Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Call me Eeyore

I didn't post yesterday because I was in an uncharacteristic gray mood. I had the day off and time to do whatever I pleased, but somehow, nothing would do.

Phin wasn't feeling well, so I went to the Craft Lounge. But sewing was not going well. The shirt I am making for Phineas is snug, with no room to let it out. I spent half an hour trying to find a hook and eye closure to finish my summer top, but never found my stash. And the muslin draft that I am making from my pants sloper made by Connie Crawford is enormous. I suppose that everyone goes thru a phase where they feel like they can't do anything right and that they will never be able to make beautiful pants for themselves. But yesterday, these setbacks seemed more like catastrophes to me.

Too. Damn. Big.

When I tried on the pants draft, it was so large that I pinned in 7 1/2 inches at the waist and thru the hip and thigh. And once I began pinning, it just made the pants look distorted. How on earth could a pants pattern made to my measurements be that off? So, out came the measuring tape. It turns out that this is a lesson in why you should be measured in your underwear or very light clothing. Essentially, the pants I made could fit over the jeans I was wearing the day I was measured. My hip measurement was 2 inches smaller and the crotch length 4 inches shorter than what I wrote down at the class.

Yesterday, I viewed this as a major setback - I was in that kind of mood. But after a tripto the gym and a very good chat with MarMar, which helped remind me of the truly important things in life, I was able to view it as an opportunity to fly solo and create my own sloper - slowly and carefully - from better measurements. Perhaps this really is a one-step-forward-two-steps-back process, but I am going to start again and stick with it.

2 comments:

phin said...

the shirt was not made snug, my body just seemed to expand while you were making it :)

Clio said...

Thank you, my love. But it was most definitly snug... I should have compared the actual pattern to your measurements. A rookie mistake. :-(