Having attempted and failed to make myself a simple pair of pyjamas, I decided the best plan of action was to sign up for a dressmaking class at the local college. I took along an “easy” McCalls dress pattern that didn’t look too complicated. There were only a few pattern pieces, it had simple sleeves, a couple of darts, and a basic zip. So I was keen to get started, however, progress was slow...
Starting with a mock up, I struggled with the sleeves, and sewed all my seams 0.5cm smaller than I should have, but eventually it came together. My tutor had suggested putting in an invisible zip rather than the basic one and keen to learn a new skill this is how I decided to progress.
Feeling more confident and being frustrated at how slowly I was progressing, I decided to continue at home with the real thing. I cut out the pattern again, this time with the sizing alterations we’d made, sewed all my darts and fused all my interfacing. Now this is probably where I should have stopped since I hadn't sewn a zip before, never mind an invisible zip. I had seen a fantastic tutorial on Colette Patterns and was convinced that I could follow it.
To be honest I did alright, although the zip was probably a bit higher than it should have been. The main issue was that in my haste, I accidently increased the temperature of my iron and singed the entire back panel!!!!!
The moral of the story – I really should have waited until I was back in my class or at the very least have attempted it on something other than my final fabric first, especially when the shop no longer stocked it.
Jo
Jo
