Project 1 - Conclusion

Hiya, 

After a little playing around and some sound adjusting I was finally able to finish the first try of the pattern, thanks to my mam and gran. 
After deliberation, we thought that size 10 would be a lot more appropriate. So beleive it or not, I was shopping for fabric. I was first going to go for some cheap material which was half price, but then I saw the beautiful pattern of this navy, purple and pink fabric and thought that £8 a metre was reasonable-ish. 

 
At first I was going to make the view with the long sleeve, but I realised I needed more material. I thought then the cap sleeve would be nice but when I tried, it didn't lie very nicely, probably because I hadn't followed the instructions closely enough :-O!!

But finally, here it is. My first independently constructed garment. Hope you don't mind, for privacy I hid my face. But you can tell what the top is like.  

 I globally like the way it looks apart from between the arm pit and shoulder blades where the material folds slightly. But then again I would probably be more forgiving with a shop bought garment anyway. 

So this top is about to become my favourite and I'm still wearing it now as it's confortable :-).  



What was your first hand-made garment? 
 

Project 1 - New look 6871.

Morning!

 

As promised an update on the top I was sewing. I had a little accident with the machine after which a doctor in A&E had to extract a machine needle from the tip of my left index. However I am still not put off. Nursing my finger with yummy homemade banana bread and a cup of tea :-)

(I will put a link when I think about it to the recipe).

 

The pattern I used for the top is New Look 6871, which has got mixed reviews online. I really liked the design though so I thought I would try it. I was initially going to do view E, but I was given a light blouse which has the extract same pattern so I intend to wear them as a twin set to wear with view D.

 

I will say that I found it was a tricky pattern until I got my head around it. 

Because it was my first pattern in a while, instead of cutting the pattern, I transferred the pieces onto massive tracing paper sheets which I cut out to size. They were quite thick so I could pin them onto the material and cut around them. At least the pattern would be intact for the next time I use it.

 

I chose a size 14 from my measurements however I think it has come out too big for me. Since I forgot to prewash the fabric in case of shrinkage (because it is 100 %  cotton), I will wait until adjusting seams.

 I have also adapted the pattern slightly as I have gone along. For example, instead of gathering the front and back, I made pleats as I found them somewhat easier to make and prettier. I am also putting bias tape I made from the material to put on the arm holes tomorrow.

 

This sewing malarkey is going to be quite addictive I can tell. I have already found promising material to buy for view E (my favourite). I haven't bought it as I want to train myself to finish a project first before starting a new one.

How did you find your first pattern?

Was it successful? What did you learn from it?

Until next time!