The modern sewing world is really fun. It is a world filled with people who generously share the knowledge they’ve gleaned along the way, providing inspiration for anyone with a spark of curiosity. The fabulous pictures people share on Instagram, the videos on YouTube, and well-crafted blogs really fuel my enthusiasm for the craft. In the seven years now (!) that I’ve been sewing, I’ve learned so much from the information freely shared by sewists from around the world. But…
…it seems to me that people aren’t as forthcoming about the struggles faced by novice and intermediate sewists as they attempt to create beautiful, well-fitting clothes for themselves. It’s a problem that isn’t unique to the sewing world, it is pervasive problem across all social media outlets. Picture perfect images, representing perfect lives. But even the most experienced sewist has a seam ripper at hand, has a project that didn’t turn out as planned and couldn’t really be salvaged, might even have a pile of unfinished projects that got discouraging along the way. I think we need to share more of these, talk frankly about how discouraging it can be to have a project go south, to have a new pattern fail to live up to the promise it held at the beginning of the project, to have completely messed up our fabric selection. We can’t just show the wins, the glorious gorgeous results of a project that turned out a perfectly. We need to remember that every “tried and true” pattern (“TNT”) in someone’s stash represents a journey littered with projects made with patterns that didn’t turn out to be “keepers”. Some might have been wearable, but never beloved, while others didn’t ever make it to the maker’s closet. I think we need to talk about the journey, the learning that comes with the failures. And as more and more of us are sourcing our fabrics online, let’s be more open about the problems that can be caused by poor fabric selection. Even a great pattern can net a negative result as the sewist learns the hard way that the fabric they used for the project was not actually appropriate for the project. It’s such an prolonged learning process and I think it is encouraging to know you’re not the only one struggling with this or that.
So, I’ll go first, sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly. In the last month or so, I’ve made five athletic tops and one tee-shirt. Out of that crop of projects, I have one shirt I like. That means I have five shirts that just don’t work well for me . I used five different patterns for these shirts. I used the Patterns for Pirates Twist-Back Top (twice!), the Cashmerette Saybrook Tank, the Cashmerette Concord Tee, the Greenstyle Tie Back Tank, and I traced off a shirt I liked. So, here’s what went wrong, project by project:
This striped Twist Back Top is altered to accommodate my height (drafted for 5’5″ and I’m 5’10”), but I can’t stand the feel of the fabric…its swim fabric and it feels too slinky to me, plus the shirt feels too big. This was the second version of this pattern I made: the first one was adorable and fits my short friend absolutely perfectly, darn it.
The next Twist Back Top was made from white athletic fabric I sourced online and started with the same sewing tall alterations, but the fabric didn’t have enough stretch, and it just doesn’t look right. I’ll definitely be making this pattern again, but it was discouraging.
The Cashmerette Saybrook Tank was the biggest disappointment, to be frank. I was so excited to try this pattern and it just came out so weird. I know that part of the problem is that I used the same type of athletic fabric I used for the white Twist Back Top, so, in retrospect, the stretch percentage was inappropriate for the project, but that wasn’t the big problem. I made a size 16 with the E/F cup FBA version. Once I sewed the tank up and realized the stretch percentage made for a very tight fit, I opened up the side seams and added a 2″ side panel to each side, making the fit passable. I had to lower the bottom of the armscye by 1 1/2″ and it was still strangling my armpit and was really quite uncomfortable. If I make it again, my sewing tall adjustments will definitely need to be from the shoulder to the bust apex.
The next thing I made was the Cashmerette Concord Tee, as part of my ongoing search for the perfect t-shirt. What I find so interesting is that I made the same size in both patterns from this company and the results were soooo different. It didn’t have the armscye problem I encountered in the Saybrook, but the proportions were just a little off (which makes sense for a pattern drafted for a person 5″ shorter than I am)…but only a little bit. The t-shirt “fit”…plenty of room across the bust and definitely NOT strangling my armpit. I have to wonder how the sizing can be so different from the same company..I may tweak it a bit and give it another try. (But I might not…I have a few more patterns to try). Another discouraging result and I still haven’t found the perfect t-shirt pattern. The search continues.
The last fail was an attempt to recreate a workout shirt I wore for a few years and I think it was again a problem with the fabric I chose, plus I somehow made it too short. I will try it again, with a fabric that has more stretch.
My only semi- success was the Greenstyle Tie-Back Tank (no picture). I am so glad I decided to make up another version of this tank…so far, it has been the only one that has worked out well enough to actually wear to the gym. The modifications I’ve made to this pattern include reducing the hips by a total of 5″ and sewing the back pieces closed at the bottom hem rather than keeping it as a functioning tie-back (the knot is super cute, but is a problem for mat work). The lack of stretch in the fabric wasn’t a problem, which was a relief. It’s still not a tried and true pattern, but it is a step in the right direction, and at least I have something I can actually wear.
The takeaway? Not one of these projects was a true “win” for me and it’s hard not to get discouraged. It can feel like a waste of time and money and effort. But it’s not. Each project teaches you something. What I realized as I looked at each of these “fails” was that the failures were NOT because I sewed them poorly. They weren’t “fails” because my sewing skills weren’t up to the task and that’s a huge win. That’s measurable progress and that’s something to be proud of. I have reached a place in my journey where my sewing skills aren’t holding me back. It’s my knowledge of fabrics and fit that is severely limited, so I know where I need to focus my efforts. I now know my learning needs to focus in a new direction and that is, after all, progress, so these “failures” were definitely worth my time.
Each project teaches me something. There is so much more to getting a beloved garment out of a sewing project than learning to actually sew. Pick out a pattern and buying fabric are just the second and third steps. Learning how they will play together and what goes into the perfect marriage between the two is a labor of love and experience. The only way you get the experience is to sit at the cutting table, sit at the sewing machine, and push forward and learn from each project.
The bottom line: We have to kiss a lot of frogs before we find the prince(s) and I think we need to shine a light on this part of the sewing journey. Let’s not perpetuate the idea that it’s always easy and that if we’re doing it right, it will be easy for us. Let’s share the journey, the stumbles, the missteps, and the failures, as much as we share the successes.
Pro Tip: “Fail” = Forever Acquiring Important Lessons – If we never allow ourselves to fail, we never learn anything new, it’s just that simple.