a khaki corduroy, perfectly drab - just the way I like it. :P When I got it I had the basic idea of what I wanted to turn it into. I'd just read a post by a good friend, and fellow seamstress, who mentioned one of her staple skirt patterns, Butterick 3134. Now, I love, love, love a-line skirts, but I wanted a bit more flare. The question was... how to you add flare to an a-line corduroy skirt, and a drab one at that?!? I decided to add a flounce. I figured I'd want it longer anyway, so that was a perfect way to add length and flare at the same time! Somehow I forgot my solemn vow never to do flounces again, because of the hemming issues... Oops. Anyway, here's how my new skirt came out:

I like it a lot. :)

Before I show you a close up of the details, I have a little tip about adding to/altering pre-existing patterns: DON'T FORGET TO ADD/INCLUDE SEAM ALLOWANCES!!! I noticed that the pattern had a convenient little bit of information on the envelope which stated that the bottom width of Skirt C was 88". Wonderful! I didn't have to measure anything to get that info! Love that (don't love that the pattern didn't include a waist measurement...). Because of my fabric, and the angle I wanted, I ended up having to cut my flounce as four pieces. That's gonna be 22" wide at the top of each, right? WRONG! Or at least it should have been. It should have been 22" + 2(5/8") = 23 1/4" each. Thankfully, I realized what I'd done wrong before I'd sewn anything up, and was able to make it fit by taking the bottom of the skirt in a bit, and sewing the flounce seams a little smaller than normal. Still, seems like sloppy workmanship to me, and, when possible, I try to avoid it.

Lately I've had a thing against completely blank slates. Much to my own surprise, I've been paying much more attention to the little things, the details that give the garment a finished touch. I focused all my detailing for this skirt around the flounce. I really love the extra stitches one of our machines has. The one I used to hem the skirt kind of looks like rick-rack! I also added two rows of regular stitching above the seam line where I added the flounce. I wanted to sew down the seam allowance, and I just decided to include it in the detail work. I'm pleased with the result. :)