Frustration and Motivation

So, last night, I decided to make this super cute little tank top pajama top that I had a pattern for. I had picked the size, cut out the fabric, then I got to work. As I started to sew, it seemed like this top was a little bigger than it should be, but I thought perhaps I was just seeing it wrong. I pressed on. Then, I tried it on to adjust the spaghetti straps to the right length. Oh my! I looked like I was swimming in a sleeveless black trash bag! I literally had an extra 6 inches of fabric on either side of my chest, and it was supposed to be semi-fitted! Talk about frustrating!

Looks cute though, right?

Lessons learned? I will no longer blindly trust patterns. (It’s hard to trust them sometimes anyway when they barely make any sense.) And on the plus side, at least I can use the material for something else since I will no longer be using that pattern. I can understand the pattern being a little off, but 12 inches?!?!? If I had only been 12 inches wider, it would have been a really cute pattern. Maybe I should only buy patterns that have pictures of REAL people wearing the clothes!

I have really been getting into the sewing mood lately. It’s fairly easy to teach yourself how to do it, and it gives a great big sense of accomplishment when you make something that you’re actually pleased to wear. Now I will have to go back to a good stand-by pajama pattern to give myself that boost back up into feeling good about sewing again!

What sort of homey/crafty things have you taught yourself to do? Doesn’t it give you a great sense of accomplishment to realize that you can teach yourself to do something like that, that you can use in your everyday life? And here’s a question that I would love an answer to: have any of you ever made your own sewing patterns from scratch and been successful at it? I think that would be a great talent to have! I would love any helpful hints about that that you might have.