I’ve failed at a few projects.
I failed at making a gorgeous halter top out of gorgeous woven satin that was gold and mint. It was wonderful in my mind. A thing of beauty, but the top wasn’t sitting right and the satin kept fraying. Eventually, after trying to alter it and perfect it too many times, the satin was just done. So, the whole project got put into a bag of scraps for some future use where that project just requires tiny bits of satin, like a scrap material quilt or something.
I failed at making a top out of purple stretch material. I could probably come back to that one now and figure it out, but unless that happens I consider this a failure.
I failed at the Kirsten dress last night. Or rather, the pattern failed me. The neckline is too big making the collar look like a popped collar from some fraternity. It’s horrible. I tried to make it smaller through subtle pleats in the back, but it just did not work. I refuse to fail at making this dress, even after trying out my lining and seeing that it pulled tight in a few areas and had to be taken out. I’ve decided to make it unlined. It’s already such a thick suit material that it doesn’t really need a lining except for aesthetic purposes and because the pattern called for it. Since you can’t make the neckline smaller without it looking odd, I have decided to replace the original collar with a peter pan collar. I’ve not been a fan of that collar, but the dress just fits with it and I think it will look good on me. I’m not sure why I steer away from that collar type, but I am glad to finally join the trend there.
That pattern failed me. It failed all plus-size women. I’m not sure when plus size meant a huge neck. Yes, for some people, but not for all and the majority of plus-size women I know don’t have a thick neck. My neck is normal sized, if not tiny. The neckline was at least ten inches wider than my neck (you can see in the introduction post). People complain about BurdaStyle’s plus-size patterns all the time and now I understand. Beyond having some pretty terrible and frumpy styles, they make assumptions like this. Plus size doesn’t necessarily mean bigger all over; it means bigger in certain places. Also, the pattern’s sleeve variation was made without taking plus-size arms into consideration. The width around was way too small. Very disappointing. Anyway, I did fix the sleeves so they fit, but I have to draft and sew a new collar and replace the lining around the collar with a small bit of suit material so that the raw edges don’t show through. It’s not the Kirsten dress anymore. It’s the frankensteined Andie-Kirsten dress.
That being said, I am still confident it will work out well and that I will have a dress that will be perfect for me. It’s not a failure yet, but the pattern failed me (also failed in giving instructions for the sleeve variation…Luckily, I figured it out…)
I was hoping to finish the dress before a show tomorrow night so that I could wear it and show off my mad sewing skillz. Instead, I am wearing my green eShakti dress that I ordered recently. They have a three for the price of two sale until July 31st! Go buy a dress, if you are so inclined. They are wonderful and have pockets!
Note: The Andie-Kirsten dress should now have side-seam pockets. I shall draft them tonight.
Just remember: every sewing failure is a sewing experience.
Have you ever salvaged a sewing disaster and made it something wonderful?
Andie Wells Studio 